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Joe Torre was a triples producer for Cardinals

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents on May 20, 2021| 5 Comments »

For a guy who lacked speed, Joe Torre hit a surprisingly high number of triples during his prime years with the Cardinals.

Torre led the Cardinals in triples in 1970 and 1971, and ranked second on the club in 1969 and 1972.

On May 29, 1971, Torre hit a walkoff three-run triple against his former team, the Braves, erasing a 7-5 deficit in the ninth inning and giving the Cardinals an 8-7 triumph.

It was one of a team-high eight triples Torre produced in 1971, a year when he led the National League in hitting, total bases and RBI.

Three bases

Torre was 20 when he hit his first big-league triple on June 22, 1961, for the Braves against the Giants’ Billy Loes at Milwaukee. Boxscore

In nine seasons with the Braves, the most triples Torre hit in a year were five in 1964. Two of those triples came on Sept. 24 in a game against the Phillies, who were in a skid that enabled the Cardinals to rise up and win the pennant. Boxscore

Traded to the Cardinals for Orlando Cepeda in March 1969, Torre embarked on a four-year stretch of impressive triples production.

A right-handed batter, Torre had 29 triples for the Cardinals from 1969-72.

In 1969, when Lou Brock led the Cardinals in triples with 10, Torre and Vada Pinson tied for second with six apiece.

Torre topped the Cardinals in triples in 1970 (9) and 1971 (8).

Brock was the team triples leader in 1972 with eight, and Torre and Ted Simmons each had six, tying for second.

Though Torre’s line-drive stroke was ideal for Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis, he had more triples on the road than he did at home in three of the four seasons between 1969 and 1972.

In his final two Cardinals seasons, Torre had two triples in 1973 and one in 1974.

In 18 years in the majors, Torre hit 59 triples, including 32 for the Cardinals.

Zoned in

Weight loss was a contributing factor in Torre’s high number of triples with the Cardinals.

In his book “Chasing the Dream,” Torre said he went on a diet during spring training in 1970 and his weight dropped from 228 pounds to 208. During the season, he slimmed down to 195 pounds.

Splitting his time between catching and playing third base in 1970, Torre batted .325 with 203 hits and 100 RBI.

He followed that with a career year in 1971. Batting cleanup in every game, Torre led the National League in batting average (.363), hits (230), total bases (352) and RBI (137), and won the Most Valuable Player Award.

“I was locked in all year,” Torre said in his book. “I used to go home and know what pitches I was going to hit off the pitcher the next day. It was weird. I had such a feeling of concentration, of being able to block everything out. The more hits you get, the more confident you are. The key is your confidence level.”

Torre was hot from the start of the season and never cooled off. He hit safely in the first 22 games of the season. For the month of April, Torre batted .366 and had 34 hits in 24 games.

Finding the gap

In May 1971, Torre batted .355. He capped the month with his game-winning triple against the Braves on the Saturday night of Memorial Day weekend at St. Louis.

After the Braves broke a 5-5 tie with two runs in the top of the ninth, they brought in Cecil Upshaw to pitch the bottom half.

The first two batters, Lou Brock and Matty Alou, each singled. With the runners on first and second, none out, Ted Simmons bunted. Upshaw reached for the ball and bobbled it, enabling Simmons to safely reach first and loading the bases for Torre.

Upshaw and Torre were Braves teammates from 1966-68. As a Cardinal, Torre had faced Upshaw three times and was hitless against the right-hander who threw nearly underhanded with a sweeping delivery from below the waist.

Getting a pitch to his liking, Torre lined it into right-center, clearing the bases and ending the game with his triple. Boxscore

Torre went on to hit .382 with runners in scoring position in 1971.

He was remarkably consistent overall, hitting .324 or better in every month of the season. He hit .356 versus right-handers and .376 against left-handers in 1971.

“I had a ton of hits to right field that year, even more than I usually did,” Torre said in his book. “My philosophy on hitting was pretty simple: Dare them to jam you. I think there are a lot more hits on the handle than on the end of the bat.”

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Craig Paquette provided 11th-hour heroics for Cardinals

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents on May 7, 2021| 2 Comments »

It took a long time for Craig Paquette to get his first pinch-hit home run in the majors, but it was worth the wait.

