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Archive for the ‘Hitters’ Category

Lou Brock got creative in finding ways to hit home runs

Posted in Games, Hitters on April 21, 2022| 7 Comments »

On his 37th birthday, Lou Brock hit an inside-the-park home run.

Brock hit nine home runs inside the park _ three with the Cubs and six with the Cardinals. He was 22 when he hit the first and 38 when he hit the ninth.

Brock had the power to hit balls over the walls at any big-league ballpark and also the speed to circle the bases on balls hit inside the park.

Out of the park

The first time Brock hit a big-league home run was on April 13, 1962, for the Cubs in their home opener against the Cardinals at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Leading off the bottom of the first inning against rookie Ray Washburn, Brock hit a pitch over the bleachers in right-center and onto Sheffield Avenue. The ball carried at least 450 feet, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

“Two years ago, I batted against Washburn in the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) tournament and all I got were three strikeouts and a little bunt single,” Brock told the Post-Dispatch. “When I told the boys at Southern U. last winter that I would have to face Washburn in the majors, they asked me if I was going to jump behind the water cooler and hide when he pitched.” Boxscore

(Brock had six hits in 14 career at-bats in the big leagues versus Washburn _ a .429 batting mark. Brock and Washburn were Cardinals teammates from 1964-69, playing on three National League pennant winners and two World Series championship teams.)

Friendly Forbes Field

Four days after his homer against Washburn, Brock hit his second home run, and his first inside the park, against the Pirates’ Tom Sturdivant at Wrigley Field. Boxscore

Brock “sped around the bases while Donn Clendenon was chasing the ball in the left field corner,” the Chicago Tribune reported.

Sturdivant again was the pitcher when Brock hit his next inside-the-park homer on April 23, 1963, at Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field. Boxscore

Brock’s drive to center struck the wire screen of a light tower (the screen, or cage, was in play) and bounded back past center fielder Bill Virdon. Brock circled the bases as Willie Stargell retrieved the ball.

A right-hander who played 10 years in the majors and pitched in six World Series games for the Yankees, Sturdivant was no match for Brock. In seven career plate appearances versus Sturdivant, Brock had four hits and two walks _ an on-base percentage of .857.

Three months later, on July 21, 1963, Brock hit his second inside-the-park homer of the season, and the third of his career, against the Pirates’ Don Cardwell at Forbes Field. The drive hit the center field wall. Boxscore

Igniting the offense

In June 1964, Brock was traded to the Cardinals and transformed the lineup with his hitting, speed and intimidating base running.

Brock’s first Cardinals home run was launched onto the pavilion roof in right at the original Busch Stadium in St. Louis against the Giants’ Jack Sanford on June 21, 1964.

Brock’s second Cardinals home run was inside the park _ again at Forbes Field _ versus the Pirates’ Steve Blass in the first game of a July 13 doubleheader.

Batting second in the order, between Curt Flood and Dick Groat, Brock hit a shot that landed in deep right-center, bounced against an iron gate, and caromed away from right fielder Roberto Clemente. Brock scored without a slide ahead of the relay throw from Bill Mazeroski. Boxscore

Brock’s performance in the doubleheader illustrated his multiple skills. In the second game, he powered a home run into the upper deck in right. He totaled seven hits, a walk, two RBI and five runs scored in the doubleheader. Boxscore

For his career, Brock hit .299 with six home runs in 79 games at Forbes Field, which was the Pirates’ home until July 1970.

(Brock wasn’t alone in finding the large outfield at Forbes Field to be good for hitting homers inside the park. The Cardinals’ Terry Moore hit two in one game there in 1939.)

Hit and run

From 1965 to 1975, Brock hit two homers inside the park _ on May 22, 1965, versus the Mets’ Jack Fisher at the original Busch Stadium, and on May 3, 1970, against the Astros’ Tom Griffin at Busch Memorial Stadium.

In 1976, Brock hit two inside-the-park homers.

The first of those came on June 18, his 37th birthday, and it was the second homer hit inside the park by a Cardinals batter that night at Busch Memorial Stadium.

