RetroSimba

(Updated Feb. 2, 2023)

Cookie Rojas was supposed to be a 1970s version of Jose Oquendo for the Cardinals, but it didn’t work out.

On June 13, 1970, the Cardinals traded Rojas to the Royals for outfielder Fred Rico. The deal brought an unsatisfactory end to an unexpectedly short stint with the Cardinals for Rojas.

After acquiring Rojas from the Phillies in the October 1969 trade involving Dick Allen, Curt Flood and Tim McCarver, the Cardinals envisioned him as a valuable role player in 1970.

Like Oquendo did with the Cardinals in the 1980s and 1990s, Rojas played all nine positions for the Phillies in the 1960s. Unlike Oquendo, Rojas said he used the same glove to play each position. He donated it to the Baseball Hall of Fame. “I believe that glove represents what I was as a ballplayer and what kind of fielder I was,” Rojas told Bill Francis of the Hall of Fame. “I even used the glove when I caught.” (Rojas caught in seven games for the Phillies.)

Phillies manager Gene Mauch called Rojas the National League’s most versatile athlete since the Cardinals’ Red Schoendienst _ “and I never heard of Schoendienst catching,” Mauch said to the Wilmington (Delaware) News Journal.

The Cardinals projected Rojas to back up second baseman Julian Javier and shortstop Dal Maxvill, and to help out at third base after Mike Shannon was sidelined because of a kidney ailment.

Instead of being a Secret Weapon, as Oquendo was nicknamed, Rojas was more like a lost secret, who didn’t play much for the Cardinals and who rarely reached base when he did.

Cuban cutie

Octavio Victor Rojas was born in Havana, Cuba. His father was a pharmacist at the University of Havana hospital, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

When Octavio was a boy, his mother called him Cuqui, a common Cuban term of endearment loosely translated to mean cute, and the nickname morphed into Cookie when he came to the United States at 17 to begin his baseball career with a Reds farm club, the West Palm Beach Sun Chiefs.

After six years (1956-61) in the minors, Rojas debuted in the majors with the Reds in 1962 as the backup to second baseman Don Blasingame, the former Cardinal. Rojas’ first big-league hit was a single against Sandy Koufax and his first RBI came against the Cardinals’ Curt Simmons. Boxscore

To make room for their rookie second baseman, Pete Rose, in 1963, the Reds traded Rojas to the Phillies.

Rojas spent seven seasons (1963-69) with the Phillies. His first two years were as a utility player before he became their second baseman in 1965.

“Cookie Rojas is a remarkable individual, indefatigable, willing and able to play any position on the field,” syndicated columnist Red Smith wrote.

Rojas told the Philadelphia Inquirer, “I’m not a great ballplayer. I don’t have the ability some players have, but I can help my team win ballgames. Give me a chance, I’ll do it.”

Multiple skills

On June 30, 1967, Rojas pitched an inning against the Giants. With two on and two outs, Willie Mays came to the plate. “The only thing I could think of was I didn’t care how far Willie hit the ball as long as it didn’t come back through the middle,” Rojas said to the Philadelphia Daily News.

After Mays was retired on a soft fly to right, Rojas said, “I think Willie was more afraid of me than I was of Willie. He was probably worried I’d throw one wild and bean him.”

Said Mays: “He pitches good for a second baseman.”

Rojas was a good second baseman. He was a National League all-star in 1965, when he led the Phillies in hitting (.303), and he was tops among the league’s second basemen in fielding percentage, putouts and double plays turned in 1968. When the Phillies had a keystone combination of Rojas at second and Bobby Wine at shortstop, the plays of Wine and Rojas became a fan favorite.

Mauch told the Wilmington (Delaware) News Journal, “There are only three second basemen in the league who compare with Cookie as a glove man _ Tony Taylor, Bill Mazeroski, Julian Javier.”

Tough times

With rookie Denny Doyle projected to take over at second base in 1970, the Phillies deemed Rojas expendable. The Padres, managed by Rojas’ friend and winter-league manager, Preston Gomez, made offers for Rojas, The Sporting News reported, but the Phillies sent him to the Cardinals.

