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Jimmy Piersall and his NL debut against Cardinals

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents on June 11, 2017| 5 Comments »

When Jimmy Piersall made his Mets debut in St. Louis, the league and the opponent were new to him, but the ballpark was quite familiar.

On May 24, 1963, a day after he was acquired by the Mets from the Senators in a deal that paired one of the game’s most mercurial characters with baseball’s most inept team, Piersall played against the Cardinals in his first National League game.

Piersall, batting leadoff and playing center field, was 1-for-4 with a walk against Bob Gibson at Busch Stadium. Piersall’s single drove in a run, but the Cardinals prevailed, 10-4.

Ten years earlier, while in the American League with the Red Sox, Piersall had his most productive game. He had six hits in six at-bats against the Browns in the opener of a doubleheader at Busch Stadium. Boxscore

Piersall, whose struggles with mental illness were detailed in the book and movie, “Fear Strikes Out,” was known as much for on-field antics and feuds with umpires as he was for his sterling outfield play.

When he joined the Mets and their rougish manager, Casey Stengel, in St. Louis, it was a match that attracted attention.

That’s entertainment

The Mets had released first baseman Gil Hodges so that he could become manager of the Senators. Piersall was sent to the Mets in return.

The Mets had opened the 1963 season with Duke Snider, 36, in center field. Snider soon was moved to a corner outfield spot and Jim Hickman, 26, took over in center. Hickman, too, was better at playing right or left. Piersall, 33, was a defensive upgrade.

“Piersall can play center field beautifully, which I hate to say has not been done for us,” Stengel said to The Sporting News.

The Mets were terrible. They had finished 40-120 in their inaugural season, 1962, and they were 16-25 when they got Piersall. Some suspected the move was made to keep fans and media interested in a team that couldn’t compete.

“I know he will be an attraction with the club and with the fans,” Stengel said.

Piersall understood that.

When he arrived at Busch Stadium and met with reporters, Piersall said, “Baseball is like show business. If I don’t hurt the club, I might do anything to entertain the fans. What’s wrong with that?”

Regarding his relationship with Stengel, Piersall told the Associated Press, “I only hope New York is ready for both Casey and me. Casey is one of my biggest boosters, but he baffles me. Case is beautiful, but I don’t always know what he’s talking about.”

As for his new team, Piersall said, “The Mets and their fans are helping to save baseball and they are keeping the writers in business and it is better than being in Russia.”

When photographers gathered to take photos of Piersall and Stengel together in the dugout, Piersall said to his manager, “I better not pose with you, Case, because I’m prettier than you are.”

Making an impression

In the Friday night opener at St. Louis, Piersall went 0-for-3 with a walk in his first four plate appearances against Gibson. In the eighth, with the Cardinals ahead, 8-3, Piersall singled, scoring Choo Choo Coleman. Boxscore

Asked his impressions of Gibson, Piersall said, “Gibson put one pitch right on the very edge of the plate for a strike. I turned to the catcher (Gene Oliver) and remarked, ‘If they keep on doing that in this league, I’ll starve to death.’ ”

Piersall started in center again the next day, May 25, and was 0-for-4 against Ray Sadecki and Harry Fanok.

On Sunday, May 26, Piersall started in the opener of a doubleheader and had three hits _ two singles and a double _ off Cardinals starter Curt Simmons. Piersall also successfully disputed an umpire’s call.

Ed Sudol ruled a ball hit to right by George Altman was trapped, not caught, by Hickman.

Piersall “sprinted from his center field post all the way to first base to exchange a few not too pleasantries with Sudol,” the Associated Press reported.

Crew chief Stan Landes overruled Sudol and called Altman out. Boxscore

Piersall didn’t start the second game. The Mets, suspecting the Cardinals were stealing signs, sent Piersall to the bullpen to watch the Cardinals’ first-base coach. “I couldn’t spot anything,” Piersall said.