In the fourth inning, the Cardinals’ Hector Cruz hit a pitch from the Padres’ Randy Jones deep to left-center. As Willie Davis leaped for it, he banged into the wall and the ball careened back toward the infield. Cruz circled the bases as Davis chased the ball, and scored just ahead of the relay throw from Enzo Hernandez.

Brock batted in the next inning against Jones and hit a drive to right-center. The ball got past Dave Winfield, hit a seam in the artificial surface, bounced over Davis, who was backing up the play, and rolled to the wall. Brock raced around the bases before Tito Fuentes could make a relay throw to the plate. Boxscore

“All in a day’s work _ a hard day’s work,” Brock said to the Post-Dispatch.

Asked about achieving the feat at 37, Brock replied to the Associated Press, “Age don’t mean nothing. It’s only when you can’t do the job any more that it counts.”

Three months later, on Sept. 8, 1976, Brock hit another homer inside the park at St. Louis. The pitcher was the Expos’ Chuck Taylor, Brock’s former Cardinals teammate.

Brock’s final inside-the-park homer was hit on Sept. 21, 1977, against the Expos’ Hal Dues at Montreal. Boxscore

The career leader in inside-the-park home runs is Jesse Burkett, who played in the majors from 1890 to 1905. He hit 55 inside-the-park homers, including 19 with the Cardinals and eight with the Browns.

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How Tommy Davis won a mind game with Bob Gibson

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents on April 18, 2022| 12 Comments »

Tommy Davis twice hit home runs to beat Bob Gibson in 1-0 shutouts pitched by Sandy Koufax.

A two-time National League batting champion who totaled 2,121 hits, Davis batted .167 versus Gibson, but made a lasting impression on the Cardinals’ ace with those game-winning homers.

In his autobiography, Gibson said, “The man on the Dodgers who could beat you, whom you couldn’t let beat you, was Tommy Davis.”

Local guy

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Davis excelled in multiple sports at Boys High School. His basketball teammate was Lenny Wilkens, who launched a Hall of Fame playing career with the St. Louis Hawks.

A right-handed hitter, Davis was a prized baseball prospect. The Phillies and Yankees wanted him, but he chose the Dodgers in 1956 after Jackie Robinson phoned him and made a pitch, according to the Society for American Baseball Research.

The Dodgers departed Brooklyn for Los Angeles after the 1957 season, and Davis made his big-league debut two years later in a game at St. Louis against the Cardinals. Boxscore

In 1960, the Cardinals also were the opponent when Davis got his first big-league hit (against Ron Kline) and his first big-league home run (against Bob Duliba).

Civil rights

in 1961, the Dodgers’ spring training site, Holman Stadium in Vero Beach, Fla., still had segregated seating and segregated bathrooms. According to author Jane Leavy in the book “Sandy Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy,” Davis led a contingent of Dodgers players to see Peter O’Malley, who was in charge of the facility, and said to him, “We got to change this.”

O’Malley agreed, but at the ballpark the next day the black fans, unconvinced they could sit where they wanted, were in what had been the segregated section near the right field corner. According to Leavy, Davis and his teammates “took them by the hand and led them out of the stands” and showed them it was all right to sit anywhere. “Directing traffic until they got used to it,” Davis said.

Smart hitter

A couple of months later, on May 25, 1961, 6,878 spectators attended a Thursday night matchup between Koufax and Gibson at St. Louis.

Davis, starting at third base and batting fifth, struck out his first two times at the plate. In “Stranger to the Game,” Gibson said, “I had been striking him out with sliders low and away, and I seemed to have the edge on him.”

Gibson was on a roll, having retired seven consecutive batters, when Davis led off in the seventh inning.

“I had noticed that, as I continued to pitch him outside, Davis was gradually sneaking up toward the plate,” Gibson said. “He was practically on top of the plate, and so, out of duty, I buzzed him inside with a fastball.

“I don’t know if he was setting me up, but he must have been looking for the fastball on his ribs, because he backed off a step, turned on that thing, and crushed it over the left field fence.”

In the book “Sixty Feet, Six Inches,” Gibson said, “I think he was just waiting for me to bring one inside, and I was still young and dumb enough to oblige him.”