Though Rojas preferred to be a starter, he welcomed the trade to the Cardinals. “This club can win and, even more than playing regularly, I want to play on a championship team,” Rojas told the Post-Dispatch.

The union got off to an awkward start. On Feb. 23, Rojas phoned manager Red Schoendienst at the club’s spring training site in St. Petersburg, Fla., and said, “I think I’ve got chicken pox. What should I do?” Schoendienst replied, “Stay home until you’re sure you’re not contagious.”

Rojas didn’t report to camp until the day before the first exhibition game.

When the regular season began, Rojas, wearing the uniform No. 11 that Oquendo later wore with the Cardinals, struggled to hit. One of his few Cardinals highlights came on April 14, 1970, when he drove in the winning run with a scratch hit against the Expos. Batting for pitcher Sal Campisi in the bottom of the 10th with the bases loaded, one out and the score tied at 5-5. Rojas hit a squibber off the end of his bat down the third-base line.

“The ball was foul, but hit something and bounced over third baseman Angel Hermoso’s glove and over the bag,” the Post-Dispatch reported.

Said Cardinals third-base coach George Kissell: “It looked like the ball hit a cleat mark.”

Julian Javier scored from third on the single for a 6-5 Cardinals victory. Boxscore

Rojas played in 23 games for the Cardinals and hit .106. He made eight starts at second base and three in left field.

Reflecting on his short St. Louis stay, Rojas told the Philadelphia Inquirer, “I sat and I sat. I gained 10 pounds. Everybody said, ‘Rojas is done. Rojas is too slow.’ ”

Revival with Royals

When the Cardinals informed Rojas he was traded to the Royals, an American League team in its second season of existence, “I was going to quit,” Rojas said. “I thought, ‘I’m 31. What does an expansion ball club want with me?’ ”

Before declaring his intentions, Rojas consulted with Preston Gomez, whose Padres, like the Royals, were in their second season as a big-league franchise. Gomez told Rojas, “I think you’re wrong,” and urged him to play for the Royals.

When Rojas reported to the Royals, manager Bob Lemon put him in the starting lineup at second base, replacing Luis Alcaraz.

Out of shape from his limited playing time with the Cardinals, Rojas said, “I couldn’t run. My range was terrible. I got by on experience.”

Rojas played in 98 games for the 1970 Royals and hit .260. He had two four-hit games and a pair of four-RBI games, and stabilized the Royals’ infield. “I knew Rojas would help us defensively,” Lemon told the Kansas City Star. “He makes the right moves all the time.”

In 1971, with the help of hitting instructor Charlie Lau, Rojas batted .300. He went on to play eight seasons (1970-77) with the Royals and was named to the American League all-star team four times. In the 1972 All-Star Game in Atlanta, Rojas batted for Rod Carew and hit a two-run home run versus Bill Stoneman. Boxscore

In 16 big-league seasons, Rojas produced 1,660 hits.

Rojas went on to manage the Angels in 1988, replacing Mauch, who abruptly retired and recommended Rojas for the job. Rojas also was a coach for the Cubs (1978-81), Marlins (1993-96), Mets (1997-2000) and Blue Jays (2001-2002) before becoming a broadcaster on Marlins Spanish radio (2003-12).

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Walt Moryn was a big blonde slugger who hailed from Paul Bunyan country and was nicknamed Moose.

On June 15, 1960, the Cardinals acquired Moryn from the Cubs for utility player Jim McKnight and $25,000.

An outfielder and left-handed pull hitter, Moryn’s swing seemed tailored for the original Busch Stadium in St. Louis, where the shortest distance for a home run was to right.

Though no longer in his prime when he joined the Cardinals, Moryn, 34, had enough pop remaining in his bat to elicit calls of “M-o-o-o-s-e” from the fans in St. Louis when he got hold of a pitch.

Cubs clouter

Moryn was born and raised in St. Paul, Minn. His paternal grandparents immigrated to the U.S. from Russia and his maternal grandparents came from Poland. Moryn entered the Navy when he was 18 and served on an ammunition ship in the Pacific for two years during World War II.

