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Archive for the ‘Hitters’ Category

How Cardinals became intrigued by Julio Gotay

Posted in Games, Hitters, Prospects on January 28, 2022| 6 Comments »

Red Schoendienst, who knew a thing or two about baseball skill, said Julio Gotay reminded him of Pepper Martin. Branch Rickey, another pretty good talent evaluator, insisted the Cardinals would be better with Gotay than with Dick Groat.

In 1962, Gotay was the Cardinals’ starting shortstop.

He turned out to be a can’t-miss prospect who did _ miss, that is.

Gotay had the athletic ability, but apparently lacked most of the rest of what it took to do the job for the Cardinals.

Fast rise

Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Gotay was a teenager playing amateur baseball there when he was spotted by former Cardinals catcher Mickey Owen, who was managing a winter league club. Owen told the Cardinals about Gotay and they signed him, sight unseen, on Owen’s recommendation, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

In 1957, the year he turned 18, Gotay began his professional career in the Cardinals’ system, playing for teams in Florida and Virginia. The following season, he was assigned to Winnipeg and got a chilly reception. The Canadian club’s first three games were called off because of “the heaviest snowfall of the year combined with record-low temperatures,” The Sporting News reported.

It was the first time Gotay saw snow.

Warming to the challenge, Gotay hit .323 with 24 home runs and 95 RBI as the Winnipeg third baseman.

Intrigued, the Cardinals invited Gotay, 19, to work with the big-league team at spring training in 1959. Marty Marion, the shortstop on the Cardinals’ four pennant-winning teams of the 1940s, was brought in to provide instruction to Gotay. Marion’s mission was to teach him to be a shortstop.

Alex Grammas had been projected to be the shortstop for the 1959 Cardinals until manager Solly Hemus became enamored of Gotay. “He’ll have to play himself off the ballclub,” Hemus, a former shortstop, told the Post-Dispatch.

In addition to swinging “a vicious bat,” Gotay displayed “a powerful throwing arm, good ranging ability and deft hands … He has handled several bad bounces by split-second shifting of his glove,” The Sporting News reported.

As the 1959 opener approached, the Cardinals decided to stick with Grammas because of his smooth fielding and big-league experience, and send Gotay to the minors to continue his development.

According to The Sporting News, Marion recommended the Cardinals put Gotay with a Class A team. Instead, he was assigned to Class AA Tulsa.

Jittery play

Gotay made 50 errors with Tulsa in 1959, but hit .284 with 17 home runs. Cardinals scout Fred Hawn told the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, “He’ll be one of the most exciting players in the majors in a couple of years.”

The Cardinals promoted Gotay to Class AAA Rochester in 1960, but he slumped and complained of a nervous stomach. Sent back to Tulsa, Gotay relaxed and played better.

In August 1960, when injuries left the Cardinals with a depleted bench, they called up Gotay. In his first at-bat in the majors, he singled against the Reds’ Joe Nuxhall. Boxscore

Gotay should have been a candidate for a spot on the 1961 Cardinals, but he developed an eye infection, missed most of spring training and was assigned to Class AAA.

Daryl Spencer began the season as the Cardinals’ shortstop but was traded to the Dodgers in May. The Cardinals tried Grammas and Bob Lillis but neither hit well enough. Next, they called up Gotay.

Experiencing what The Sporting News called “butterflies under major-league pressure,” Gotay made three errors at Pittsburgh in his first start. Boxscore 

In a game at Cincinnati, two wild throws by Gotay landed in different dugouts on consecutive plays. In trying to complete a double play on a grounder by Vada Pinson, Gotay’s throw sailed into the first-base dugout and Pinson advanced to second. On the next play, Gotay fielded a grounder and tried to throw out Pinson at third, but the ball went into the third-base dugout and Pinson scored. Boxscore

In 10 June starts at shortstop for the 1961 Cardinals, Gotay made 10 errors. Returned to Class AAA, Gotay mostly played second base and hit .307. 

High hopes

After the 1961 season, Cardinals general manager Bing Devine tried to acquire power-hitting shortstop Woodie Held from the Indians, “but I don’t see how we can give up what they want,” he told The Sporting News.

A factor in Devine’s decision to end his pursuit of Held was the play of Gotay in winter ball at Puerto Rico. Cardinals manager Johnny Keane went to Puerto Rico for a week, specifically to watch Gotay, and filed an encouraging report.

Devine said, “Gotay is having his best winter ever. He has become more confident, which may help overcome his tendency to be erratic. We know he has the ability.”

Competing against another prospect, Jerry Buchek, and Grammas at spring training, Gotay won the starting shortstop job with the 1962 Cardinals.

“Julio has a tremendous amount of raw ability,” Keane told The Sporting News. “I’m elated over what he has shown me.”

Red Schoendienst, a player-coach with the 1962 Cardinals said, “Gotay reminds me of (1930s Gashouse Gang player) Pepper Martin because he’s awkward but quick and effective. Strong, too. He’ll make it.”