On May 25, 2001, Paquette hit a three-run home run as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning, lifting the Cardinals from a 4-2 deficit to a 5-4 victory over the Reds at Cincinnati. Paquette’s home run against closer Danny Graves came on a 1-and-2 pitch with two outs.

Until then, Paquette, a utility player in his ninth season in the big leagues, hadn’t hit a home run as a pinch-hitter, and had been hitless in six career at-bats versus Graves.

La Russa connection

A right-handed batter with power, Paquette played multiple infield and outfield positions. Third base was the position he played the most.

Paquette’s first three years (1993-95) in the majors were with the Athletics when Tony La Russa was manager. After the 1995 season, La Russa went to the Cardinals and Paquette was released. He signed with the Royals and led them in home runs (22) and RBI (67) in 1996. Paquette was the Royals’ Opening Day third baseman in 1997 but was sent to the minors in midseason.

A free agent, Paquette signed with the Mets but injured an ankle and was sidelined most of the 1998 season. He was mired in the minors when the Cardinals acquired him from the Mets in July 1999 for Shawon Dunston.

La Russa told The Sporting News that Paquette “always has had a power swing. He’s got such a live bat, the ball jumps.”

Valuable versatility

The move to the Cardinals revived Paquette’s career. He hit .287 with 10 home runs for them in 1999.

In 2000, Paquette filled in for injured starters Fernando Tatis at third, Mark McGwire at first and Fernando Vina at second. Paquette had single-season career highs in games played (134), doubles (24) and walks (27). Of his 94 hits, 41 were for extra bases.

Pinch-hitting was a different story. Paquette had one hit in 12 at-bats as a Cardinals pinch-hitter in 2000.

Contender at third

After the Cardinals traded Fernando Tatis to the Expos in December 2000, Paquette and Placido Polanco went to spring training as the leading candidates for the third base job.

“The reason we traded Tatis is, between Paquette and Polanco, we would have a plus at third base,” La Russa told St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz. “If you want to look at it honestly, both of them are going to play better defense because they pay more attention to it.”

La Russa said he thought Paquette could hit 30 home rums if he played an entire season as a starter, The Sporting News reported.

At spring training, La Russa indicated Paquette would be the Cardinals’ 2001 Opening Day third baseman. Miklasz noted Paquette was versatile, “works hard” and was “an intense competitor,” but wondered whether as a starter “he might be overexposed.”

La Russa eventually opted to go with Polanco as the Opening Day starter at third base.

Clout in clutch

The versatility of Paquette and rookie Albert Pujols gave La Russa lots of lineup options in 2001. Paquette played five positions: first, second, third, left field and right field.

When the Cardinals opened a series against the Reds at Cincinnati’s Cinergy Field, formerly Riverfront Stadium, on May 25, Paquette was on the bench.

In the eighth inning, with the Reds ahead, 4-2, the Cardinals had a runner on base, two outs and Pujols at the plate. Reds manager Bob Boone brought in Graves, who ended the threat with a strikeout of Pujols.

As heavy rain fell, Graves stayed in to pitch the ninth and gave up singles to Edgar Renteria and Kerry Robinson. With two outs, Paquette batted for pitcher Alan Benes.

When the count got to 1-and-2 on Paquette, Reds fans stood and applauded, anticipating Graves would end the game on the next pitch. Instead, he hung a curveball and Paquette hit it over the wall in left for a home run, giving the Cardinals a 5-4 lead.

“If you want to call it a curveball, I guess that’s what it was, but it was really more of a spinner,” Graves told The Cincinnati Post. “I just kind of fluttered it up there. You can’t take credit away from Paquette, but that was my third-best pitch, and he smoked it.”

In retrospect, Graves said, he should have thrown his best pitch, a sinker. “I tried to get too tricky,” Graves said to the Cincinnati Enquirer. “If he hits a good sinker and beats me, fine.”

According to The Sporting News, the Cardinals had been winless in the last 77 games in which they trailed after eight innings until Paquette worked his magic. “I was just hoping he would leave one up, and he did,” Paquette said to the Post-Dispatch.

Cardinals closer Dave Veres retired the side in order in the bottom of the ninth, sealing the victory. Boxscore

Unsatisfying ending

Paquette, 32, had a big season for the 2001 Cardinals. He hit .282 with 15 home runs and 64 RBI. As a pinch-hitter, he hit .304. In June, facing the Cubs’ Tom Gordon, he hit his second pinch-hit home run. Overall, Paquette batted .372 with runners in scoring position.

