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Archive for the ‘Hitters’ Category

Larry Jackson, Duke Snider and a fractured season

Posted in Games, Hitters, Managers, Opponents, Pitchers, Uncategorized on March 23, 2021| 6 Comments »

Cardinals pitcher Larry Jackson and Dodgers outfielder Duke Snider found out the hard way that bats and balls, like sticks and stones, may break bones.

On March 27, 1961, Jackson suffered a fractured jaw when Snider’s bat splintered and struck Jackson in the face during a spring training game.

Three weeks later, on April 17, 1961, Snider suffered a fractured right elbow when the Cardinals’ Bob Gibson hit him with a pitch during an at-bat in the regular season.

Gibson’s plunking of Snider had more to do with the home run Snider hit in his previous at-bat against Gibson than it did with the accident involving Jackson.

Jackson and Snider recovered from their injuries, and each went on to have a productive season.

Painful outing

Jackson was pitching in his last scheduled inning when Snider came to bat in the exhibition game between the Cardinals and Dodgers at Vero Beach, Fla.

Snider had hit a two-run home run in the first and a two-run double in the third against Jackson. In the sixth, with baserunner Tommy Davis on second, Snider was looking to drive in another run.

Jackson threw a pitch near Snider’s fists. Snider connected, shattering the bat and sending pieces of it flying. The ball hit Jackson on the hip and fell to the ground. As Jackson turned to retrieve it, the heavy end of the bat, whirling rapidly through the air, struck him in the lower left jaw.

“Bleeding from cuts inside his mouth, Jackson fell in a heap in front of the mound, but did not lose consciousness,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

In his book “The Duke of Flatbush,” Snider said, “I felt awful about it, but that’s one of the occupational hazards of pitching.”

Jackson was taken by ambulance to a Vero Beach hospital and given emergency treatment. X-rays showed he had two fractures in the jaw.

Jackson was permitted to return on a chartered flight to St. Petersburg, Fla., where the Cardinals trained. His jaw was wired that night by a surgeon at a St. Petersburg hospital.

Released from the hospital on March 31, Jackson pitched batting practice a few days later. The Cardinals targeted the end of April for his return in a game.

Purpose pitch

After the Cardinals opened the season with wins in three of their first five games, they started Gibson against the Dodgers at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

In the third, Gibson threw a pitch on the outside corner to Snider, a left-handed batter. In the book “From Ghetto to Glory,” Gibson said, “I pitched away to Snider because he was a good pull hitter.”

Snider poked the ball over the screen in left for a two-run home run and a 3-1 Dodgers lead.

The next time Snider came up, in the fifth, “I was still going to pitch him outside,” Gibson said.

Gibson changed his mind when he noticed Snider lean in. “So I threw the next pitch tight to brush him back away from the plate,” Gibson said.

Snider barely saw the fastball. “It came right at me,” Snider said. “It was headed for my ribs and I brought up my right arm instinctively to protect my body. The pitch hit my elbow and the ball dropped straight to the ground. It was no glancing blow. It hit me flush.”

Snider advanced to first and was thrown out attempting to steal second.

When he tried to bat again in the seventh, Snider “felt a sharp pain in that right elbow, like someone jabbing a needle in there” and was lifted for a pinch-hitter.

An examination revealed the elbow was fractured.

“I saw Duke after the game,” Gibson said. “I didn’t apologize to him. He knew I was sorry. He knew I wasn’t throwing at him. I was trying to move him away from the plate, trying to get him to think and not take things for granted up there.”

In the book “We Would have Played For Nothing,” Snider told former baseball commissioner Fay Vincent, “I know that Bob Gibson has told people he never threw at a player on purpose. Bob Gibson is a nice guy, but he stretches the truth a little bit once in a while.” Boxscore

We meet again

Jackson’s absence from the starting rotation the first few weeks of the 1961 season was a significant setback for the Cardinals. The year before, he won 18 and led the National League in innings pitched (282).

A right-hander, Jackson made his first appearance of the 1961 season on April 26, a month after his injury, in a start against the Braves.

He lost his first three decisions, prompting The Sporting News to note, “After subsisting on liquids and soft foods for a month, Jackson showed he needed a few steaks to beef up his pitching.”

Meanwhile, after sitting out a month, Snider returned on May 19 as a pinch-hitter and was back in the Dodgers’ starting lineup on May 22.