Cardinals catcher Hal Smith told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “The pitch Davis hit wasn’t even a strike.”

The home run into the bleacher seats in left-center broke a streak of 20 consecutive scoreless innings for Gibson and was all Koufax needed. He pitched a three-hit shutout for a 1-0 victory. It was the first time Koufax pitched a complete game against the Cardinals. Boxscore

Dodgers pitching coach Joe Becker told the Post-Dispatch, “Finally, after six years of trying, he’s putting all of his baseball abilities together.”

Brooklyn brotherhood

A year later, on June 18, 1962, Gibson and Koufax engaged in another duel before 33,477 attendees on a Monday night at Dodger Stadium.

Through eight innings, the Dodgers’ only hits were two singles by ex-Cardinal Wally Moon. Koufax limited the Cardinals to five singles.

The game was scoreless when Davis batted in the bottom of the ninth with one out and none on.

“Smart guy that I am, I remembered that Davis had beaten me the year before when I stopped pitching him outside and came in with a fastball,” Gibson said in “Stranger to the Game.”

“I thought, ‘Now, he remembers that I remember that pitch inside, and so he’s thinking that there’s no way I’m coming inside again in this situation. Just to cross him up, I’m going to do it again.’

“So, I threw the fastball inside again, and goddamn if he didn’t hit it out again to beat me. I learned right then that the dumbest thing you can do as a pitcher is try to be too smart.”

With the count 1-and-0, Davis told the Post-Dispatch, he was looking for a fastball. “Gibson had been getting me out on breaking stuff,” Davis said. “He was throwing the fastball when he got behind.”

Davis’ walkoff home run deep into the bullpen in left gave Koufax and the Dodgers another 1-0 victory. It was the first time Koufax pitched a complete game without allowing a walk. Boxscore

“There are instances, as Tommy Davis taught me twice over, when a pitcher can think too much,” Gibson said in “Stranger to the Game.” “That was a hard lesson for me.”

In “Sixty Feet, Six Inches,” Gibson said, “It was a textbook case of overthinking. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Worse yet, I went against my better judgment. When I started winning big was when I stopped doing stuff like that.”

After the game, according to Jane Leavy, Davis and his wife went to a Los Angeles nightspot and saw Gibson there.

“I walked over to him and he said, ‘Hi, how you doing, Tom?’ ” Davis told Leavy. “My wife says, ‘Oh, is this the guy you hit the home run off?’ I’m thinking, ‘I’m dead. I’m dead. I’m dead.’ “

Hit man

In September 1963, the Dodgers were a game ahead of the second-place Cardinals entering a series at St. Louis. After the Dodgers won the first two games, Gibson started the finale.

With the Cardinals ahead, 5-1, Davis faced Gibson with the bases loaded in the eighth inning and delivered a two-run single, knocking Gibson from the game. The Dodgers rallied and prevailed in 13 innings, sweeping the series on their way to winning the National League pennant. Boxscore

Davis had an amazing season in 1962, leading the National League in batting (.346), hits (230) and RBI (153). Those were the most hits by a National League player since Stan Musial had 230 for the 1948 Cardinals, and the most RBI by a National League player since Joe Medwick had 154 for the 1937 Cardinals.

Davis repeated as National League batting champion in 1963, hitting .326.

In May 1965, Davis broke his right ankle and he wasn’t the same ballplayer after that. Coveted as a designated hitter in the American League in the 1970s, he played 18 seasons in the majors and hit .294.

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How Cardinals put Willie Stargell into a funk at the plate

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers on April 11, 2022| 8 Comments »

Early in his Hall of Fame career, Pirates slugger Willie Stargell experienced a humbling stretch of futility against the Cardinals.

Stargell struck out swinging in seven consecutive plate appearances versus the Cardinals in September 1964.

Recalling the embarrassment he felt, Stargell told the Atlanta Constitution, “I literally went home and cried.”

Can’t connect

On Sept. 24, 1964, the Cardinals (84-67) were five games behind the first-place Phillies (90-63) when they opened a five-game series against the Pirates at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.

Stargell, 24, was in his second full season with the Pirates. Though he displayed astonishing power, he was vulnerable to left-handed pitching. He also was hampered by torn cartilage in his left knee and bone chips in his left elbow.

