Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Opponents’ Category

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 »

Lessons learned from Cardinals’ 19-0 loss to Pirates

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers, Records on August 10, 2012| 4 Comments »

Be careful not to tip your pitches and don’t let a blowout loss keep you down.

Those were among the lessons learned by the 1961 Cardinals after a humiliating loss to the Pirates.

The Pirates beat the Cardinals, 19-0, on Aug. 3, 1961, at St. Louis. It’s the most lopsided shutout loss in Cardinals history. Until then, the only other National League game decided by a 19-0 score was the Cubs’ victory over the Giants on June 7, 1906, according to The Sporting News.

Pittsburgh had 24 hits against three Cardinals right-handers: Al Cicotte, Bob Miller and Lindy McDaniel. Each of the nine Pirates in the starting lineup, including pitcher Harvey Haddix, had at least one hit.

“Some of our pitchers were tipping their pitches,” Cardinals manager Johnny Keane said to the Associated Press. “We were watching them closely after (the Pirates) got a big lead and we could call almost every pitch. Maybe the Pirates could, too.”

Cicotte, making the last start of a five-year big-league career, yielded eight runs in two innings. Miller gave up nine runs in three innings. McDaniel surrendered two runs, but shut out the Pirates over the last three innings.

Among the most notable Pittsburgh hitting achievements that Thursday night at Busch Stadium:

_ Roberto Clemente had hits in each of his first five at-bats. He finished 5-for-6, improving his league-leading batting average to .366, 24 points higher than the next-best hitter, Frank Robinson of the Reds.

“This is just one of those years when the balls are falling in for hits,” Clemente said. “I’m less tense this season than ever before. I can relax better at the plate.”

_ Smoky Burgess had two home runs (both off Cicotte) and six RBI. The homers were the first by Burgess since June 22.

“This is the first time in almost six weeks I’ve been able to pull the ball,” Burgess said. “I know now I tried to play too soon after I hurt my finger late in June. Everything is fine now.”

_ Dick Stuart hit a grand slam off Miller and finished with five RBI.

_ Bill Mazeroski, the eighth-place batter, had four hits.

_ Three Pirates, Don Hoak, Bill Virdon and Bob Skinner, each had three hits. All of Skinner’s hits were doubles.

Pittsburgh, the defending World Series champion, broke a five-game losing streak with the victory. Boxscore

“I can’t help thinking we’d be in the first division if you could spread those runs around a little,” Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh said.

The loss dropped the Cardinals to 48-53.

In a classic example of the power of perserverance, the Cardinals followed the blowout loss with an eight-game winning streak, turning around their season. The Cardinals were 20-9 in August and finished the season at 80-74.

Among the wins in that streak: a shutout of Pittsburgh. On Aug. 9, six days after the Pirates scored 19, Curt Simmons and Ed Bauta combined for a seven-hitter in St. Louis’ 4-0 victory.

Read Full Post »

Whiteyball: Willie McGee at short, Ricky Horton in right

Posted in Games, Hitters, Managers, Opponents, Pitchers on August 6, 2012| Leave a Comment »

(Updated Aug. 7, 2018)

Imagine a Cardinals lineup of Willie McGee at shortstop, Ricky Horton in right field and Jose Oquendo on the mound.

Manager Whitey Herzog could.

In 1987, during a blowout loss to the Phillies, Herzog made all of those unusual moves. He also batted Oquendo for Jack Clark and used John Tudor as a pinch-hitter with two runners on base.

On Aug. 7, 1987, the Cardinals were in first place in the National League East Division, but on that Friday night at Philadelphia’s Veterans Stadium the Phillies grabbed control early, scoring seven runs in the first two innings off Joe Magrane.

In the fifth inning, with the Phillies ahead 12-1, St. Louis had runners on first and second, two outs, when Herzog lifted Clark, the Cardinals’ slugging first baseman, for Oquendo.

Oquendo struck out against Phillies starter Shane Rawley and stayed in the game, replacing Ozzie Smith at shortstop.

In the eighth, Philadelphia led 12-4 and St. Louis had runners on first and third with one out. Reliever Bill Dawley was due to bat against Kent Tekulve, the Phillies’ sidearm-throwing right-hander. Herzog instead sent another pitcher, Tudor, a left-handed batter, to face Tekulve.

Tudor, a career .154 hitter, grounded into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play, lost his balance as he tried to beat the relay throw and fell. “He runs down the line like a damn nut,” Herzog said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Things got even more strange.

Needing a pitcher to replace Dawley for the bottom of the eighth, Herzog turned to his shortstop. Oquendo already had played every position except pitcher and catcher in 1987.

To replace Oquendo in the infield, Herzog moved his center fielder, Willie McGee, to shortstop. The right fielder, John Morris, moved to center. That left the Cardinals without a right fielder. So Herzog put pitcher Ricky Horton in that spot.

It would be the only times in their big-league careers McGee would play shortstop and Horton would appear in the outfield.

Two balls were hit to right field. Both carried over the head of the harried Horton. The first, by Glenn Wilson, was ruled a double and drove in a run. The second was a single by Lance Parrish that scored Wilson.

