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Jim Thome: 18 homers, .430 batting mark vs. Cardinals

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents on August 17, 2011| Leave a Comment »

(Updated July 29, 2018)

Jim Thome didn’t face the Cardinals often in a 22-year big-league career, but he usually pounded St. Louis pitching when given the opportunity. Of his 612 career home runs, 18 were hit against the Cardinals in 29 games.

Thome, elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018, batted .430 (43-for-100) against the Cardinals, with 40 RBI, a .565 on-base percentage and a 1.010 slugging percentage.

Of his 18 home runs against St. Louis, three were hit against Matt Morris. Chris Carpenter and Dan Haren surrendered two apiece.

Thome hit three home runs against the Cardinals _ two off Morris and another off Mike James _ in the Indians’ 14-2 victory on July 6, 2001, at Cleveland. All three were two-run shots. Boxscore

In the eighth, Thome struck out against Steve Kline, missing a chance to become the first American League player to hit four home runs in a game since Rocky Colavito of the Indians in 1959.

“When everybody wants you to hit a home run, it’s pretty tough to do,” Thome told the Associated Press.

The next day, after Thome walked in his first four plate appearances, he led off the 10th inning with a home run against Dave Veres, lifting Cleveland to a 7-6 victory over the Cardinals. “It was supposed to be a sinker away,” Veres said. “I missed my spot by, like, four feet.”

Said Thome: “I wanted to get a pitch up and drive it, and I did.” Boxscore

Thome’s 18th and last home run against the Cardinals was perhaps his most devastating. On June 22, 2006, at Chicago, the Cardinals’ Anthony Reyes pitched a one-hitter _ and lost. The hit was a solo home run by Thome with one out in the seventh, giving the White Sox a 1-0 victory. Boxscore

“I was fortunate it was in the middle of the plate,” Thome said.

Said Reyes: “I just missed a little bit over the plate and you can’t really do that up in this league.”

Thome’s home runs against the Cardinals:

DATE………………..PITCHER

June 14, 1997……Matt Morris

June 25, 1998……Manny Aybar

June 25, 1998……Bobby Witt

June 2, 2000…….Darryl Kile

July 6, 2001……..Matt Morris

July 6, 2001……..Matt Morris

July 6, 2001……..Mike James

July 7, 2001……..Dave Veres

Aug. 15, 2003……Pedro Borbon

Aug. 16, 2003……Dan Haren

Aug. 17, 2003……Brett Tomko

Aug. 22, 2003……Dan Haren

Aug. 22, 2003……Steve Kline

April 29, 2004…..Chris Carpenter

May 4, 2004……..Chris Carpenter

May 6, 2004……..Jeff Suppan

June 21, 2006…..Jason Marquis

June 22, 2006…..Anthony Reyes

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Scott Terry was last Cardinal to give up 5 home runs

Posted in Games, Opponents, Pitchers on August 15, 2011| Leave a Comment »

The last Cardinals pitcher to give up five home runs in a game was Scott Terry.

On June 4, 1989, at St. Louis, Terry started for the Cardinals against the Cubs and gave up six hits in 4.1 innings _ five of those hits were home runs.

Ryne Sandberg and Shawon Dunston each hit two solo homers against Terry and Mitch Webster added a two-run shot in the Cubs’ 11-3 victory. Boxscore

Terry entered the game having allowed three homers in 58.2 innings over 10 starts that season.

“Not only does it hurt your confidence,” Terry told The Sporting News, “but it’s embarrassing.”

Said Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog to the Associated Press: “There were no cheap ones. Those hits were deep. I’ve never seen the ball carrying like that.”

After Sandberg smacked his second solo homer with one out in the fifth, giving Chicago a 6-3 lead, Herzog lifted Terry for Frank DiPino, a former Cub. DiPino threw a waist-high brushback pitch to the first batter he faced, Mark Grace, who charged the mound, prompting both benches to empty.

Though the melee was brief, it was costly. Grace partially separated his shoulder and was ejected. St. Louis third baseman Terry Pendleton bruised his elbow and left the game.

“It was not my intention to hit him,” DiPino said, “but I’ve got to show some protection for myself. They’ve just hit five home runs ahead of me and I’m going to lay one over the middle of the plate? It doesn’t work that way. It was a purpose pitch. I threw it where I wanted to throw it. But I didn’t do it so he would charge the mound.”

Said Grace: “(DiPino) didn’t like me last year, even when we were teammates.”