The series began with a Thursday doubleheader. Bob Gibson started the opener and pitched a complete game in a 4-2 Cardinals triumph. Boxscore

In his last at-bat in the game, Stargell struck out. (Stargell had more career strikeouts (41) than hits (38) versus Gibson, including a whiff for the last out of Gibson’s 1971 no-hitter.)

Left-hander Ray Sadecki started the second game of the doubleheader and pitched a five-hit shutout in a 4-0 Cardinals victory. Boxscore

Stargell struck out in all four of his plate appearances versus Sadecki, giving him five consecutive whiffs for the night. (Stargell had three hits, all singles, in 50 career at-bats versus Sadecki and struck out 22 times against him.)

“Sadecki completely handcuffed Willie Stargell,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

In Game 3 of the series on Friday night, another left-hander, Gordon Richardson, made his sixth start of the season for the Cardinals.

Stargell fanned his first two times at the plate against Richardson, stretching his strikeout streak to seven.

He ended the futility with a single against right-handed reliever Ron Taylor in the seventh, drawing a mocking ovation from the crowd.

The next time up, in the ninth, Stargell struck out facing right-handed knuckleball specialist Barney Schultz. Boxscore

Sultans of swish

That was Stargell’s last at-bat of the season. He missed the Pirates’ final nine games, including the last two of the Cardinals series.

While the Cardinals completed a five-game sweep of the Pirates, the Reds won five in a row against the Mets, and the Phillies lost four straight to the Braves. With a week left in the season, the Reds were in first place, 1.5 games ahead of the Cardinals.

On the last day of the season, the Cardinals clinched the pennant, finishing a game ahead of the Phillies and Reds.

Stargell underwent knee surgery on Sept. 30, 1964. For the season, he hit 21 home runs and struck out 92 times. He hit .295 against right-handers and .188 versus left-handers. Stargell had 16 hits and 32 strikeouts against left-handers in 1964.

The only time Stargell led the National League in most times striking out in a season was 1971. Stargell whiffed 154 times that year, but also led the league in home runs (48) and extra-base hits (74).

Stargell struck out 1,936 times in his big-league career. The only left-handed batters who struck out more were Reggie Jackson (2,597), Jim Thome (2,548) and Adam Dunn (2,379).

Stargell is tied with another left-handed batter, the Cardinals’ Stan Musial, for career home runs (475), but Stargell struck out almost three times as much as Musial did (696).

According to Baseball Almanac, pitcher Sandy Koufax of the 1955 Dodgers holds the National League record for striking out in the most consecutive plate appearances (12). The last of those 12 strikeouts came against the Cardinals’ Ben Flowers.

The National League record by a batter other than a pitcher for striking out in the most consecutive plate appearances is nine. The three players who did that were Adolfo Phillips of the 1966 Cubs, Eric Davis of the 1987 Reds and Mark Reynolds of the 2007 Diamondbacks.

 

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Why the Cardinals dealt Chick Hafey to the Reds

Posted in Executives, Games, Hitters, Trades on April 8, 2022| 5 Comments »

The Cardinals traded the National League batting champion, who also had the best outfield arm in the game, because they didn’t want to pay him.

On April 11, 1932, six months after they became World Series champions, the Cardinals dealt left fielder Chick Hafey to the Reds for pitcher Benny Frey, first baseman Harvey Hendrick and cash.

The trade was made by Cardinals executive Branch Rickey, with approval from club owner Sam Breadon, because for the second consecutive year Hafey was prepared to sit out the start of the season in a contract dispute.

At a time when players had little leverage to negotiate other than holding out, Hafey was fed up with being underpaid by the Cardinals and was determined to get what he considered fair compensation for performance that eventually earned him election to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Special talent

Born and raised in Berkeley, Calif., Hafey was a 20-year-old pitching prospect when the Cardinals signed him in 1923 on the recommendation of Charles Chapman, a University of California professor and friend of Rickey, according to the Society for American Baseball Research.

Impressed by Hafey’s hitting at Cardinals training camp that spring, Rickey, the club’s manager, made him an outfielder.

