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How Jose Oquendo became a Cardinals catcher

Posted in Games, Opponents, Records on September 23, 2013| Leave a Comment »

In a game filled with excellent catchers, the one who stood out was the unlikeliest of all.

In 1988, Jose Oquendo caught an inning for the Cardinals in a game against the Mets at St. Louis.

In doing so, Oquendo became the first National League player in 70 years to play all nine positions in one season.

Before Oquendo, the last to accomplish the feat in the National League was Gene Paulette, primarily a first baseman for the 1918 Cardinals. Cesar Tovar of the American League Twins played all nine positions in 1968.

On Sept. 24, 1988, the Mets jumped to a 6-0 lead in the second inning against the Cardinals. Oquendo, 25, started the game at his primary position at second base and moved to shortstop in the sixth inning, replacing Ozzie Smith.

With the Mets ahead, 10-1, Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog, looking to give the home crowd something to cheer, decided the time was right to play Oquendo at catcher.

Move over, Tony

In the seventh, Oquendo moved from shortstop to catcher, replacing starter Tony Pena, the National League leader among catchers in fielding percentage in 1988.

First up for New York with Oquendo behind the plate was Gary Carter, the Mets’ 1988 all-star catcher.

“I told (Carter), ‘Don’t foul it off. I don’t want to get hit,’ ” Oquendo said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Facing reliever Steve Peters, Carter obliged, flying out.

Tim Teufel was the next batter. With the count 3-and-1, Peters shook off Oquendo’s sign. Before he could offer another, Peters went into his wind.

“I told Teufel, ‘Get ready. I don’t know what’s coming,’ ” Oquendo said. “He was laughing. That’s why he fouled the pitch off.”

On the next pitch, a 3-and-2 curve called by Oquendo, Teufel swung and missed, striking out.

Easy as 1,2,3

Kevin Elster then lined out to third. It was the only one of the nine innings the Mets were retired in order.

His goal accomplished, Herzog lifted Oquendo and replaced him with catcher Tom Pagnozzi in the eighth.

“It was fun,” Oquendo said. “I felt pretty good. I didn’t feel nervous at all.”

Said Peters to the Associated Press: “He called a good game … He’s got a nice, low target.” Boxscore

In 1988, Oquendo appeared in 69 games at second base, 47 at third base, 17 at shortstop, 16 at first base, nine in right field, four in center field, two in left field, one at catcher and one as a pitcher.

On May 14, 1988, Oquendo pitched four innings of relief against the Braves at St. Louis. Oquendo held Atlanta scoreless for three innings before the Braves scored twice in the 19th inning for a 7-5 victory. Boxscore

Oquendo took the loss, becoming the first non-pitcher to get a decision in a major-league game since the Yankees’ Rocky Colavito in 1968. Boxscore

Previously: Whiteyball: Willie McGee at shortstop; Ricky Horton in right

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Unwrapped: How Stan Musial got his 4th 5-hit game of 1948

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Records on September 20, 2013| 3 Comments »

Like a scene from the movie “The Natural,” Stan Musial achieved one of baseball’s rarest hitting feats with flair.

Shedding the bandages from his ailing wrists, Musial took just five swings in the Cardinals’ game against the Braves at Boston on Sept. 22, 1948.

Each swing produced a hit.

It was Musial’s fourth five-hit game of the season. No major-league player had done that in 26 years. Only two have done it since.

Joining Musial as the only big-league players with four five-hit games in a season: Willie Keeler (1897 Orioles), Ty Cobb (1922 Tigers), Tony Gwynn (1993 Padres) and Ichiro Suzuki (2004 Mariners).

Musial had jammed his left wrist making a diving catch at Brooklyn on Sept. 17, 1948. The next day, he was hit on the right hand, near the wrist, by a pitch.

With his wrists taped, Musial remained in the lineup as the Cardinals pursued the National League-leading Braves.

A win over the Cardinals on Sept. 22 would clinch for the Braves their first pennant in 34 years. The Braves started their ace, left-hander Warren Spahn.

Going for broke

When Musial arrived at the Boston ballpark that day, he noticed the wind was blowing out toward right field, favoring a left-handed batter.

St. Louis writer Bob Broeg approached Musial at the batting cage and said, “A great day for the hitters.”

“Yeah, but I can’t hit like this,” Musial responded.