Granted free agency after the 2001 season, Paquette signed with the Tigers.

Released in April 2003, Paquette was added to the Cardinals’ Memphis farm club on May 10. According to the Post-Dispatch, he had an agreement he could leave after a certain period of time if he wasn’t called up to the Cardinals.

On May 23, Paquette pulled himself from the lineup before a game at Memphis and went home. “My heart wasn’t in it,” he told the Post-Dispatch.

When utility player Eli Marrero got injured, Paquette was disappointed the Cardinals didn’t choose him to be the replacement.

“They had 14 days to make a move and they didn’t do it,” Paquette said. “I didn’t want to go to triple-A, but I did it for the Cardinals. I’m not putting on a triple-A uniform again.”

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Cardinals pitchers were dangerous around Stan Rojek

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

Even when he was their teammate, Stan Rojek was battered and bruised by Cardinals pitching.

On May 17, 1951, the Cardinals acquired Rojek, a shortstop, from the Pirates for outfielder Erv Dusak and first baseman Rocky Nelson.

Two years earlier, while with the Pirates, Rojek was hit by pitches twice in a game against the Cardinals. The second one struck him in the head and put him in the hospital.

After he got sent to the Cardinals, the danger didn’t dissipate. One of their pitchers plunked him during batting practice, cracking a shoulder blade and ending his season.

Pirate in pain

Born and raised in North Tonawanda, N.Y., near Buffalo, Rojek signed with the Dodgers in 1939 and made his debut with them three years later, but he wasn’t going to displace Pee Wee Reese at shortstop.

In November 1947, the Dodgers dealt Rojek to the Pirates and he became their shortstop. Rojek batted .290 for the 1948 Pirates and ranked third in the National League in hits (186).

The next year, on April 27, 1949, in the Pirates’ first visit of the season to St. Louis, Rojek was hit in the back by a Gerry Staley pitch in the fifth inning. In the bottom half of the inning, while turning a double play, Rojek’s low, underhand toss to first came close to striking baserunner Red Schoendienst. The Cardinals accused Rojek of trying to hit Schoendienst, but Rojek laughed at the suggestion, according to The Pittsburgh Press.

In the seventh, Cardinals baserunner Joe Garagiola slid into Rojek at second and Rojek stepped on him with his spikes, The Sporting News reported.

When Rojek batted in the ninth, the first pitch from Ken Johnson was high and inside, brushing him off the plate.

“I didn’t think he’d try to knock me down a second time after brushing me back on the first pitch,” Rojek said, according to The Pittsburgh Press. “So I dug in for what I thought would be a pitch on the outside corner.”

Instead, Johnson’s second pitch headed toward Rojek’s head. “When I saw the ball coming at me, it was too late to duck out of the way,” said Rojek.

The ball hit Rojek flush on the left ear. He wore neither a batting helmet nor a protective lining in his cap.

According to The Sporting News, Rojek dropped his bat and staggered toward the first-base line “with blood coming out of his ear.” As Pirates rushed from the dugout to his aid, Rojek was a few feet from the plate when he fell into the arms of teammate Eddie Stevens, who gently laid him on the ground.

As the Pirates waited for a stretcher to arrive, they confronted Johnson and Garagiola, accusing the pitcher and catcher of conspiring to bean Rojek.

According to The Sporting News, Johnson replied, “I’m only the pitcher.” To some, his response indicated Garagiola called the pitch. Garagiola “was so nervous and afraid that he almost cried,” The Sporting News reported.

Rojek was taken into the clubhouse to await an ambulance. When the game ended, Cardinals manager Eddie Dyer went to see Rojek and said, “I’m sorry, Stan. I hope it’s nothing serious.”

According to The Pittsburgh Press, a groggy Rojek replied, “Thanks, Eddie.”

Some Pirates were unmoved and exchanged harsh words with Dyer. Outfielder Wally Westlake told Dyer, “Get the hell out of here with your apologies,” The Pittsburgh Press reported. Boxscore

Owning the plate

At the hospital, X-rays showed Rojek suffered a concussion, but no fracture. He had swelling under his ear and two stitches were required to close the wound.

Johnson called Rojek at the hospital the next morning and said he never intended to hurt him.

Some suggested Rojek put himself at risk because of a batting stance “in which his head is almost over the inside corner of the plate,” The Pittsburgh Press noted.