DiPino responded: “We weren’t the best of friends … I just don’t like guys who are cocky.”

Cardinals ace Bob Gibson never gave up five home runs in a game, but he did allow four multiple times.

On Aug. 28, 1963, when the Giants beat St. Louis, 5-3, at San Francisco, Tom Haller hit two solo homers, Orlando Cepeda hit one and Chuck Hiller hit a two-run shot against Gibson. Boxscore

The Giants also hit four homers against Gibson on May 8, 1973, at San Francisco. Bobby Bonds hit two homers _ a solo shot on Gibson’s first pitch of the game and a two-run homer _ and Willie McCovey and Dave Kingman each launched solo homers against Gibson in the Giants’ 9-7 victory. Boxscore

“If you get one hit off Bob Gibson, it’s a good night,” Bonds said, “so this one is great.”

In the other game in which Gibson allowed four homers, the Cardinals beat the Mets, 8-5, at St. Louis. Charlie Smith hit a two-run homer and Jesse Gonder, Johnny Lewis and Jim Hickman all had solo shots against Gibson. Boxscore

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The debut of Bill Greason, first black Cardinals pitcher

Posted in Games, Opponents, Pitchers on August 7, 2011| 6 Comments »

(Updated Sept. 3, 2018)

Bill Greason had a short, but important, stint with the Cardinals. He was the first African-American Cardinals pitcher.

Greason, 29, made his major-league debut with the Cardinals on May 31, 1954, as the starter in the first game of a Memorial Day doubleheader at Chicago’s Wrigley Field.

He yielded three home runs _ two to Hank Sauer and one to Ernie Banks _ and the Cubs beat the Cardinals, 14-4. Boxscore

Greason, an Atlanta native who served with the Marines in Iwo Jima in World War II, began pitching Negro League baseball in 1947. As a teammate of Willie Mays on the 1948 Birmingham Black Barons, Greason posted a 6-4 record with a 3.30 ERA for the Negro American League champions. The lanky right-hander earned Birmingham’s only win in the 1948 Negro World Series against the Homestead Grays.

After stints in the Negro League and the Mexican League, Greason became the second black to play in the Texas League. In 1953, he was 16-13 with a 3.61 ERA and 193 strikeouts for Oklahoma City, catching the attention of the Cardinals.

On Oct. 13, 1953, the Cardinals acquired Greason from Oklahoma City for three minor league players.

In an article headlined “Cards, Reshuffling Hands, Get Texas Negro Ace In Deal,” Bob Broeg wrote in The Sporting News: “Greason, frequently mentioned in the past as highly promising, is likely to become the first Negro player ever to perform for the Cardinals.”

Pitching for Santurce in the Puerto Rico Winter League, Greason further impressed. On Jan. 6, 1954, after Tommy Lasorda pitched Santurce to a 4-3 victory over Caguas in the opener of a doubleheader, Greason won the second game, 3-2, holding Caguas to three singles, one by Hank Aaron.

On Jan. 20, 1954, The Sporting News wrote of Greason: “The big Negro hurler purchased by the Cardinal organization from Oklahoma City last fall has accounted for approximately half of Santurce’s conquests and is rated a good chance to make the Cardinal staff.”

Two weeks later, the magazine reported: “With the purchase of first baseman Tom Alston from San Diego (Pacific Coast), the Cardinals now have 14 Negro players in their organization. Alston is the only member of the parent club.”

As spring training ended, the Cardinals assigned Greason and another black pitcher, Brooks Lawrence, to Class AAA Columbus (Ohio), managed by Johnny Keane.

Alston made the Cardinals’ roster, and the first baseman became the first African-American to appear in a big-league game for the Cardinals when he started in the season opener April 13, 1954, against the Cubs at St. Louis. Boxscore

At Columbus, Greason compiled a 4-5 record, winning his last three decisions. On May 28, the Cardinals sent pitcher Mel Wright to Columbus and called up Greason.

Greason’s debut as the first African-American Cardinals pitcher started well. The Cardinals scored twice in the first. In the bottom half of the inning, Greason retired the first two batters. Then, Ralph Kiner singled and Sauer homered, tying the score.

In the third, with St. Louis leading 4-2, Greason again set down the first two Cubs batters. Then, Sauer homered, Randy Jackson singled and Banks homered, giving Chicago a 5-4 lead. In the fourth, Greason was lifted for pinch-hitter Sal Yvars.

Greason’s line: 3 innings, 6 hits, 5 runs, 1 walk and 2 strikeouts.

