Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Opponents’ Category

The story of how Stan Musial barely escaped beaning

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers on September 21, 2012| 2 Comments »

Johnny Podres nearly put a damaging dent into the armor of baseball’s perfect knight.

Described by former baseball commisioner Ford Frick as “baseball’s perfect knight,” Stan Musial became a Cardinals icon as much for his good-guy demeanor as for his outstanding baseball ability, but he wasn’t immune from wild-armed pitchers and brushback pitches.

Musial was struck by pitches 53 times in a 22-year big-league career. The pitch that did the most damage was delivered by Podres, a Dodgers left-hander who, like Musial, would be inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.

In 1955, Musial was hit by pitches a National League-leading eight times. One of those occurred on Aug. 29, 1955, when the Cardinals played the Dodgers at Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field. Though the Dodgers were in first place and the Cardinals were in seventh, the competition between these longtime rivals remained fierce.

In the first inning, catcher Roy Campanella hit a two-run home run off Cardinals starter Tom Poholsky. When Campanella batted again in the third, he was buzzed by a pitch.

Musial, playing in his 593rd consecutive game, led off the Cardinals’ fourth. Podres unleashed a fastball that sailed directly toward Musial’s head. Musial instinctively raised his right hand to protect himself _ and it was fortunate he did.

The ball struck the back of his hand. If it hadn’t, the ball would have struck him in the skull, according to multiple news reports.

Musial felt “acute pain” in the hand, the Associated Press reported. The Sporting News described the hand as “painfully bruised.”

In the bottom of the fourth, a pitch from Poholsky went behind the head of Dodgers batter Jackie Robinson. Umpire Jocko Conlon immediately stepped out from behind the plate, raised a finger on each hand, faced each dugout and declared, “All right, that’s one and one. The next one is out (for the manager and pitcher),” The Sporting News reported.

Soon thereafter, Dodgers pitcher Don Newcombe, out of the lineup that Monday afternoon, was ejected for using offending language within earshot of spectators while yelling at Cardinals manager Harry Walker.

In the seventh, with the hand throbbing, Musial was removed from the game. Boxscore

“It was feared he’d miss his first game since the 1951 season’s wind-up,” The Sporting News reported.

The next day, Aug. 30, Musial was placed sixth in the batting order against the Pirates at Pittsburgh. He played right field in the bottom of the first. When his turn at-bat came up in the second, he was lifted for a pinch-hitter. Boxscore

Musial was listed as the right fielder, batting fifth, the following day at Pittsburgh. When the Cardinals got two on with two out in the top of the first, Musial again was replaced by a pinch-hitter. Though he didn’t appear in the game, the consecutive-game streak officially continued because he was in the starting lineup. Boxscore

Dan Daniel of the New York World-Telegram and Sun wrote, “There is a well-founded suspicion that some of the club owners feel that duster pitching, sparking violent rhubarbs, helps the gate. However, what would have been the popular reaction around the country if Stan Musial had been skulled dangerously by the Johnny Podres pitch which he managed to soften with his hand the other day?”

Seven years later, Podres hit Musial with a pitch again on Sept. 22, 1962. Boxscore

In his book “Stan Musial: The Man’s Own Story,” Musial said of Podres: “If he hadn’t had back trouble, Podres would have been a 20-game winner … Podres has the best changeup since (Howie) Pollet or (Carl) Erskine, good control and a good curve.”

Though Podres twice pelted him with pitches, Musial, as usual, got the last laugh. On Sept. 16, 1963, Musial hit the 475th and last home run of his career. He hit it, of course, off Johnny Podres. Boxscore

Previously: Cardinals drilled Johnny Podres in their L.A. debut

Read Full Post »

No bull: Greg Luzinski pummeled Cards like few others

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers on September 5, 2012| Leave a Comment »

For the 1977 Cardinals, there was no doubt about who was the most valuable player in the National League that season: Phillies left fielder Greg Luzinski.

Nicknamed “The Bull” because of his size (6-1, 230 pounds) and power, Luzinski produced one of the most destructive seasons ever against a Cardinals team.