When he returned home, Moryn played baseball in an industrial league. In August 1947, the Dodgers held a tryout camp in St. Paul. Moryn attended and was signed on the recommendation of scout Andy High, a former Cardinals infielder.

Moryn was 28 when he debuted in the majors with the Dodgers in June 1954. He also spent part of 1955 with them and was traded to the Cubs after the season.

For a stretch of three seasons, 1956-58, Moryn hit with consistent power and became a favorite of Cubs fans. He had 23 home runs in 1956, 33 doubles in 1957 and 26 home runs in 1958.

After his production declined to 14 home runs in 1959, Moryn was platooned in left field with Frank Thomas in 1960.

The signature play of Moryn’s career occurred on May 15, 1960, when he made a shoestring catch of a line drive by the Cardinals’ Joe Cunningham with two outs in the ninth to preserve a no-hitter by Don Cardwell. Video

Though Moryn was batting .294 and had an on-base percentage of .366 in 38 games for the 1960 Cubs, his home run total was a mere two when the Cubs shipped him to the Cardinals. Moryn told the Chicago Tribune he was on the outs with Cubs general manager John Holland. “He’s been trying to get rid of me for three years,” Moryn said.

Popular player

To make room for Moryn on their roster, the Cardinals sent Leon Wagner, their Opening Day left fielder, to the minors. The Cardinals were loaded with outfielders. Cunningham, Moryn and Stan Musial batted from the left side, and Curt Flood, Bob Nieman and John Glenn batted from the right. Moryn figured to platoon with Nieman in left.

“At Busch Stadium, I think Moryn still will be dangerous,” Cardinals coach Johnny Keane told the St. Louis Globe-Democrat.

Though listed at 6 feet 2 and 205 pounds, Moryn told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he weighed 225. St. Louis writers had fun with his alliterative name and his size, referring to him as “Mighty Moose Moryn” and “a mass of muscle from Minnesota.”

Moryn was popular with teammates and helped rookies.

Second baseman Jerry Kindall, another St. Paul native who entered the majors with the Cubs in 1956, told the Chicago Tribune, “He gave the appearance of a very gruff guy, but if you were a teammate, you saw through that in a hurry. He was really a tender-hearted guy.”

In the book “We Played the Game,” Tim McCarver said when he was with the Cardinals as an 18-year-old in 1960, “Guys like Walt ‘Moose’ Moryn and Kenny Boyer couldn’t have been friendlier.”

Hot in August

In his Cardinals debut, on June 17, 1960, against the Braves, Moryn was 0-for-5 and struck out four times. Boxscore

Moryn hit .100 for the Cardinals in June and .194 in July, but sizzled in August, hitting .433 with 19 RBI in 23 games for the month.

“Cardinals crowds raise the “M-o-o-o-s-e’ call whenever the big blonde comes to the plate,” The Sporting News noted.

Moryn’s August performances at home included:

_ Aug. 6 vs. the Reds: 3-for-4, including a triple and a home run, and two RBI. Boxscore

_ Aug. 7 vs. the Reds: 2-for-2, including a home run and a walk, and two RBI. Boxscore

_ Aug. 17 vs. the Giants: 3-for-5, including a home run, and three RBI. Boxscore

_ Aug, 26 vs. the Pirates: 4-for-4, all singles, against Bob Friend. Boxscore

Moryn ended August with a .314 batting average since he joined the Cardinals.

Role player

Though he hit a three-run home run off Robin Roberts to carry the Cardinals to a 4-1 triumph at Philadelphia on Sept. 9, Moryn fell back into a slump and hit .154 for September.

In 75 games for the 1960 Cardinals, Moryn hit .245 with 11 home runs. He batted .301 at Busch Stadium and .196 on the road. Moryn also hit .266 versus right-handers and .111 against left-handers. He was a terror against the Reds, hitting .440 with five home runs and 11 RBI in 11 games for the 1960 Cardinals.

Moryn made 49 starts in the outfield _ 30 in right and 19 in left _ for the 1960 Cardinals.