In a letter to The Sporting News, a Cardinals fan, John T. Copeland of Piedmont, Mo., wrote, “Piersall hardly saw enough of the game to know the score, much less to discover any sign stealing. He was in arguments with fans during the entire game. I hope the Cards never have to hire a Piersall-type clown to draw crowds.”

Fun while it lasted

Two weeks later, on June 9, the Cardinals were in New York for a Sunday doubleheader with the Mets.

In the opener, the Mets led, 3-2, in the sixth when Piersall hit a two-run double off Simmons. Boxscore

Piersall didn’t start the second game, but he again made his presence known.

Between innings, while Mets catcher Norm Sherry was putting on his gear, Piersall went out to warm up the pitcher. Piersall piled dirt onto the plate before returning to the dugout. As umpire Ed Vargo dusted the dish, Piersall mocked him, making dusting motions with his cap and a towel, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted.

Piersall appeared in 40 games for the Mets and batted .194. On June 23, he hit a home run, the 100th of his big-league career, off the Phillies’ Dallas Green and backpedaled around the bases. Released in late July, Piersall returned to the American League with the Angels.

Previously: Cards were victims of historic homers by Gil Hodges

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Home run helped Roger Maris feel at home in St. Louis

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents on June 5, 2017| 11 Comments »

The first home run Roger Maris hit in St. Louis as a Cardinal was worth the wait.

On June 10, 1967, two months into his first Cardinals season, Maris hit a walkoff three-run home run in the 11th inning at Busch Stadium, giving St. Louis a 5-2 victory over the Dodgers.

The home run was Maris’ third for the Cardinals _ the first two occurred at New York and at Pittsburgh _ but was his first in his home ballpark since being acquired by St. Louis from the Yankees in December 1966.

Maris, who six years earlier had established a major-league single-season record with 61 home runs for the Yankees, no longer was a consistent power hitter, but he was a key member of a Cardinals club that would win the World Series championship.

His first Busch Stadium home run enabled the Cardinals to continue a hot streak that one week later would propel them into first place in the National League.

Stormy night

The Cardinals were 3.5 games behind the front-running Reds entering their Saturday night game against the defending NL champion Dodgers. Maris, batting .291, was held out of the starting lineup by manager Red Schoendienst. The Dodgers were starting a left-hander, Jim Brewer, and Maris did much better against right-handers.

Tornado warnings were issued in the St. Louis area that evening and a severe thunderstorm struck downtown St. Louis, delaying the start of the game 64 minutes and creating treacherous conditions in the outfield.

The Dodgers scored twice in the first inning off their nemesis, Larry Jaster, who had pitched five shutouts against them the previous year.

Brewer, primarily a reliever, held the Cardinals scoreless for six innings. “He told me he was tiring a little going into the seventh,” Dodgers manager Walter Alston said to the Pasadena Independent Star-News, “but you couldn’t take him out the way he was going.”

Curt Flood led off the Cardinals’ half of the seventh with a walk and Bobby Tolan lined a home run over the right-field wall, tying the score at 2-2.

Maris entered the game in the ninth as a pinch-hitter for Jaster and popped out to second baseman Ron Hunt. Maris stayed in the game, replacing Alex Johnson in right field, and Joe Hoerner relieved Jaster.

Extra innings

Phil Regan, who came in for Brewer in the eighth, held the Cardinals scoreless for three innings.

In the 11th, Alston brought in Bob Miller to pitch. Miller, a St. Louis native, had made his major-league debut in 1957 with the Cardinals and pitched for them in four seasons.

Tim McCarver led off the 11th against Miller with a double. Dal Maxvill attempted to advance McCarver with a bunt, but Miller fielded the ball and threw out McCarver at third.

With Maxvill at first and one out, Tolan singled.

That brought Maris to the plate against the right-hander.

Easy swing

Maris swung at a 2-and-2 pitch.

“I was just trying to avoid making an out,” Maris said. “I didn’t swing hard. I just wanted to meet the ball.”