Gotay, who joined an infield of Bill White, Julian Javier and Ken Boyer, performed well early in the season. He hit .302 in April and .313 in May. A 12-game hitting streak raised his batting mark to .333 on May 4. A week later, he went 4-for-4 and reached base six times in a game versus the Dodgers. Three of those hits came against Sandy Koufax. Boxscore

Gotay fielded well, too, He made three errors in 15 games in April and four errors in 30 games in May.

The Sporting News declared that Gotay “stands a good chance of having the longest reign as a Cardinals shortstop since Marty Marion’s day.”

Magic missing

After that, Gotay’s season began to unravel. He hit .214 in June and .205 in July. He made as many errors in June as he did in the first two months combined.

In his book “Stranger to the Game,” Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson said Gotay “seemed to have all of the physical skills. We would learn the hard way, however, that the physical skills aren’t always enough.”

According to Gibson, Gotay “was interested in neither discipline nor fundamentals, which translated into an uncommon number of errors and foolish mistakes.”

In addition, Gibson said, Gotay “kept spooking us with voodoo. Most of us didn’t take the voodoo seriously, but now and then things would happen to make us a little uneasy.”

Gotay finished the 1962 season with a .255 batting average and 24 errors in 120 games. His main problem, The Sporting News suggested, “seems to be chiefly a matter of emotion and lack of maturity.”

Devine wanted to trade Gotay to the Pirates for shortstop Dick Groat, but Branch Rickey, who rejoined the Cardinals as a consultant and had the ear of club owner Gussie Busch, “still is high on Gotay,” The Sporting News reported.

In November 1962, Rickey reluctantly relented and Devine made the swap, but “Rickey hated the deal,” author David Halberstam wrote in “October 1964.”

Groat turned out to be the answer to the Cardinals’ shortstop need. He helped them contend in 1963 and become World Series champions in 1964.

Gotay was a bust with the Pirates. He went on to become a utility player with the Angels and Astros. He finished his playing career in 1971, hitting .302 for the Cardinals’ Tulsa farm team.

Though Gotay didn’t develop into an all-star, he had noteworthy achievements.

In a 1967 game versus the Cardinals, Gotay was 5-for-5. Four of the hits came against Bob Gibson. Boxscore

For his career, Gotay worked his voodoo versus Gibson, hitting .500 (8-for-16) against him. He also hit .438 (7-for-16) against Juan Marichal and .667 (4-for-6) versus Whitey Ford.

A nephew, Ruben Gotay, spent time in the Cardinals’ farm system and played in the majors with the Royals, Mets and Braves.

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How Gene Oliver became Cardinals’ San Francisco treat

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents on January 20, 2022| 8 Comments »

Gene Oliver didn’t deliver as many home runs as the Cardinals hoped he would, but he did hit one for them that made him popular in San Francisco.

In 1962, Oliver was the Cardinals’ starting catcher. He got the job because the Cardinals thought he could hit with consistent power and drive in runs. Instead, he finished fourth on the club in home runs (14) and sixth in RBI (45).

Oliver’s shining moment came in the Cardinals’ last game of the season when his game-winning home run against the Dodgers kept them from clinching the National League pennant and gave the Giants a chance to enter a playoff.

Big bopper

Oliver was born in Moline, Ill., one of the Quad Cities along the Mississippi River. He was a standout high school athlete in neighboring Rock Island, Ill. Oliver was considered a professional baseball prospect until, as a prep football player, he suffered a shoulder separation that hindered his ability to throw a baseball.

He went to Northwestern on a football scholarship for one year, returned to Moline, got a job with IBM and married, according to The Sporting News.

“I was ready to forget about pro baseball,” Oliver said, “but my wife insisted I try again because she didn’t want me to go through life wondering whether I might have made it.”

Oliver worked out daily at the YMCA and rebuilt his arm strength. Acting on a tip, the Cardinals monitored him and liked what they saw. Oliver was 21 when Cardinals scout Joe Monahan signed him to a contract in 1956.

Playing mostly outfield and first base, Oliver hit 39 home runs for Class D Ardmore (Okla.) in 1956 and 30 home runs for Class B Winston-Salem in 1957. He advanced to Class AAA Rochester in 1958 and, with his arm strength improving, he also did some catching.

The Cardinals called up Oliver in June 1959, but he spent the next season in the minors.

Because of his power potential and ability to play three positions, Oliver was a candidate for a utility spot with the Cardinals in 1961, but he reported to spring training at 238 pounds.

Describing his physique as “balloon-like,” The Sporting News reported the Cardinals were close to giving up on Oliver until he made amends by focusing on conditioning. He was 210 pounds when the Cardinals opened the 1961 season with him on the roster as a reserve.

In May 1961, the Cardinals sent Oliver to their Portland farm club in Oregon. A month later, the Cardinals’ catcher, Hal Smith, had to quit playing because of a heart ailment. Oliver, playing first base, was hitting with power for Portland. With Bill White having a lock on the Cardinals’ first base job, the club sent Smith to Portland to tutor Oliver in becoming a catcher.

“His throwing has improved and, yes, I think he has a good chance to stick in the majors,” Smith told The Sporting News.