Phillies pitcher Schoolboy Rowe told The Sporting News that Rojek “hogs the plate, leans over it as if he were trying to count the specks of dust on it.”

National League president Ford Frick said umpires determined Johnson was not throwing at Rojek. “They even pointed out that the ball was almost a strike, but because Rojek was crouched over the plate, it hit him in the head,” Frick said. “Stan just froze up there, they said.”

Rojek returned to the Pirates’ lineup a week later. For the season, he hit .244.

In 1950, the Pirates platooned Rojek and Danny O’Connell at shortstop. The next year, at spring training, George Strickland won the shortstop job and Rojek was deemed expendable.

Bad break

The Cardinals needed help at shortstop in 1951. Marty Marion, who played the position from 1940-50, became their manager in 1951 and was unable to continue playing because of a knee ailment.

At spring training, reserve second baseman Solly Hemus volunteered to play shortstop. The Cardinals opened the season with him, but when he struggled to hit they sought an alternative.

The Cardinals acquired Rojek, 32, at Marion’s request.

Platooning with Hemus, Rojek took advantage of the opportunity, hitting safely in 13 of the first 14 games he played for the Cardinals.

Three months later, during batting practice on Aug. 8, Cardinals pitcher Red Munger hit Rojek with a pitch, cracking his left shoulder blade. Done for the season, Rojek was sent home. He hit .274 in 51 games for the Cardinals and .319 with runners in scoring position.

Hemus surged after Rojek departed and hit .281 for the season.

Projecting Hemus to remain their shortstop in 1952, the Cardinals sent Rojek to the Browns for the $10,000 waiver price in January 1952.

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Why Tommy Herr was Whitey Herzog’s kind of player

Posted in Games, Hitters, Managers, Opponents on May 1, 2021| 6 Comments »

(Updated June 9, 2024)

The Whitey Herzog style of baseball was capsulized in the 10th inning of a game at the Astrodome.

On May 12, 1981, a squeeze bunt by Tommy Herr scored Gene Tenace with the go-ahead run, and Jim Kaat retired the side in order in the bottom half of the inning, carrying the Cardinals to a 3-2 victory over the Astros.

Baserunning, sacrificing, advancing runners and lockdown relief pitching were essential elements in the blueprint Herzog devised to make the Cardinals contenders.

Clear philosophy

Herzog became Cardinals manager in June 1980. Given the additional role of general manager soon after, he began to transform the Cardinals, who hadn’t won a pennant since 1968, into a fundamentally sound unit. Their approach became known as Whiteyball.

When Herzog was a Yankees prospect in the 1950s, manager Casey Stengel mentored him and influenced the methods Herzog brought to the Cardinals.

Though Stengel’s Yankees clubs were known for power hitting, “they based their dynasty on being the best defensive team and best baserunning team in the league,” Herzog said in his 1999 book “You’re Missin’ a Great Game.”

“Casey’s Yankees understood something our game has just about forgotten: that baseball, more than anything else, is a game of intelligence, craft and doing the little things right,” Herzog said in his book.

In describing the approach he took to rebuilding the 1980s Cardinals, Herzog said, “First, in the modern game, with all its specialization, you had to have that great stopper in the bullpen.

“Second, to shrink a huge ballpark like Busch Stadium down to size, you needed good athletes with speed. You also needed pitchers who threw strikes and let the other team make contact. Forget strikeouts. Their hitters wouldn’t be able to put many over the wall, and your track stars could run down the balls that stayed in.

“Finally, because that turf is so fast, you wanted batters who hit the upper half of the baseball, smacked it on the ground and took off. That would create new ways to get on base, stir up trouble and score runs.”

Herzog correctly concluded, “The right personnel at Busch Stadium wouldn’t look like much. They wouldn’t have to be big. They’d have to be smart.”

Fundamentally smart

One of the players who epitomized the caliber of baseball Herzog wanted was the second baseman, Tommy Herr. After trading Ken Reitz to the Cubs in the deal that brought closer Bruce Sutter to the Cardinals in December 1980, Herzog shifted Ken Oberkfell to third base to open a spot for Herr at second.

In “You’re Missin’ a Great Game,” Herzog described Herr as having “a fine mind for the game” and someone who would “make a hell of a coach.”

As a fielder, Herr “was never out of defensive position his whole time with me,” Herzog said. “Fundamentally, he was such a smart player. He never screwed up a ground ball or a play that he should have made. He never made a mental mistake.”