Two days later, the Dodgers opened a series at St. Louis. Jackson started Game 1 and faced Snider for the first time since the spring training accident. Snider walked three times, but didn’t get a hit, and Jackson got his first win of the season. Boxscore

The next night, Gibson started and faced Snider for the first time since he suffered the fractured elbow. Snider got a single in four at-bats. Sandy Koufax pitched a three-hitter and Tommy Davis hit a home run in a 1-0 Dodgers triumph. Boxscore

Keep going

On June 26, Jackson lost to the Braves, sinking his record for the season to 3-8. Manager Solly Hemus dropped him from the starting rotation.

Two weeks later, Hemus was fired and Johnny Keane replaced him. Jackson returned to the rotation and won 11 of his next 12 decisions.

“There’s no pitcher in the league right now who’s better than Larry Jackson,” Keane said to the St. Louis Globe-Democrat.

Jackson finished the season at 14-11 with three shutouts and 211 innings pitched. He made six starts against the Dodgers and was 1-3. Snider hit .294 versus Jackson in 1961 and .219 for his career.

Snider finished the season with 16 home runs and a .296 batting mark. Against Gibson, Snider hit .300 in 1961 and .212 for his career.

 

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How Stan Javier got his start in Cardinals’ system

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Prospects, Trades on March 17, 2021| 6 Comments »

Stan Javier seemed destined to become a Cardinals player, but although he had the name, pedigree and skills, it didn’t happen.

On March 26, 1981, Javier signed with the Cardinals as an amateur free agent.

Stan was the son of Julian Javier, a second baseman who helped the Cardinals to three National League pennants and two World Series championships in the 1960s.

Julian named his son in honor of Stan Musial, who was Julian’s Cardinals teammate from 1960-63.

An outfielder and first baseman who batted from both sides, Stan Javier went on to play 17 seasons in the majors for eight teams, but not the Cardinals.

As the St. Louis Post-Dispatch aptly noted, “Stan Javier would have been an ideal Cardinals player, a switch-hitter who can run and play more than one position.”

A good name

Stan Javier was born on Jan. 9, 1964, and raised in the Dominican Republic. He was one of five children of Julian and Ynez Javier. Stan’s older brother, Julian Jr., became a doctor.

Asked why he named a son Stan, Julian Sr. told the Post-Dispatch, “I wanted my son to be like Stan Musial. Stan Musial is a gentleman.”

Musial was playing in his last season in 1963 when Julian Sr. told him that Ynez was pregnant and the child would be a boy. “He said, ‘Why don’t you name him after me?’ ” Julian Sr. told the Post-Dispatch. “I said, ‘Yeah, why not?’ Stan’s a good name for him.”

In 1990, Stan Javier said of Stan Musial, “I don’t know him that well, but I knew who he was and knew all about him when I was growing up in the Dominican.”

When Stan Javier was a toddler, he spent some summers visiting his father in St. Louis and went with him to Busch Memorial Stadium. In 1988, Stan Javier told the Post-Dispatch, “I remember the stadium, the clubhouse, the players _ Lou Brock and Bob Gibson.”

Making an impression

Stan Javier developed into a talented youth baseball player in the Dominican Republic. In 1981, soon after Stan turned 17, he and his father showed up at Cardinals spring training camp in Florida. Julian Sr. wanted the Cardinals to take a look at his son and offer him a contract.

Impressed, the Cardinals signed Stan and told him to report in June to their farm team in Johnson City, Tenn., following his graduation from high school in the Dominican Republic.

Stan hit .250 in 53 games for Johnson City in 1981. At home after the season, he worked with his father to improve his game. “He pitched batting practice to me a lot and worked on my stance,” Stan said to The Sporting News.

When Stan reported to Johnson City in 1982, he hit “with authority,” said director of player development Lee Thomas.

Wearing No. 6, the same as Musial had, and playing on a Johnson City team with Vince Coleman and Terry Pendleton, Stan hit .276 in 57 games. “Stan definitely is a major-league prospect,” Johnson City manager Rich Hacker told The Sporting News.

All business 

On Jan. 24, 1983, the Cardinals and Yankees traded minor leaguers. The Cardinals sent Javier and infielder Bobby Meacham to the Yankees for outfielder Bob Helson and pitchers Steve Fincher and Marty Mason.