Oliver hit .302 with 36 home runs and 100 RBI for Portland. His on-base percentage was .422. He returned to the Cardinals in September 1961, started 12 games at catcher and “showed 100 percent improvement behind the plate,” The Sporting News reported.

Getting his chance

The top three home run hitters for the 1961 Cardinals _ Ken Boyer (24), Bill White (20) and Stan Musial (15) _ totaled fewer home runs than Roger Maris had (61) for the 1961 Yankees. The Cardinals “desperately needed a power hitter,” The Sporting News reported. “They may have the answer in Gene Oliver.”

Oliver, 27, reported to spring training in 1962 at a fit 210 pounds and won the starting catcher job. His backups when the season opened were left-handed batter Carl Sawatski, 34, and defensive specialist Jimmie Schaffer, 26. Catching prospect Tim McCarver, 20, was deemed not ready and sent to the minors.

To the disappointment of the Cardinals, Oliver failed to provide power production early in the 1962 season. He hit one home run in April and one in May.

On April 22 at St. Louis, the Cardinals, trailing the Cubs, 5-1, loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Curt Flood, hitting .519 on the young season, was due to bat. Flood had two singles and a walk in the game, but manager Johnny Keane sent Oliver to bat for him.

“We needed the knockout blow,” Keane told The Sporting News. “We knew we could count on Flood for a hit, but we needed more than that.”

Oliver struck out looking against Cal Koonce, ending the game. Boxscore

In June, Oliver switched from a 33-ounce bat to a 35-ounce model, but it didn’t help increase his home run totals much.

Decking the Dodgers

Through August, Oliver had seven home runs for the season. He told The Sporting News that Keane said to him, “We’ve got a lot of singles hitters on this club, and we need punch from you.”

Keane determined Oliver had become defensive in his swing because he was reluctant to strike out. He advised Oliver to take “a good cut because we don’t care how many times you strike out.”

Oliver hit seven home runs in September. The big blow was the last.

On Sept. 30, 1962, the last scheduled day of the regular season, the first-place Dodgers were one game ahead of the Giants in the National League standings. If the Dodgers beat the Cardinals that afternoon in Los Angeles, they’d clinch the pennant and advance to the World Series.

At San Francisco, the Giants beat the Colt .45s, 2-1, on a tie-breaking home run by Willie Mays against Turk Farrell in the eighth inning. Boxscore

At Los Angeles, the Cardinals and Dodgers were locked in a scoreless duel. About the time the Giants’ win was posted on the scoreboard, Oliver batted against Johnny Podres with one out in the eighth.

“I went up to the plate looking for a curve, looking for the long ball,” Oliver told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “That’s all Podres throws me, breaking stuff.”

Podres, pitching on his 30th birthday, threw two fastballs to Oliver for strikes. Oliver turned to catcher John Roseboro and said, “You’ve really fooled me.”

The next pitch was a curve that missed, making the count 1-and-2. Podres came back with another curve, and Oliver lined it over the fence in left for a home run.

Oliver’s home run, combined with the five-hit shutout pitched by Curt Simmons, gave the Cardinals a 1-0 victory and dropped the Dodgers into a first-place tie with the Giants. Boxscore

“I pitched the best game of my life,” Podres said to the Los Angeles Times. “Even the pitch to Oliver was a good one, a curve in tight.”

Yes, Podres said, his performance against the Cardinals was better than the shutout he pitched to win Game 7 of the 1955 World Series for the Dodgers versus the Yankees. Boxscore

In the ensuing best-of-three playoff to determine the 1962 National League champion, the Giants prevailed.

Toast of the town

Restaurant owners Leo Giorgetti and Sam Marconi invited Oliver and his wife to San Francisco on an all-expenses paid trip for the first two games of the 1962 World Series.

Giorgetti and Marconi owned The Iron Horse restaurant and the Gold Street saloon. The Iron Horse was popular with athletes and entertainers. Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe had their wedding reception there.

Dubbing Oliver’s appearance as “San Francisco Appreciation Day,” the restauranteurs took out an advertisement in the San Francisco Examiner, informing fans that, after the Thursday afternoon Game 1 of the World Series, an autograph party with the Cardinals catcher would be held at the Gold Street saloon from 7 pm to 9 pm, followed by dinner at The Iron Horse.

Oliver also was “the key figure in an impromptu parade” on the first day of the World Series, Bob Burnes of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported.

According to Burnes, Oliver “has become the most lionized visitor in recent San Francisco history.”

Moving on

The fanfare in San Francisco was heady stuff for a player who hit .258 overall for the 1962 Cardinals and .190 with runners in scoring position.

Back in Moline, Ill., for the winter, Oliver worked for a clothing store, Mosenfelder’s, selling suits.

Entering spring training in 1963, Stan Musial told The Sporting News, “We can look for more long ball from Gene Oliver. He seems to have found himself.”

It became apparent, though, that Tim McCarver was the Cardinals’ best catcher in 1963. In the book “We Played the Game,” McCarver said Oliver “was a good hitter but had a weak throwing arm.”

On June 15, 1963, the Cardinals traded Oliver and pitcher Bob Sadowski to the Braves for pitcher Lew Burdette. To make room for Oliver on their roster, the Braves sent catcher Bob Uecker to the minors.

