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Cardinals crusher: A messy game in a silly season

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers on October 1, 2021| 7 Comments »

The Cardinals’ climax to a year of strangeness was fittingly bizarre.

On Oct. 2, 1981, the Cardinals’ chances of reaching the playoffs evaporated in the ninth inning of a game played in a mostly empty stadium on a night with the feel of winter in Pittsburgh.

After the Cardinals came from behind with a pair of home runs in the top of the ninth to tie the score, the last-place Pirates got a run in the bottom half of the inning against the National League’s best closer and won, 8-7.

The loss dropped the Cardinals 1.5 games behind the first-place Expos with two left to play. The Expos clinched the division title the next day, beating the Mets.

In a year when baseball made a sick joke of the season _ foreshadowing a series of decisions that purposely devalue regular-season excellence and reward mediocrity _ the Cardinals finished the 1981 schedule with the best record in the National League East and were excluded from the farce called the postseason.

Bonehead baseball

After major-league players went on strike in June 1981 and ended the walkout in August, those who run baseball decided to have two regular seasons in 1981. All division leaders at the time the strike began were declared champions of the first season. The second season consisted of games played after the strike. Like with the first season, those who finished in first place in a division went to the playoffs.

It didn’t matter to baseball officials that all teams didn’t play the same number of games in either season, or that some played more road games than home games. Baseball held an expanded playoffs _ with four division champions in each league instead of two _ and hoped the manufactured excitement would make fans forget being spat on by the strike.

The Cardinals (30-20) placed second to the Phillies (34-21) in the East Division in the first season.

With three games remaining in the second season, the Cardinals (27-22) trailed the first-place Expos (28-22) by a half-game. The Cardinals closed with a series at Pittsburgh versus the Pirates while the Expos were at New York against the Mets.

Winter wonderland

The series opener at Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Stadium was played on a Friday night when the temperature at game time was 39 degrees and the wind chill made it feel like 25.

“A swirling wind made pop-ups adventurous, and intermittent drizzle felt like snowflakes,” the Pittsburgh Press reported.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “The weather conditions were fitting for a Steelers playoff game in late December.”

A mere 2,348 spectators attended in a stadium with capacity for 47,971. It was the smallest attendance for a Pirates game since the stadium opened in 1970.

The brand of baseball the frozen faithful witnessed that Friday night caused shivers, too. The Pirates made four errors, one more than the Cardinals.

“Even on ordinary plays, balls popped out of gloves like in a game of flip,” the Pittsburgh Press noted. “There were more drops than in an eye doctor’s office.”

Blaming the weather, Pirates manager Chuck Tanner said, “Hard gloves and cold hands produce a lot of errors.”

Cardinals catcher Darrell Porter suggested frayed nerves played a factor, too. “I wouldn’t say we’re tight, but we haven’t played like we’re in a pennant race,” Porter said.

Coming back

Trailing 7-2, the Cardinals scored three in the sixth to get within two.

In the ninth, George Hendrick led off with a home run against Rod Scurry, working his third inning of relief, but the next two batters made outs.

Porter was the Cardinals’ last hope. After he fell behind in the count, 1-and-2, Porter pounced on an inside fastball.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever hit a ball better than that,” Porter told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The ball barely stayed inside the foul pole but cleared the wall in right by plenty for a home run, tying the score at 7-7.

“When something like that happens, you think you’re going to win,” Porter said to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Especially, Porter might have added, when the Cardinals had Bruce Sutter to pitch the bottom of the ninth.

Sutter led the National League in saves for the third consecutive year in 1981.

Walks will haunt

Speedster Omar Moreno led off the ninth for the Pirates and drew a walk. After Tim Foli’s sacrifice bunt moved Moreno to second, Sutter gave an intentional pass to Dave Parker.

Mike Easler batted next. He played in the Cardinals’ farm system in 1976, and he would become the Cardinals’ hitting coach for three years when Tony La Russa was manager.

With the count 2-and-2, Easler sliced a double to left-center, scoring Moreno with the winning run. Boxscore

“Sutter has to pitch low to be effective,” Easler told the Pittsburgh Press. “His pitches dropped a foot. The one I hit did, too, only it was high and dropped right into my swing.”

Flim-flam

In its game story, the Pittsburgh Press declared, “The Pirates didn’t bury the Cardinals. The Cardinals picked up the shovel, dug the hole and jumped in.”

The loss to the Pirates, coupled with the Expos’ 3-0 victory that night, meant the Expos would have to lose their remaining two games for the Cardinals to have a chance to finish atop the division. It didn’t happen. The Expos finished (30-23) a half-game ahead of the Cardinals (29-23).

The Cardinals completed the 1981 schedule with the best overall record in the East Division at 59-43, two games ahead of the Expos (60-48) and 2.5 ahead of the Phillies (59-48).

The Reds had the best overall record in the West Division at 66-42, but, like the Cardinals, didn’t finish atop the division in either season, and didn’t get into the 1981 playoffs.

Incredibly, baseball devised a system in which four National League teams got into the 1981 playoffs, but excluded the two with the best overall records.