The Post-Dispatch reported the deal was to appease Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who held hard feelings toward the Cardinals for sending him an injured player, Bob Sykes, in exchange for Willie McGee 15 months earlier.

In 1988, looking back on the deal, Stan Javier told the Post-Dispatch, “That trade was the hardest thing for me … I really was just starting to learn how to play.”

The Yankees brought Stan to the majors in April 1984. Eight months later, he was part of a package sent by the Yankees to the Athletics for Rickey Henderson.

Be yourself

Stan became a role player for the Athletics under manager Tony La Russa.

In 1988, Julian Sr. told the Post-Dispatch, “My son has been playing good ball and he’ll be a good player, but not like Stan Musial.”

“I wish I could hit like Stan Musial and catch the ball like Julian Javier,” Stan Javier said to reporter Dave Luecking. “That would be nice. I admire those players, but there’s no way I can be those two. You have to be your own person. If you try to be like someone else, you’re in trouble. I hit like Stan Javier and catch like Stan Javier.”

Stan got to play in two World Series (1988 and 1989) with the Athletics. According to the Post-Dispatch, Julian and Stan Javier were the third father and son to get World Series hits. The others were Jim and Mike Hegan, and Bob and Terry Kennedy.

Happy homecoming

In May 1990, the Athletics traded Stan to the Dodgers for Willie Randolph. When the Dodgers went to St. Louis that month for a series against the Cardinals, Stan got to play at Busch Memorial Stadium for the first time as a major leaguer. He hadn’t been to the ballpark since he was a child.

On May 26, he entered the game as a substitute and hit a three-run triple against Scott Terry. Boxscore

The next night, Stan, starting in center field and batting second, was 4-for-6 against the Cardinals. He scored three runs and drove in one. Boxscore

For the series, Stan was 5-for-8 with four RBI.

“It felt gratifying to have a good game here,” Stan told the Post-Dispatch.

Swing and miss

After La Russa left the Athletics to manage the Cardinals, he and general manager Walt Jocketty tried to acquire Stan.

The Cardinals had “considerable interest” in making a trade with the Giants for Stan in November 1998, the Post-Dispatch reported, but the Astros got him instead.

When Stan became a free agent after the 1999 season, the Post-Dispatch predicted the Cardinals would “go hard after Stan.”

“I think he can play a lot and protect us in the outfield,” Jocketty said.

Instead, Stan signed with the Mariners and finished his playing days with them. Video

Stan produced 1,358 career hits. He batted .270 against left-handers and .269 versus right-handers.

His career numbers against the Cardinals included a .366 on-base percentage and .271 batting average.

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Lightning struck again for Bobby Thomson vs. Cardinals

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents on March 8, 2021| 7 Comments »

Eight months after his “shot heard around the world” won the pennant for the Giants, Bobby Thomson shocked the Cardinals with another walkoff home run.

On June 16, 1952, Thomson hit a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth, erasing a 7-4 Cardinals lead and lifting the Giants to an 8-7 victory at the Polo Grounds in New York.

It was Thomson’s first walkoff home run since his three-run shot in the bottom of the ninth on Oct. 3, 1951, at the Polo Grounds. That home run, against the Dodgers’ Ralph Branca, carried the Giants from a 4-2 deficit to a 5-4 triumph in the decisive game of a playoff series to determine the National League champion. Boxscore and video

Though the walkoff grand slam versus the Cardinals didn’t clinch a championship, it had a magic of its own.

Hit and miss

The Monday afternoon game between the Cardinals and Giants was poorly played. Giants pitchers gave up 16 hits, four walks and hit two batters. The Giants also made three errors. The Cardinals could have had more than a three-run lead entering the ninth, but they hit into five double plays and stranded 10.

Rookie right-hander Eddie Yuhas, working his fifth inning in relief of starter Harry Brecheen, was the Cardinals’ pitcher in the bottom of the ninth. He walked the leadoff batter, Hank Thompson.

George Wilson followed with a line drive. Second baseman Red Schoendienst grabbed it backhanded “with a graceful leap to his right,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Schoendienst whirled and fired to first baseman Dick Sisler in an attempt to nail Hank Thompson, who had ventured far off the bag, but the throw was high and wild. Hank Thompson advanced to second on the error.