At the plate, Herr was “the most amazing hitter I had those years” in St. Louis, Herzog said.

“I can’t think of a better example of how having a plan, a sense of the situation you’re in, can help you succeed,” said Herzog. “If there was one guy I managed that I would want hitting for me in the stretch drive, it’d be hard to pick between (the Royals’) George Brett and Tommy.”

Herzog told Cardinals Magazine, “Herr was steady as a rock and as good a clutch ballplayer as I’ve ever seen.”

Whitey’s way

The 1981 Cardinals were 15-7 entering a three-game series against the Astros at Houston. The opener became a showcase for how Herzog changed the Cardinals’ culture. In the fourth inning, Keith Hernandez singled, stole second, advanced to third on an error and scored on Sixto Lezcano’s sacrifice fly.

The Astros countered in the bottom half of the inning with a two-run home run by Jose Cruz, the former Cardinal, but those were the only runs allowed by starter Bob Forsch. In seven innings, Forsch struck out just one, but allowed no hits from the fifth through seventh.

In the eighth, the Cardinals tied the score against starter Bob Knepper. Oberkfell singled and stole second. With two outs, Garry Templeton, batting right-handed, grounded a single to the opposite field, driving in Oberkfell. “I placed it pretty good,” Templeton told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Sutter relieved Forsch and held the Astros scoreless in the eighth and ninth.

Getting it done

In the 10th, left-handed Astros closer Joe Sambito relieved Knepper. First up for the Cardinals was Gene Tenace, a right-handed batter.

Acquired from the Padres in December 1980, Tenace was adept at reaching base (.388 career on-base percentage) and played for three World Series championship Athletics clubs.

“You put my name on the lineup card and the only thing I’ll guarantee you is 100 percent,” Tenace told the Post-Dispatch.

Tenace hit a double to the base of the wall in left-center. Oberkfell moved him to third with a sacrifice bunt placed between the pitcher and third baseman.

Up next was Herr. When the count got to 2-and-1, Herzog called for the suicide squeeze.

“I wasn’t really expecting it,” Herr told Rick Hummel of the Post-Dispatch.

Tenace said, “Once you get the sign, you try to maintain your composure. If you trigger it too soon, it’s going to backfire. If you break too quick or too early, it’s not going to work. The runner makes the play. You’ve got to time the pitcher. When he puts his leg up, you break.”

Herr decided he would try to bunt the ball toward the middle of the diamond. “Usually, you try to bunt to either first base or third base, but in that situation, if you just get it on the ground, it’s going to score a run,” he said.

Herr bunted toward the mound and Tenace barreled down the line. “The ball had a little backspin,” Herr said. “The backspin deadened it enough.”

Sambito gloved the ball and flicked it to catcher Alan Ashby, but Tenace dived safely across the plate, giving the Cardinals a 3-2 lead. Ashby threw wildly to first base and Herr scurried to second on the error.

After lifting Sutter for a pinch-hitter, Herzog turned to 42-year-old Jim Kaat to protect the lead. Kaat did the job, retiring all three batters he faced. Boxscore

The 1981 Cardinals went on to achieve the best overall record in the East Division at 59-43, but didn’t get to the playoffs because of the lame decision by baseball officials to award split-season division titles _ one based on records before the players’ strike and another based on records after the strike.

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Red Schoendienst had successful encore with Cardinals

Posted in Games, Hitters, Managers, Opponents, Pitchers on April 28, 2021| 3 Comments »

(Updated May 8, 2021)

As managers, Red Schoendienst and Dallas Green led teams to World Series championships. As players, they faced one another with the outcome of a game on the line.

On April 28, 1961, Schoendienst, a pinch-hitter, stroked a two-run double against Green in the 11th inning, lifting the Cardinals to a 10-9 walkoff victory versus the Phillies at St. Louis.

Schoendienst, 38, was in his first season back with the Cardinals after being traded by them in June 1956. Green, 26, was in his second season in the majors and trying to overcome persistent shoulder and arm ailments.

After their playing careers, Schoendienst managed the Cardinals to a World Series title in 1967 and Green did the same for the Phillies in 1980.

Heading home

A second baseman of Hall of Fame caliber with the Cardinals, Giants and Braves, Schoendienst was at a career crossroads in 1961. He sat out most of the 1959 season while recovering from tuberculosis and was released by the Braves in October 1960.