In his book “Stan Musial: The Man’s Own Story,” Musial said, “I held up the wrists with the flesh-colored tape. Angrily, I ripped it off.”

Without the tape to restrict him, Musial wanted to be able to snap his wrists, no matter how painful, and try to take advantage of the favoring wind and the short carry (319 feet) to the right-field bleachers.

Musial’s first two hits that day came against Spahn.

In the first inning, Musial singled to left. He said he punched the ball in that direction “to minimize wrist strain.”

In the third, Musial lined the ball over the head of left fielder Mike McCormick for a double.

Musial batted in the fourth against right-hander Red Barrett, who had been a teammate on the 1946 Cardinals.

Said Musial: “He tried to fool me with a 2-and-0 changeup, but I saw it coming and said to myself, ‘To hell with the wrists.’ ”

Musial pulled the pitch over the right-field wall for a two-run home run, his 38th of the season.

Swing away

In the sixth, Musial singled off left-hander Clyde Shoun. Musial said he was “entirely aware” Cobb had been the last player to achieve four five-hit games in a season.

“I wanted that fifth hit,” he said.

In the eighth. Musial got his chance against Al Lyons.

The first two pitches from the right-hander missed the strike zone. Musial didn’t want a walk.

“I made up my mind, with the Cardinals far ahead (8-2), that I’d swing at anything close to the plate _ wrists be hanged,” Musial said.

“The next pitch was a bit outside, but I jerked it around … It bounced in the hole between first and second and got through. Saving the sore wrists as much as possible, I had hit safely five times by taking the absolute minimum number of swings _ just five.” Boxscore

All four of Musial’s five-hit games in 1948 came away from home.

“If I could have played the 1948 season on the road, I might have hit .400 and ripped the record book apart,” Musial said.

Instead, Musial batted .376 overall _ .415 on the road and .334 at home.

Here is a look at his other five-hit games in 1948:

_ April 30, 1948, at Cincinnati: Musial hit a home run, two doubles and two singles off four right-handers in the Cardinals’ 13-7 victory over the Reds. The homer, a two-run shot, was off starter Howie Fox. Musial batted .447 (21-for-47) at Crosley Field in 1948. Boxscore

_ May 19, 1948, at Brooklyn: Musial singled twice off right-hander Rex Barney, tripled against right-hander Erv Palica and had a single and double off left-hander Preacher Roe in the Cardinals’ 14-7 victory over the Dodgers. Musial batted .522 (24-for-46) at Ebbets Field in 1948. Boxscore

_ June 22, 1948, at Boston: Musial had five singles, four off right-handed starter Bill Voiselle and another against Shoun that snapped a 2-2 tie in the ninth inning, in the Cardinals’ 5-2 triumph over the Braves. Musial hit .467 (21-for-45) at Braves Field in 1948. Boxscore

In his 22-year big-league career with the Cardinals, Musial had eight five-hit games. In addition to the four in 1948, the others were:

_ July 21, 1943, versus the Giants, at St. Louis. It was his only five-hit game at home.

_ Sept. 19, 1946, at Boston. Former Cardinals ace Mort Cooper started for the Braves.

_ Sept. 3, 1947, at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

_ Sept. 27, 1962, two months before his 42nd birthday, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. The fifth hit was a single off former teammate Stu Miller.

Previously: How Stan Musial turned in a great comeback year at 41

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Wrangle at Wrigley: Tony La Russa vs. Dusty Baker

Posted in Games, Managers, Opponents on September 2, 2013| 2 Comments »

Tony La Russa brought out the evil twin in Dusty Baker.

On Sept. 3, 2003, the Cardinals and Cubs played the fourth game of an intense five-game series at Chicago’s Wrigley Field. La Russa, the Cardinals’ manager, and Baker, the Cubs’ manager, engaged in a shouting match that added a memorable but ugly chapter to the rivalry between the franchises.

In the second inning, Cubs starter Matt Clement hit Cardinals pitcher Dan Haren with a pitch. An inning later, Haren hit Clement. That prompted the theatrics from the managers.

Baker rushed onto the field, confronted the umpires, then pointed angrily at the visitors’ dugout, where La Russa stood, glaring.

“Even back in the dugout, Baker kept pointing and yelling as La Russa smirked,” wrote Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti.