Whitey Herzog, who served the dual roles of Cardinals manager and general manager, said baseball’s hierarchy were “dumb dips,” The Sporting News reported.

“This second season is a farce,” Herzog said. “As good as the game was, I can’t believe they messed with it. You wonder why you beat your brains out.”

Since then, baseball has continued to dilute the regular season. Now, a team with the fifth-best record in its league qualifies for the playoffs.

It will get worse. Team owners want to expand the playoffs, following the model from 2020, when 16 teams qualified after the regular season was reduced because of the pandemic. Two of the playoff qualifiers had losing records. Three others, including the Cardinals, who didn’t even play all their scheduled games, got in by finishing two wins over .500.

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Joe Hague and his walkoff grand slam for Cardinals

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents on September 24, 2021| 2 Comments »

Joe Hague experienced a shining moment late in a bleak season with the Cardinals.

On Sept. 24, 1971, Hague hit a 10th-inning walkoff grand slam, giving the Cardinals a 10-6 victory over the Expos.

A left-handed batter who was the Cardinals’ Opening Day first baseman for three consecutive seasons (1970-72), Hague did his best hitting against the Expos.

Decision time

A son of a career military man, Hague was born in Huntington, W.Va., and grew up in El Paso, Texas. After excelling in multiple high school sports, he played football and baseball as a freshman at the University of Texas.

Football coach Darrell Royal wanted him to quit baseball, Hague told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Instead, he quit football.

“I had to make a decision that season,” Hague recalled to the Montreal Gazette. “I was playing defensive end in football and weighed 218, but I had a lot to learn. I figured the minuses were greater for me in football and I gave that up to concentrate on baseball. It was a difficult decision.”

Hague played varsity baseball for coach Bibb Falk, a former big-leaguer. He led Texas in hitting in 1965, but was overlooked in the major league draft. “I was so musclebound,” Hague explained to the Post-Dispatch, “I couldn’t pull the ball.”

In the summer of 1965, Hague slimmed down and played for Galesburg in the Central Illinois Collegiate League. He led the league in batting average, home runs and RBI, drawing the attention of Cardinals scout Fred McAllister. A Stan Musial fan as a kid, Hague signed with the Cardinals in August 1965.

Prospect with power

In his first time at-bat in a regular-season game as a professional in 1966, Hague hit a grand slam for Cedar Rapids, a Class A farm team. The next year, he produced 27 home runs and 95 RBI for Class AA Arkansas.

Warren Spahn was the manager when Hague reported to Class AAA Tulsa in 1968. “I’m really pleased with Hague,” Spahn told the El Paso Herald-Post. “He’s as tough as a bull.”

Hague hit .293 with 23 home runs and 99 RBI for Tulsa, and was rewarded with a promotion to the Cardinals in September 1968. He got into seven games for the National League champions and got his first big-league hit, a home run versus the Dodgers’ Bill Singer. Boxscore

In 1969, Hague, 25, made the Cardinals’ Opening Day roster as a reserve, struggled, got sent back to Tulsa in June, hit .332 and returned to the big leagues in September.

When Mike Shannon needed treatment for a kidney ailment in 1970, the Cardinals moved Dick Allen to third base, opening the first base job for Hague.

Bob Broeg of the Post-Dispatch described Hague as “an intense young man who often tries to squeeze the bat handle into sawdust.”

Besides the pressure he put on himself, Hague felt pressure from the Cardinals’ staff. According to The Sporting News, hitting coach Dick Sisler called Hague “a blockhead because he is receptive to advice but he won’t put it into practice.”

Years later, recalling his Cardinals career, Hague told the Cincinnati Enquirer, “They were always checking weight and had me worrying about it. They changed the way I stood at the plate. You see how high I’m holding the bat here? They wouldn’t let me do that in St. Louis. If I have my hands down, I have a tendency to over-stride.”

Hague played in 139 games for the 1970 Cardinals, making 67 starts at first base, 44 in right field and five in left. He also hit .412 as a pinch-hitter. Overall, Hague hit .271 with 68 RBI, but was ineffective (.190) versus left-handers.

French connection

Hague was the incumbent first baseman in 1971.

Though Ken Boyer replaced Dick Sisler as hitting coach, and the Cardinals contended for a division title, the season was a disappointment for Hague, a frustratingly streaky hitter.

One source of encouragement was the Expos. Against them, Hague played like an all-star. For instance:

_ In 1970, Hague hit .355 in 17 games versus the Expos. His on-base percentage was .452 (22 hits and 11 walks) against them.

_ In 1971, Hague hit .354 in 18 games versus the Expos. His on-base percentage was .419 (23 hits and eight walks) against them.

On May 10, 1971, Hague, batting .169 for the season, hit a pair of home runs versus the Expos’ Steve Renko at Montreal. He barely missed hitting a third. Batting with the bases loaded in the seventh, Hague walloped a Mike Marshall screwball far down the line but foul. Boxscore

Four months later, Hague faced Marshall again with the bases loaded in the 10th inning at St. Louis. He drove Marshall’s first pitch over the wall in right for his first grand slam in the majors.