Luzinski’s 1977 performance was referenced recently because of how Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez tormented the 2012 Cardinals. With seven home runs and 23 RBI against St. Louis in 2012, Alvarez became the first player to achieve those combinations versus the Cardinals since Luzinski _ and the first Pirates player to do so since left fielder Ralph Kiner in 1950 _ according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

A look at the numbers of that trio against the Cardinals:

PLAYER……………YEAR……..HOMERS……..RBI……..BATTING AVG

Pedro Alvarez……2012……….7…………………..23…….. .397 (23-for-58)

Greg Luzinski……1977……….9…………………..28…….. .351 (20-for-57)

Ralph Kiner………1950………9…………………..23…….. .337 (28-for-83)

In 16 games against the ’77 Cardinals, Luzinski also had seven doubles and nine walks. He posted a .441 on-base percentage and .947 slugging percentage versus St. Louis that year.

Luzinski, 26, did much of his damage against two of the Cardinals’ best pitchers _ Bob Forsch, a 20-game winner in 1977, and Al Hrabosky, St. Louis’ saves leader that year.

Against Forsch, Luzinski hit .467 (7-for-15) with four home runs in 1977. Luzinski was 3-for-4 (.750) with a homer against Hrabosky.

Starter Eric Rasmussen and reliever Butch Metzger were the most effective St. Louis pitchers against Luzinski in 1977. Luzinski was 0-for-10 against Rasmussen and 0-for-5 against Metzger that year. Luzinski was 20-for-42 (.476) against the rest of the 1977 Cardinals staff.

Luzinski had three 5-RBI games against the ’77 Cardinals. The second occurred on July 13 when Luzinski drove in all the Phillies’ runs and hit a pair of homers against Tom Underwood in a 5-2 Philadelphia victory. Underwood had been acquired by the Cardinals from the Phillies a month earlier. Boxscore

“Luzinski is the best two-out hitter in baseball,” Underwood said to the Associated Press. “He never misses a down-and-in pitch. I’m not the first guy he’s going to hit home runs off and certainly not the last. I made two bad pitches and I paid for it.”

Luzinski’s first homer off Underwood went 450 feet to “The Bull Ring,” a section of the left-field stands at Philadelphia’s Veterans Stadium that seated youngsters who were provided tickets by Luzinski.

Luzinski, who had signed a five-year, $1.5-million contract, bought 126 loge box seats for each of 36 Phillies home games and gave all of the tickets to youngsters from organizations such as the Salvation Army and the Big Brothers Association. Each ticket cost $4.50, so Luzinski paid $20,412, with no discount from the Phillies, both The Sporting News and Associated Press reported.

Luzinski also provided autographed pictures of himself to every youngster in “The Bull Ring” and he donated $100 to the organization in that section any night a Phillies home run landed there.

“There are many children who have never had box seats and I want to give some of them a chance to sit there and see how much fun it can be just to go to a baseball game at the Vet,” Luzinski said to The Sporting News.

In a three-game Phillies sweep of the Cardinals Sept. 9-11, 1977, Luzinski drove in eight runs and hit a home run apiece off Hrabosky, John Urrea and John Sutton. Afterward, the soft-spoken slugger surprised reporters when he told them he deserved to win the NL Most Valuable Player Award for his overall 1977 performance.

“I’ve had a hell of a season,” Luzinski said to the Associated Press. “… I’ve been consistent all year. That’s the key.”

Cardinals manager Vern Rapp agreed Luzinski would be the best choice for NL MVP. “What Luzinski has done proves he is the most valuable … Luzinski has always delivered when it meant something toward the ballclub winning,” Rapp said.

Luzinski finished the season with 39 homers, 130 RBI, a .309 batting average, a .394 on-base percentage and a .594 slugging percentage, leading the Phillies to their second consecutive NL East title.

But another left fielder, George Foster, playing for the second-place Reds of the NL West, was voted the NL MVP Award by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Foster received 291 total points and 15 first-place votes; Luzinski had 255 total points and 9 first-place votes.

Though the Reds finished 10 games behind the NL West-champion Dodgers, Foster had better statistics than Luzinski: 52 homers, 149 RBI, a .320 batting average, a .382 on-base percentage and a .631 slugging percentage.

“The way I figure it out we couldn’t win without The Bull,” Phillies catcher Tim McCarver said to The Sporting News, in explaining why Luzinski deserved the award. “And I think the Reds could have finished second without George Foster.”

Countered Reds second baseman Joe Morgan, who had won the award in both 1975 and ’76: “There’s really no comparison. If Foster replaced Luzinski in the Phillies lineup, they’d win by 20 games. George has done better in every offensive category and is a far better defensive player than Greg.”