“Baker hollered, ‘I’ll (mess) you up,’ at La Russa,” wrote St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz.

“TV cameras caught Baker telling La Russa he’d gladly take him on any time and La Russa telling him to bring it on,” reported Mike Kiley of the Sun-Times.

“The two managers yelled at each other from across the field,” wrote Joe Strauss of the Post-Dispatch. “Baker at one point flipped an obscene gesture at La Russa.”

Wrote Miklasz: “A rumpus with an opposing manager makes La Russa’s blood surge and raises his competitiveness to maximum-testosterone level.” Video

Cardinals fold after feud

The teams hardly needed motivation. The day before, they split a gritty doubleheader. The Cubs won the opener in 15 innings. The Cardinals won the second game, 2-0, behind Matt Morris. Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood twice knocked down Morris with pitches and dusted him with a third, prompting La Russa to say Wood “likes to scare people. I’ve heard he likes to hit people.”

Baker and Wood objected to La Russa’s remarks.

After the La Russa-Baker macho match that followed Haren and Clement being hit by pitches, the intensity was raised to a fever pitch.

The Cardinals, who entered the Sept, 3 game in first place in the National League Central, a half-game ahead of the Astros and 1.5 games ahead of the Cubs, led, 6-0, in the sixth, but the Cubs scored three in the sixth, three in the seventh and two in the eighth and won, 8-7. Boxscore

Wrote Miklasz: “La Russa was nearly inconsolable.”

Said La Russa: “As far as bad losses go, it’s tied for first with any that I can remember. There’s been some savage losses, but this is right there with the worst of them.”

A defiant Baker told the Post-Dispatch: “Nobody intimidates me but my dad and Bob Gibson and a bully I had in elementary school. And I grew bigger than him, so he couldn’t bully me.”

Mariotti suggested the Cubs change their logo because “a cuddly little cub doesn’t fit the image any more when Dusty Baker is threatening to kick Tony La Russa’s butt.”

Beware the Gemini

The next day, La Russa and Baker met on the field before the game and had what was described by Strauss as “a decidedly serious conversation” for about five minutes.

Said La Russa to the Post-Dispatch: “I explained to him that the Cardinals and my players come first with me and I recognized that the Cubs and his players come first with him. If we both have that understanding, I think it’s easy for us to maintain a respect and friendship with each other.”

Baker, in comments to both the Sun-Times and Post-Dispatch, revealed there is a bad Dusty that tries to overtake the good one.

“I’m not proud of myself when I display that kind of action because I don’t really like that person when he comes out,” Baker said. “And he rarely comes out unless he’s provoked to come out.

“I’m a Gemini and I’ve definitely got an evil twin. I don’t like that twin. That’s the mean side. He’s got to run his course, then go back in there for a while. Everybody has a side they don’t like. I can get even hotter.”

Previously: Dusty Baker ended playing career with Tony La Russa at helm

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Needing a strike for a save, Ken Dayley got hook instead

Posted in Games, Managers, Opponents, Pitchers on August 26, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Whitey Herzog managed the Cardinals with a bold, creative style, which partly explains why he largely was successful. What elevated Herzog to Hall of Fame quality is he got his players to buy into that style.

A striking example of that occurred on Aug. 28, 1988, in a Sunday afternoon game between the Cardinals and Reds at Cincinnati.

Ken Dayley was one strike away from completing a three-inning save when Herzog abruptly pulled the reliever before he was finished pitching to the batter, Chris Sabo.

Dayley didn’t complain nor did anyone else with the Cardinals, which is testament to the trust and respect Herzog had with his players at that time.

Bob Forsch, in his last appearance as a Cardinal, started that game and pitched six innings. With the Cardinals ahead, 5-3, Forsch was relieved by Dayley after yielding a leadoff single to Sabo in the seventh.

Dayley held the Reds scoreless in the seventh and eighth.

In the ninth, Dayley retired the first two batters before Barry Larkin singled. Up next was Sabo.

A right-handed batter, Sabo, a rookie, presented a challenging matchup for the left-handed Dayley. The previous night, Sabo had four hits against the Cardinals, including three singles off left-handed pitching.

Cardinals closer Todd Worrell, a right-hander, was warming in the bullpen, but Herzog stayed with Dayley because Kal Daniels, a left-handed batter, was due up after Sabo. Herzog wasn’t figuring on Sabo hitting a home run. Dayley was unscored on in his last seven games.