Angels general manager Fred Haney, who managed the Braves to a World Series championship in 1957 when Schoendienst was the second baseman, offered him a contract to play for the American League expansion team in 1961. Schoendienst almost accepted, but opted instead for an invitation to spring training with the Cardinals.

Schoendienst was issued uniform No. 16 because the No. 2 he wore for most of his first stint with the Cardinals belonged to catcher Hal Smith. Smith voluntarily gave No. 2 back to Schoendienst.

“When Red was with the Cardinals the first time, he wore No. 2 and had two children,” Smith told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “When he was with the Braves, he wore No. 4 and had four children. When he came back to the Cardinals, he was given No. 16, so ….”

Schoendienst made the Opening Day roster, accepting a role as pinch-hitter and backup to second baseman Julian Javier.

“Don’t write me off,” Schoendienst said to The Sporting News. “This is too much fun. I’m not ready to throw in the towel.”

Clutch hit

A switch-hitter, Schoendienst had a sizzling start to the 1961 season, hitting .348 in April.

Dallas Green also did well early for the Phillies. A right-hander, he earned a spot in the starting rotation and pitched a shutout against the Giants in his first appearance of the season.

“For the first time in several years, I can throw without pain,” Green told The Sporting News. “You just can’t imagine what a feeling it is to be able to let go again.”

When the Phillies and Cardinals played on April 28, a raw, chilly Friday night at Busch Stadium, the starting pitchers were Robin Roberts and Ernie Broglio. The Cardinals led 6-1 after four innings, but the Phillies rallied. The game went to extra innings and the Phillies went ahead, 9-8, in the 11th.

Green, the Phillies’ seventh pitcher of the game, was working his third inning when the Cardinals loaded the bases with one out in the 11th.

Sent to bat for pitcher Al Cicotte, Schoendienst lined a double into the right-field corner, scoring Carl Sawatski and Alex Grammas.

“A good pitch, a slider, I think,” Schoendienst said to the Post-Dispatch. Boxscore

Getting it done

Three months later, on July 6, when the Cardinals fired manager Solly Hemus and replaced him with coach Johnny Keane, Schoendienst was added to the staff as player-coach.

Schoendienst led by example, becoming “one of the best pinch-hitters in the business,” the Post-Dispatch noted.

For the season, Schoendienst hit .347 as a pinch-hitter and .300 overall. In 54 plate appearances as a pinch-hitter, his on-base percentage was .407.

In 133 plate appearances overall in 1961, Schoendienst had six strikeouts, or one out of 22 times. No other Cardinal whiffed so infrequently in 1961, The Sporting News reported. Only once did he hit into a double play during the season.

Schoendienst continued as a player-coach for Keane in 1962, hitting .306 as a pinch-hitter and .301 overall.

He began the 1963 season in the same role, but after going hitless in six plate appearances, the Cardinals opted to remove Schoendienst from the player roster. According to Cardinals Gameday Magazine, general manager Bing Devine informed Schoendienst he could remain with the Cardinals as a coach or make his own deal to sign with another club as a player.

“I’ve talked to five clubs,” Devine told Schoendienst. “They all said they want you.”

Schoendienst chose to stay as a coach, ending his playing days.

For his big-league career, Schoendienst had better numbers as a pinch-hitter (.305 batting average and .371 on-base percentage) than he did overall (.289 batting average and .337 on-base percentage).

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Cardinals were a hit with prisoners on The Rock

Posted in Hitters, Pitchers on April 22, 2021| 4 Comments »

Redbirds ventured into the place where the Birdman of Alcatraz once was cooped.

In 1960 and 1961, Cardinals players and coaches visited inmates in the federal penitentiary at Alcatraz.

The first group to make the goodwill tour on June 3, 1960, consisted of Cardinals players Ken Boyer, Alex Grammas, Curt Simmons and Hal Smith.

A year later, on April 21, 1961, the visitors were Cardinals players Stan Musial and Red Schoendienst, and coaches Johnny Keane, Howie Pollet and Harry Walker.

The groups went there while the Cardinals were in San Francisco to play the Giants.

Known as The Rock, Alcatraz was where some of the most notorious criminals served their sentences, though when the Cardinals visited, convicted murderer Robert Stroud, known as the Birdman of Alcatraz, no longer was there. He was moved to the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Mo., in 1959.