Hafey went into the farm system, hit .360 for Houston in 1924, and was called up to the Cardinals in August that year. He took over as the Cardinals’ left fielder in 1927 and went on a torrid five-year run, even though he suffered from severe sinus problems that weakened his vision.

J. Roy Stockton of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch described Hafey as “a man who hit line drives against the fences, one of the most powerful hitters ever to wear a Cardinals uniform.”

One of the first players to use eyeglasses, Hafey hit .329 or better each year from 1927 to 1931.

“He was, next to Rogers Hornsby, the best right-handed hitter I ever saw, even though he really couldn’t see well,” Cardinals infielder Andy High told Bob Broeg of the Post-Dispatch.

In the book “The Gashouse Gang,” Spud Davis, a National League catcher for 16 seasons, said in rating the best right-handed hitters, “The greatest I ever saw was Chick Hafey. He was one of the greatest all-around players, too. He could do everything. He had that arm! He could stand against the fence in left in St. Louis and throw strikes to the plate all day long. The ball came in light as a feather. If his eyes had been good, there’s no telling what he could have done.”

Broeg wrote, “His throwing arm might have been the most powerful ever.”

Moneyball

After hitting .336 with 107 RBI for the 1930 Cardinals and helping them reach the World Series for the third time in five years, Hafey sought an increase in his $9,000 salary.

Unimpressed by what Breadon and Rickey offered, Hafey sat out spring training in 1931 before signing for $12,500 after the regular season started. Because he didn’t play his first game until May 16, the Cardinals docked him $2,000, cutting his salary to $10,500, the Post-Dispatch reported.

In his book, “Memories of a Hall of Fame Sportswriter,” Broeg said, “Hafey was most unfortunately underpaid, a victim, in part, of the Great Depression, and the Cardinals’ tendency to play Scrooge.”

Hafey treated the club better than management treated him. He won the 1931 National League batting title, hitting .349 in 122 games, and helped the Cardinals win the pennant. Hafey also contributed 95 RBI and a .404 on-base percentage.

Hafey figured his performance merited a raise. According to the Post-Dispatch, he wanted a $17,000 salary in 1932 _ $15,000 as a base and $2,000 extra for the amount the Cardinals cut him the year before.

The Cardinals offered $13,000 and “labeled him privately as an ingrate who should have been thankful he’d played on four pennant winners in a six-year period, blithely ignoring his contributions,” Broeg noted.

Take a hike

When it became clear to Breadon and Rickey that Hafey wasn’t going to sign before the start of the 1932 season, they decided to trade him against the wishes of manager Gabby Street, the Dayton Daily News reported.

At 8 p.m. on April 10, 1932, Rickey called Reds owner Sidney Weil, who had been trying to acquire Hafey for almost two years, The Sporting News reported. They talked into the wee hours of the morning and came to an agreement.

What the Cardinals wanted most was cash. In addition to offering pitcher Benny Frey and first baseman Harvey Hendrick, Weil agreed to give the Cardinals “a tremendous amount of cash,” The Sporting News reported.

According to the book “The Spirit of St. Louis,” the amount was $50,000.

On April 11, 1932, the eve of the season opener, the crowd “cheered wildly” when Weil announced the trade in Cincinnati at a joint luncheon of the chamber of commerce and Kiwanis Club, according to The Sporting News.

There was no such cheering in St. Louis, just bad vibes.

In the book “The Pilot Light and the Gashouse Gang,” Broeg described the Cardinals’ treatment of Hafey as “pathetic.”

Post-Dispatch columnist John Wray, siding with management, called Hafey “a chronic conscientious objector” who “sulked himself out of a job with a championship outfit.”

Rickey shamelessly portrayed himself the victim.

“I am not saying Hafey owed anything to this club,” Rickey said to Sid Keener of the St. Louis Star-Times. “He made the hits at the plate and I realize I didn’t swing the bat for him. Nevertheless, it’s kind of tough in this business when a ballplayer loses all traces of loyalty. That’s what hurts me in trading Hafey.”

Hafey signed a $15,000 contract with the 1932 Reds and said to the Associated Press, “I’m ready to go back and bear down.”