Previously: Cardinals helped Joe Lis look like all-star

Read Full Post »

Bob Gibson vs. Sandy Koufax: Grand game for Charlie James

Posted in Games, Opponents, Pitchers on August 31, 2012| 1 Comment »

(Updated Oct. 7, 2020)

Bob Gibson and Sandy Koufax were scheduled to start against one another in a September 1962 showdown of two of the premier pitchers of the era.

The matchup never materialized.

Gibson broke his leg before the game and Koufax was knocked out without completing an inning.

The unlikely standout that night: Cardinals right fielder Charlie James.

On Sept. 21, 1962, at St. Louis, Koufax was making his first start in more than two months. The Dodgers left-hander had been sidelined because of an injured pitching hand. News reports called it a circulatory problem in the index finger of his left hand. The injury was much more serious _ a crushed artery in the palm of his hand, according to Jane Leavy in her book “Sandy Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy.”

Though, Leavy reported, the hand injury had bothered Koufax since April (by July, the tissue was close to gangrene, she wrote), he entered the September start against St. Louis with a 14-5 record and 2.15 ERA.

Gibson was 15-13 with a 2.85 ERA. The Cardinals right-hander had lost his last four consecutive decisions and was looking to finish on a high note in his final three starts of the 1962 season, beginning with the Friday night game against the Dodgers.

Trouble occurred before the game started.

Wearing new spikes, Gibson participated in batting practice. Turning away sharply from a pitch, his spikes caught in the ground and he toppled over in pain, The Sporting News reported. Gibson fractured a bone above his right ankle and his leg was placed in a cast.

“It sounded just like a twig snapping,” Gibson told The Sporting News. “I could hear it and feel it tear.”

Gibson was replaced by Curt Simmons, a left-hander who had made one start since late August.

Koufax, meanwhile, was making his first appearance since a one-inning start July 17 at Cincinnati.

Relying mostly on fastballs against the Cardinals, Koufax walked the first two batters, Julian Javier and Curt Flood.

When Stan Musial struck out looking and Ken Boyer flied out to left, it appeared Koufax had found his groove, but he walked Bill White, loading the bases.

That brought to the plate James, a right-handed batter with a .277 average. James hadn’t hit a home run or driven in a run all month.

With the count 2-and-2, Koufax was a strike away from getting out of the jam. The next delivery was high and away. James swung and launched a shot onto the pavilion roof in right for a grand slam.

In a six-year big-league career, James hit 29 home runs. His only grand slam was the one off Koufax. James told New York Times columnist Arthur Daley the grand slam “gave me the most personal satisfaction and the most surprise” of any home run he hit.

“I was merely trying to meet the ball and was astonished to see it land on the roof in right field,” James said.

Years later, James told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “You couldn’t hit Koufax’s 100 mph fastball, but if the ball started at the knees, it would rise to belt high by the time it got to the plate. That was the only way you could hit it.”

Koufax walked the next batter, Gene Oliver, and was relieved by Ed Roebuck.

“If he had got out of that first inning,” Dodgers manager Walter Alston said about Koufax, “no telling how long he might have gone.”

Asked whether the left index finger still bothered him, Koufax replied, “My finger doesn’t feel 100 percent … but it does feel as good as it did the two or three games before I went under the doctor’s care.”

The Cardinals won, 11-2. Boxscore

Two years later, April 22, 1964, James hit another first-inning home run off Koufax, a three-run shot in a 7-6 Cardinals victory. Boxscore

In a 12-year big-league career, Koufax yielded 204 home runs, including six grand slams.

Read Full Post »

Johnny Damon: Fiery foe when facing Cardinals

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents on August 22, 2012| Leave a Comment »

For a player who spent all 18 of his big-league seasons in the American League, outfielder Johnny Damon had his share of memorable performances against the Cardinals, including a home run to lead off Game 4 in the historic sweep of the 2004 World Series by the Red Sox.

Yet it was an incident that occurred in 1997, in Damon’s first regular-season series against St. Louis, that may be what many Cardinals fans will most remember about him.

Damon, 38, was released in August 2012 by the Indians, two months after his two-run home run off reliever Maikel Cleto helped Cleveland to a 6-2 victory at St. Louis on June 8, 2012. A left-handed batter with more than 2,700 big-league hits, Damon may be facing the end of his major-league playing career.

He excelled against the Cardinals, batting .330 (31-for-94) with 18 runs in 23 regular-season games. Damon also hit .286 (6-for-21) against them in the 2004 World Series.