On June 6, a Sunday afternoon in St. Louis, Greason got the start against the Phillies, but it was a disaster. The leadoff batter, Willie Jones, homered. When Greason walked the next two batters, Richie Ashburn and Earl Torgeson, Cardinals manager Eddie Stanky removed him from the game. Boxscore

Greason sat for two weeks before making his third and final appearance, pitching a scoreless inning of relief against the Giants in New York on June 20. Boxscore

Two days later, the Cardinals sent Greason and pitcher Stu Miller to Columbus.

“They’ll have a chance to come back if they do well enough at Columbus,” Stanky said, “but they weren’t helping us enough and we had to make the move.”

Greason never appeared in the major leagues again. His career stats: 4 innings, 8 runs (6 earned), 8 hits, 4 walks, 2 strikeouts, 0-1 record, 13.50 ERA.

Greason pitched in the Cardinals’ minor-league system until 1959. After his playing career, Greason returned to Birmingham, worked in a department store and became a minister. In September 2014, Greason, 90, was honored by the Cardinals at Busch Stadium for having been a pioneer in helping break the franchise’s color barrier 60 years before.

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Johnny Bench was nemesis of Steve Carlton

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers on August 5, 2011| Leave a Comment »

(Updated July 26, 2020)

In 1970, Cardinals pitcher Steve Carlton could do almost nothing right against the Reds. The Cincinnati hitter who hurt him the most was Johnny Bench.

On July 26, 1970, a muggy Sunday afternoon in Cincinnati, Bench went 4-for-5 with three home runs, seven RBI and three runs scored in the Reds’ 12-5 victory against the Cardinals. All three home runs were hit versus Carlton. Boxscore

To give Bench a break from catching in the midsummer heat, Reds manager Sparky Anderson started the 22-year-old in left field that day. It was one of 17 games Bench started in the outfield in 1970. Pat Corrales, a former Cardinal, was the Cincinnati catcher.

“If that boy didn’t have to catch, there’s no telling what you might see,” Anderson told the Dayton Journal Herald.

Bench said to the Dayton Daily News, “If I can hit like that, I don’t care where I play, but there’s no question I feel stronger when I’m playing in the outfield.”

Hardball tactics

In the first inning, Bench, batting in the cleanup spot, hit a Carlton fastball over the right-center field wall at Riverfront Stadium for a three-run home run. When Bench followed by hitting a slider for a two-run home run to left in the second, Carlton fired a brushback pitch at the next batter, Lee May, sending him sprawling to the dirt.

“Carlton throwing at May is, well, it’s just baseball, but I don’t like anybody throwing at my hitters,” Anderson said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Said Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst: “A pitcher doesn’t have a chance any more. There’s the lively ball and the AstroTurf and the smaller strike zone … If you’re a pitcher, you have to brush back those hitters.”

Reds starter Wayne Simpson delivered payback the next inning when Carlton batted and was struck in the right calf by a pitch. Anderson approached Simpson about it between innings. “I told him I didn’t want him bothering with Carlton,” Anderson said. “I don’t like that type of baseball.”

When Simpson came to the plate in the bottom half of the third, Carlton threw a pitch inside. Simpson made a move toward Carlton, but no fight erupted.

Bench let his bat do the talking. He led off the fifth by belting a fastball over the wall in left for his third home run of the game against Carlton. “That’s the best day I’ve had since I hit three homers one day as a nine-year-old playing Little League ball at Cement, Okla.,” Bench told the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Said Anderson: “He’s only 22 and already he’s the best there is. Name me another catcher of our time you’d match him against.”

Fine wine

In his book “Chasing the Dream,” Joe Torre, who was Carlton’s roommate on Cardinals road trips in 1970, recalled, “After the game, Lefty and I commiserated over dinner and a little wine. I guess we had more than a little wine. When we got back to our hotel suite, I think we broke every stick of furniture in the room. When we awoke in the morning and realized what we had done, we tried to glue everything back together.

“When we left the suite, we had to make sure we didn’t close the door too hard because we were afraid the noise would cause everything to fall apart.”

Bench was the first Reds player with seven RBI in a game since Frank Robinson did it in May 1963, and he was the first Reds player with three home runs in a game since Art Shamsky in 1966. Bench went on to lead the National League in home runs (45) and RBI (148) in 1970, winning the Most Valuable Player Award and powering the Reds to the pennant.