The next batter, Davey Williams, grounded sharply to right. Schoendienst broke the wrong way and the ball skipped into the outfield for a single, advancing Hank Thompson to third.

Mix and match

With Whitey Lockman, a left-handed batter, coming up next, Cardinals manager Eddie Stanky wanted a left-hander to pitch. Stanky lifted Yuhas and brought in Bill Werle. Lockman walked, loading the bases and bringing Bobby Thomson to the plate.

A right-handed batter, Thomson was hitless in his last 17 at-bats. Stanky, who eight months earlier was the Giants’ second baseman when Thomson hit his walkoff home run against the Dodgers, wanted a right-hander to face his former teammate.

Stanky brought in rookie Willard Schmidt, who earned a save against the Giants the day before.

“Thomson and everybody in the park knew Schmidt, with three on base, was not going to go cute,” The Sporting News noted. “He was coming in with the fastball to get the first strike if possible.”

Sure enough, Schmidt’s first pitch was a fastball. Thomson leaned into it “like a man who knew his business,” United Press International reported.

Far and fair

Thomson pulled the pitch down the left field line, “a vicious, high drive,” the Post-Dispatch reported.

The ball curled around the foul pole and “cleared the left field roof, not more than four feet from the foul line,” the New York Daily News noted.

Augie Donatelli, umpiring at third, carefully followed the ball’s track and signaled the ball stayed fair. Cardinals catcher Del Rice argued otherwise, to no avail.

As Thomson circled the bases and approached the plate following the three runners ahead of him, “it looked like Pennant Day all over again,” the Daily News observed. “The entire team was there to greet him, shake his hand and pound his back.”

Schmidt “stood on the mound as though paralyzed,” the Daily News noted. Boxscore

Fantastic feat

Fans and media marveled at Thomson’s knack for delivering dramatic endings.

_ “Yes, children, there is a miracle man,” International News Service wrote as its lead to the game story.

_ “This is an act which cannot be improved.” declared The Sporting News.

_ “Had the game been in a World Series or in a crucial pennant stretch drive, the finish would have been immortalized just as was that golden victory that clinched a pennant for the Giants over Brooklyn last October,” United Press International concluded. “As it was, folks who saw it won’t forget it for a long time.”

In his book “The Giants Win The Pennant,” Thomson said, “I can remember leaving the clubhouse early. I was walking across center field and some diehard fans who were still in the stands gave me a great ovation. I’m sure a lot of them were remembering my homer the year before. It was as if I was continuing the heroics.”

 

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Steve Braun had sharp stroke, good eye with Cardinals

Posted in Games, Hitters on March 2, 2021| 10 Comments »

A disciple of a master instructor, Steve Braun used plate discipline and situational hitting skill to become a valuable role player for the Cardinals.

On March 3, 1981, the Cardinals signed Braun, a free agent, to a minor-league pact. A left-handed batter, Braun, 32, hoped to earn a spot with the Cardinals as a backup outfielder and pinch-hitter.

Whitey Herzog, who had the dual role of Cardinals manager and general manager, was an important ally. Herzog managed Braun with the Royals in 1978 and 1979.

It was with the 1978 Royals that Braun became influenced by hitting coach Charlie Lau. Applying Lau’s theories, Braun developed into a pinch-hitter who got on base at an impressively high rate.

Frame of mind

Braun got to the big leagues with the Twins in 1971. A left fielder and third baseman, he hit .280 or better in five of his six seasons (1971-76) with the Twins.

In 1975, teammate Rod Carew introduced Braun to Harvey Maisel, a hypnotist, or, as Braun preferred to call him, a mind trainer. Braun credited Maisel with helping him in his approach to hitting.

“The idea is to get yourself relaxed, to think relaxing thoughts so that you give yourself positive suggestions,” Braun told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Braun hit .302 that year, the only time he reached the .300 mark in the majors.

Disenchanted with Twins management, Braun asked to be made available in the November 1976 American League expansion draft. He was selected by the Mariners and batted third in the order as their Opening Day left fielder when they debuted in 1977. Boxscore

Braun said he was surprised when the Mariners traded him to the Royals on June 1, 1978.

In the zone

Charlie Lau, who drew praise from the likes of George Brett and Lou Piniella for his hitting instruction, went to work on Braun, who was batting .230 when the Royals acquired him. With Lau’s help, Braun learned strike zone discipline and how to adapt his approach to what was needed in each at-bat.