Lawless legend

Alcatraz got its name when Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala sailed into San Francisco Bay in 1775 and called the rocky island “La Isla de los Alcatraces,” the island of seabirds.

The U.S. Army built a fort on Alcatraz Island in the 1850s and the facility later was made into a military prison.

From 1934-63, the island was the site of a federal penitentiary. Prisoners included gangsters Al Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly.

Robert Stroud was at Alcatraz for 17 years (1942-59) but didn’t have birds there. He became a bird expert during his 30 years of incarceration (1912-42) at the Leavenworth federal penitentiary in Kansas.

Burt Lancaster got an Academy Award nomination for best actor for his portrayal of Stroud in the 1962 movie “Birdman of Alcatraz.” Also nominated for Oscars from the film were Thelma Ritter for best supporting actress and Telly Savalas for best supporting actor. Film clip

According to the FBI, 36 convicts tried to escape from Alcatraz in the 29 years it was a federal prison. Nearly all were caught or died trying. A handful were declared missing and never found, most notably Frank Morris and brothers John Anglin and Clarence Anglin. In June 1962, the trio escaped through loosened air vents in their cells and left the island on a rubber raft. They never were found and the FBI, which closed the case in December 1979, concluded the three men probably died in the frigid water and dangerous currents of the bay.

Play ball!

Among the activities available to Alcatraz inmates were handball, table games and softball.

According to the National Park Service, inmates were allowed two hours of yard time each Saturday and Sunday. Softball was played on a patch of lawn, and balls, bats and gloves were provided.

Balls hit over the wall were considered outs, not home runs.

The softball games were well-organized. Individual and team statistics were kept and two leagues were formed. The leagues were based on talent level. The most talented players belonged to a league with four teams: Cardinals, Cubs, Giants and Tigers. The other league had four teams named for minor-league baseball clubs: Bees, Oaks, Oilers and Seals.

In 1938, one of the best softball players at Alcatraz was Lorenzo Murrieth, who was serving 40 years for assault and theft. He batted .402 for the 1938 Alcatraz Cardinals. Murrieth and another top player, William Lucas, led the Alcatraz Cardinals to a .778 winning percentage, best in the league in 1938, according to the National Park Service.

Unlike professional baseball at that time, the Alcatraz softball teams were integrated.

Many Alcatraz prisoners were avid baseball fans. According to the National Park Service, radio jacks were installed in cells on Oct. 4, 1955, and inmates listened on headphones to the broadcast of Game 7 of the World Series between the Dodgers and Yankees.

“Baseball allowed inmates to mentally escape their confinement and experience a brief moment of freedom,” the National Park Service noted.

Fan club

On Thursday, June 2, 1960, Ken Boyer hit a home run, helping the Cardinals to a 4-3 victory over the Giants at San Francisco. The next day, Boyer joined teammates Alex Grammas, Curt Simmons and Hal Smith on the visit to Alcatraz.

The players were familiar names to the Alcatraz audience. Twenty-eight inmates were subscribers to The Sporting News, the magazine reported.

“Most of the prisoners are either violently for the Giants or violently against them,” Simmons said.

One inmate complained to Boyer that Giants owner Horace Stoneham “must have had rocks in his head” when he traded Daryl Spencer and Leon Wagner to the Cardinals for Don Blasingame.

Some prisoners told Smith they lost their allotments of three packs of cigarettes a week by betting on the Cardinals, The Sporting News reported.

When an inmate spoke to Grammas in Greek and Grammas responded in kind, a guard ordered them to talk in English and wanted to know what they had said to one another in the foreign language.

The players told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the question they were asked most often by the prisoners was, “Where’s Stan the Man?”

Stepping up

A year later, Musial gave the inmates their wish, joining Red Schoendienst, Johnny Keane, Howie Pollet and Harry Walker for the April 1961 visit the day after the Cardinals arrived in San Francisco for a weekend series.

“One of the inmates comes from East St. Louis and he told me he ate in my restaurant once,” Musial said to the Post-Dispatch.

Keane said, “A lot of them like the Cardinals and they know all about the players, too. They get to hear the Dodgers’ games as well as the Giants through earphones in their cells. No television of any kind.”

In an editorial, The Sporting News saluted the Cardinals for meeting with the prisoners: “This was a simple act of charity and the men involved are to be congratulated for taking the time.”

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