Hague’s blast was the Cardinals’ only grand slam of the season and the fourth walkoff grand slam in franchise history.

“I was glad to chip in a little bit,” Hague said to the Post-Dispatch. “I haven’t done much this year.”

Expos manager Gene Mauch unsuccessfully tried to get umpires to credit Hague with a single instead of a home run, saying Hague passed Jose Cruz on the basepath when Cruz stopped to shake Hague’s hand as Hague rounded first.

“Anybody who passes a runner doesn’t deserve a home run,” Mauch harrumphed to the Post-Dispatch.

Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst said, “I told Jose to shake hands at home plate the next time.”

Pennant winner

Hague hit .226 with 16 home runs for the 1971 Cardinals. His batting average against left-handers was .180. Hague made 64 starts at first and 33 in right.

Speculation was the Cardinals might trade him.

“If I had to be traded, I would like to go to Montreal,” Hague said to the Montreal Gazette. “I have always hit well in that park.”

Unmoved, Mauch replied, “It seems he hits .600 against us, so he can’t be hitting anything against the rest of the league. I don’t need that.”

Hague was the Cardinals’ first baseman when the 1972 season opened, but Schoendienst told The Sporting News, “This is going to have to be Hague’s year. He’s probably going to have to make it or break it.”

Hague was hitting .237 on May 19, 1972, when the Cardinals traded him to the Reds for Bernie Carbo.

Noting that Cardinals owner Gussie Busch demanded the trades of Steve Carlton and Jerry Reuss earlier in the year, Hague took a shot on his way out, telling the Post-Dispatch, “Mr. Busch is more concerned about personalities than he is building a winning ballclub.”

The 1972 Reds, a contender in the West Division, had a prominent Cardinals connection. Their general manager, Bob Howsam, was Cardinals general manager when Hague signed with them. Other former Cardinals on the 1972 Reds included Bobby Tolan, Julian Javier, Pedro Borbon and Ed Sprague.

Acquired to be a role player, Hague hit .345 as a pinch-hitter for the 1972 Reds, who won the division title.

In the 1972 National League Championship Series against the Pirates, Hague made three plate appearances as a pinch-hitter, walked twice and struck out.

In the 1972 World Series versus the Athletics, Hague again made three plate appearances as a pinch-hitter and all came against future Hall of Famers.

Hague flied out facing Catfish Hunter in Game 2, and grounded out versus Rollie Fingers in Game 5.

In Game 7, Hague faced Fingers again. Batting with runners on second and third, none out, with the Reds behind by two in the eighth, Hague popped out to shortstop Bert Campaneris. The Athletics won, 3-2. Boxscore

The next year, Hague dislocated his right hand in June, got replaced on the roster by Dan Driessen and never returned to the big leagues.

Hague, 30, played his last season in 1974 in the Mexican League for Yucatan, a club managed by Julian Javier.

After baseball, Hague earned a bachelor’s degree in business and went into commercial real estate in San Antonio, according to the El Paso Times.

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A bad twist at the end of a big season for Sparky Adams

Posted in Games, Hitters on September 14, 2021| 4 Comments »

In a bid to win an extra $30 in a baseball version of a track and field meet, Cardinals third baseman Sparky Adams paid a high price, costing himself playing time in the World Series.

On Sept. 20, 1931, Adams injured an ankle in a base-circling contest before a game against the Dodgers at St. Louis.

Adams, who led the 1931 Cardinals in hits, runs and doubles, sat out the final six games of the regular season and also was sidelined for five of the seven games of the World Series.

Small and fast

Born in Zerbe, Pa., a coal mining region, Earl John Adams was an undersized, but athletic, youth.

“My size, or lack of it, has been a tremendous handicap since boyhood,” Adams told The Sporting News. “Ever since I can remember, it has been, ‘You’re too small for this and you’re not big enough for that.’ Naturally, I resented it, and my resentment made me more determined to do the things I wanted to do.”

Nicknamed “Rabbit” because he was small and fast, Adams developed into a prospect and was signed by Cardinals scout Pop Kelchner.

A half-inch under 5 feet 5, Adams, 25, reported to Danville, Va., for his first full season in the minors in 1920.

“The manager was disappointed when he saw me,” Adams told The Sporting News. “He asked if I’d brought my nursing bottle. One of the regulars said he would show me to my room and bed. He took me to a linen closet in the hotel and opened a drawer for me.”

Adams opened some narrow minds with his performance on the field. Playing shortstop, he produced 157 hits, including 33 doubles, in 119 games for Danville. He batted .326 with 98 RBI and 20 stolen bases.

Kid stuff

According to The Sporting News, Cardinals manager Branch Rickey was watching a group of rookies at spring training camp at Orange, Texas, in 1921 when he spotted a person he thought was a boy playing shortstop.

“Tell that bat boy to get out of the infield,” Rickey said to starting shortstop Doc Lavan.

Lavan replied, “That’s not a bat boy, Mr. Rickey. That’s Earl Adams.”

Adams came over to Rickey, who said, “Do you think you’re a shortstop?”

“Yes, sir,” Adams replied.

Rickey said, “I’m afraid you’re too small. Not enough weight. You’d never stand up under a season of play. You’d be skin and bones.”