Oliver had his best season with the 1965 Braves, hitting 21 home runs. In June 1967, the Braves traded him to the Phillies _ for Bob Uecker.

As a big-leaguer, Oliver hit 93 home runs, including four versus Sandy Koufax. Oliver had a career batting average of .392 against Koufax (20 for 51).

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The story of how Red Schoendienst shocked Orlando Cepeda

Posted in Games, Hitters, Managers, Opponents on January 1, 2022| 8 Comments »

Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst had the self-confidence to make a bold decision when he thought it would give his team its best chance to win.

A prime example of how Schoendienst put team ahead of individual occurred on July 22, 1968, when the Cardinals trailed the Phillies by two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning.

With two on and none out, Orlando Cepeda was due to bat for the Cardinals. Cepeda was the cleanup hitter and the most recent winner of the National League Most Valuable Player Award, but he hadn’t been producing lately with runners in scoring position.

Schoendienst chose to let Lou Brock bat for Cepeda. The move stunned Cepeda, who never had been removed for a pinch-hitter, but the decision to let one future Hall of Famer bat for another turned out well.

Setting the table

Sparked by a three-run home run from Don Lock against Steve Carlton, the Phillies led the Cardinals, 4-2, entering the last of the ninth at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

The Cardinals’ first batter was Julian Javier. Using a bat borrowed from Curt Flood, he fought off an inside fastball from Phillies left-hander Woodie Fryman and blooped a single into shallow right, breaking the bat.

“It was my sweet stroker,” Flood told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch when asked about the bat. “I had used it a couple of weeks.”

John Boozer, a right-hander with a 1-0 record and five saves, relieved Fryman. The first batter he faced, Flood, noticed that third baseman Tony Taylor was playing back on the infield and guarding the line against an extra-base hit. Flood made the decision to try for a bunt single.

“Flood laid down a gorgeous drag bunt,” the Philadelphia Daily News reported.

Taylor charged in, grabbed the ball and threw high to first. Flood easily beat the throw for a single, and Javier advanced to second.

Phillies manager Bob Skinner, a former Cardinals teammate of Flood, said, “Give the guy credit for making the play. It’s a do or die play.”

Rare opportunity

With runners on first and second, none out, the situation seemed ideal for Cepeda, who had 111 RBI for the Cardinals the previous year, but Schoendienst had other ideas.

Cepeda had produced a mere two RBI for the month and none since July 13. (He ended up with five RBI for July.) Cardinals fans booed him the day before when he was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts versus Mets left-hander Jerry Koosman.

Though Cepeda hit well against Boozer in his career (.375 with two home runs), it was a different story in 1968. Cepeda would go hitless in four at-bats versus Boozer for the year.

Schoendienst liked the notion of having Brock, a left-handed batter, face Boozer. (Brock would hit .391 versus Boozer in his career and go 3-for-5 against him in 1968. Also, left-handed batters would hit .352 versus Boozer for the season.) Plus, Schoendienst figured Brock was less likely to hit into a double play. (Cepeda grounded into a team-high 13 double plays in 1968 compared with four by Brock.)

With the Phillies starting a left-hander (Fryman), Schoendienst had intended to give Brock, who complained of leg muscle soreness, a day off, but with the game on the line and Boozer on the mound, the manager couldn’t resist making a move.

“You don’t always have a Brock sitting on your bench in such a situation,” Schoendienst said to the Post-Dispatch. “If there was no Brock, I wouldn’t have used anyone to pinch-hit.”

Right stuff

Cepeda told the Post-Dispatch he never had been lifted for a pinch-hitter at any level of amateur or professional baseball. When Schoendienst sent Brock to bat for him, Cepeda flung his helmet and stormed into the clubhouse.

“Anyone who knows this proud Puerto Rican must realize what a severe blow it was to his pride,” The Sporting News noted.

Brock was seeking his first hit versus the Phillies in 1968. He had gone hitless in 17 at-bats against them.

Using a bat borrowed from Javier, Brock grounded a 2-and-1 pitch from Boozer into right field for a single, scoring Javier and narrowing the Phillies’ lead to 4-3. Flood advanced to third on the play.

It was Brock’s only hit in three appearances as a pinch-batter in 1968. (For his career, Brock batted .258 with 33 hits as a pinch-batter.)

Mike Shannon followed and belted a 2-and-0 pitch from Boozer over Lock’s head in right. The ball bounced into the seats for a ground-rule double. The hit drove in Flood, tying the score at 4-4, and moved Brock to third.

Left-hander Grant Jackson replaced Boozer. Tim McCarver, a left-handed batter, smacked Jackson’s first pitch to deep center, a sacrifice fly that scored Brock with the winning run. Boxscore

Learning experience

Soon afterward, Schoendienst went to the clubhouse and met with Cepeda.

“Cepeda was mad, and it’s good that he was mad because it shows he wants to play,” Schoendienst told the Post-Dispatch.

Cepeda said, “This is a new experience for me. I wanted to bat. I was mad at first, but you never stop learning in this game. The manager made the right move. I haven’t been hitting. You know Brock is not going to hit into many double plays. He’s been hitting well.”