Carlton made four starts against the Reds in 1970, posting an 0-4 record and 7.82 ERA. In 25.1 innings versus Cincinnati, Carlton yielded 24 runs and 35 hits.

Three years later, on May 9, 1973, Bench, catching and batting third, again smashed three home runs against Carlton, who was with the Phillies, in Cincinnati’s 9-7 victory at Philadelphia. Boxscore

“I don’t see how a man can cover so much of the plate,” Carlton told The Sporting News. “I threw Bench six inches inside and six inches outside, but it didn’t matter.”

Bench hit .305 (39-for-128) against Carlton in his career. The 12 home runs Bench belted against Carlton were the most he hit in his career against a left-hander.

Both Bench and Carlton are enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

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1980s macho match: Whitey Herzog vs. Roger Craig

Posted in Games, Managers, Opponents on July 20, 2011| 6 Comments »

(Updated July 22, 2019)

The intensity got turned up to maximum levels when Whitey Herzog managed the Cardinals against counterpart Roger Craig of the Giants.

On July 22, 1986, a scuffle involving the Cardinals and Giants in St. Louis was sparked by a war of words between Herzog and Craig.

The Cardinals, powered by an eight-run fourth inning, led, 10-2, in the bottom of the fifth when their speedster, Vince Coleman, swiped second and third.

After a walk to Ozzie Smith, reliever Juan Berenguer threw a wild pitch to Willie McGee. As Coleman broke for home plate, catcher Bob Melvin recovered the ball and threw to Berenguer, who applied a hard tag on Coleman. Berenguer voiced his displeasure with Coleman for stealing bases with his team ahead by eight runs.

When Coleman next batted in the seventh, reliever Frank Williams spun him away from the plate with an inside pitch. Umpire Bob Davidson issued a warning to both teams. With his next delivery, Williams hit Coleman in the left leg.

Herzog and Craig, a former Cardinals pitcher, had a heated exchange at home plate and “got shoves in as umpire John McSherry tried to restrain them,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Craig accused Herzog of ordering Coleman to steal in order to embarrass the Giants.

“Whitey is a great manager,” Craig said to the San Francisco Examiner, “but I told him that was bush.”

Herzog told the Post-Dispatch, “I guess he thinks he invented the damn game or something.”

Both benches emptied and skirmishes broke out.

Giants pitcher Mike Krukow butted Coleman with his head and Coleman wrestled him to the ground, according to The Sporting News. When Giants utility player Joel Youngblood tackled Cardinals pitcher Ricky Horton, Herzog grabbed Youngblood by the neck. Giants infielder Randy Kutcher tried to pry Herzog off Youngblood, and Herzog tangled with Kutcher.

According to the Post-Dispatch, Herzog said to Kutcher: “Oh, you want some of me?”

Someone spiked Cardinals second baseman Tommy Herr in the face and neck. He needed eight stitches to close the wound.

Craig, Williams and Giants third baseman Chris Brown were ejected.

“It’s an outrage,” Herzog told the Associated Press. “I’m talking about Roger Craig. It’s bush league. If he wants us to stop running, he can send over a note promising to stop trying to hit home runs.”

Replied Craig: “I’m glad it happened. It showed me what (the Giants) are made of.”

The players followed the lead of their managers.

“Vince is going to run regardless of what point of the game we’re in,” Herr said. “That’s his game.”

Said Cardinals outfielder Any Van Slyke: “To throw at Vince for running is like throwing at Mickey Mantle for hitting home runs.”

Said Youngblood: “You never want to humiliate your opponent. If you do, you have to be prepared to accept the consequences. It’s almost like an unwritten rule. It’s baseball.”

Giants first baseman Bob Brenly said to the Post-Dispatch, “They were kicking the snot out of us. There was no need to rub it in. I feel (Coleman) was trying to show us up.”

Said Coleman: “I wasn’t there to show anybody up.”

The fracas seemed to inspire the Giants. After pulling to within three runs, 10-7, the Giants had two runners on base with two outs in the ninth before Todd Worrell got Candy Maldonado on a flyout to right. Boxscore and Video

“They had the tying run at the plate in the ninth,” Herzog told The Sporting News. “That’s why we run.”

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Dick Williams couldn’t intimidate 1967 Cardinals

Posted in Games, Managers, Opponents, Pitchers on July 10, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Described in a 1967 wire service story as having “the diplomacy and tact of a marine drill sergeant at boot camp,” Red Sox manager Dick Williams accused Cardinals pitcher Nelson Briles of deliberately hitting Boston slugger Carl Yastrzemski with a pitch in Game 3 of the World Series.

