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Top 10 facts about 1987 National League champion Cardinals

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers on January 20, 2012| 3 Comments »

(Updated June 9, 2024)

One of the most remarkable teams in St. Louis history was the 1987 Cardinals.

Managed by Whitey Herzog, the 1987 Cardinals overcame adversity and several back-to-the-wall predicaments to finish 95-67 (three games ahead of the favored Mets in the National League East). The Cardinals then won the pennant by beating the Giants in the League Championship Series and got to Game 7 of the World Series before losing to the champion Twins.

In his book “Mookie,” Mets center fielder Mookie Wilson said, “I loved the Cardinals’ style of play. They were so aggressive, always running on the bases until there was no place else to go … It was an exciting brand of baseball. I always believed that I could have fit in well with that club because I liked running when there were no rules or boundaries.”

The Cardinals started the season with an injury to their top starting pitcher, John Tudor, who suffered a broken kneecap in the dugout when Mets catcher Barry Lyons crashed into him while chasing a pop fly Boxscore, and ended the season without their top slugger, first baseman Jack Clark, who was limited to one postseason at-bat after tearing a tendon in his ankle in a game at Montreal Sept. 9. Boxscore

Two nights after the injury to Clark, the Cardinals were at Shea Stadium to open a three-game series against the second-place Mets, who had moved to within 1.5 games of St. Louis in the NL East standings.

In the ninth, the Mets led 4-1 and were within a strike of getting within a half-game of St. Louis, but Willie McGee delivered a two-out, two-strike RBI-single and Terry Pendleton followed with a two-run home run off Roger McDowell, tying the score. The Cardinals scored twice in the 10th to win, 6-4, stunning the Mets and building their lead to 2.5 games. Boxscore

After clinching the division title Oct. 1 with an 8-2 victory over the Expos at St. Louis, Herzog told the Associated Press, “We could’ve folded when we lost Jack, but we didn’t. The Mets talk about adversity, but we really had it.” Boxscore

In the best-of-seven NL Championship Series, the Giants won three of the first five (on the strength of four Jeffrey Leonard home runs) before the Cardinals won Game 6, 1-0, behind Tudor and two relievers Boxscore and Game 7, 6-0, on a Danny Cox masterpiece. Boxscore

The Cardinals won three of the first five in the World Series against the Twins and held leads in Game 6 (5-2 in the fifth inning) and in Game 7 (2-1 after four) before losing both at Minnesota.

“I look back on that as the biggest miracle year _ the 1987 team,” Herzog said to Cardinals Magazine. “No one even gave us a chance … That was the first year of the juiced-up baseball _ and I didn’t have much juice on that team.”

In honor of this resilient team, here are 10 top facts about the 1987 Cardinals:

1. Shortstop Ozzie Smith led the team in hitting, with a .303 batting average _ the only time he hit .300 or better in a season during his 19-year major-league career.

2. Clark had 57 fewer hits than McGee (120 to 177), but finished with one more RBI (106 to 105).

3. Clark drew 136 walks in 131 games. Mark McGwire (with 162 in 155 games in 1998) is the only Cardinal with more walks in a season.

4. Left fielder Vince Coleman was first in the NL in steals (109), second in runs (121) and second in singles (153).

5. With 35, Clark was the only Cardinal to hit more than 12 home runs.

6. Cardinals hitters were remarkably consistent. They batted .264 at home and .263 on the road.

7. Four Cardinals pitchers posted double-digit win totals, but none won more than 11: Cox (11-9), Greg Mathews (11-11), Bob Forsch (11-7) and Tudor (10-2).

8. Pendleton produced 96 RBI, the most in his seven years with the Cardinals and 22 more than his next-best total for St. Louis.

9. McGee had 37 doubles, 11 triples, 11 home runs and 105 RBI, but also grounded into a league-leading 24 double plays.

10. Catcher Tony Pena, who hit .214 in the regular season, hit .381 (8-for-21) in the NL Championship Series and .409 (9-for-22) in the World Series.