“I learned more about hitting in that one season with Lau than I had in all my years of baseball before that,” Braun told the Post-Dispatch.

“He’s the one who really got me thinking about what I should be doing as a hitter.”

Braun became a premier pinch-hitter. He had an on-base percentage of .429 as a pinch-hitter for the 1978 Royals, who were division champions under Herzog.

“I came to the ballpark every night expecting and knowing I’ll get the hit when we need it,” Braun told The Sporting News. “I’ve never had confidence like that. I just know I can get on base and do something to help this club. I’ve changed my hitting style. I’m going with the pitch instead of pulling everything.”

Lau departed the Royals for the Yankees in 1979, but Braun’s success continued under Herzog. Braun had an on-base percentage of .394 as a pinch-hitter for the 1979 Royals.

After the season, Herzog was fired and replaced by Jim Frey. Braun was released in June 1980 and signed with the Blue Jays. As a pinch-hitter for the Blue Jays, he had an on-base percentage of .429 and delivered three game-winning hits.

Right attitude

Granted free agency, Braun contacted Herzog. The Cardinals had no room on their 40-man winter roster, but Herzog offered Braun a chance to compete for a job at spring training. Herzog told the Post-Dispatch he viewed Braun as “a little insurance” in case a roster player got injured or slumped.

Herzog, in his first spring training with the Cardinals, was looking for players who knew how to reach base and advance runners. Braun, who did that better than most, earned a spot on the Opening Day roster as a pinch-hitter.

He made his Cardinals debut in the season opener and delivered a pinch-hit double against the Phillies’ Dick Ruthven. Boxscore

“My goal is to help in at least 10 victories by getting on base leading off an inning, or by moving a runner along, or by driving in a run or more,” Braun said. “Herzog likes to have me lead off an inning because I also get a lot of walks.”

Getting it done

In his five seasons with St. Louis, Braun had 60 pinch-hits, according to the Cardinals’ media guide. The only player with more career pinch-hits as a Cardinal is Gerald Perry (70).

Braun produced these on-base percentages as a Cardinals pinch-hitter: .412 in 1981, .383 in 1982, .433 in 1983, .389 in 1984 and .382 in 1985.

In the 1982 World Series, Braun had two important plate appearances.

In Game 2, with the score tied at 4-4, Braun batted as a pinch-hitter with the bases loaded in the eighth inning and drew a four-pitch walk, driving in the winning run. Boxscore and video at 2:52 mark.

In Game 7, Braun’s RBI-single in the eighth inning extended the Cardinals’ lead over the Brewers to 6-3 and gave Bruce Sutter a comfortable cushion to close out the decisive ninth. Boxscore and video at 2;20 mark.

“He’s got a good knowledge of the strike zone,” Herzog told The Sporting News. “I know he’s going to put the ball in play or go to a 3-and-2 count when he’s leading off an inning.”

Regarding his approach to situational hitting, Braun told the Post-Dispatch, “You have to recognize the situation you’re in. What can I do? What do I have to do? Sometimes you need a baserunner. Sometimes you need a pulled ball. Sometimes you need an extra-base hit and sometimes you need a home run.”

One noteworthy home run Braun hit for the Cardinals came in a game on July 21, 1985. His two-run homer in the 10th inning against Dodgers reliever Tom Niedenfuer gave the Cardinals a 4-2 victory and foreshadowed more heartache for the pitcher. Boxscore

Three months later, in the National League Championship Series, Ozzie Smith hit a game-winning home run for the Cardinals against Niedenfuer in Game 5 and Jack Clark followed with a pennant-clinching home run against him in Game 6.

Pupil turned teacher

Despite his success, Braun was a non-roster player at three consecutive Cardinals spring trainings (1981-83) and made the team each time. He finally was rewarded with roster spots at spring trainings in 1984 and 1985.

Braun finished his playing career with 115 pinch-hits in the majors, according to retrosheet.org.

He was a Cardinals minor-league hitting instructor from 1986-89 and the hitting coach for the big-league club in 1990. After Herzog quit as manager in 1990, Braun became a minor-league hitting instructor with the Red Sox and Yankees.