“Try me,” Adams said.

Adams remained in camp and was put through a series of rigorous daily drills. His weight dropped from 158 pounds to 137, The Sporting News reported.

“Young fellow, I knew you were too small for the majors leagues,” Rickey told him.

Adams played in the minors for Syracuse in 1921 and for Wichita Falls (Texas) in 1922. In June 1922, he was acquired by the Cubs.

Name game

Adams was 28 when he made his big-league debut with the Cubs on Sept. 18, 1922, against the Dodgers at Brooklyn. Starting at second base, he singled twice versus future Hall of Famer Dazzy Vance. Boxscore

Three years later, when Rabbit Maranville became Cubs manager in July 1925, he met with Adams and, according to The Sporting News, said to him, “Say, Rabbit, we can’t have two Rabbits on this club … You’re a regular little sparkplug. So, from now on, you’re Sparky.”

The name stuck.

In November 1927, the Cubs sent Adams to the Pirates in a swap involving another future Hall of Famer, Kiki Cuyler. Two years later, the Cardinals purchased Adams’ contract from the Pirates.

In 1930, Adams, starting at third base, hit .314 with 36 doubles for the National League champions.

“He’s a darned pest at the plate,” Reds pitcher Red Adams told The Sporting News. “I’d rather pitch to Hack Wilson or Rogers Hornsby any time.”

Down and out

After losing four of six games to the Athletics in the 1930 World Series, the Cardinals came back and won the pennant again in 1931, clinching on Sept. 16.

Four days later, before a Sunday home game against the Dodgers, the teams staged a track and field meet. The promotional event featured a couple of 75-yard dashes, a bunt-and-run contest, a base-circling competition and a throwing contest, the St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported.

The players were competing for prizes totaling $240 cash, three radios and an automobile tire.

Adams, 37, won the bunt-and-run contest. After bunting a pitch, he scooted from the batter’s box to first base in 3.4 seconds, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted.

Trying to win $30 more in the base-circling competition, Adams was rounding first when he pulled up lame with a severely sprained left ankle.

Rookie Ray Cunningham started at third in place of Adams that day. The Cardinals’ catcher was their manager, Gabby Street, 10 days away from turning 49 and playing in a big-league game for the first time in 19 years. Boxscore

Andy High, a veteran utility player, started at third for the Cardinals in the final five games of the regular season.

Reserve strength

Adams, the smallest Cardinal, led the 1931 club in hits (178), runs (97) and doubles (a league-best 48). He also had the best fielding percentage among National League third basemen.

The Cardinals hoped his ankle would heal in time for him to play in the World Series, a rematch against the Athletics, but Andy High started at third in Game 1 on Oct. 1.

Another veteran backup, Jake Flowers, was the starter at third in Game 2.

With Lefty Grove pitching for the Athletics in Game 3, Adams, who hit .337 against left-handers during the season, returned to the lineup.

In the fifth, Adams fielded Bing Miller’s sharp grounder, but “limped painfully” after making the force play at second and was replaced the next inning by Flowers. Boxscore

Flowers started at third in Game 4 and Adams was back for Game 5. He led off the game with a single versus Waite Hoyt but couldn’t continue. Boxscore

Adams was done for the Series. After Flowers started Game 6, High was in the lineup for Game 7. High had three hits and scored twice, helping the Cardinals to a 4-2 victory and the championship. Boxscore

Adams was slowed by a knee injury in 1932. In May 1933, he was traded to the Reds in a deal that brought shortstop Leo Durocher to the Cardinals.

In 13 seasons in the majors, Adams batted .286 with 1,588 hits. For the Cardinals, Adams had 397 hits in 319 games and batted .297.

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How Ron Allen followed his brother to Cardinals

Posted in Games, Hitters, Trades on September 11, 2021| 6 Comments »

On the verge of giving up hope of reaching the major leagues, Ron Allen persevered and was given a chance by the Cardinals.

On Sept. 15, 1971, in a swap of minor-leaguers, the Cardinals acquired Allen from the Mets for third baseman Bobby Etheridge.

A switch-hitting first baseman, Ron Allen was the younger brother of big-leaguers Dick Allen and Hank Allen.

Dick Allen was a slugger who hit 34 home runs when he played for the Cardinals in 1970.

Ron Allen also had power, but hadn’t advanced out of the minor leagues since he signed with the Phillies in 1964.

In August 1972, nearly a year after the Cardinals dealt for him, Allen was 28 and in his ninth season in the minors when he got the call he had waited for so long.

All in the family

Four Allen brothers, Coy, Hank, Dick (also known as Rich or Richie) and Ron, were all-state high school basketball players in their hometown of Wampum, Pa., according to The Sporting News. All also were baseball standouts.

The oldest brother, Coy, went to work in the steel mills, Ron Allen told the Philadelphia Daily News. Hank, Dick and Ron got other opportunities.

Dick Allen was a 16-year-old amateur shortstop in 1958 when Phillies scout Johnny Ogden first saw him. “I knew this boy could be one of the great hitters,” Ogden told The Sporting News.