Coming and going

A first baseman, Rip Collins, opened the season in left field for the Cardinals. Eventually, 10 players started in left for them in 1932.

On April 24, 1932, the Cardinals stumbled into Cincinnati with a 3-7 record. Hafey had asked manager Dan Howley to let him make his Reds debut in the series opener, according to The Sporting News.

Batting cleanup, Hafey had three singles in four at-bats against his former team and snared Pepper Martin’s deep drive to left. Boxscore

Hafey went on to hit .303 against the Cardinals in his career.

In September 1932, the Cardinals called up slugger Joe Medwick, who took over in left. Like Hafey, Medwick would have a Hall of Fame career. He also would run afoul of Breadon and Rickey regarding pay _ and was traded to the Dodgers primarily for cash, of course.

(Rickey had a personal incentive to trade players for cash because his contract called for him to get a percentage of the sale as remuneration in addition to his salary.)

Neither Frey nor Hendrick lasted long with the Cardinals. Within two months of acquiring them, the Cardinals returned both to the Reds for _ you guessed it _ more cash.

Hafey hit .344 for the 1932 Reds but a bout with influenza limited him to 83 games.

In 13 seasons with the Cardinals and Reds, Hafey hit .317. He hit more home runs from the No. 5 spot in the batting order than any player in Cardinals history, according to researcher Tom Orf.

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Goodbye to Cardinals pinch-hitters like Adam Wainwright

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers on March 24, 2022| 15 Comments »

Adam Wainwright may be the last pitcher to produce a pinch-hit for the Cardinals.

With the designated hitter being used in the National League for the first time in 2022, it may be a while before the Cardinals pick a pitcher to be a pinch-hitter. Even if a pitcher was needed to bat, the odds would be against him getting a hit after a long layoff as a batter.

According to researcher Tom Orf, the last time a Cardinals pitcher got a hit as a pinch-hitter was April 8, 2017, when Wainwright did it in a game against the Reds at St. Louis.

Late in the game, Wainwright did “significant lobbying” for a chance to pinch-hit, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said to Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

In the eighth inning, with one out, none on, and the Cardinals ahead, 9-3, Matheny sent Wainwright to bat for pitcher Jonathan Broxton. Wainwright singled to left against Drew Storen. Boxscore

Explaining why hitting was “something serious” to him, Wainwright told Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch, “You can win one or two games a year if you get a key hit, a key bunt.”

Big thrill

Wainwright, who hit a home run in his first plate appearance in the majors, is the last Cardinals pitcher to produce a RBI as a pinch-hitter, according to Orf.

It happened on June 10, 2016, at Pittsburgh. With the score tied at 3-3 in the 12th inning, the Cardinals had Matt Carpenter on first, two outs, Aledmys Diaz at the plate and Jonathan Broxton on deck.

Because the Cardinals had no more position players on the bench, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle ordered pitcher Juan Nicasio to give an intentional pass to Diaz, moving Carpenter into scoring position. Hurdle decided he’d rather have a pitcher at the plate than Diaz, the Cardinals’ rookie shortstop.

“I really struggle with having Diaz given an opportunity to beat us there when we figured Wainwright would be hitting next,” Hurdle told the Post-Dispatch.

Sent by Matheny to bat for Broxton, Wainwright hit a double to left-center, scoring Carpenter and Diaz and giving the Cardinals a 5-3 lead. The Cardinals scored six runs in the inning and won, 9-3. Boxscore and Video

Asked about Hurdle’s strategy, Wainwright told Rick Hummel, “I get it. I’m a pitcher and the odds are probably a lot less that I’m going to get a hit than Aledmys.”

Wainwright, who had 75 career RBI, called the two-run double as a pinch-hitter “one of the highlights of my career.”

“I’m like a kid in a candy store,” Wainwright said. “Winning the World Series is about the only time I could be happier than I am now.”

For his career with the Cardinals, Wainwright had five hits in 21 at-bats as a pinch-hitter, with three RBI.