Previously: Sweep of Dodgers gives Cardinals a link to 1987

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Six switch-hitters equal zero runs for Cardinals

Posted in Games, Hitters on December 31, 2011| Leave a Comment »

(Updated March 22, 2026)

On July 8, 1988, at San Francisco, the Cardinals featured a batting order with six switch-hitters: first baseman Jose Oquendo, second baseman Luis Alicea, shortstop Ozzie Smith, third baseman Terry Pendleton, left fielder Vince Coleman and center fielder Willie McGee. Catcher Tony Pena, right fielder Tom Brunansky and pitcher Joe Magrane batted right-handed.

Stacking the batting order with switch-hitters didn’t work for manager Whitey Herzog that night, though. Giants right-hander Mike LaCoss pitched a four-hitter in San Francisco’s 1-0 victory. Boxscore

For LaCoss, it was his only shutout of the season and the last of his big-league career. Three of the Cardinals’ hits were singles by switch-hitters Alicea, McGee and Oquendo.

LaCoss “was getting his curveball in on the first pitch,” catcher Bob Melvin told the San Francisco Examiner. “When you are able to throw a strike on the first pitch with a breaking ball, that means you’ve got a lot of room to work from there with your other pitches.”

Mixing in fastballs, split-fingered pitches and changeups, LaCoss never topped 92 mph on the radar gun.

“I don’t think he threw a fastball right over the middle of the plate all night,” Melvin told the Peninsula Times Tribune. “He was hitting the corners with it and keeping the breaking ball down.”

With a cold wind blowing through Candlestick Park and a fog rolling in, it was a “perfect LaCoss night,” the Examiner noted.

“Clubs don’t like to come in and play under these conditions,” LaCoss said to the newspaper. “The wind blows in the hitters’ faces and their eyes start to water. If it’s windy and cool, I feel like I have an advantage. When you know what you’re doing and have some luck, you can make the ball move more.”

St. Louis’ switching-hitting infield that night was reminiscent of the 1965 Dodgers, who also started four switch-hitting infielders _ first baseman Wes Parker, second baseman Jim Lefebvre, shortstop Maury Wills and third baseman Jim Gilliam _ in the World Series against the Twins. Boxscore

In 1993, the Mets opened the season with six switch-hitters in their lineup: catcher Todd Hundley, first baseman Eddie Murray, shortstop Tony Fernandez, third baseman Howard Johnson, left fielder Vince Coleman and right fielder Bobby Bonilla. Boxscore

 

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Cardinals were victims of historic homers by Gil Hodges

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents on December 26, 2011| 3 Comments »

Gil Hodges hit two of the most important home runs of his career against the Cardinals.

Hodges, a first baseman, played 18 seasons in the big leagues with the Dodgers and Mets.

He was one of the greatest right-handed home run sluggers in the National League in the 1950s, and an outstanding defensive first baseman.

Hodges had more career RBI (190) against the Cardinals than he did against any other team. His 57 career home runs against the Cardinals rank only behind the 58 he hit against the Cubs.

In 1962, as a member of the expansion Mets, Hodges hit a pair of historic home runs against St. Louis.

On April 11, 1962, Hodges hit the first regular-season home run in Mets history. The solo shot leading off the fourth inning against Cardinals starter Larry Jackson was Hodges’ 362nd of his career and moved him ahead of Joe DiMaggio for 11th place on big-league baseball’s all-time list. The Cardinals won, 11-4, at St. Louis in the Mets’ first regular-season game. Boxscore

Almost three months later, July 6, 1962, Hodges hit the 370th and last home run of his big-league career. The solo blast off Ray Sadecki with one out in the second moved Hodges into 10th place on big-league baseball’s all-time list, ahead of Ralph Kiner, and solidified Hodges’ hold on the record (since broken) for most National League home runs by a right-handed batter. The Mets, who had lost nine of their previous 11, beat the Cardinals, 10-3, at New York. Boxscore

With the Dodgers, Hodges three times produced five RBI in a game against the Cardinals. The most important of those was the first.