Determined to keep Dick Allen from getting away, the Phillies signed Hank Allen, 19, to a $4,000 contract in April 1960. Soon after, Dick Allen, 18, signed with the Phillies for $70,000. Both were right-handed batters.

Ron Allen, 21 months younger than Dick, tried to keep pace with him. A natural left-hander, Ron learned to hit from both sides of the plate in high school.

“We’ve always been as close as two brothers can be, both on and off the field,” Ron Allen told Bill Conlin of the Philadelphia Daily News. “In baseball, I played third and he played short the first two years we played. I hit third and he hit fourth. The year he signed with the Phillies, I hit cleanup and he hit third. I had a better average, around .500, but he hit about seven more homers than me.”

While Hank and Dick pursued professional baseball careers, Ron enrolled at Youngstown State in Ohio.

“Mom was determined there was going to be one Allen who went to college,” Ron told the Philadelphia Daily News. “Mom was pretty set on it.”

A history major, Ron Allen excelled in basketball and baseball at Youngstown State. After his junior year, he signed with the Phillies. At 6 feet 3 and 210 pounds, Ron was a prospect “with good power,” the Philadelphia Inquirer noted.

That same year, Dick Allen became the first of the Allen brothers to reach the majors, and he made an impact. Dick led the National League in extra-base hits and total bases in 1964 and won the Rookie of the Year Award.

Two years later, Hank Allen got to the big leagues with the Senators.

Down on the farm

Ron Allen spent his first three seasons (1964-66) in the Phillies’ system at the Class A level. At spring training in 1967, the Philadelphia Daily News reported, “No man in the Phillies camp can propel a baseball further than” Ron Allen, but “the rap on his hitting is he swings at too many bad balls and strikes out too much.”

“All I want to do is get to the big leagues,” Ron said. “I’ll shine shoes to get there if I have to.”

While Dick Allen thrived as a big-league slugger, Ron remained stuck in the minors. His sixth and best season in the Phillies’ system came in 1969 when he hit .300 with 25 home runs and 97 RBI for Class AA Reading.

After the season, Dick Allen, who had run-ins with Phillies management, was traded to the Cardinals.

Ron Allen, who spent winters working as a draftsman for the city engineering department in Youngstown, reported to Phillies spring training in 1970, but didn’t impress. “I don’t think he’s going to hit good pitching,” farm director Paul Owens told Stan Hochman of the Philadelphia Daily News.

On April 10, 1970, the Phillies traded Ron Allen to the Mets.

“I knew the Phillies wouldn’t give me a chance,” Ron told United Press International. “They said one Allen is enough. I was really happy to be traded.”

The Mets assigned him to the minor leagues. He hit 21 home runs in the Mets’ farm system in 1970 and 20 the next year before the Cardinals acquired him after the completion of the 1971 minor-league season.

The wait ends

Assigned to the Cardinals’ Class AAA Tulsa team in 1972, Ron hit .267 with 16 home runs and 51 RBI in 103 games.

On Aug, 7, 1972, the Cardinals released backup first baseman Donn Clendenon and opted to call up Ron to replace him.

Cardinals director of player development Bob Kennedy said Ron told him he had been considering quitting baseball, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Elated by the promotion, Ron said to Kennedy, “I don’t want four or five years in the major leagues. I just want one swing.”

Four nights later, on Aug. 11 against the Pirates, Ron made his major-league debut. Batting for pitcher Lowell Palmer, he struck out versus ex-Cardinal Nelson Briles. Boxscore

On Aug. 13, in the second game of a doubleheader against the Pirates, Ron started for the first time in the majors. Playing first base in place of Matty Alou, he was hitless in four at-bats versus Steve Blass. Boxscore

Ron’s highlight came on Aug. 17 at San Diego against the Padres. He entered the game in the eighth inning after Joe Torre, playing first base for an injured Alou, was ejected.

Leading off the ninth, Ron got his first big-league hit, a home run to right against reliever Mike Corkins.

“Allen hit a good pitch, low and away,” Corkins told the Post-Dispatch. “He used to hurt me in the minors, too.” Boxscore

Life after baseball

The home run was Allen’s only hit in the majors. In 14 plate appearances for the Cardinals, Ron had three walks and one hit, batting .091. The Cardinals released him to Tulsa on Sept. 5, 1972. Having achieved his goal of reaching the majors, Ron retired from baseball.

Ron told United Press International he was “grateful for what I got. It’s been a constant struggle just to make it to the top.”

That same year, Dick Allen, playing for the White Sox, led the American League in home runs and RBI, and won the Most Valuable Player Award. Hank Allen also played for the White Sox that season.

Hank finished his big-league career in 1973 and Dick’s last season was 1977.

Hank became a thoroughbred horse trainer and Ron was his stable foreman, according to the Los Angeles Times. In 1989, Northern Wolf, a horse trained by Hank, raced in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness.

Ron was inducted into the Youngstown State athletic hall of fame in 1990.

In 2010, when he was 66, Ron fulfilled a promise made to his mother and completed his college education, earning a bachelor’s degree in general studies from Youngstown State.