His teammate, pitcher Jason Marquis, had six hits as a Cardinals pinch-hitter. Playing for manager Tony La Russa, Marquis was 3-for-9 as a pinch-hitter in 2005 and 3-for-10 in 2006, but he had no RBI.

The last Cardinals pitcher to hit a home run as a pinch-hitter was Gene Stechschulte in 2001. It came against Armando Reynoso of the Diamondbacks in Stechschulte’s first plate appearance in the big leagues.

Take that

Pitcher Bob Gibson had three hits in 11 career at-bats as a Cardinals pinch-hitter. He totaled 144 RBI, three as a pinch-hitter.

Gibson’s first RBI as a pinch-hitter came on Aug. 8, 1965, at St. Louis. Batting for pitcher Barney Schultz, Gibson, 29, doubled to left against Warren Spahn, 44, scoring Mike Shannon from second. Boxscore

Gibson hit .269 (7-for-26) versus Spahn in his career.

Nine months later, on April 17, 1966, the Cardinals played the Pirates at Pittsburgh. In the fifth inning, with Roberto Clemente at bat, Cardinals starter Nelson Briles “hummed a high fastball past Roberto’s left ear” and Clemente “hit the dirt to escape being clipped,” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

When Clemente got up, he glared at Briles and then at the Cardinals’ dugout. Gibson yelled at him, “I’d do the same thing to you.”

According to the Post-Gaztette, after the inning ended, Gibson shouted in the direction of Clemente and the Pirates’ dugout, “If you want a piece of me, you know where to come.”

Two innings later, manager Red Schoendienst sent Gibson to bat for reliever Ray Sadecki with the bases loaded. Facing Bob Veale, Gibson singled to right, where Clemente was stationed, and drove in two runs. Boxscore

As the Pirates took the field in the eighth, Gibson went to the clubhouse via the Pirates’ dugout. “No one said a word to him,” the Post-Gazette reported.

(A year later, Clemente hit a ball that struck Gibson, fracturing his leg.)

Gibson hit .538 (7-for-1) versus Veale in his career.

Both Spahn and Veale threw left-handed. A right-handed batter, Gibson hit .222 against left-handers and .199 versus right-handers.

Postscript

One of the most remarkable seasons by a Cardinals pitcher was achieved by Curt Davis in 1939. He had a 22-16 record and hit .381 (40-for-105) that year. As a pinch-hitter in 1939, Davis batted .357 (5-for-14) with no RBI.

Two of the Cardinals’ best-hitting pitchers, Dizzy Dean and Bob Forsch, were hitless as pinch-hitters.

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How Cardinals tried to get Elston Howard, Whitey Ford

Posted in Hitters, Pitchers, Trades on March 21, 2022| 6 Comments »

(Updated Jan. 11, 2025)

In December 1960, the Cardinals made a bid to acquire catcher Elston Howard from the Yankees. While they were at it, they tried for pitcher Whitey Ford, too.

It was an audacious attempt, coming two months after a World Series in which Howard hit .462 and Ford pitched a pair of shutouts, but Cardinals general manager Bing Devine indicated the Yankees gave him reason to try.

The Cardinals offered pitchers Larry Jackson and Ron Kline, plus catcher Hal Smith, for Ford, Howard and pitcher Ryne Duren.

The Yankees said no _ and, as it turned out, were mighty glad they did so.

Local connection

The Cardinals were in the market for a power hitter because in 1960 only one player, Ken Boyer, hit more than 17 home runs for them. Howard hit for power and played multiple positions _ catcher, outfield and first base.

“Anybody who can play two or three positions capably is going to be able to write his own ticket, and Howard can do that,” Devine told Bob Burnes of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. “He’s probably the best catcher in the American League, but can do almost as well in the outfield or at first base.”

Born and raised in St. Louis, Howard did well in a tryout with the Cardinals after he graduated from Vashon High School in the late 1940s, but the club wasn’t signing black players then and never made him an offer.

When Howard reached the big leagues in 1955 at 26, he was the first black Yankees player _ eight years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier with the Dodgers and one year after the first black, Tom Alston, played for the Cardinals.

In 1960, Howard was an American League all-star for the fourth consecutive season. Devine “tried hard to land him,” the Globe-Democrat reported.