The incident was the biggest on-field controversy of that World Series.

Following the lead of their manager, Red Sox players complained bitterly.

Whether he hit Yastrzemski intentionally or, as Briles first claimed, the pitch squirted uncontrollably out of his tight grip, the Cardinals got the upperhand in a Series they would win in seven games.

Williams, a St. Louis native who grew up rooting for Cardinals outfielder Joe Medwick, was one of the game’s best managers. He led the Red Sox, Athletics and Padres to pennants, won consecutive World Series titles with Oakland and was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

In 1967, the fiery Williams took a dispirited Red Sox franchise that had finished ninth in the 10-team American League in 1966 and pushed them to an unlikely pennant in his first year as a big-league manager.

So respected was Williams that one of his managerial adversaries, Eddie Stanky, whose White Sox finished three games behind Boston in 1967, sent the Red Sox skipper a telegram that read, “You did a remarkable job. Continued success in the World Series. Win, lose or draw, you’re the greatest.”

Relishing the underdog role, Williams implored his players not to back down against the National League champions. After St. Louis won Game 1 behind ace Bob Gibson, Boston took Game 2 on Jim Lonborg’s one-hitter. Lonborg, following Williams’ tone, was the intimidator, brushing back several Cardinals.

Entering the pivotal Game 3 in St. Louis, the Cardinals needed to regain their swagger. Briles took the initiative, telling reporters the Red Sox are “a weaker hitting team than any team we face in the National League.”

After Boston leadoff batter Jose Tartabull grounded out against Briles to begin Game 3, the ball was being tossed around the infield until it got to third baseman Mike Shannon. In the book “Spirit of St. Louis,” Briles told author Peter Golenbock, “Shannon, who had a strong arm, … took the ball and tried to throw it through my chest. He was saying, ‘What the hell is going on? Isn’t anybody going to protect us?’ That’s the message that came with that throw.”

After the next batter, Dalton Jones, struck out, the ball again was whipped around the infield until reaching Shannon. He fired it back to Briles, with even more force than the first throw.

Briles got the message. Up next was Boston’s best player, Yastrzemski, who led the American League in batting average, home runs and RBI.

Briles’ pitch hit Yastrzemski in the back of the left leg, in the middle of the calf. As the Red Sox star went sprawling to the ground, Williams shot out of the dugout and confronted plate umpire Frank Umont.

“He did that deliberately,” Williams said to Umont. “What are we going to have, a throwing contest here?”

Umont replied, “Don’t worry. I’ll take charge of the situation.”

The umpire beckoned Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst and told both skippers that any more purpose pitches would result in substantial fines.

Yastrzemski attempted to steal second base and was thrown out by catcher Tim McCarver. Lou Brock then led off the Cardinals’ half of the first with a triple and scored on Curt Flood’s single. Inspired, the Cardinals went on to a 5-2 victory behind Briles’ complete-game seven-hitter. Boxscore

“From that point on,” Briles told Golenbock, “we had a Series. All that junk was out of the way. There were no more knockdowns, no more nonsense. And I think at that moment I gained the respect of the ballclub.”

After the game, Williams and his players lashed out.

“I know he was trying to hit him,” Williams told Will McDonough of the Boston Globe.

Said Lonborg: “When a pitcher goes behind the hitter like that, he is definitely trying to hit him. If a pitcher doesn’t have better control than that, he shouldn’t be in the big leagues.”

Yastrzemski told McDonough: “He tried to hit me. There’s no doubt about it.”

Briles and Schoendienst told different stories.

Briles to McDonough: “I didn’t throw at him. I was just gripping the ball too hard and the pitch got away from me.”

Said Schoendienst: “We hear so much about Lonborg brushing guys back.”

Responded Williams, “Yes, but there’s a difference between brushing someone back and deliberately hitting him.”

Red Sox pitcher Jose Santiago called the Cardinals “bush league” and Boston center fielder Reggie Smith said Briles “is a big-mouth popoff.”

All the huffing and puffing played into Briles’ hands. Smith admitted, “We wanted to beat him so bad that I think we got all fouled up. Everyone was overanxious and not waiting for good pitches.”

The Series went seven games, but only one other batter was hit by a pitch.

In Game 6 at Boston, Briles entered in relief to jeers in the fifth. The first batter he faced was Red Sox starting pither Gary Waslewski.

Briles hit him.

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