Said Dodgers catcher John Roseboro: “That’s the way it looked when he swung. He just dropped his bat in front of the ball.”

Joe Hendrickson of the Pasadena newspaper wrote, “The ball sailed like a rocket over the fence and into the seats.”

Said Maris: “That was my most satisfying hit since coming to St. Louis.” Boxscore

The victory was part of a stretch in which the Cardinals won 15 of 17 and surged to the top of the NL standings.

“This Cardinals team reminds me of my Yankees days,” Maris told United Press International. “The Yankees at one time played for the big hit. The atmosphere is also something like we had in New York. In those days, we’d get some runs behind, but we knew we were going to win it.”

Previously: With last homer, Roger Maris helped Cards clinch title

 

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Harry Glenn, ex-Cardinal, died serving in World War I

Posted in Games, Hitters, Prospects on May 27, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Harry Glenn was 28 and deep into a professional baseball career that included a stint with the Cardinals when he enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces during World War I. Soon after being assigned to the Aviation Mechanic Training School in St. Paul, Minn., Glenn contracted pneumonia and died, a month before the war ended.

Glenn is one of eight players who appeared in the major leagues and died while serving in the United States armed forces in World War I. He is the only one of the eight who played for the Cardinals.

According to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the others, in alphabetical order, are Tom Burr, Harry Chapman, Larry Chappell, Eddie Grant, Newt Halliday, Ralph Sharman and Bun Troy.

Three Negro League players died while serving in the United States armed forces in World War I. In alphabetical order, they are Ted Kimbro, Norman Triplett and Pearl Franklyn Webster.

Career path

A native of Shelburn, Ind., near Terre Haute, Harry Glenn was 19 when he began his professional baseball career with the Vincennes (Ind.) Alices in 1910.

A left-handed batter and catcher, Glenn was 6-foot-1, 200 pounds. In 1913, the minor-league Akron Giants sold Glenn’s contract to the Cardinals, but he broke a leg soon after and sat out the season, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal.

The Cardinals sent Glenn to the St. Paul (Minn.) Apostles of the American Association in 1914 and he batted .267 in 104 games.

In 1915, Glenn made the Opening Day roster of the Cardinals as a backup to starting catcher Frank Snyder.

The 1915 Cardinals had intended to start the season with Snyder and Mike Gonzalez as their catchers after agreeing to a deal to acquire Gonzalez from the Reds, but the trade hit a snag and Gonzalez was in roster limbo while details were sorted out. That gave Glenn the opportunity to be the Cardinals’ reserve catcher.

In the lineup

On Opening Day, April 14, 1915, against the Cubs at Chicago, Snyder was hit on the right hand by a foul tip off the bat of Heinie Zimmerman and had to leave the game. Replacing Snyder, Glenn made his big-league debut and got his first hit, a single off starter Hippo Vaughn. The Cubs won, 7-2. Boxscore

With Snyder sidelined and Gonzalez still not cleared to join the Cardinals, Glenn started each of the next four games at catcher.

In his first start, April 15 against the Cubs, Glenn had a single, two walks and scored a run, helping the Cardinals to a 4-2 victory. The Cubs stole a base in their only attempt. Boxscore

The next day, April 16, the Cubs were successful in three stolen base attempts against Glenn and Cardinals pitcher Dan Griner. “The fault was evidently not wholly Glenn’s for (manager Miller) Huggins gave Griner … a calling for allowing the men too big a lead,” the St. Louis Star-Times reported. Glenn got his first RBI, but the Cubs won, 4-2. Boxscore

On April 17, the Cardinals won the finale of the four-game series, 7-4, and Glenn contributed two singles. Boxscore

Reds run wild

The Cardinals’ next game was against the Reds at Cincinnati on April 18 and Glenn again started at catcher.