From the start, he was a fiery combatant when facing St. Louis. In August 1997, the Cardinals played the Royals in the regular season for the first time. The Cardinals won the opener of the three-game weekend series at Kansas City.

The next night, a Saturday, Aug. 30, the Royals pounded starter Manny Aybar and reliever Mark Petkovsek. When right fielder Jermaine Dye hit a grand slam off Petkovsek in the fourth inning, it increased the Royals’ lead to 14-1.

The next batter was Damon. Petkovsek’s first pitch to him hit Damon in the ankle. Damon charged the mound. He grabbed Petkovsek in a headlock and they tumbled to the ground.

Both benches and both bullpens emptied. During the next five minutes, the Associated Press reported, “play was halted as players wrestled and jostled, screamed and postured.”

Cardinals pitcher Andy Benes went after Tim Belcher and tore the front of the Royals starter’s jersey. Royals bench coach Jamie Quirk and Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan wrestled one another to the ground, the Associated Press reported.

Damon and Petkovsek were ejected. Two innings later, Belcher hit St. Louis right fielder Phil Plantier in the hip with a pitch.

There were no serious injuries, but there was plenty of huffing and puffing in the clubhouse after the Royals’ 16-5 victory. Boxscore

“The guys in red versus the guys in blue. Or was it the Bloods versus the Crips?” Chili Davis, the Royals’ designated hitter, said to the Lawrence Journal-World.

Said Damon: “I kind of thought he’d throw at me. I did what I had to do.”

An incredulous Cardinals manager Tony La Russa told the Lawrence newspaper, “Hitting the guy on the ankle? With a sinker? Are you kidding?”

Said Petkovsek: “I was just trying to throw a fastball inside. I was surprised he came out there.”

Asked whether hitting Plantier with a pitch was retaliation, Belcher said, “I was pitching him in all night.”

The Kansas City Star and St. Louis Post-Dispatch gave heavyweight treatment to the melee.

_ La Velle Neal of the Star: Basebrawl broke out at Kauffman Stadium Saturday night.

_ Dick Kaegel of the Star: Now it’s absolutely official. This Royals-Cardinals thing is a rivalry. The boys got down and dirty Saturday night.

_ Rick Hummel of the Post-Dispatch: Emotions already were running reasonably high for this first interleague meeting between the Cardinals and Kansas City Royals. But, in a tumultuous fourth inning Saturday, they reached fever pitch.

Not all bought into the notion the series had created bad blood between Missouri’s major-league teams. Said Royals catcher Mike Macfarlane to the Lawrence Journal-World: “How can there be bad blood? We’ve only played them twice.”

Damon was in the lineup, batting leadoff, the next afternoon, Aug. 31. He struck out three times, including in the ninth inning when he batted with two on and one out against closer Dennis Eckersley. Cardinals pitchers hit two batters and St. Louis won, 5-4.

Previously: Cardinals were Royals’ first opponent in Kansas City

Read Full Post »

Willie McCovey and his legendary St. Louis home run

Posted in Broadcasters, Games, Hitters, Opponents on August 17, 2012| 15 Comments »

(Updated Jan. 30, 2023)

Before Mark McGwire, who played for the Cardinals from 1997-2001, another Big Mac, Willie McCovey of the Giants, hit the longest home run seen in St. Louis.

Cardinals broadcaster Mike Shannon has said the longest home run he has witnessed was hit by McCovey on Sept. 4, 1966, at St. Louis.

Leading off the third inning against Cardinals starter Al Jackson, McCovey hit a changeup that landed in the upper deck above the scoreboard in right-center field at Busch Memorial Stadium. The ballpark opened four months earlier, in May 1966.

Shannon was playing right field for the Cardinals that day and “had a good look” at McCovey’s home run. Shannon said he later asked McCovey (who had 521 career home runs in the major leagues) whether it was the longest ball he’d hit. “I don’t know if it was the longest,” Shannon said McCovey replied, “but it was the hardest.” Boxscore

Cardinals catcher Tim McCarver told writer Roger Angell of The New Yorker magazine, “There’s no doubt in my mind about this. It was as if McCovey had hit it off a tee. It caromed off the upper part of the scoreboard and bounced back onto the field.”

The book “Baseball’s Ultimate Power: Ranking the All-Time Greatest Distance Home Run” had this description of McCovey’s St. Louis home run: “The ball was struck on a line drive trajectory that resulted in a 515-foot journey.”