Dayley got the count to 2-and-2 on Sabo. On the next pitch, Sabo drilled a line drive down the left-field line.

Worrell, who was in the left-field bullpen, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “When it passed me, it was about three feet fair.”

Wrote the Associated Press: “Sabo’s liner flirted with the left-field foul screen … but the ball hooked at the last second.”

“It wasn’t foul by much, maybe two feet,” Cardinals left fielder Tom Lawless said.

Said Worrell: “You could slide a newspaper between the ball and the foul pole.”

Herzog immediately went to the mound and lifted Dayley for Worrell. The closer threw one pitch, a slider, which Sabo swung and missed by a foot, sealing the Cardinals’ 5-3 victory. Boxscore

“I’ll bet that was the easiest save he ever had,” Herzog said.

Said Dayley: “Whitey had seen enough. I don’t mind setting the table for him, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to feed him.”

Previously: Whiteyball: Willie McGee at shortstop; Ricky Horton in right

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Slider was key to 15 wins in row for Bob Gibson in 1968

Posted in Games, Opponents, Pitchers, Records on August 19, 2013| Leave a Comment »

(Updated Nov. 25, 2024)

Using a combination of fastballs and sliders with control and confidence, Bob Gibson capped the most successful stretch of starts ever experienced by a Cardinals pitcher.

On Aug. 19, 1968, Gibson got his 15th consecutive win, pitching a two-hitter in the Cardinals’ 2-0 victory over the Phillies at Philadelphia.

During the 15-game winning streak, from June 2 through Aug. 19, Gibson made 16 starts, with one no-decision. Ten of the 15 wins were shutouts. His ERA in that 16-start stretch was 0.68 in 146 innings, with 124 strikeouts. He pitched nine innings or more 16 games in a row.

“I haven’t seen anybody that good during the time I’ve been in the majors,” Cardinals outfielder Roger Maris said to The Sporting News.

Looking back on Gibson’s 1968 season, Cardinals catcher Tim McCarver told Cardinals Yearbook in 2018, “It got to a point where I could sense the helplessness when hitters came to bat … There were many times when I could feel a hitter’s legs buckle as one of Bob’s vicious sliders whizzed across the plate.”

Slip sliding away

Using only fastballs and sliders against the Phillies for his 15th win in a row, Gibson struck out 11, including Dick Allen four times and Bill White three times.

“He had great control of his slider,” McCarver said to the Associated Press. “The last strike on Rich Allen in the ninth broke a foot.”

Gibson credited the development of his slider with making him a dominant pitcher.

“My slider was nasty,” Gibson said in a conversation for the book “Sixty Feet, Six Inches.” “They could look for it and couldn’t hit it.

“Actually, I had two sliders … My main slider was my hardest one, and it would just break abruptly and mostly downward. And I had one where I’d twist my wrist a little more and give it a bigger break. That one didn’t have the speed or suddenness of the first one … but if I got it where I was supposed to get it, a right-handed batter wasn’t going to do anything with it.”

In his bid for the 15th consecutive win, Gibson held the Phillies hitless for five innings. In the sixth, with one out, pitcher John Boozer singled to center.

The Phillies’ only other hit came in the eighth when Johnny Callison, batting for Boozer, singled to right with two outs. Boxscore

Confidence equals control

The 15th consecutive win gave Gibson a season record of 18-5 with a 0.99 ERA in 234.2 innings. The shutout, his 10th, tied the Cardinals’ single-season record established by Mort Cooper in 1944.

“Of all the reasons behind his brilliance, I start with his command,” McCarver told Cardinals Yearbook. “Gibson threw hard and featured the best slider I’ve ever caught by a right-hander. His pitches exploded with movement a few feet from the plate. What made them even more effective was his ability to throw them where he wanted. He could consistently hit a target no wider than two baseballs.”

In discussing his slider with Cardinals Yearbook writer Stan McNeal, Gibson said, “I had pinpoint control in 1968 … If I wanted to throw it outside, I’d start it in the middle of the plate and I knew it was going to be outside … That was an unbelievable feeling. It really was. Hitters were at a disadvantage because I knew where the ball was going and I could throw it there in any count. Most pitchers would get to a 3-and-2 count and throw a fastball because they could control it, but I’d throw a slider because I could control it as well as the fastball. Sometimes it would break out of the strike zone, but they’d swing anyway.”