The Reds won, 6-2, and had seven stolen bases against Glenn and Cardinals ace Bill Doak. Boxscore

“After watching the woeful exhibition of Harry Glenn … the Cardinals are more anxious than ever to obtain (Gonzalez),” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch declared.

The Star-Times asked: “Was it the great base running of (the Reds) or was it the poor catching of Glenn?”

While acknowledging the Reds’ rampage “looks especially bad for Glenn,” the Star-Times added, “The big fellow seems to possess all the qualifications for a good receiver and perhaps the finishing touches will come with a little more experience. His arm is as good as any, but he has not mastered the trick of getting rid of the ball with any great rapidity.”

Brief stay

Snyder returned to the Cardinals’ lineup the next day, April 19, and Glenn was relegated to the bench. The deal for Gonzalez was resolved and he made his Cardinals debut on May 6. Glenn got a pinch-hit appearance on May 12 before being demoted to St. Paul.

Glenn batted .313 (5-for-16) with three walks in six games for the 1915 Cardinals, but base runners were successful on all 11 stolen base attempts against him.

With St. Paul in 1915, Glenn batted .296 in 63 games. He also spent the next three seasons, 1916-18, with St. Paul.

Glenn could have continued playing baseball, but with World War I raging, he enlisted in the mechanical branch of aviation late in the summer of 1918, according to The Indianapolis News.

Deadly disease

In October 1918, Glenn became ill and was admitted to a hospital. A victim of an influenza pandemic, Glenn developed pneumonia.

According to the National Institutes of Health, the majority of deaths during the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 were caused by bacterial pneumonia following influenza virus infection. The pneumonia developed when bacteria invaded the lungs on a pathway created when the virus destroyed cells that line the bronchial tubes and lungs.

Glenn was in the hospital for a week. His father, Thomas, left Indiana on a Thursday to be at his son’s bedside in Minnesota.

“A telegram was received Friday saying he was better and Saturday morning a telegram was received saying he was dead,” The Indianapolis News reported.

According to Stanford University, the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 killed between 20 million and 40 million people worldwide. More people died of influenza in a single year than in four years of the Black Death Bubonic Plague of 1347-1351.

Glenn was survived by his parents, two sisters and a brother.

On Nov. 11, 1918, almost a month to the day Glenn died, Germany signed an armistice agreement with the Allies, ending the fighting.

Previously: Mike Gonzalez became 1st Cuban manager in majors

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Dan Driessen was insurance policy for 1987 Cardinals

Posted in Games, Hitters on May 24, 2017| 2 Comments »

(Updated March 12, 2023)

Dan Driessen began the 1987 baseball season as a player without a team. By the end of that season, Driessen was playing for the Cardinals in the World Series.

Signed as an insurance policy, Driessen, like a good neighbor, was there for the Cardinals when they needed a first baseman to replace injured slugger Jack Clark in September 1987.

In June 1987, the Cardinals signed Driessen, 35, to a minor-league contract and assigned him to their Class AAA affiliate at Louisville.

“It’s nice to have him there in case we get a couple of guys hurt,” Lee Thomas, Cardinals director of player development, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “He can still hit and play in the big leagues.”

Three months later, the Cardinals and manager Whitey Herzog were grateful to have Driessen available to help them down the stretch in their quest to hold off the Mets for the division title.

Member of Machine

Driessen, a left-handed batter, debuted in the big leagues with the 1973 Reds. He played for the Reds until 1984 and had his best seasons with them.

Able to play three positions (first base, outfield and third base), Driessen was a key role player for the 1975-76 World Series championship clubs known as the Big Red Machine. As the first National League designated hitter, Driessen batted .357 (5-for-14) in the Reds’ 1976 World Series sweep of the Yankees.

“Those were great teams,” Driessen said. “Guys like Tony (Perez), Davey (Concepcion) and Pete (Rose) loved to play the game. We had a good time when we came to the park.”

To make room for Driessen in their everyday lineup, the Reds traded Perez, their future Hall of Famer, to the Expos and named Driessen their first baseman for 1977. Driessen responded with a sensational season _ .300 batting average, 31 doubles, 91 RBI and 31 stolen bases _ for the 1977 Reds.

(In 1987, the Braves’ Gerald Perry, Driessen’s nephew, became the first 1st baseman to have 30 steals in a season since his uncle achieved the feat for the 1977 Reds.)

Seven years later, the Reds did to Driessen what they’d done to Perez: traded him to the Expos. Driessen played for the Expos (1984-85), Giants (1985-86) and Astros (1986) after leaving the Reds.

Comeback bid

In April 1987, the Astros released Driessen and it appeared his playing career was finished. He returned home to Cincinnati and worked out in local batting cages. The Reds showed interest, but made no offer. Then the Cardinals came through with their minor-league deal in June.

Driessen, with a wife and three daughters, opted to continue residing at home in Cincinnati. He would commute from Cincinnati to Louisville and back for home games. “It’s about 100 miles (one way),” Driessen told a Society for American Baseball Research biographer. “I’d make it in close to an hour and a half.”

In an interview with Dan O’Neill of the Post-Dispatch, Driessen said of his return to the minor leagues, “It’s tough, but that was the only way back. The only reason I did it was that I thought I had a little baseball left in me.”

Driessen batted .244 with 35 RBI in 58 games for Louisville _ unexceptional numbers _ but the Cardinals purchased his contract on Aug. 31, 1987, because by being on their roster before Sept. 1 he was eligible for the postseason.

Fitting in

Initially, Driessen was slotted for a pinch-hitting role. The Cardinals entered September 5.5 games ahead of the second-place Mets.

On Sept. 9, Clark, the Cardinals’ top run producer, injured his right ankle when he tried to avoid a tag by Expos first baseman Andres Galarraga. Clark’s spikes got stuck in the artificial turf at Montreal and his ankle rolled over.

“Jack has a history of not healing too quickly,” Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog said.

With Clark unable to play, Herzog’s options at first base were Driessen, Mike Laga and Jim Lindeman. Driessen had the most experience.

In his first 19-at bats for the Cardinals, Driessen had two hits, then five hits in the next two games.

Cardinals players accepted Driessen and helped him acclimate to a new team and new role. Catcher Tony Pena referred to him as “Papa.”

Cardinals second baseman Tommy Herr said, “He’s played well at first base. He’s real loose. When you’re in tough games, you like to have a guy who is composed.”

Said Driessen: “These guys are alive in this clubhouse.”

On Sept. 26, with the Cardinals 2.5 games ahead of the Mets, Driessen drilled a two-run home run off Rick Sutcliffe and sparked St. Louis to a key 5-3 victory over the Cubs. Boxscore

Five days later, Driessen had three RBI in the Cardinals’ division title clincher against the Expos. Boxscore

“Danny is a very good person and a good guy to have on the ballclub,” Herzog said. “I think he can still play, especially in a platoon situation (against right-handers).”

Big stage

Driessen batted .233 with 11 RBI in 24 games for the 1987 Cardinals.

With Clark still sidelined, Driessen was assured of getting prominent playing time in the postseason.

(Cardinals shortstop Ozzie Smith told Larry Harnly of The State Journal-Register of Springfield, Ill., that Clark should have attempted to play as a designated hitter in the World Series. “As a player, you have to grit it up,” Smith said. Smith also told Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post, “A lot of our players soured on Jack Clark when he didn’t try to come back … He should have taken a (painkilling) shot … Everybody would have at least known that he had tried.”)

In the seven-game National League Championship Series against the Giants, Driessen batted .250 (3-for-12) with two doubles and a RBI.

He batted .231 (3-for-13) _ again, with two doubles and a RBI _ in the World Series versus the Twins.

Afterward, the Cardinals released Driessen. He sat out the 1988 season and played one more year, 1989, with Yucatan of the Mexican League.

Previously: Why Jack Clark got chance to put Cards in World Series

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Joe Medwick and his surprise Cardinals encore

Posted in Games, Hitters on May 21, 2017| 2 Comments »

Joe Medwick was at home in suburban St. Louis on a Sunday morning when he got an unexpected phone call from Sam Breadon, Cardinals owner. Breadon wanted to know whether Medwick would be interested in playing again for the Cardinals.

When he recovered from his surprise, Medwick said yes.

Breadon told Medwick to get to Sportsman’s Park right away. The Cardinals wanted him available to play that afternoon.

On May 25, 1947, Medwick, who thought he was finished as a big-league player, rejoined the Cardinals, providing them with a much-needed run producer and giving him a chance to bring his career full circle.

Seven years earlier, the Cardinals had traded the moody slugger to the Dodgers.

Squire of Sappington

Medwick hit better than .300 in each of his first nine seasons (1932-40) with the Cardinals. Nicknamed “Ducky” because of how he swayed when he walked, Medwick also was known as “Muscles” because of his powerful and consistent hitting.

As the left fielder for the 1934 Gashouse Gang Cardinals, Medwick batted .319 with 40 doubles, 18 triples, 18 home runs and 106 RBI. He hit .379 (11-for-29) in the 1934 World Series, helping the Cardinals win four of seven against the Tigers.

Three years later, Medwick was named winner of the 1937 National League Most Valuable Player Award. Known for taking savage swings with a 35-ounce hickory bat, Medwick achieved baseball’s Triple Crown by leading the league that season in batting average (.374), home runs (31) and RBI (154). He remains the last NL player to earn a Triple Crown.

Medwick was traded to the Dodgers in June 1940 and played for them until July 1943. Over the next three years, Medwick was with the Giants and Braves and had a return stint with the Dodgers.

In December 1946, Medwick, released by the Dodgers, signed with the Yankees. He opened the 1947 season with the Yankees, but never appeared in a game for them. On April 29, when the Yankees arrived in St. Louis for a series with the Browns, they gave Medwick his release.

When no other team showed interest, Medwick went to his home in Sappington, Mo. “Medwick says he’s through with baseball,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Ready or not

After winning the 1946 World Series championship, the Cardinals had a poor start to the 1947 season. On the morning of Sunday, May 25, they were in last place at 11-19. Left-handed pitchers were being especially tough on Cardinals batters. Eddie Dyer, Cardinals manager, suggested to Breadon that Medwick would provide a reliable right-handed bat.

The Cardinals were scheduled to play a doubleheader at Sportsman’s Park that Sunday afternoon. Breadon phoned Medwick that morning and made his offer.

“It was mounting concern over Cardinals futility against left-handed pitching … that prompted Sam Breadon to summon Medwick from his country life of leisure and daily 18 holes of golf,” the St. Louis Star-Times reported.

Medwick, 35, rushed to the ballpark, met with Breadon and signed a contract. In the clubhouse, he was issued uniform No. 21 instead of the No. 7 he had worn during most of his first stint with the Cardinals.

“We needed somebody who can get us a fly ball or a hit once in a while in the pinch,” Dyer said.

Arriving too late to take batting practice, Medwick watched from the dugout as the Cardinals won the opener, 10-5.

In the second game, the Pirates started Fritz Ostermueller, 39, a left-hander, against Jim Hearn of the Cardinals.

In the fifth inning, with the Pirates ahead, 2-0, the Cardinals had a runner, Del Rice, on first base with Hearn due to bat. Dyer decided to send up a pinch-hitter for the pitcher.

Welcome back

“A husky Redbird, bearing the numeral 21 on his back, waddled to the plate, swinging a couple of bats,” The Sporting News reported. “The number was not listed on the scorecard, but to many in the crowd the newcomer’s distinctive gait stirred memories. Then, the announcement, ‘Medwick batting for Hearn,’ brought a tremendous cheer from the throng.”

Medwick, who hadn’t had a bat in his hand since he was cut by the Yankees four weeks earlier, dug into the batter’s box and awaited a pitch to his liking.

With a familiar snap of his wrists, Medwick swung at an Ostermueller offering and drilled it off the right-field wall for a run-scoring double, missing a home run by a foot.

“Spectator reaction was close to hysteria” as Medwick, replaced by pinch-runner Jeff Cross, “trotted head down to the dugout,” wrote the Post-Dispatch.

After the inning, Ostermueller walked by Dyer and said, “That’s the last run you’ll get off me today.”

Good to his word, Ostermueller pitched a three-hitter and the Pirates won, 2-1. Boxscore

Older and wiser

Still, the Cardinals had found the hitter they needed.

Utilized as a pinch-hitter and part-time outfielder, Medwick batted .307 in 75 games for the 1947 Cardinals. His on-base percentage was .373.

“There was a time when I went up to bat that I didn’t give a whoop in Glocamorra who was pitching,” Medwick said to The Sporting News. “Half the time, I didn’t bother to learn who was out there on the mound and I didn’t care what they were throwing. A fellow can’t be young forever, but he can be smart. I study ’em now, watch what they are throwing me and where they are throwing it.”

The Cardinals surged after June 1 and finished in second place at 89-65, five games behind the Dodgers.

Medwick “was credited with contributing considerably to the dash that brought the Birds from last place into a pennant contender,” The Sporting News wrote.

Medwick returned to the Cardinals in 1948, but the skills had eroded. He batted .211 in 20 games, all as a pinch-hitter, and made his last Cardinals appearance of a Hall of Fame career on July 25.

Medwick remains the Cardinals’ all-time single-season leader in doubles (64) and RBI (154).

Previously: How Joe Medwick got traded by Cardinals to Dodgers

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Don Young: Ups and downs with Cardinals, Cubs

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Trades on May 12, 2017| 4 Comments »

(Updated April 18, 2020)

Don Young began his professional baseball career in the Cardinals system, played for George Kissell, departed and was brought back by Stan Musial.

Though he had two stints in the Cardinals organization, Young never played for St. Louis.

Instead, he played for the Cubs, made his debut in a legendary game and became a central character in one of their most notorious defeats.

Teen hopeful

Young was 17 when he signed with the Cardinals as an amateur free agent out of Aurora High School in Colorado in June 1963.

An outfielder, he was assigned to a Class A club in Brunswick, Ga., managed by Kissell, the respected instructor. Young batted .280 in 16 games for Brunswick and was sent to another Cardinals Class A team in Billings, Mont., where he hit .257 in 58 games.

After spring training in 1964, Young was placed on waivers, claimed by the Cubs and began to re-establish himself. In 1965, Young batted .273 with 25 doubles and 16 home runs for the Class AA Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs.

At 19, he was rewarded with a promotion to the Cubs in September 1965.

Big-league welcome

Young made his major-league debut as the starting center fielder and leadoff batter for the Cubs in Los Angeles against the Dodgers on Sept. 9.

The Dodgers pitcher that night: Sandy Koufax.

The result: a perfect game.

Koufax retired 27 batters in a row and struck out 14. Young popped out twice and struck out. The Dodgers, held to one hit by Cubs starter Bob Hendley, won, 1-0. Boxscore

The next night, in San Francisco, Young, described by the Chicago Tribune as “perhaps the Cubs’ top outfield farm prospect,” got his first big-league hit, a solo home run off the Giants’ Ron Herbel. Boxscore

Lou Klein, Cubs manager and former Cardinals infielder, started Young in five games versus the Dodgers and Giants, drawing criticism from Braves manager Bobby Bragan for using a rookie in the pennant stretch against contenders.

Overmatched, Young batted .057 (2-for-35) in his September stint with the Cubs.

Musial maneuvers

Young was back in the minor leagues in 1966 and 1967.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals were trying to figure out what to do with Ted Savage.

Savage, acquired by the Cardinals from the Pirates after the 1964 season, spent most of the next two years in the minor leagues.

After Musial became Cardinals general manager in January 1967, he promised Savage he would try to keep him in the major leagues.

Savage earned a spot as a utility player on the Opening Day roster of the 1967 Cardinals, but seldom played. In May, Savage was ticketed for a return to the minors, but indicated he wouldn’t report, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Determined to fulfill his vow, Musial looked for a big-league team for Savage.

Brief return

On May 13, 1967, the Cardinals traded Savage and outfielder John Kindl to the Cubs for Young and catcher Jim Procopio.

The Chicago Tribune noted Young was “once rated a potential Cubs center fielder” but “still was struggling in the minors.”

The Cardinals assigned Young to their Class AAA Tulsa team. Young played in 12 games for manager Warren Spahn, batted .147 and was sent back to the Cubs on Aug. 1, 1967.

Young spent the 1968 season with the Lodi (Calif.) Crushers, a Class A club.

Though he wasn’t on their 40-man roster, the Cubs invited Young, 23, to attend their 1969 spring training camp. It was there he received an unexpected opportunity.

Rebuilding project

Adolfo Phillips, projected to be the starting center fielder for the 1969 Cubs, broke his hand at spring training. Cubs manager Leo Durocher considered giving the job to a prospect, Oscar Gamble, but the 19-year-old had only a year of minor-league experience.

With his options limited, Durocher turned to Young.

Young “conceivably could be ready for the big time,” Jerome Holtzman of The Sporting News wrote.

“He hasn’t been a strong hitter,” Holtzman opined. “He is, however, a beautiful center fielder … and could very well become a Gold Glove winner _ if he can hit enough to stay.”

Young worked with Klein, his former manager who had become a batting instructor, and Cubs coach Pete Reiser on his hitting. Durocher also wanted Young to become more aggressive.

“He could have a great future, but it’s up to him,” Durocher said. “I can’t do it for him. I don’t care what he hits. I want to see more enthusiasm from him.”

Blame game

Young was the Opening Day center fielder for the 1969 Cubs.

The Cubs won 11 of their first 12 games and Durocher stayed with Young. In June, Phillips was traded to the Expos, solidifying Young’s hold on the job.

On July 8, 1969, the first-place Cubs opened a key series with the second-place Mets at New York.

The Cubs led, 3-1, in the ninth inning of the opener, but the Mets rallied for a 4-3 victory when Young was unable to catch two fly balls that fell for doubles. Cubs third baseman Ron Santo blamed the loss on Young. Boxscore

“He was just thinking of himself,” Santo said. “He had a bad day at the bat, so he’s got his head down. He is worrying about his batting average and not the team … He can keep his head down and he can keep right on going, out of sight, for all I care.”

The next day, Santo apologized: “What I said about Donnie, I didn’t mean. I said it because I was upset.”

In his book, “Thanks for Listening,” Cubs broadcaster Jack Brickhouse said later in the day, “I was sitting on the team bus waiting to go to the park. I was sitting behind Young. Santo got on and sat on the armrest of Young’s seat and put his arm around the kid and apologized once more.”

The damage, though, was done. When the Cubs returned to Chicago, Santo was booed at Wrigley Field. The Mets eventually surged ahead of the crumbling Cubs, clinched the division title and went on to win the National League pennant and World Series crown.

“Let’s face it,” Brickhouse said in his book, “the Cubs were a ragtag team in the stretch, wandering aimlessly, with assorted regulars physically exhausted as the result of failure to get a day off here and there when their lead was commanding.”

“That had to be Leo’s responsibility,” Brickhouse said of Durocher, “and he added fuel to the fire with the tensions he created by nitpicking controversies with certain of his players and certain members of the media.”

Young finished the 1969 season, his last in the big leagues, with a .239 batting average in 101 games.

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