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Fight night in Philly: Tim McCarver vs. Lou Brock

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents on September 4, 2021| 2 Comments »

Feeling ridiculed by the needling he got from former Cardinals teammates, Tim McCarver lashed out at a friend, Lou Brock, and started a fistfight with him.

On Sept. 6, 1971, during a game between the Cardinals and Phillies at Philadelphia, McCarver punched Brock in the face on the field at Veterans Stadium. Brock fought back, swinging at McCarver and landing a couple of shots, before they wrestled to the ground and were separated.

The sight of influencers from Cardinals glory days tearing into one another was, as broadcaster Jack Buck put it, “a bit sickening,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bob Broeg noted.

A week later, McCarver and Brock got physical again _ not in a fight, but in a jarring collision at home plate.

Sticks and stones

Brock and McCarver were integral players on Cardinals clubs that won three National League pennants and two World Series titles in the 1960s. After the 1969 season, McCarver was traded to the Phillies.

On Sept. 6, 1971, the Cardinals and Phillies had a Monday night doubleheader in the City of Brotherly Love. The opener matched pitchers Bob Gibson of the Cardinals against Rick Wise. Brock, the Cardinals’ left fielder, was in his customary leadoff spot. McCarver was the Phillies’ catcher and batted second.

The game was scoreless in the third when Brock led off with a single and stole second. After Ted Sizemore coaxed a walk, Matty Alou hit a pop fly in foul territory near the Cardinals’ dugout. McCarver dropped it for an error.

Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst told the Post-Dispatch, “McCarver was mad because of missing that pop-up.”

From the dugout and from the basepaths, Cardinals players heckled McCarver about botching the play.

“To say there was a little noise drifting out of the Cardinals’ dugout whenever McCarver was in earshot thereafter is to put it mildly,” the Philadelphia Daily News noted.

Cardinals first-base coach George Kissell said, “They were getting on Tim pretty good.”

Given the chance to continue his plate appearance, Alou drew a walk, loading the bases.

The next batter, Joe Torre, singled, scoring Brock and Sizemore. In his book, “Oh, Baby, I Love It,” McCarver said, “I was still burning from my error.”

When Brock got to the dugout, he continued to taunt McCarver, who had allowed more steals than any other National League catcher in 1971.

“Brock kept trying to show me up,” McCarver told the Post-Dispatch. “When Torre was on first base, Brock was yelling, ‘There he goes! There he goes!’ “

As The Sporting News noted, “The inference was McCarver’s arm was so bad that he couldn’t even throw out a slow runner like Torre.”

In his book, McCarver said, “I really snapped … I took my catching and throwing seriously.”

Unsympathetic, Schoendienst told the Post-Dispatch, “It’s not anyone else’s fault that McCarver can’t throw anybody out.”

Brock said to Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Frank Dolson, “Yelling, ‘There he goes!’ shouldn’t be enough to upset McCarver, who is one of the biggest agitators in the game.”

According to George Kissell, McCarver yelled to Brock, “We’re going to stick one in your ear.”

While McCarver stewed, Wise unraveled. He gave up a RBI-double to Ted Simmons and a three-run home run to Joe Hague before being replaced by rookie Manny Muniz.

McCarver’s miscue had opened the gates to a 6-0 Cardinals lead. Adding to the embarrassment, his former teammates laughed at him, he told the Post-Dispatch.

“Guys beating you 6-0 know better than to laugh at you,” McCarver said to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Regarding Brock, McCarver told Stan Hochman of the Philadelphia Daily News, “We played together long enough and he knows my boiling point … I just don’t like to be shown up.”

Macho man

Brock was the first batter for the Cardinals in the fourth. In his book, McCarver said, “I encouraged my pitcher, Manny Muniz, to intimidate Lou.”

“The first pitch crowded Brock back from the plate,” the Post-Dispatch reported. “The second pitch, another inside serve, also made him give ground.”

Brock took two or three steps in the direction of the mound. McCarver followed and heard Brock shout something to Muniz.

“I just asked Muniz, ‘What’s going on?,’ ” Brock said to the Post-Dispatch. “The kid was making me a dartboard.”

According to the Philadelphia Daily News, McCarver said Brock warned Muniz he’d come after him if another pitch came close.

“No, you’re not,” McCarver replied to Brock.

Brock turned and headed to the plate, his arms at his sides, when McCarver punched him.

“A sucker punch,” George Kissell told the Post-Dispatch.

“It was a sucker punch,” Bob Gibson agreed, “and I didn’t think much of it.”

Brock retaliated, landing a couple of punches, and then grabbed McCarver. They fell to the ground before being pulled apart by teammates.

“I’ve known McCarver since he was a kid, but I lost a lot of respect for him tonight,” Kissell said to the Post-Dispatch. “He shouldn’t let his emotions take over like that.”

What are friends for?

McCarver was ejected by plate umpire Al Barlick.

“I’m sorry the thing happened, but I felt I was right when I did it,” McCarver said to the Philadelphia Daily News.

In his book, McCarver added, “I can’t say I’m proud of what I did, but I do have to say that put in the same situation I’m sure I would react the same way.