Gibson’s consecutive win streak ended in his next start, Aug. 24, at home against the Pirates. The Cardinals led, 4-0, after six. Willie Stargell hit a three-run home run off Gibson in the seventh. The Pirates scored a run in the eighth and two more in the ninth to win, 6-4, overcoming a 15-strikeout performance by Gibson. Three of the Pirates’ six runs were unearned. Boxscore

Gibson finished the 1968 season with a 22-9 record, and 1.12 ERA, pitching 13 shutouts and 28 complete games. In Game 1 of the 1968 World Series, he struck out 17 Tigers batters.

In a 2018 interview with Joe Schuster of Cardinals Yearbook, Willie Horton recalled how he became the 17th strikeout victim: “On the last pitch, he had me set up for a slider, so I was looking for a ball off the edge of the plate, maybe even six inches outside. I set up for a pitch out there, so if it broke I would have hit it, but it just stayed in on me and I couldn’t do anything with it. I learned later he had a backdoor slider. I can’t think of another right-handed pitcher who would try to throw a backdoor slider, because you can make so many mistakes with it. He had one _ and that shows how great he was.”

On Oct. 28, 1968, Gibson was named unanimous winner of the National League Cy Young Award. Two weeks later, on Nov. 13, he was named recipient of the NL Most Valuable Player Award.

In the book “Late Innings,” Gibson told author Roger Angell, “I was never that good again … I’d like to think I’d really perfected my pitching to that point.”

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Johnny Logan was tough out for Cardinals

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents on August 14, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Playing in lineups with the likes of Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell, shortstop Johnny Logan was a batter the Cardinals learned to respect.

In 1957, when Logan was the starting shortstop for the World Series champion Braves, he reached base in seven consecutive plate appearances against the Cardinals over two games at St. Louis.

During a 13-year major-league career (1951-63), Logan batted .282 against the Cardinals and had 209 hits in 209 games versus them. He hit especially well at St. Louis, posting a .309 batting average there in 102 games while playing for the Braves and Pirates.

On May 10, 1957, Logan, batting sixth, went 4-for-4 with a walk and five RBI in the Braves’ 10-5 victory over the Cardinals. In his first two at-bats, Logan produced a two-run double and a RBI-single against starter Sam Jones.

In the fifth, Logan drew a walk from Lloyd Merritt. Logan followed that with a solo home run off Hoyt Wilhelm in the seventh and finished with a RBI-single off Jim Davis in the ninth. Boxscore

The next day, May 11, Logan, in his first two at-bats, had a RBI-double and a single off starter Lindy McDaniel. Logan had reached base in each of his first seven plate appearances of the series.

In the sixth, Willard Schmidt got Logan on a fly out. Logan doubled off Schmidt in the eighth _ his eighth time on base in nine plate appearances since the series began. Boxscore

A month later, the Braves acquired second baseman Red Schoendienst from the Giants. The former Cardinal paired with Logan to form an effective keystone combination.

“The first thing I did when we got Red was give (general manager) John Quinn a big kiss,” Logan told The Milwaukee Journal. “We had the best pitching in the league and a lot of power, but we (had) needed a second baseman.”

Logan remained the Braves’ starting shortstop through 1960 until he was replaced by Roy McMillan. In June 1961, the Braves traded Logan to the Pirates for outfielder Gino Cimoli.

Logan primarily was a utility player and pinch-hitter for Pittsburgh. One of his last big hits came against the Cardinals.

On July 16, 1962, Logan started at third base for the Pirates at Pittsburgh. In the sixth inning, with the Cardinals ahead, 2-1, the Pirates loaded the bases with two outs against starter Ray Sadecki.

Logan, homerless as a Pirate, stepped to the plate and delivered a grand slam, the last home run of his big-league career, leading Pittsburgh to a 5-2 victory. It also was Logan’s first extra-base hit of the season. Boxscore

“I’ve been saving this for a long time to show how much I appreciate the Pirates staying with me,” Logan said to The Sporting News. “I’m 35, all right, but I’m not over the hill yet.”

Previously: Hank Aaron and the home run that wasn’t vs. Cardinals

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