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How Vince Coleman landed in Whitey Herzog doghouse

Posted in Hitters, Uncategorized on February 24, 2021| 8 Comments »

Unsatisfied with the RBI production they got from their left fielder, the Cardinals tried to trade Vince Coleman.

In 1989, Coleman led the National League in stolen bases (65) for the fifth consecutive year and led the Cardinals in runs scored (94), but manager Whitey Herzog wanted more from him.

Coleman hit .200 with runners in scoring position and totaled a mere 28 RBI. He also had lapses in fielding.

“Vince Coleman has been castigated for both his outfield play and his inability to drive in runs,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted.

Seeking either an outfielder who put up big RBI numbers, or a starting pitcher, the Cardinals were willing to give up Coleman to get what they needed.

They set their sights on a couple of potential trade targets: Indians outfielder Joe Carter and Reds pitchers Scott Scudder and Norm Charlton.

Thompson emerges

The top two RBI producers for the 1989 Cardinals, who finished third in their division, were first baseman Pedro Guerrero (117) and right fielder Tom Brunansky (85). Herzog figured the club could do better if it had another RBI producer in left.

An internal option was Milt Thompson.

Because of injuries, center fielder Willie McGee was limited to 47 starts in 1989. Thompson filled in and impressed. His season totals in key categories were much better than those Coleman produced.

Thompson had 68 RBI, 40 more than Coleman did, and hit .318 with runners in scoring position, 118 points better than Coleman did.

Overall, Thompson hit .290, with 28 doubles and 27 steals.

When the 1989 season ended, Herzog told Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz, “I consider Vince my fourth outfielder” behind Brunansky, McGee and Thompson.

“In the history of baseball, you tell me a left fielder who batted 565 times and knocked in 28 runs,” Herzog said to Miklasz. “Tell me who it is. I’m interested in Vince hitting .290 and driving in 50 runs. if he can’t do that, I don’t think we can win.”

A switch-hitter, Coleman batted .254 overall in 1989. “After moving his average to .275 in late July, he batted .206 the rest of the season,” the Post-Dispatch noted.

Vince Coleman “has become Wince Coleman to Herzog,” Miklasz concluded. “Two things are likely to happen to Coleman this winter. He’ll be traded or benched.”

“I don’t think Vince would be happy sitting on the bench,” Herzog said.

Reds reconsider

The Reds needed a left fielder to replace Kal Daniels, who’d been traded. Their new general manager, Bob Quinn, envisioned Coleman, 28, joining an outfield with Eric Davis in center and Paul O’Neill in right.

Figuring Thompson could do the job in left for the Cardinals, “the ideal situation would be to get another quality starter” for the pitching rotation, Herzog told Rick Hummel of the Post-Dispatch.

Hummel reported the Cardinals asked the Reds in October 1989 for pitchers Scott Scudder and Norm Charlton in exchange for Coleman.

A right-hander, Scudder, 21, was a first-round draft pick of the Reds in 1986. In the minors, he was 14-3 in 1988 and 6-2 in 1989 before being called up to the majors. He was 4-9 with a 4.49 ERA for the 1989 Reds. The Cardinals saw him as a developing talent and a fit for their starting rotation.

A left-hander, Charlton, 26, was a first-round draft pick of the Expos in 1984. He was 8-3 with a 2.93 ERA as a Reds reliever in 1989.

The Reds told the Cardinals they would trade one, but not both, of the pitchers for Coleman, the Post-Dispatch reported.

Soon after those trade talks began, the Reds hired Lou Piniella to be their manager. According to the Post-Dispatch, Piniella told general manager Bob Quinn, “I don’t like Coleman.”

The Dayton Daily News reported a swap of Scudder for Coleman “probably is dead. Piniella likes young pitchers and wants to see how Scudder” does in spring training.

Special instructions

Meanwhile, the Cardinals reassigned hitting coach Johnny Lewis and replaced him with Steve Braun, who had played for Herzog with the Royals and Cardinals.

“Without a doubt, Braun’s principal pupil is the perplexing Coleman,” the Post-Dispatch reported.

Coleman had a batting cage at his St. Louis home and Braun began making visits there during the winter to work with him and “take the slap out of Coleman’s swing,” according to Dan O’Neill of the Post-Dispatch.

“We’re taking the top hand out of his swing,” Braun said. “That will allow him to keep the bat head in the strike zone longer and hit the ball more solidly. I have conveyed to him that I think he can be much more than a Punch and Judy hitter.”