At spring training in 1961, Moryn surprised the Cardinals by reporting at 198 pounds. “I’ve never been this light before,” he told the Globe-Democrat.

Regarding his playing weight in 1960, Moryn told the Post-Dispatch, “I realized I had let myself get too heavy.”

Cardinals trainer Bob Bauman predicted a slender Moose would slug more home runs at Busch Stadium. “I can see Moryn hitting a lot out on Grand Avenue this year,” Bauman said.

Used exclusively against right-handers and mostly as a pinch-hitter, Moryn, 35, never got untracked with the 1961 Cardinals. He hit .125 in 17 games and was traded to the defending World Series champion Pirates on June 15, 1961, for minor-league catcher Roberto Herrera and cash.

Three days later, on June 18, 1961, in his third game with the Pirates, Moryn, naturally, hit a three-run home run versus the Cardinals’ Larry Jackson. Boxscore

It was one of the last highlights for Moryn in the majors. He hit .200 in 40 games for the Pirates in 1961, his last season in the big leagues.

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(Updated Sept. 12, 2025)

Opening the way to a pipeline of talent, second baseman Julian Javier was the first player from the Dominican Republic to play for the Cardinals.

On May 27, 1960, the Cardinals acquired a pair of Pirates prospects, Javier and reliever Ed Bauta, for starting pitcher Vinegar Bend Mizell and infielder Dick Gray.

Making the leap from the minor leagues to the Cardinals’ lineup, Javier became the third player born in the Dominican Republic to play in the major leagues. Before him were Ozzie Virgil of the 1956 Giants and Felipe Alou of the 1958 Giants.

Javier was the Cardinals’ second baseman for 12 years and contributed to three National League pennants and two World Series titles. Dominican Republic natives who followed him to the Cardinals included Albert Pujols, Joaquin Andujar, Pedro Guerrero and Tony Pena.

Opportunity knocks

Javier was born and raised in San Francisco de Macoris, Dominican Republic. Located in the northeast section of the Caribbean island country, his hometown is one of the world’s largest producers of cocoa beans. A son of a truck driver, Javier had seven siblings.

In 1956, when he was 19, Javier attended a Pirates tryout camp in the Dominican Republic and was offered a contract by scout Howie Haak. Javier signed for $500, The Sporting News reported.

“We didn’t know about bonuses then,” Javier said in 1967. “Today, I would ask for $50,000.”

Javier began the 1960 season, his fifth in the Pirates’ farm system, with their Columbus, Ohio, club. The Pirates had a future Hall of Famer, Bill Mazeroski, as their second baseman and were planning to convert Javier to shortstop, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

When the 1960 Pirates got off to a fast start, winning 12 of their first 15 games, general manager Joe Brown began looking for ways to keep the team in contention. To bolster the starting pitching, he made Javier available for trade.

Infield shift

In 1960, Alex Grammas, 34, moved from shortstop to second base for the Cardinals to make room for Daryl Spencer, who was acquired from the Giants. Shortstop was Spencer’s preferred position, but Grammas “did not adjust too well to second base,” The Sporting News reported.

“I think Grammas is more at home at shortstop,” Cardinals manager Solly Hemus told the St. Louis Globe-Democrat.

On May 9, 1960, Hemus said Grammas would go back to shortstop and Spencer would shift to second “to tighten our defense.”

The switch “caught Cardinals brass by surprise” and Spencer “felt he was being made a scapegoat,” according to The Sporting News.

Cardinals general manager Bing Devine sought a better solution. He wanted to acquire a young middle infielder, either a second baseman or a shortstop, who would provide long-term stability.

According to Bob Broeg of the Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals pursued Reds shortstop prospect Leo Cardenas, “the tall, skinny kid who looks as though he might be another Marty Marion.” Rejected, the Cardinals’ focus turned to Javier.

Help wanted

Cardinals director of player procurement Eddie Stanky, a former second baseman, scouted Javier and recommended him. Stanky said Javier was “one of the best prospects in the minors” and “his speed was second only to that of Vada Pinson of the Reds,” The Sporting News reported.