“In moments like that, however irrationally, your instincts simply take over.”

Brock told the Philadelphia Daily News, “I was surprised Tim punched at me, but sometimes these things just explode. Tim’s too much of a pro to do what he did, but when there’s a feeling of frustration you do strange things. I have no hard feelings against him.”

McCarver said, “As far as I’m concerned, it’s all over. He’s a good friend of mine.”

Long may you run

After McCarver’s ejection, Brock continued his plate appearance versus Muniz, drew a walk and swiped second against McCarver’s replacement, Mike Ryan.

Leadng off the bottom of the fourth, Ryan was the first batter Bob Gibson faced after the fight. Gibson’s first pitch to Ryan sailed over his head.

In the sixth, Brock reached on an error, stole second and was thrown out by Ryan attempting to steal third.

An inning later, the Phillies brought in their third-string catcher, rookie Pete Koegel, after Ryan was injured. Brock swiped second _ his fourth steal of the game _ against Koegel in the eighth. Boxscore

Encore performances

The next night, Sept. 7, the Cardinals and Phillies played the series finale, and emotions remained raw.

In the first inning, Brock walked, tried to steal second and was thrown out by McCarver.

Brock noted to the Post-Dispatch, “He threw me out trying to steal, and I didn’t go punching him.”

McCarver countered to the Philadelphia Daily News, “I threw him out, and I didn’t go prancing over to the dugout like King Kong.” Boxscore

Six days later, on Sept. 13, the Phillies were in St. Louis for a two-game series.

Before the opener, Bob Broeg asked McCarver whether he regretted punching Brock. McCarver replied, “From practically the very minute I threw the punch. It was, I’m afraid, a sucker punch and I’m not proud of it.”

McCarver added, “I was agitated and apparently misunderstood something Lou had said … I like to think that out of this unfortunate flare-up we’re better friends than before. I hope so.”

In that night’s game at Busch Memorial Stadium, McCarver “was lustily booed by a crowd that used to adore him,” the Philadelphia Daily News reported.

McCarver produced three hits, scored twice and threw out Dal Maxvill attempting to steal. Boxscore

Storybook stuff

Hollywood would have a tough time coming up with a better script for what happened in the Sept. 14 series finale.

In the first inning, Brock was awarded first base on catcher’s interference when McCarver accidentally tipped his bat. Brock stole second and advanced to third on McCarver’s errant throw. Matty Alou’s infield out scored Brock.

In the ninth, the Phillies led, 5-4, but the Cardinals had Brock on third with one out and their top run producer, Joe Torre, at the plate.

Facing Chris Short, Torre hit a fly ball to medium right. Willie Montanez, a former Cardinals prospect, caught it for the second out. Brock tagged and sped for the plate, trying to score the tying run.

The throw reached McCarver on a hop. McCarver snared it and spun around to tag Brock, who was barreling toward him.

“Brock went into McCarver like a NFL bomb-squader goes into a punt returner,” Bill Conlin wrote in the Philadelphia Daily News. “The collision was tremendous, McCarver getting flipped over backwards, Brock landing in a heap on the first-base side of the plate.”

McCarver held onto the ball and Brock was called out by umpire John McSherry, ending the game. Boxscore

As Phillies players congratulated McCarver, he “broke away from them and went for Brock, grabbed his hand and shook it,” the Philadelphia Daily News reported.

“I told Lou to have a nice winter,” McCarver said.

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How Garry Templeton triggered terrible tempest

Posted in Games, Hitters on August 23, 2021| 8 Comments »

(Updated March 9, 2022)

A troubled talent, Cardinals shortstop Garry Templeton let his emotions reach a boiling point, resulting in a public meltdown.

On Aug. 26, 1981, during a game at St. Louis, Templeton got booed for not hustling and reacted by making obscene gestures.

Ejected by umpire Bruce Froemming, Templeton was approaching the dugout when he was confronted by manager Whitey Herzog, who pulled him down the steps and backed him against a wall before teammates separated them.

The Cardinals suspended and fined Templeton, then moved him to the disabled list when he entered a St. Louis hospital for treatment of emotional problems.

Three weeks later, Templeton returned to the Cardinals’ lineup and finished the season. During the winter, the Cardinals traded him to the Padres for a future Hall of Famer, Ozzie Smith.

Good and bad

A first-round choice of the Cardinals in the 1974 amateur draft, Templeton was 20 when he took over for Don Kessinger as starting shortstop in August 1976.

In his book “You’re Missin’ a Great Game,” Herzog said Templeton, a switch-hitter with speed, “was the single most talented all-around player I’d seen since Mickey Mantle.”

In 1979, Templeton became the first player to get 100 hits from each side of the plate in one season, but he also was the center of controversy, demanding a trade and snubbing the All-Star Game.

Battle of wills

In 1981, Herzog’s first full year as Cardinals manager and general manager, Templeton hit .345 in April, but slumped in May.

On May 25, Herzog moved Templeton out of the leadoff spot and put Tommy Herr there. Herr “was the best leadoff man we’ve had here,” Herzog said to The Sporting News. “Templeton is not a good leadoff man. He doesn’t get any walks.”