On Sept. 22, 1949, the Cardinals clung to a 1.5-game lead over the second-place Dodgers heading into the finale of a three-game series with Brooklyn at St. Louis. Hodges delivered three singles, a walk and five RBI, carrying the Dodgers to a 19-6 victory and cutting the Cardinals’ lead to a half-game. Boxscore

Hodges had two-run singles off Ted Wilks in the fourth and fifth innings, and drew a bases-loaded walk against Ken Johnson in the sixth.

Brooklyn took over first place on Sept. 29 and went on to win the pennant, finishing a game ahead of the Cardinals, who had 96 wins.

In his book “Stan Musial: The Man’s Own Story,” Musial expressed his admiration for Hodges as a fielder as well as a slugger.

“Gil Hodges was a remarkable first baseman,” Musial said. “If Hodges had been left-handed, he might have been remembered as the most efficient first baseman ever … The quick-handed, good-natured big guy revolutionized bunt defense. Fact is, the Dodgers as a team popularized the pressure-charging defense that makes sacrificing difficult …

“For his blacksmith build, Gil was quick and had lightning-like hands … A gentle big guy who could really hit the long ball.”

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Ozzie Smith cheered Barry Larkin’s best personal feat

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Records on December 21, 2011| 2 Comments »

(Updated Sept. 25, 2016)

Barry Larkin played shortstop with distinction for the Reds from 1986-2004, but for most of the first half of his career he was overshadowed by the Cardinals’ Ozzie Smith.

In a classy twist, Smith witnessed and cheered Larkin’s greatest individual feat on a baseball field.

Smith won the Gold Glove Award among National League shortstops in each of Larkin’s first seven seasons in the major leagues, including 1990, when Larkin helped lead Cincinnati to its most recent World Series championship.

Larkin didn’t win the first of his three Gold Glove awards until 1994, the year Smith turned 40. Smith, who won the Gold Glove Award 13 times, was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002.

In 2012, it was Larkin’s turn.

Larkin, 1995 winner of the NL MVP Award, had 2,340 hits and a .295 career batting average.

Larkin had several memorable performances against the Cardinals, including a pinch-hit grand slam off reliever Steve Kline in St. Louis’ 11-10 victory over the Reds on July 28, 2004, at Cincinnati. Boxscore

Larkin’s greatest moment against the Cardinals occurred in the first game of a Sunday afternoon doubleheader on Sept. 22, 1996, at Cincinnati.

In the fifth inning, with St. Louis ahead 3-1, Larkin launched a home run, his 30th of the season, over the left-field wall against starter Donovan Osborne. With that solo shot, Larkin became the first shortstop in major-league history to achieve 30 homers and 30 stolen bases in a season.

As he rounded first base, Larkin thrust both fists in the air in jubilation. Smith, positioned at shortstop for the Cardinals, hollered his congratulations as Larkin trotted past him.

Asked afterward to assess Larkin’s feat, Smith told the Associated Press, “It gives him his own spot in history. It’s a great accomplishment.”

Larkin became the 17th player in big-league history to achieve 30 homers and 30 steals in a season. Fifteen were outfielders and the other, Howard Johnson of the Mets, was a third baseman.

Larkin finished the 1996 season with 33 homers and 36 steals. He would achieve the steals standard again (with 30 in 1999, his fifth season of 30 or more steals), but he never came close to matching 30 homers.

Previously: Ken Boyer belongs in Hall of Fame

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How Mike Shannon became a Cardinals catcher

Posted in Games, Hitters on December 19, 2011| 2 Comments »

(Updated Aug. 8, 2019)

A short, successful stint as a Cardinals catcher revived the big-league career of Mike Shannon.