The next night, Cepeda had two hits and scored three runs in a Cardinals rout of the Phillies.

After hitting .325 with 25 home runs and 111 RBI in 1967, Cepeda finished at .248 with 16 homers and 73 RBI in 1968. For the season, he hit .217 with runners in scoring position, but the Cardinals still won their second consecutive National League pennant.

In March 1969, the Cardinals traded Cepeda to the Braves for Joe Torre.

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How Tino Martinez went from Yankees to Cardinals

Posted in Hitters, Managers on December 28, 2021| 7 Comments »

Tino Martinez and Tony La Russa had much in common: Both were born and raised in Tampa, graduated from the same high school, went into the major leagues and helped teams get to the World Series.

On Dec. 18, 2001, Martinez joined La Russa on the Cardinals.

A free-agent first baseman, Martinez had been a consistent run producer for the Yankees, who won five American League pennants and four World Series titles in his six seasons with them.

La Russa had managed the Athletics to three American League pennants and one World Series championship before becoming Cardinals manager.

Though La Russa eventually would win three National League pennants and two World Series crowns with the Cardinals, Martinez wouldn’t get to be a part of that success.

Path to majors

A left-handed batter, Constantino Martinez attended Tampa Catholic High School and helped its baseball team win a state championship in 1982.

After his sophomore year, he transferred to Tampa Jefferson High School. More than 20 years earlier, in 1962, La Russa, a classmate of Martinez’s father, had batted .479 as a shortstop for Jefferson High School. La Russa was signed by the Athletics to a package worth $100,000 the same night he received his high school diploma.

Martinez was a first baseman for Jefferson High School. His friend, Luis Gonzalez, was the second baseman. Gonzalez went on to play 19 seasons in the majors as an outfielder, primarily with the Astros and Diamondbacks.

With Martinez and Gonzalez on the team, Jefferson High School reached the state final before losing to Miami Hialeah.

While attending the University of Tampa, Martinez was selected by the Mariners in the first round of the 1988 amateur baseball draft. Martinez entered the big leagues with the Mariners in August 1990. He played six seasons for them, including 1995, when he produced 31 home runs and 111 RBI.

In December 1995, the Mariners dealt Martinez to the Yankees, who needed a first baseman after the retirement of Don Mattingly.

Playing for manager Joe Torre, who joined the Yankees after being ousted by the Cardinals, Martinez generated 105 or more RBI in five of six seasons with the Yankees. His best year was 1997 when he had 44 home runs and 141 RBI.

In 2001, the Yankees played the Diamondbacks in the World Series. The Diamondbacks’ top hitter was Martinez’s friend and former prep teammate, Luis Gonzalez, who had 57 home runs and 142 RBI that year.

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning of World Series Game 4, Martinez hit a two-run home against Byung-Hyun Kim, tying the score. The Yankees won in the 10th on Derek Jeter’s walkoff home run versus Kim. Boxscore and Video

In the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7, Gonzalez, playing in his lone World Series, drove in the winning run with a single against Mariano Rivera, giving the Diamondbacks the championship. Boxscore

Match game

After the World Series, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman called Martinez’s agent and informed him the club planned to sign free agent Jason Giambi to be their first baseman in 2002. For the first time in his career, Martinez, a month away from turning 34, also was a free agent.

When first baseman Mark McGwire told the Cardinals he was retiring, Martinez saw an opportunity. “St. Louis was my first choice,” he told the Tampa Tribune.

Before the start of the baseball winter meetings in December 2001, Martinez called Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty.

“I asked them to consider me in their plans if I’d fit in,” Martinez told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I wanted to make sure I initiated something so they could keep my name in their minds.”

Jocketty recalled, “With him calling like that, it impressed me a lot. He said he really liked what he saw here and what he perceived this organization to be.”

Thrilled by Martinez’s interest, La Russa told the St. Petersburg Times, “I knew his dad. His family knows our family. I know not just what kind of player he is, I know the character of the player. He’d be a great fit for us.”

Meet me in St. Louis

The Cardinals also were bidding for free-agent outfielder Moises Alou. If they got Alou, they planned to put him in left field and shift Albert Pujols to first base. The club budget allowed for the signing of Alou or Martinez, not both.

Martinez drew interest from the Athletics, Braves and Orioles, but he chose the Cardinals when they offered a three-year contract worth $21 million. The deal also included a club option for a fourth year. The Cubs got Alou with a three-year offer worth $27 million.

According to the Tampa Tribune, the first call Martinez got after signing came from Luis Gonzalez. “He was about as excited as I was,” Martinez said.

La Russa told the Post-Dispatch, “He’s going to be good for our players. He’s got his priorities right. It isn’t about stats and money. It’s about competing and winning.”

In an analysis of the signing, columnist Bernie Miklasz noted, “La Russa covets Tino’s presence and a little dose of that Yankees magic,” but also cautioned that Martinez’s “stroke was custom-fitted for the short dimension down the right-field line at Yankee Stadium.”