“He’s one of the fastest right-handed batters I’ve ever seen,” Stanky said to the Post-Dispatch.

The Cardinals weren’t the only club interested. The Phillies wanted a second baseman, too, and were talking to the Pirates about a swap of pitcher Don Cardwell for Javier. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Phillies scouted Javier for 10 days, but “the scout reported back to the front office that Javier struck out too often and had a tendency to become injured.”

After the Phillies dealt Cardwell to the Cubs for second baseman Tony Taylor, the Cardinals offered Vinegar Bend Mizell to the Pirates for Javier. Pirates general manager Joe Brown viewed Mizell, 29, as a good fit to join a rotation with Bob Friend, Vern Law and Harvey Haddix. Mizell was 1-3 for the Cardinals in 1960, but he had five seasons of double-digit win totals in his previous six with them.

“We are sacrificing a future for the present because in Mizell we have a known quantity,” Brown said.

The Pittsburgh Press noted, “Javier wouldn’t have made it with the Pirates for two or three years, but the team needed pitching help now.”

Javier, 23, hit .288 for Columbus in 1960 and Devine called him “an outstanding glove man as well as an improving hitter,” the Globe-Democrat reported.

“We consider this a major addition to the Cardinals’ regular lineup now and for the future,” said Devine.

Bob Broeg of the Post-Dispatch concluded, “It took courage to give up a player of some reputation for one with none at the major-league level.”

Hot start

On May 28, 1960, Javier made his debut in the majors at second base for the Cardinals against the Giants at St. Louis. He had six putouts, three assists and helped turn a double play. Batting eighth, Javier singled twice versus Billy O’Dell. Boxscore

Hemus used Javier’s arrival to make other moves. Spencer shifted back to shortstop and Grammas was benched. Bill White went from center field to first base, replacing Stan Musial, and Curt Flood took over in center.

With White and Javier solidifying the right side of the infield, and Flood in center, the Cardinals improved. On the day they got Javier, the Cardinals were 15-20. After the trade and the moves to upgrade the defense, they were 71-48.

“Javier knows how to make the tough double play,” Hemus told the Post-Dispatch. “He makes the club solid. Not many balls are falling in with him and Curt Flood out there. Those two have helped make our pitching better.”

In the book “Few and Chosen,” Cardinals catcher Tim McCarver said Javier’s skill at turning double plays earned him the nickname “Phantom.”

“Runners never got to his legs,” McCarver said. “Javier was rarely on the bag. His timing was perfect and his hands and feet were so quick, you often couldn’t even see the exchange (of the ball).”

In addition to showing good range in the field on grounders and pop-ups, Javier hit safely in 10 of his first 11 games. In his third game, on May 30 at Los Angeles, he hit his first big-league home run, leading off the fourth versus Clem Labine of the Dodgers. Boxscore

On June 3, Javier hit two triples versus the Giants’ Mike McCormick at San Francisco, “amazing everybody with his breathtaking speed,” The Sporting News observed. Boxscore

Four days later, on June 7, Javier’s wife came from the Dominican Republic to St. Louis and saw her husband play in the majors for the first time. Javier raked the Phillies for three singles. Boxscore

Stellar career

The 1960 Cardinals finished at 86-68, nine games behind the champion Pirates, who were 95-59. Mizell, in his last good season, was 13-5 for the 1960 Pirates.

Javier hit .237 with eight triples and 19 stolen bases for the 1960 Cardinals. His 15 sacrifice bunts led the league. Though he also made the most errors among National League second basemen, Javier was named to the Topps all-rookie team.

In 12 seasons with St. Louis, Javier batted .258 with 1,450 hits, twice led National League second basemen in putouts and twice was named an all-star, including 1963 when he was part of a Cardinals starting infield with Bill White, Dick Groat and Ken Boyer.

In Game 7 of the 1967 World Series, Javier’s three-run home run versus Jim Lonborg of the Red Sox was a key blow in the Cardinals’ championship clincher.

Javier was traded to the Reds for pitcher Tony Cloninger in March 1972. As a utility player, he helped the Reds win the pennant in his last season in the majors.

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