Braun said he told Coleman he should be hitting more doubles than the 21 he produced in 1989. “He’s strong,” Braun said. “He has the size and the body to drive the ball. He has enough drive and determination to make the change.”

Swing and miss

Heading into the baseball winter meetings at Nashville in December 1989, the Indians were shopping slugger Joe Carter. He had 35 home runs and 105 RBI for them in 1989. The Cardinals wanted him.

“If the Cardinals were to make a deal with Cleveland, it would almost certainly include Vince Coleman and Willie McGee,” the Post-Dispatch reported.

Cardinals general manager Dal Maxvill said the Cardinals “were definitely interested in Carter.” Herzog said getting Carter would revamp the offense.

“We really haven’t got out of our outfield what we have to in order to be contenders,” Herzog said. “We’ve got to have a guy who can do a better job than the guys we have. We’re too undisciplined with runners on base.

“We were in the running (for Carter),” Herzog said. “We made an offer and they thought about it.”

The Indians liked better what the Padres offered. On Dec. 6, 1989, Carter, 29, was dealt to the Padres for catcher Sandy Alomar, second baseman Carlos Baerga and outfielder Chris James.

The Cardinals went back and met with the Reds, but “the Reds aren’t interested in Vince Coleman,” the Dayton Daily News reported.

Something to prove

Entering spring training in 1990, Herzog was reminded that when the 1989 season ended he considered Coleman to be his fourth outfielder. “I haven’t changed my mind,” Herzog told the Post-Dispatch.

“The thing that bothers me about Vince is he hasn’t played to his potential on defense or on offense,” Herzog said. “He has more ability than he has shown.”

On March 28, 1990, two weeks before the season opened, the Post-Dispatch reported, “Vince Coleman is the only all-star player in a major league spring training camp who isn’t assured of a starting job.”

Herzog said, “If the season opened tomorrow, Thompson would be playing left, McGee in center and Brunansky in right. In April, I don’t know.”

When a surge boosted Coleman’s spring training batting average to .368 on April 5, Herzog decided to open the season on April 9 with an outfield of Coleman, McGee and Brunansky.

The 1990 season was one of constant turmoil for the Cardinals. Brunansky was traded in May, Herzog quit in July and McGee was traded in August. The Cardinals finished in last place.

Coleman hit .292 with 39 RBI and 77 stolen bases in 1990. He hit .259 with runners in scoring position. After the season, he became a free agent and signed with the Mets.

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Once a Dodger, Wayne Terwilliger got tough on Cardinals

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Uncategorized on February 21, 2021| 4 Comments »

In 1951, the Dodgers dominated the Cardinals in a way few have. It wasn’t just future Hall of Famers Roy Campanella, Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese and Duke Snider who did the damage. Players such as Wayne Terwilliger joined in, too.

A second baseman who played nine years in the majors, Terwilliger built a second career as a coach and manager.

Though he was valued more for his fielding than his hitting, Terwilliger helped the Dodgers extend a streak of success against the Cardinals during his short stay with them in 1951.

War and baseball

A Michigan native, Terwilliger joined the Marines in 1943 and saw combat in Saipan and Iwo Jima. After the war, he enrolled at Western Michigan University and played varsity baseball and basketball. He signed with the Cubs in 1948 after impressing them in a tryout.

Called up to the Cubs from the minors in August 1949, Terwilliger, 24, caught the attention of manager Frankie Frisch, the former standout second baseman for the Giants and Cardinals. Terwilliger was the Opening Day second baseman for Frisch with the Cubs in 1950 and 1951.

On June 15, 1951, Terwilliger was part of a blockbuster trade between the Cubs and Dodgers. The Cubs sent Terwilliger, outfielder Andy Pafko, pitcher Johnny Schmitz and catcher Rube Walker to the Dodgers for catcher Bruce Edwards, pitcher Joe Hatten, outfielder Gene Hermanski and infielder Eddie Miksis.

The key player for the Dodgers was Pafko, a power hitter with a strong arm. With Pafko in left, Duke Snider in center and Carl Furillo in right, the Dodgers had what the Cardinals’ Stan Musial called “the best-throwing outfield I ever saw.”

Terwilliger was acquired to be a backup to Jackie Robinson at second. It was a role that gave him little chance to play.