Production drop

The first signs of trouble showed at spring training. Martinez hit .180 with no home runs and two RBI in Florida Grapefruit League exhibition games. “Scouts say his bat looked slow in spring training,” The Sporting News reported.

When the season began, Martinez hit .198 in his first 116 at-bats. Published reports noted he repeatedly lunged at low off-speed pitches.

Though his hitting improved in the second half of the 2002 season and his fielding was strong, Martinez fell short of expectations. He hit 21 home runs but had his lowest RBI total (75) since the strike-shortened 1994 season. He hit .246 with runners in scoring position and a mere .207 overall versus left-handers.

Martinez later said he played much of the 2002 season with an inflamed left rotator cuff that prevented him from fully extending for outside pitches, The Sporting News reported.

The Cardinals won a division title in 2002, but fell short in their quest for a pennant. In 2003, Martinez produced 15 home runs and 69 RBI. He hit .210 with runners in scoring position. The Cardinals finished third in a six-team division.

After the season, the Cardinals traded Martinez to the Rays, giving him a chance to play for his hometown team.

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All business: Why the Cardinals traded for Hack Wilson

Posted in Hitters, Trades on December 24, 2021| 5 Comments »

During the Great Depression, the Cardinals played the baseball trade market like bond investors.

On Dec. 9, 1931, the reigning World Series champion Cardinals acquired outfielder Hack Wilson and pitcher Bud Treachout from the Cubs for pitcher Burleigh Grimes.

Wilson and Grimes, a pair of future Hall of Famers, were the principals. A year earlier, in 1930, Wilson established a major-league record for RBI in a season (191) and a National League mark for home runs (56). Grimes earned 17 wins for the 1931 Cardinals, then was the winning pitcher in Games 3 and 7 of the World Series versus the Athletics.

The Cardinals made the trade as much for financial, rather than baseball, reasons. In dealing Grimes, the Cardinals removed from the payroll their highest-paid pitcher. In acquiring Wilson, they got an asset whom they were able to swap a month later for a substantial amount of cash.

Big production

Listed at 5 feet 6 and 200 pounds, Lewis Wilson was nicknamed “Stouts” in the minor leagues and then became known as “Hack” because his short, broad build reminded some of wrestler George Hackenschmidt, the St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported.

Wilson began his professional baseball career as a catcher in the minors. With Martinsburg, W.Va., in 1921, he broke a leg on Opening Day. When he recovered, he couldn’t squat in a catcher’s position, and was converted into an outfielder.

Wilson was called up to the Giants in September 1923 and played for them in 1924 and 1925 before being sent to the Toledo Mud Hens farm team in August 1925. Left off the Giants’ roster, Wilson was drafted by the Cubs.

Playing for Cubs manager Joe McCarthy, Wilson led the National League in home runs four times _ 1926 (21), 1927 (30), 1928 (31) and 1930 (56) _ and twice was the league’s RBI leader: 1929 (159) and 1930 (191).

The good times for Wilson changed when the former Cardinal, Rogers Hornsby, became the Cubs’ manager, replacing McCarthy, who left for the Yankees in 1931.

Big trouble

Hornsby and Wilson were a toxic match. Described by the United Press wire service as the “roly-poly playboy of the majors,” Wilson enjoyed the nightlife. Hornsby objected to Wilson’s carousing and inattention to conditioning, and after Wilson slumped early in the 1931 season (no home runs in April and two in May) Hornsby often benched him.

“His usefulness had been greatly impaired by what club officials said was a lack of training and a lack of respect for the more righteous social pursuits,” the Chicago Tribune noted.

Wilson sulked when Hornsby kept him out of the lineup. The slugger also was miffed because Hornsby ordered him not to swing at pitches when the count was 2-and-0 or 3-and-1.

“They took that bat right out of my hands,” Wilson said to the Chicago Tribune.

Tensions reached a boiling point on Sept. 5, 1931, when the Cubs boarded a train for Chicago after a loss in Cincinnati. Wilson confronted three newspaper reporters in the vestibule of the train and complained about their coverage. Pitcher Pat Malone joined them and, goaded by Wilson, slugged two of the newspapermen, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The Cubs suspended Wilson without pay for the rest of the season, and club owner William Wrigley said Wilson never would play for the Cubs again.

“He can be as good a player as he wants to be, but he’ll have to change his conduct and his habits,” Hornsby told The Sporting News.

Wilson produced a mere 13 home runs and 61 RBI for the 1931 Cubs after his 1930 output of 56 homers and 191 RBI. “An all-America bust,” The Sporting News declared.

The Chicago Tribune concluded, “Wilson rose to the heights among the greatest in the game, then through the medium of self-neglect, he plumbed the depths, experiencing his most disappointing year.”

Change of mind

Asked whether they were interested in trading for Wilson, the Cardinals repeatedly said no.

“We don’t want Wilson,” Cardinals owner Sam Breadon informed the St. Louis Star-Times.

Cardinals vice-president Branch Rickey told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “We’re not making any offer for Wilson and we’re not in the bidding for him.”