Shannon opened the 1965 season as the Cardinals’ right fielder, but went hitless in his first 14 at-bats and had one hit in his first 23 at-bats.

Lunging for pitches out of the strike zone, Shannon was batting .095 on June 1 when manager Red Schoendienst moved him to the bench and tried other players in right.

On Aug. 6, 1965, the Cardinals were playing the Giants at St. Louis when Hal Lanier slid into home plate and spiked the left thumb of Tim McCarver as the Cardinals’ catcher attempted to apply a tag. McCarver was replaced by Bob Uecker, the Cardinals’ only other catcher. Boxscore

Two days later, Aug. 8, 1965, Uecker was struck by a foul tip off the bat of the Giants’ Dick Schofield in the first inning. The ball split Uecker’s right thumb, forcing him to leave the game.

McCarver was unable to play, so Schoendienst brought in Shannon to catch. According to The Sporting News, Shannon hadn’t caught in a game since he was a youth in sandlot baseball.

It didn’t take long before Shannon was tested. The Giants had runners on second and third with one out in the first when Willie McCovey lifted a pop-up in foul territory. Shannon made the catch.

In the fourth, Shannon provided “the defensive thrill of the game,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Willie Mays was on first with one out when Jim Ray Hart lined a double to center. Curt Flood retrieved the ball and fired it to shortstop Dick Groat, whose relay throw to Shannon was in time to tag out Mays. Hart broke for third base on the play and Shannon alertly threw to third baseman Ken Boyer, who tagged out Hart.

Shannon fielded flawlessly (no errors, one assist, six putouts) in the game and broke his batting slump, with a double, triple, walk, RBI and run scored. The Giants, who won 6-4, didn’t attempt a steal against Shannon. “They respected Shannon’s arm,” said coach Joe Schultz.

The Cardinals used five pitchers, including knuckleballers Barney Schultz and Bob Purkey and a left-handed sinkerballer, Hal Woodeshick. Boxscore

“I wouldn’t be afraid to go with Shannon after what he showed me handling Barney Schultz’s knuckleball and Hal Woodeshick’s sinker,” Schoendienst said.

Shannon said he was helped by having caught during batting practice that season. “I didn’t go into the job exactly cold,” Shannon said.

Schoendienst noted, “You could see Shannon’s signs from the scoreboard in the first inning, but coach Joe Becker showed Mike how to hide his signs after that.”

The Post-Dispatch reported Shannon “did superbly” and the San Francisco Examiner noted he “played a tremendous game.”

“Shannon showed he could do an excellent job as a catcher and that makes him even more valuable,” Schoendienst said.

After the game, the Cardinals called up Dave Ricketts from the minor leagues to be the everyday catcher while McCarver and Uecker mended.

Starting catcher

On Aug. 12, 1965, at Milwaukee, Ricketts got a day off and Shannon got his first start at catcher. He caught 12 innings, committing no errors and making six putouts, and the Braves attempted no steals against him.

“Shannon did a great job behind the plate,” said Braves manager Bobby Bragan, a former catcher. “I don’t think he boxed more than one ball all day long.”

In the seventh, Shannon hit a solo home run against Wade Blasingame. In the 13th, Shannon’s two-out single off knuckleballer Phil Niekro scored Boyer from second in the Cardinals’ 5-4 victory. Boxscore

“Shannon showed he could hit a knuckleball as well as he could catch one,” the Post-Dispatch reported.

Ricketts came in to catch the bottom half of the 13th; Shannon moved to right.

“Mike Shannon hits better wearing a catcher’s mitt,” the Associated Press reported. “Shannon, who played himself out of a starting job in the outfield because of a .193 batting average before he turned catcher, now has four hits in eight trips to the plate as a receiver.”

Said Shannon: “I’m an outfielder, but if Red Schoendienst wants me to become a catcher, I’ll become a catcher.”

Shannon made one more start at catcher, Aug. 14, at St. Louis in the Reds’ 4-2 victory. Shannon made no errors, had nine putouts and kept the Reds from attempting a steal. Boxscore

When McCarver returned to the lineup, Shannon returned to the outfield, though he appeared in one more 1965 game at catcher, replacing McCarver for the final three innings of the Cardinals’ 19-8 victory at Houston Sept. 30. Boxscore

Versatile player

After the season, Shannon reported to the Florida Instructional League to develop his catching skills. In November, The Sporting News reported, “The talented outfielder, ready to do almost anything to get untracked after his miserable 1965 showing, is concentrating on catching and boning up on the strike zone.”

“Shannon has been working on the fundamentals of catching, especially throwing,” Cardinals general manager Bob Howsam said. “He’s done a great job, too. We’re figuring him as an outfielder yet, but this gives him a chance to do many things.”

The Cardinals opened the 1966 season by shifting Lou Brock from left field to right and starting Alex Johnson in left, with Shannon on the bench. Johnson was hitting .186 on May 17 when he was sent to the minor leagues. Brock was moved back to left field and Shannon took over in right. He played well all season, hitting .288 with 16 home runs.

Shannon made one appearance as a catcher in 1966. On June 5, in the Braves’ 14-4 victory at Atlanta, Shannon replaced McCarver in the eighth and caught a flawless inning. It was his last game as a catcher. Boxscore

Shannon’s career statistics as a catcher: five games, 33.2 innings, 24 putouts, one assist, no errors, no stolen bases against and a 1.000 fielding percentage.

After the 1966 season, the Cardinals acquired Roger Maris from the Yankees to play right field and asked Shannon to learn another position: third base. He became the starting third baseman for the Cardinals’ pennant-winning clubs in 1967 and 1968.

Previously: Cardinals came close to dealing Shannon

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Bob Gibson often had edge in matchups with Ron Santo

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents on December 6, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Ron Santo _ deserving of election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame but no more so than his Cardinals peer, Ken Boyer _ usually was on the short end of matchups with Bob Gibson, but he did hit three home runs against him.

Santo, elected to the Hall of Fame Dec. 5, 2011, by the 16-member Golden Era committee, played 15 years in the major leagues as a third baseman for the Cubs and White Sox.

Like the Cardinals’ Ken Boyer, Santo won the Gold Glove Award five times. Boyer (.287) had a higher career batting average than Santo (.277). Santo had more home runs (342) than Boyer (282) and more RBI (1,331) than Boyer (1,141) but also had 688 more at-bats than Boyer. (Boyer received fewer than three votes from the 16 members of the Golden Era committee; Santo received 15).

Santo struck out more times against the Cardinals (156) than he did against any other team. Overall against the Cardinals, Santo batted .269 with 33 home runs and 137 RBI.

Against Gibson, Santo hit .243 (37-for-152) with 35 strikeouts. Of his 37 hits against the Cardinals’ ace, 31 were singles, three were doubles and three were home runs. Santo’s first homer off Gibson was the most significant.

On June 4, 1964, the Cardinals were in third place, 3.5 games behind the National League-leading Phillies, when they faced the Cubs at Chicago. With St. Louis ahead 1-0, the Cubs had Billy Williams on second base with one out in the fourth when Santo came up against Gibson. Santo responded with a two-run home run and that was the difference in Chicago’s 2-1 victory. Boxscore

The setback launched the Cardinals into a four-game losing streak that dropped them into fifth place, a game ahead of the seventh-place Cubs. A week later, still scuffling and having fallen three games below .500, the Cardinals, seeking a spark, traded for Cubs outfielder Lou Brock. The deal was the catalyst in igniting St. Louis’ run to the World Series title that year.

Santo’s other two homers against Gibson came on Sept. 16, 1970 (a fifth-inning solo shot in a game the Cardinals won 8-1 at Chicago Boxscore), and June 26, 1971 (a two-out, three-run blast in the Cubs’ 5-1 victory at St. Louis Boxscore).

 

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