The Cardinals’ 2005 Busch Stadium commemorative yearbook said many who witnessed McCovey’s blast will continue to regard it as the longest home run in that stadium’s history. “That may be the farthest hit anywhere,” Shannon said. “I’ll never forget it as long as I live.”

In the first inning, with the Cardinals using an infield shift against the left-handed slugger, McCovey bunted for a single. Asked by Jack Hanley of The San Mateo Times whether he got more pleasure from the bunt or from the mammoth home run, McCovey replied, “The more I think about it, the more I’m becoming convinced I get a bigger kick out of the bunt. It’s because, when you do the unexpected, the other fellow is completely surprised and it’s a trifle upsetting. The bunt can win a ballgame as much as a homer.”

(On Sept. 16, 1966, 12 days after his shot in St. Louis, McCovey hit a 505-foot home run off Mets starter Jack Fisher at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park. It’s the longest home run hit at that stadium, according to the San Francisco Examiner. Boxscore)

Until McGwire arrived, Pirates first baseman Willie Stargell came closest to challenging McCovey’s home run for longest hit at Busch Memorial Stadium. On July 4, 1979, Stargell hit a slider from reliever Darold Knowles 510 feet, above and to the right of the scoreboard. Boxscore

“That’s the longest home run I’ve ever seen hit in this ballpark by a left-hander,” Cardinals first baseman Keith Hernandez said to the Associated Press.

Said Stargell: “When I saw it go out, I saw (Knowles) flinging something like his cap. He was disgusted. It was a ball that Darold, I’m sure, got in an area he didn’t want. It was a nice, easy swing. I had no idea it was going that far.”

Nineteen years after Stargell’s shot, McGwire hit what officially is called the longest home run at Busch Memorial Stadium. The 545-foot home run on May 16, 1998, against the Marlins’ Livan Hernandez hit the St. Louis Post-Dispatch sign in center field. For the remainder of the season, a giant Band-Aid marked the spot where the ball dented the sign. Boxscore

“It’s the best ball I’ve ever hit,” McGwire said. “I don’t think I can hit one better than that.”

Read Full Post »

Cards go 23 years between 2 straight shutouts of Cubs

Posted in Games, Opponents, Pitchers on August 15, 2012| Leave a Comment »

In 2012, the Cardinals shut out the Cubs in consecutive games at St. Louis.

Those were the Cardinals’ first back-to-back shutouts of the Cubs in 23 years.

Spurred by an explosion of power hitting, the 2012 Cardinals beat the Cubs, 12-0, on July 21 and won again, 7-0, on July 22.

Jake Westbrook pitched seven scoreless innings July 21 and relievers Barret Browning, Victor Marte and Trevor Rosenthal completed the shutout. Lance Lynn pitched six scoreless innings July 22 and combined with relievers Fernando Salas and Marc Rzepczynski for the second consecutive shutout.

In 1989, the Cardinals’ back-to-back shutouts of the Cubs occurred in Chicago.

On June 9, 1989, a 15-mph wind came out of the northwest at Wrigley Field, meaning it was blowing toward the batters. Facing Scott Sanderson, the Cardinals scored in the first inning on back-to-back two-out doubles by Ozzie Smith and Pedro Guerrero.

Cardinals starter Jose DeLeon made the run hold up. He limited the Cubs to three hits and struck out 10 in eight innings. In the ninth, Ken Dayley relieved, recorded an out and yielded a single to Damon Berryhill. Todd Worrell came in and retired the next two batters for the save in the Cardinals’ 1-0 victory. Boxscore

“It makes a big difference when the wind is blowing in,” DeLeon said to the Associated Press. “My breaking ball is a lot better when the wind is blowing in.”

Cubs manager Don Zimmer said DeLeon “was outstanding. Over the last two years, he’s the most improved pitcher I’ve seen in the big leagues.”

The next day, June 10, Joe Magrane pitched a complete-game shutout, Tony Pena drove in three runs and St. Louis won, 6-0. Magrane struck out nine, including Ryne Sandberg twice. Boxscore

“I wouldn’t trade (Magrane) for any pitcher in the league, except maybe (Doc) Gooden,” Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog told The Sporting News.

DeLeon (16-12, 3.05 ERA, three shutouts) and Magrane (18-9, 2.91 ERA, three shutouts) had successful seasons for the 1989 Cardinals, but the Cubs won the division title, finishing seven games ahead of St. Louis.

Previously: Cardinals have strong link to Mets’ 50-year anniversary

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »