RetroSimba

(Updated Aug. 15, 2026)

Weakened by injuries that stripped him of his power and reduced his mobility, Roger Maris appeared unwanted and was considering retiring after the 1966 season, five years after he hit 61 home runs for the Yankees and broke Babe Ruth’s major-league record. Unexpectedly, the Cardinals took a chance on him.

On Dec. 8, 1966, in a deal made by Bob Howsam and sealed by Stan Musial, Maris was sent to the Cardinals for third baseman Charlie Smith.

Though Maris was a marquee name, he no longer was a marquee player. His diminished skills, along with a reputation for surliness, caused some to wonder why the Cardinals wanted him.

Damn Yankees

In 1965, Maris, who’d broken the hamate bone in his right hand, hit .239 with eight home runs in 46 games. The hand still was weak when he returned in 1966. Then he injured his left knee in a collision at home plate with Tigers catcher Bill Freehan. Maris hit .233 with 13 home runs in 119 games for the 1966 Yankees.

Unhappy in New York and embarrassed by his declining performance, Maris planned to assess his future during the off-season and make a decision about whether to continue playing.

At 32, Maris was “almost positive” he would retire, according to the book “Roger Maris: Baseball’s Reluctant Hero.”

In November 1966, Yankees general manager Lee MacPhail called Maris and asked about his plans. Maris said he wanted to wait until spring training to declare his intentions, then added, “If you’re going to trade me, tell me now and I’ll send in my retirement papers to you right away.”

MacPhail told Maris the Yankees didn’t intend to trade him.

Let’s make a deal

A month later, at the baseball winter meetings, Bob Howsam, the Cardinals’ general manager, was having lunch when he was approached by Yankees manager Ralph Houk, who had managed the Denver Bears in the 1950s when Howsam was the minor-league club’s top executive.

“I started to kid Ralph and said, ‘Hey, when are we going to make a trade?’ ” Howsam told Neal Russo of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “Houk then said, ‘Would you be interested in Maris?’ I told him that I’d have to think it over. When I got on the plane heading back to St. Louis, I figured we might be able to use Maris.”

In St. Louis, Howsam met with Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst and asked him whether he’d like to have Maris on the club. Replied Red: “Who wouldn’t?”

(In the book “The Man Stan Musial Then and Now,” Musial said a member of the Cardinals’ board of directors, attorney Mark Eagleton, father of future U.S. Senator Thomas Eagleton, “spoke up” and urged Howsam to acquire Maris.)

Mike Shannon, the Cardinals’ right fielder, had worked during the off-season on learning to play third base. Howsam and Schoendienst were certain Shannon could make the move to third, opening right field for Maris.

In his book, “Season of Glory,” Houk said, “After the 1966 season, (Maris) told me he wouldn’t come back (to the Yankees). He was going to quit baseball. When Roger left the Yankees, he was pissed off at the world. Then we made the deal with St. Louis.”

Healthy outlook

Maris learned of the trade from a news photographer who showed up at the Maris house in Independence, Mo., to get reaction shots.

Contacted by the Post-Dispatch, Maris said, “I wouldn’t say I’m overjoyed about the trade.”

In an article for the Post-Dispatch, Joe McGuff, a Kansas City journalist who knew Maris well, explained, “Maris is concerned about his physical condition and he doesn’t want to play if he feels he can’t give the Cardinals a good effort … At this stage, pride is more important to Maris than money. It would mean a great deal to Maris to bow out with a big year.”

McGuff added: “If Maris decides to play for the Cardinals, he will be a definite asset. If he is sound physically, he could bring them a pennant.”

Johnny Keane, who had managed the 1964 Cardinals to a World Series championship before becoming Maris’ manager with the 1965-66 Yankees, told Post-Dispatch sports editor Bob Broeg, “If Roger is interested, if he’ll be aroused by this challenge, he could do a big job for the Cardinals.”

Said Schoendienst: “Maris is a real threat. He’ll help in more ways than one. He’s a good outfielder and has good judgment on the bases.”

The reaction in New York, though, was that Maris was through.

In his syndicated column, Red Smith wrote of Maris, “More surprising than yesterday’s deal and the modest price accepted was the fact that the Yankees found a club willing to accept their damaged goods. There was no secret about the guy’s being marked disposable … When Lee MacPhail dropped his name into conversations at the recent winter meetings, people walked away.”

Smith concluded, “He could have owned New York. Now he’s gone and won’t be missed. He was a demigod. Now he is a line in the record book, with an asterisk.”

Cardinal Way

Soon after the trade, Howsam left the Cardinals to join the Reds. Musial, a team vice president, replaced Howsam. In one of his first moves as general manager, Musial invited Maris and his wife Pat to St. Louis for lunch with he and his wife Lil.

When Maris returned home, he received in the mail from Musial a 1967 contract for $75,000, an increase from what the Yankees had paid him.

Maris was in no rush to commit and Musial didn’t pressure him. Impressed, Maris told Musial in early February he’d report to the Cardinals.

At spring training, Maris gained the trust of Cardinals players by working hard and selflessly on the field and interacting happily and humbly off the field. “He meshed well with his new teammates, joining them in barbecues and chatting and joking often with them at the club’s motel,” Neal Russo reported.

In the book “Few and Chosen,” Cardinals catcher Tim McCarver said, “I will admit that when he came to us, most of the players were suspicious and curious. Were we wrong! Roger was a terrific teammate … He was a good guy with a sense of humor, and an outstanding all-around ballplayer.”

With defense, hustle, smart baserunning and solid fundamentals, Maris’ value to the Cardinals transcended statistics. They won two National League pennants and a World Series title in his two seasons with the club. McCarver described him as “the missing piece to the puzzle.”

Maris produced 18 doubles, seven triples, nine home runs, 55 RBI and hit .261 in 125 games in 1967. In the World Series against the Red Sox, Maris hit .385 with a home run and seven RBI.

Maris played in 100 games in 1968 and had 18 doubles, five home runs, 45 RBI and hit .255.

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(Updated Oct. 20, 2025)

Seeking a first baseman, the Cardinals gambled on Andres Galarraga, hoping a nurturing environment and a stretch of good health would benefit him.

On Nov. 25, 1991, the Cardinals traded pitcher Ken Hill to the Expos for Galarraga.

Glory days

Nicknamed Big Cat, Galarraga had size (6 feet 3, 235 pounds), quick reflexes and right-handed power. He fielded with the gracefulness of Keith Hernandez, drove in runs with a consistency reminiscent of Tony Perez and Orlando Cepeda, and was hailed by Whitey Herzog and Mike Schmidt as a potential Hall of Famer.

Playing youth baseball in his hometown of Caracas, Galarraga impressed a local scout, Francisco Rivero. In 1979, Rivero told Felipe Alou, managing in the Venezuelan winter league, that Galarraga, 17, could hit with power. Alou invited the teen to a team practice. “When the kid showed up,” Alou recalled to the Toronto Globe and Mail, “I was shocked. He was so incredibly fat.”

Then Alou got another surprise. “His swing was beautiful,” Alou said to the Globe and Mail. “His reactions and instincts were incredible, and his speed for his size was phenomenal. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I thought that if he could do what he did then with all that fat, there was no telling what he could do if he lost weight.”

On Alou’s recommendation, the Expos signed the player known in Spanish as Gato Grande and sent him to a farm team in the United States. “I didn’t speak one word of English,” Galarraga recalled to The Sporting News. “Not one. I was completely lost and very scared.”

Galarraga, 24, was in his seventh season in the minors when he got called up to the Expos in August 1985. A month later, he hit his first home run, a 445-foot drive into the center field bleachers at St. Louis against Kurt Kepshire.

The next year, Galarraga launched another rocket at Busch Memorial Stadium, a home run versus Ray Burris that hit the wall above the Stadium Club in left, some 75 feet above the field, and came within inches of landing in the upper deck, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

In 1987, Galarraga hit his first walkoff home run in the majors, beating Ken Dayley and the Cardinals in the 13th inning.

Galarraga pummeled Cardinals pitching for three consecutive seasons, hitting .354 against them in 1986, .406 in 1987 and .353 in 1988. “If he doesn’t get hurt, he could wind up in the Hall of Fame,” Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog said to the Washington Post. “He’s the best first baseman playing the game today.”

In 1988, when he managed the National League all-stars, Herzog insisted on Galarraga being on the team. “If he doesn’t go, then I’m not going to manage,” he told the Montreal Gazette.

Herzog called Galarraga “one of the best righthanded-hitting first basemen in this league since Gil Hodges,” according to the Post-Dispatch

Galarraga averaged 23 home runs and 88 RBI each year from 1988 to 1990 with the Expos. He also won Gold Glove awards for his fielding in 1989 and 1990.

In 1988, Galarraga led the National League in hits (184), doubles (42), total bases (329) and extra-base hits (79).

Phillies slugger Mike Schmidt told The Sporting News, “Galarraga is fabulous … Believe me: He might be in the Hall of Fame someday.” Expos executive Jim Fanning said to United Press International, “If there was a mold of (Orlando) Cepeda and (Tony) Perez, he’s cut from that same ilk. He already plays first base better than either of them did.”

For 11 consecutive years (1978-88), Keith Hernandez, with the Cardinals and Mets, won the National League Gold Glove Award at first base. The player who broke his string was Galarraga.

The biggest negative was he struck out too much. Galarraga struck out the most of any NL batter in each of three consecutive seasons: 1988 to 1990.

By 1991, his performance declined significantly. Plagued by a pulled groin muscle and coming off arthroscopic knee surgery, Galarraga batted .219 with nine home runs in 95 games for the 1991 Expos and was booed often by fans in Montreal.

“He got into the habit of trying to pull the ball too much,” Expos manager Buck Rodgers told The Sporting News. “When he’s hitting well, he hits the ball to center and right-center.”

Potential trouble

The Cardinals were in the market for a first baseman because Pedro Guerrero, who held the position in 1991, was 35, had a bum shoulder and didn’t field well.

Wally Joyner and Bobby Bonilla were available free agents, but Cardinals general manager Dal Maxvill told the Post-Dispatch, “We have decided we are not going to bid on any major free agents.”

Instead, the Cardinals pursued a trade for Galarraga. “We’ve been trying to make this deal for two months,” Maxvill said.

Maxvill was confident of a turnaround. “I don’t buy it that a guy can be over the hill at 30 years of age,” he said to The Sporting News.

Expos general manager Dan Duquette wanted Cardinals pitcher Rheal Cormier, a Canadian, for Galarraga, the Post-Dispatch reported. “We talked long and hard about Cormier,” Duquette said. “They told me they would not give up Cormier.”

Hill, 25, was a good consolation prize. He was 11-10 with a 3.57 ERA in 30 starts for the 1991 Cardinals and led the staff in strikeouts (121). He yielded only 147 hits in 181.1 innings, but also issued a team-high 67 walks.

“At times, Hill pitches like Don Drysdale and at other times he pitches like Don Knotts,” wrote Post-Dispatch columnist Dan O’Neill. “… Hill is still young but patience is wearing thin.”

Said Cardinals manager Joe Torre: “It’s tough to give up an arm like Kenny Hill, but he’s been inconsistent.”

Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz thought the Cardinals made a bad deal.

“The Cardinals are taking a risk, sending Hill’s live arm to Montreal for Galarraga’s dead bat,” Miklasz opined.

Tough break

Galarraga raised hopes for a comeback with a strong spring training in 1992, batting .314 with 12 RBI in exhibition games. However, in the second game of the regular season, he suffered a cracked right wrist when hit by a pitch from Mets reliever Wally Whitehurst.

Galarraga returned to the lineup May 22, but he pressed at the plate and went into a funk. He entered July with a .185 batting average and no home runs.

“I came back and tried to do too much,” Galarraga told the Post-Dispatch.

His poor production prompted catcalls in St. Louis. “Every time he left runners on base the last two homestands, he walked back to the dugout to a chorus of boos,” the Post-Dispatch reported in early July.

Galarraga said to The Sporting News, “I thought about going home, giving up. I was so down … I just started letting everything bother me. A fan would say something, instead of ignoring it, I took it to heart.”

Cardinals hitting coach Don Baylor came to the rescue. He got Galarraga to open his stance and hit to the middle of the field. The swing came back _ and so did the results. Galarraga hit .300 in July and had 17 RBI in August. On Aug. 15 at Montreal, he had five RBI, including a grand slam against John Wetteland, and “silenced the many who were booing him,” the Post-Dispatch reported.

In his final 146 at-bats with the Cardinals, Galarraga hit .301.

Overall, though, for the Cardinals, Galarraga totaled 10 home runs and 39 RBI in 95 games. He batted .191 with runners in scoring position.

Hill was 16-9 with a 2.68 ERA in 33 starts for the 1992 Expos, who finished in second place, four games ahead of the Cardinals, in the NL East Division.

Rockies revival

Rather than bring back Galarraga at a salary of $3 million in 1993, the Cardinals bought out the option year on his contract for $250,000, making him a free agent. Galarraga accepted a one-year deal at a base salary of $600,000 from the Rockies, an expansion team that hired Don Baylor to be their manager.

“The big thing is Baylor,” Galarraga said to the Post-Dispatch.  “He helped me a lot in the second half last year. I’ll benefit from working with Baylor another year.”

With Baylor continuing to guide him, Galarraga was the 1993 National League batting champion, hitting .370 for the Rockies. He produced 22 home runs, 98 RBI and a .403 on-base percentage in 120 games.

During his five years in Colorado, Galarraga also led the league in home runs (47 in 1996) and RBI (150 in 1996 and 140 in 1997).

After joining the Braves in 1998 and hitting .305 with 44 home runs and 121 RBI, Galarraga, 38, sat out the 1999 season to receive chemotherapy and radiation treatment for a cancerous growth (non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma) in his lower back.

Given a medical green light to play in 2000, Galarraga was an inspiration, hitting .302 with 28 homers and 100 RBI for the Braves.

The cancer returned near a kidney in November 2003. Three months later, Galarraga, 42, had a stem cell transplant. He told the Palm Beach Post the procedure was “like they change the oil.”

In August 2004, seven months after the transplant, Galarraga signed with the Angels. He went to the minors to regain his form, then joined the Angels in September and played in seven games for them, closing out his career. He finished with 2,333 hits, 399 home runs and 1,425 RBI.

Galarraga hit 283 home runs after leaving the Cardinals. According to researcher Tom Orf, no one has hit more home runs after leaving the Cardinals. Albert Pujols hit 234 homers for the Angels and then 24 more in his second stint with St. Louis. Johnny Mize hit 201 after the Cardinals traded him.

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In a bid to bolster their offense, the Cardinals acquired one of the top run producers of the 1950s. The move helped them become contenders again.

On Nov. 20, 1956, the Cardinals got outfielder Del Ennis from the Phillies for outfielder Rip Repulski and infielder Bobby Morgan.

At the time, the only active major leaguers with more career RBI than Ennis were Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Mickey Vernon and Enos Slaughter, Cardinals general manager Frank Lane said.

The deal was a steal for the Cardinals.

Placed in a batting order with Musial and Ken Boyer, Ennis hit .286 with 24 home runs and 105 RBI for the 1957 Cardinals.

St. Louis, which had finished in fourth place in the National League at 76-78 in 1956, placed second at 87-67 in 1957. It was the Cardinals’ first finish of second or higher since 1949 and their first winning season since 1953.

Ennis had a lot to do with that turnaround.

High expectations

A Philadelphia native, Ennis played 11 seasons (1946-56) with the Phillies, batting .286 and producing 1,812 hits and 1,124 RBI. He six times had seasons of 100 or more RBI with the Phillies. In 1950, when the Phillies won the pennant, Ennis led the NL in RBI with 126, eight ahead of the Pirates’ Ralph Kiner.

The Cardinals had interest in Ennis for several years. In 1949, Cardinals owner Fred Saigh offered Phillies owner Bob Carpenter $200,000 for Ennis, according to Ed Pollock of the Philadelphia Bulletin.

“We have the fellow you want, but we won’t take money for him,” Carpenter said to Saigh. “You can have Ennis and we’ll take Musial.”

That ended the discussion.

Even with his success, Ennis was “a favorite target of abuse for the Phillies’ bleacher fans,” who expected more from the hometown player, The Sporting News reported.

Ennis told Bob Broeg of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “I don’t think I’ve been helped either by the boos back there (in Philadelphia) because, though I’ve tried to accept them and shrug them off, I believe maybe I’ve tried too hard.”

Ennis added, “I’ll confess there were times I would have liked to have gone into the stands to get a particularly vicious heckler.”

Younger model

During the 1956 World Series, Lane met with Phillies general manager Roy Hamey to discuss a trade. The Phillies wanted Repulski, 28, who they saw as a younger version of Ennis, 31.

Repulski’s best season with the Cardinals was 1954 when he produced 175 hits, 39 doubles, 19 home runs and 79 RBI. In 1955, he had 23 home runs and 73 RBI. In 1956, slowed by a hairline wrist fracture, Repulski was limited to 112 games, producing 11 home runs and 55 RBI.

To sweeten the deal, Lane included Morgan, whom the Phillies had dealt to the Cardinals in May 1956 for infielder Solly Hemus. Lane knew the Phillies liked Morgan as a utility player.

The 1956 Cardinals had ranked fourth in the NL in runs (678) and sixth in home runs (124).

Said Lane: “Our crying need has been for power … and we feel Ennis ought to help provide the punch … Ennis is a good whacker.”

Some were surprised the Cardinals were able to acquire Ennis.

“I don’t think Repulski is going to drive in as many runs as Ennis,” Dodgers catcher Roy Campanella said to The Sporting News. “That guy drives them in pretty good every year and he’s been doing it for a long time.”

Del delivers

Ennis started slowly for the 1957 Cardinals. He was batting .225 at the end of May. He heated up with the summer, hitting .317 in June, .308 in July and .357 in September. Overall, Ennis hit .299 with runners in scoring position.

His 105 RBI for the 1957 Cardinals ranked second in the NL, trailing only Hank Aaron of the Braves at 132. Musial had 102 RBI. Ennis and Musial became the first Cardinals teammates to produce 100 or more RBI in a season since Musial (126) and Ray Jablonski (104) in 1954.

Musial (29), Ennis (24) and Wally Moon (24) also gave the 1957 Cardinals three players with 20 or more home runs in a season for the first time since Musial (30), Steve Bilko (21) and Jablonski (21) in 1953.

The 1957 Cardinals ranked third in the NL in runs with 737 _ 59 more than they’d scored in 1956.

Repulski had 20 home runs and 68 RBI for the 1957 Phillies, who finished in fifth place at 77-77.

In 1958, Ennis’ production tailed off. He hit .261 with three home runs and 47 RBI for the Cardinals. He was traded to the Reds after the season.

Previously: Frank Lane and his tumultuous stint as Cardinals GM

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