Connecting the dots

After losing to the Pirates in the 1960 World Series, the Yankees replaced manager Casey Stengel with Ralph Houk and general manager George Weiss with Roy Hamey.

The Yankees had three catchers, Howard (31), fellow St. Louisan Yogi Berra (35) and Johnny Blanchard (27), and Houk was considering moving Berra to the outfield, the Globe-Democrat reported.

In his book “Season of Glory,” Houk said Berra “looked kind of funny on the ballfield, kind of short and lumpy, but he was a great athlete. One thing that always impressed me about him was how fast he could run. He didn’t look fast, but Yogi ran better than anyone realized.”

According to The Sporting News, “The Cardinals had heard reports that, because of the rapid development of Johnny Blanchard, the Yankees might be willing to trade Howard.”

If that was so, Devine figured, Cardinals catcher Hal Smith, a defensive specialist, might appeal to the Yankees as an experienced backup to Blanchard.

Also, reliever Ryne Duren, who had 67 strikeouts in 49 innings for the 1960 Yankees, appeared obtainable to the Cardinals because of reports he “was in the doghouse with Houk,” The Sporting News reported.

The Yankees had expressed interest in Cardinals pitcher Ron Kline, according to The Sporting News.

Devine approached Hamey with an offer of Smith and Kline for Howard and Duren. The Yankees wanted more, and that’s how Larry Jackson and Whitey Ford got mentioned, The Sporting News noted.

Expanding the offer

Ford (32) was the Yankees’ ace, but he experienced shoulder problems during the 1960 season and finished 12-9, his lowest winning percentage (.571) since entering the majors in 1950. Before he shut out the Pirates in Games 3 and 6 of the World Series, the Yankees talked to the Giants about a swap of Ford for pitcher Johnny Antonelli, the Associated Press reported.

That gave Devine the idea Ford may be obtainable in exchange for another quality starter. In order to expand the deal for Howard, Devine offered Larry Jackson, an 18-game winner for the Cardinals in 1960, if the Yankees would swap Ford.

On Dec. 5, 1960, a headline in the Globe-Democrat declared, “Redbirds May Land Ford, Howard.”

“The possibility of a Cardinals-Yankees trade, involving major athletes on both sides, picked up steam,” Jack Herman reported in the Globe-Democrat. “One thing that’s been established is the fact that Ford is on the block.”

According to John Fox, sports editor of the Binghamton (N.Y.) Press and Sun-Bulletin, the Cardinals said “the offer stood only if Ford was inspected first by a physician of their naming.”

Ford told the Associated Press, “I don’t know if I’d quit or not if I were traded. It all depends on where I was traded.”

Howard said, “I don’t want to be traded. I’m happy where I am.”

No deal

On Dec. 6, 1960, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Yankees co-owner Dan Topping “turned thumbs down” on the Cardinals’ proposal. “We won’t deal Howard,” he said.

Though Houk told The Sporting News that “talk of our considering any offer which included Ford was based on hot air,” the Binghamton newspaper reported the reason the proposal was rejected “was not the idea of including Duren or Ford, but the request for Howard.”

In his autobiography, Houk said, “Ellie could hit. The ball jumped off his bat. His ground balls would go through the infield like a shot.”

The Cardinals’ chances for a deal also were hampered by the entrance of the Dodgers into trade talks for Howard. “We got a better proposition from the Dodgers,” Houk told The Sporting News. 

According to the Los Angeles Times, the Dodgers offered pitcher Johnny Podres and outfielder Duke Snider for Howard.

If the Yankees added rookie pitcher Bill Short to the package, the deal with the Dodgers would have been made, United Press International reported.

Instead, the Yankees stayed pat, and got rewarded.

In 1961, Ford was 25-4, got two more wins in the World Series against the Reds and received the Cy Young Award. Howard batted a career-high .348 with 21 home runs. Two years later, he won the 1963 American League Most Valuable Player Award.

In the book “We Would have Played For Nothing,” Ford said Howard would “scrape the ball up a little for me” with his shin guard.” Ford said he told Howard, “Elston, if I want to do that, I can handle it myself. You don’t have to help me.”

 

 

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