Late drama

The Cardinals and Dodgers split the first four games they played against one another in 1951. After that, the Dodgers went on a roll, winning seven in a row versus the Cardinals entering their game on July 21, 1951, a Saturday afternoon, at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn.

The Dodgers led, 2-0, until Cardinals left fielder Hal Rice hit a two-run home run in the eighth against starter Don Newcombe, tying the score.

Facing Cardinals reliever Tom Poholsky, Jackie Robinson led off the bottom of the ninth by looping a single to shallow left-center for his fourth consecutive hit.

The Cardinals’ infielders moved in, anticipating a sacrifice attempt from the next batter, Gil Hodges. On the first pitch, Hodges feigned a bunt, drawing the infielders closer. On the next pitch, he swung away and lashed a single to left.

As Robinson neared second, he saw Hal Rice in left didn’t charge the ball. Robinson turned up the speed and raced to third. Rice’s hurried throw was off the mark. Robinson got in safely and Hodges continued to second.

Roy Campanella was walked intentionally, loading the bases.

Good move

With a left-handed batter, Don Thompson, due up next, Cardinals manager Marty Marion relieved Poholsky with a left-hander, Harry Brecheen. Dodgers manager Chuck Dressen countered with Terwilliger, who batted from the right side. It was his first plate appearance in a week.

The Cardinals infielders came way in and “seemed to be expecting” the suicide squeeze bunt from Terwilliger, the New York Daily News observed.

Brecheen threw two outside pitches, hoping to foil a squeeze play, but Terwilliger offered at neither. On the third pitch, Terwilliger swung and hit a single through the drawn-in infield, scoring Robinson with the winning run and increasing the Dodgers’ win streak versus the Cardinals to eight. Boxscore

“The Cardinals continued to be the softest touch seen in these parts since Diamond Jim Brady left Broadway,” Bob Broeg wrote in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Dazzling Dodgers

The Dodgers’ 1951 win streak against the Cardinals reached 14 before it ended on Aug. 23. For the season, the Dodgers won 18 of 22 games versus the Cardinals.

Spitball specialist Preacher Roe, a former Cardinal, was 7-0 for the Dodgers against the Cardinals in 1951. Carl Erskine was 4-0.

Most of the Dodgers’ regulars hit Cardinals pitching hard and often. The standouts, in alphabetical order, included:

_ Roy Campanella: .328, six home runs, 19 RBI in 19 games.

_ Carl Furillo: .326, 28 hits in 22 games.

_ Gil Hodges: .301, four home runs, 16 RBI in 22 games.

_ Andy Pafko: .516 on-base percentage, eight hits and eight walks in nine games.

_ Pee Wee Reese: .297, 27 hits in 22 games.

_ Jackie Robinson: .433 on-base percentage, 29 hits and 10 walks in 22 games.

_ Duke Snider: 23 hits, 12 walks, 16 runs scored and 13 RBI in 22 games.

The Giants, who edged the Dodgers for the National League pennant on Bobby Thomson’s home run in the ninth inning of the decisive playoff game, were 11-11 versus the Cardinals in 1951.

Long career

Terwilliger, a .172 hitter versus the Cardinals for his career, had a .538 on-base percentage (three hits, four walks) against them as a Dodger in 1951.

He spent the 1952 season in the minors and returned to the big leagues as the second baseman for the Senators in 1953 and 1954. Terwilliger’s final seasons in the majors were as a reserve for the Giants (1955-56) and Athletics (1959-60).

Terwilliger spent 18 years as a coach in the majors with the Senators (1969-71), Rangers (1972 and 1981-85) and Twins (1986-94). He coached for the Twins against the Cardinals in the 1987 World Series.

Terwilliger also was a manager for 17 years in the minors, mostly in the farm systems of the Senators and Rangers. In 2005, he was 80 when he managed an unaffiliated minor-league team, the Fort Worth Cats, to a Central League title.

In March 1993, when he was a Twins coach, Terwilliger, 67, told Knight-Ridder Newspapers his six rules for a long life:

_ Associate with young people.

_ Get up early.

_ Move with some bounce in your step.

_ A diet with plenty of distilled water, vegetables and chicken.

_ Find time each day to be by yourself.

_ Ignore the aches, pains and varicose veins.

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