Miffed, Templeton told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he wanted to be traded to a team near his home in southern California.

“Put Tony Scott and me in a package deal and send us to San Diego for Ozzie Smith and Gene Richards,” Templeton told the Post-Dispatch in a story published June 1.

“This organization has had enough of me,” Templeton said. “I’m tired of this.”

Herzog responded, “No player is going to make out my lineup for me.”

Templeton batted in the No. 2 spot in the order until the players went on strike June 12.

Sign language

When play resumed Aug. 10, Templeton was restored to the leadoff position, but he wasn’t content. He informed Herzog he didn’t want to play in day games after night games.

In “You’re Missin’ a Great Game,” Herzog said his response to Templeton was, “What’s the matter with you? You’re tired?”

According to Herzog, Templeton’s teammates were tired of his antics. “They could see he was dogging it on ground balls, pulling up short on the bases, and generally acting like he didn’t give a damn about baseball or them,” Herzog said.

After a night game on Tuesday, Aug. 25, the Cardinals had a game against the Giants the next afternoon at Busch Memorial Stadium.

In his book “White Rat: A Life in Baseball,” Herzog said, “I told Templeton he’d have to play, even if he didn’t feel like it.”

The start of the game was delayed 88 minutes because of rain, and some of the 7,766 spectators spent the time drinking.

In the first inning, Templeton struck out, but catcher Milt May dropped the third strike. Rather than hustle to first, Templeton took a few steps up the line, then veered toward the dugout. Fans booed the lack of effort.

In “White Rat,” Herzog said, “I didn’t blame them. If I’d paid good money to see a professional ballplayer put out, I’d have been booing, too.”

Templeton responded to the jeers by slapping his left hand under a raised right arm with fist clenched.

Plate umpire Bruce Froemming warned Templeton that any more gestures would lead to an ejection.

Out of control

In the bottom of the third, when Templeton entered the on-deck circle, he was booed. He turned toward the fans and grabbed his crotch.

After Froemming ejected him, Templeton started toward the dugout, stopped, clutched his genitals and raised a middle finger to the fans, the Associated Press reported.

In “White Rat,” Herzog recalled, “When he got to the dugout, I reached out and pulled him down the steps, and if the other players hadn’t come between us, I guess we’d have had a pretty good fight. I’d never been so mad at a player.”

Herzog ordered Templeton to go to the clubhouse and wait for him, but Templeton packed and left the ballpark under police protection, The Sporting News reported.

Herzog suspended Templeton indefinitely and fined him $5,000.

“There’s no ballplayer big enough to show up the fans and make the gestures he was making,” Herzog told the Post-Dispatch. “When he grows up to be a man and publicly apologizes to our fans and to his teammates, he can come back and play. It’s up to him.”

Asked about Templeton, Cardinals catcher Gene Tenace said to The Sporting News, “We’re better off without him. He’s a loser. I’ve lost all respect for him as a human being.” Boxscore

Ready to return

In “You’re Missin’ a Great Game,” Herzog said Cardinals owner Gussie Busch told him, “Get rid of the son of a bitch.”

Busch wanted Templeton traded the next day. “He didn’t care what we got in return,” Herzog said, “but that wasn’t going to help us any.”

Instead, team physician Dr. Stan London met with Templeton on Aug. 27 and convinced him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation the next day. London said Templeton was “very receptive” to be evaluated.

On Aug. 31, Templeton entered a St. Louis hospital for treatment of depression, the Post-Dispatch reported. The Cardinals lifted his suspension and put him on the disabled list.

On Sept. 15, Templeton returned to the club. He apologized to his teammates in the clubhouse before a doubleheader at Montreal and they welcomed him back.

“He was kind of emotional, but he made it short and to the point,” Tenace told the Post-Dispatch.

Tommy Herr noted, “He said he wanted to come back and play hard. That’s all I wanted to hear.”

Batting second in the order, Templeton had four hits in the opener versus the Expos. Boxscore

On Sept. 23, in his first home game since his return, Templeton “was cheered when the lineups were read and again before each time at-bat,” the Post-Dispatch reported. “The applause drowned out a smattering of boos.”

Templeton had two hits and a RBI in the game against the Phillies. Boxscore

Herzog kept Templeton in the second spot in the order the rest of the season. He hit .386 in 18 September games.

For the season, Templeton batted .288, including .351 with runners in scoring position, and had 96 hits in 80 games.

Batting leadoff in 1981, Templeton had a .273 batting average and .279 on-base percentage. From the No. 2 spot, he hit .336 with a .366 on-base percentage.

In March 1982, after he was traded to the Padres, Templeton, in an interview with the Post-Dispatch, said of his 1981 incident in St. Louis, “It’s over with. I made a mistake. People say it was drugs. People say it was a chemical reaction. I did something that was wrong, that’s all.”

Regarding the reactions of Cardinals players upon his return to the team in September 1981, Templeton said, “I had a better reception by visiting players than a lot of my teammates … A lot of my teammates feel like I let them down. I have an understanding of that. Everybody’s different and you can’t blame them, but I feel a lot of guys should have received me better.”

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