The Cardinals’ stance changed when they got to the baseball winter meetings in December 1931 and found three clubs _ Braves, Dodgers and Reds _ vying for Wilson. Seeing there was a competitive market for him, the Cardinals sensed an opportunity and entered the bidding at the 11th hour.

“Properly handled, an investment in Wilson could be made a profitable one,” Rickey told the Post-Dispatch.

The Cubs offered Wilson and cash for outfielders George Watkins and Ernie Orsatti, but the Cardinals said no, the Associated Press reported.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the Cardinals countered by offering the Cubs their choice of one of three players: Watkins, Orsatti or Burleigh Grimes. The Cubs pounced at the chance to get Grimes, who was 5-0 against them in 1931.

Wheel and deal

Because Grimes was a World Series hero and because Breadon and Rickey had said Wilson wasn’t a player they wanted, the trade was “unexpected,” the St. Louis Star-Times reported. The Post-Dispatch called it “a big surprise.”

The Cardinals’ reasons for trading Grimes were:

_ Breadon said Grimes was the highest-paid pitcher on the team “and we had to cut down on our expenses,” the Globe-Democrat reported. Grimes was paid $20,000 in 1931.

_ Grimes was 38 and the Cardinals suspected he was approaching the downside of his career.

_ Pitching prospects Dizzy Dean and Tex Carleton were deemed ready to come up from the minors and join the Cardinals’ starting rotation in 1932.

Within hours of acquiring Wilson, the Cardinals tried to trade him.

“Our buying of Wilson is like the purchase of a good bond,” Rickey said to the Post-Dispatch. “The market is always good for a player like Wilson, the same as the stock market is for a good bond.”

As the Globe-Democrat put it, Wilson, 31, “will be used as bait.”

Sales tactics

When the Cardinals shopped Wilson to the Braves, Dodgers and Reds, the proposed return wasn’t what they’d hoped. Wilson’s value “is at an absolute lowest low on the market,” the Post-Dispatch reported.

The Cardinals worked to change that. They had Wilson take an eye exam and made a show of heralding the results, which rated his vision as excellent. Then Breadon and Rickey told the newspapers they might keep Wilson on the team.

Sid Keener of the Star-Times called their bluff. “It is my opinion that Breadon and Rickey are employing salesmanship methods on spreading this ballyhoo,” Keener wrote. “They are trying to increase his value in trade negotiations by publicly admitting they intend retaining the outfielder.”

The Braves offered $15,000 for Wilson, the Post-Dispatch reported, but the Cardinals figured they could do better.

The Cardinals sent Wilson a contract for $7,500. Wilson, who was given a salary of $37,500 by the Cubs in 1931, returned the contract unsigned. Wilson told the Post-Dispatch he expected to take a salary cut, perhaps as much as 50 percent, but nothing like the amount the Cardinals offered.

Published speculation was the Cardinals made the low offer because they had no intention of signing Wilson, but by offering him a contract it showed prospective suitors they were serious about keeping him.

Pay day

The Dodgers, who had been rebuffing the Cardinals’ offers of Wilson for either pitcher Watty Clark or Dazzy Vance, came back with a cash proposal.

On Jan. 23, 1932, the Cardinals sent Wilson to the Dodgers for $45,000 and a minor-league first baseman, Bob Parham.

“I expected it all along,” Wilson told the Associated Press. “That move to the Cards was nothing more than a stopover.”

For the Cardinals, it was a bonanza.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, $45,000 in January 1932 was the equivalent of $857,000 in December 2021. The $20,000 the Cardinals saved by moving Burleigh Grimes was the equivalent of $381,000 in 2021.

Thus, by dealing Grimes and Wilson, the Cardinals improved their Depression Era bottom line by $65,000, or the equivalent of about $1.2 million in 2021 value.

Rickey had a personal incentive to trade players for cash because his contract called for him to get a percentage of the sale.

Wilson, who got a contract of $16,500 from the Dodgers, had his last big season for them, hitting .297 with 23 home runs and 123 RBI in 1932.

Burleigh Grimes was 6-11, including 1-3 versus the Cardinals, in 1932, but the Cubs won the National League pennant. Released by the Cubs in July 1933, Grimes came back to the Cardinals.

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How Carlos Beltran found a home with Cardinals

Posted in Hitters on December 20, 2021| 6 Comments »

(Updated Dec. 20, 2024)

Soon to be 35, Carlos Beltran wanted to play outfield, not be a designated hitter, for a contender. A free agent, he had multiple offers, but only one provided precisely what he sought.

On Dec. 23, 2011, Beltran signed a two-year contract worth $26 million to be the Cardinals’ right fielder.

A switch-hitter with power, Beltran was an important acquisition for the reigning World Series champions, who were looking to reload after the departure of first baseman Albert Pujols.

Still a factor

Beltran began the 2011 season with the Mets and was traded to the Giants in July for pitching prospect Zack Wheeler.

“By trading for Beltran, the Giants picked up their most prominent hitter since Barry Bonds,” the San Francisco Examiner declared.

Late in the season, Beltran switched agents, dropping Scott Boras and going with Dan Lozano, who also represented Albert Pujols.

Beltran’s final totals for the year were impressive: .300 batting average, 39 doubles, 22 home runs and 84 RBI. His on-base percentage was .385.

Granted free agency in October 2011, Beltran received offers from four American League clubs: Blue Jays, Indians, Rays and Red Sox, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

When Pujols, also a free agent, signed with the Angels, the Cardinals joined in the bidding for Beltran.

With Pujols gone and outfielder Allen Craig unavailable until May 2012 because of knee surgery, the Cardinals needed an run producer. They envisioned Beltran joining an outfield with Matt Holliday in left and Jon Jay in center. Lance Berkman, who played right field in 2011, would shift to the first base spot Pujols vacated.

Complete player

Beltran had knee surgery in January 2010, and though he thought his performance for the Mets and Giants in 2011 showed he was agile enough to play the outfield, the American League clubs pursuing him wanted to split his time between being a designated hitter and an outfielder.

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wrote, “From a pure hitting point of view, Beltran would be perfect, but scouts question his ability to patrol right field.”

The Cardinals didn’t share those concerns. They were quite familiar with Beltran. In two playoff appearances, 2004 with the Astros and 2006 with the Mets, Beltran excelled against the Cardinals.

In the 2004 National League Championship Series, Beltran batted .417, hit four home runs and scored 12 runs in seven games. His on-base percentage for the series was .563.

In the 2006 National League Championship Series, Beltran batted .296, hit three home runs and scored eight runs in seven games. His on-base percentage for the series was .387. His strikeout with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth inning of Game 7, however, overshadowed his overall production.

Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak told the Post-Dispatch that Beltran “was on top” of the list of free agents the club wanted to sign in December 2011.

“One of the exercises we were doing at the winter meetings was definitely looking at what the world might look like if we weren’t able to keep Albert,” Mozeliak said to MLB.com. “So … we had a pretty good idea of what we were going to do and how we were going to do it. Didn’t actually know if we could pull it off.”

In an interview that appeared in the Post-Dispatch on Christmas Day 2011, Beltran explained to Derrick Goold why he signed with St. Louis: “I’m looking for an opportunity to win a championship … I believe the Cardinals are a club that can do it again.”

Also in the Cardinals’ favor was their willingness to let Beltran, a three-time Gold Glove Award winner, play in the outfield. Beltran told the Post-Dispatch, “I want to play in the field at this stage of my career. I feel I can still make a difference in the field.”

Right move

Beltran’s signing by the Cardinals generally was well-received.

“By adding Beltran, you get a player who is confident in the postseason and is going to (impact) the lineup,” Matt Holliday told the Post-Dispatch.

Columnist Bernie Miklasz called it “an aggressive, smart move by the Cardinals. They successfully recruited one of the top five position players available.”

According to Richard Justice of MLB.com, “The Cards may have gotten a player who is an absolutely perfect fit for the situation they find themselves in … From the moment Pujols signed with the Angels, Beltran was the single guy who made the most sense.”

Hard feelings

Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, though, had a different view. He developed a dislike for Beltran as an opponent because of how Beltran battered Cardinals pitching. “I hated him, honest,” Molina recalled to Stan McNeal of Cardinals Yearbook in 2019.

At 2012 spring training, Beltran could tell Molina wasn’t fond of him. At Beltran’s suggestion, manager Mike Matheny and coach Jose Oquendo arranged a meeting with the two players. According to Beltran, when he told Molina he was the same person as a Cardinal that he’d been as an opponent, Molina unhappily replied, “OK then, there is nothing else to talk about.”

“You could sense a little anger with the way he was raising his voice,” Beltran recalled to Stan McNeal.

It took a while for the relationship to improve. Over time, Molina saw Beltran had a positive impact on the team. One day, during the second half of the 2012 season, Molina sat beside Beltran on a team flight. Beltran recalled to McNeal, “He said to me, ‘Hey, man, I have to say I apologize … You are a good man. I respect you. I have treated you wrong.’ “

Molina said to McNeal, “I asked him to forgive me because I wasn’t a good person to him. I told him he was one of the best professionals I have ever met, and I apologized.”

Big bopper

Beltran, who turned 35 in April 2012, had 32 home runs and 97 RBI for the 2012 Cardinals. Primarily batting in the No. 2 spot in the order, he followed that with 24 home runs and 84 RBI in 2013 when the Cardinals won the National League championship. Video Beltran had a .400 on-base percentage in the 2013 World Series versus the Red Sox.

Beltran had more hits, home runs and RBI in his two seasons with the Cardinals than Pujols did in his first two seasons with the Angels. The Cardinals reached the playoffs, including a World Series, in those two seasons and the Angels did not.

After the 2013 World Series, Beltran became a free agent and signed with the Yankees. After a brief stint with the 2016 Rangers, Beltran, 40, finished his playing career with a World Series championship as a member of the 2017 Astros.

He was the first player to have four consecutive seasons of 20 or more home runs, 100 or more runs scored, 100 or more RBI and 30 or more stolen bases. Beltran did it from 2001 through 2004.

For his career, Beltran totaled 2,725 hits, 435 home runs, 1,587 RBI and 312 stolen bases.

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