“Horton played what must be described as periscope outfield,” the Post-Dispatch reported. “He would take two steps and watch from afar as the ball sailed over his head.”

“Some outfielders shy away from the walls,” Horton said to The Sporting News. “I just happened to shy away 30 yards from it.”

After watching the spectacle from the mound, Oquendo said, “I could have got out of the inning. We need better outfielders.”

Said Horton: “I apologized to Jose, but the good thing is I didn’t get anybody hurt, including myself.”

McGee handled his defensive chores at shortstop skillfully. With a runner on first, Milt Thompson grounded to McGee, who fielded the ball and threw to second for the forceout. Later in the inning, with Parrish at first, Steve Jeltz grounded to first baseman Jim Lindeman, who threw to McGee covering second for the forceout.

Oquendo surrendered three runs on four hits and a walk in his inning of relief work. He also hit a batter, his friend and fellow Puerto Rican Luis Aguayo.

“The best pitch he threw was when he hit the guy,” umpire Joe West said to the Post-Dispatch.

Before facing his first batter, Oquendo told catcher Steve Lake he could throw six different types of pitches. After his outing, Oquendo quipped, “He called the wrong pitches.”

Lake good-naturedly replied, “He says he’s got six pitches. I call fastball and he says, ‘Yeah.’ I call another fastball. ‘Yeah.’ Then I call something else. He says, ‘No.’ ”

(Oquendo would pitch for the Cardinals in two more games, one in 1988 and the other in 1991. He went four innings in 1988 against the Braves and took the loss in a 19-inning game won by Atlanta, 7-5.)

After the debacle in Philadelphia, a 15-5 Phillies win that broke a six-game losing streak, Herzog told the Associated Press, “In 162 games, you’ll have one like this.” Boxscore

Previously: How Andy Van Slyke amazed Jose Oquendo

Read Full Post »

Double disaster for Cards and ‘Wild Elk of the Wasatch’

Posted in Games, Opponents, Pitchers, Records on August 1, 2012| Leave a Comment »

A record-setting hitting performance by the Braves knocked the 1936 Cardinals out of first place. Seventy-six years later, the 2012 Cardinals matched the Braves’ feat of hitting seven doubles in an inning.

On July 21, 2012, six Cardinals collected seven doubles in a 12-run seventh inning of a 12-0 victory over the Cubs at St. Louis. Allen Craig, who appeared as a pinch-hitter in the inning, hit a pair of doubles. Carlos Beltran, Jon Jay, David Freese, Skip Schumaker and Matt Holliday hit one double apiece. The seven doubles were hit against three Cubs relievers, James Russell, Manny Corpas and Rafael Dolis. Boxscore

The 1936 Braves were unlikely candidates to establish the standard of seven doubles in an inning. They would finish the season with the lowest batting average in the National League and would rank last among the eight teams in doubles.

On the morning of Aug. 25, 1936, the Cardinals and Giants were tied for first place in the NL, each with a 72-46 record. The Cardinals had a doubleheader against the Braves that Tuesday afternoon at St. Louis. The Giants were facing the Reds.

In the opener, the Cardinals started Si Johnson, who had been acquired from the Reds on Aug. 6. The Braves pounded Johnson for eight runs, seven hits and a walk in the first inning. He recorded only two outs before being lifted for Ed Heusser, the Cardinals’ top reliever in 1936.

Three Braves _ Gene Moore, Buck Jordan and Tony Cuccinello _ hit two doubles apiece in the first inning. Shortstop Rabbit Warstler accounted for the other.

With Boston ahead 11-0 after a half inning, Cardinals manager Frankie Frisch decided to stay with Heusser. Nicknamed “The Wild Elk of the Wasatch” for the mountain range in his native Utah, Heusser gave up 12 runs on 18 hits and four walks in 8.1 innings. Moore and Jordan each had five hits and five RBI in the Braves’ 20-3 victory. Boxscore

In the second game, St. Louis, behind ace Dizzy Dean, led 4-1 through five innings, but the Braves rallied and tied the score. In the ninth, Si Johnson, the Game 1 starter, relieved Dean. He yielded a RBI-single to Jordan and the Braves won, 5-4. Johnson was the losing pitcher in both games.

Coupled with the Giants’ 13th win in a row, a 6-5 victory over the Reds, St. Louis fell 1.5 games behind New York. The Giants went on to win the pennant, finishing five games ahead of the Cardinals and Cubs, who tied for second place.

Johnson and Heusser both recovered from their thumpings by the Braves.

Four days after losing both games of the doubleheader, Johnson pitched a complete-game shutout against the Phillies. Boxscore He finished 5-3 with a 4.38 ERA for the 1936 Cardinals.

Heusser was 7-3 with a 5.43 ERA in 42 appearances for the 1936 Cardinals. Eight years later, as a starter for the Reds, his 2.38 ERA led the NL.

Previously: Baseball and romance: Cardinals’ Cuban adventures

Read Full Post »

How Braves rallied from 9 down to beat Cardinals

Posted in Games, Opponents on July 25, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Entering the finale of a three-game series with the Cardinals on May 15, 1977, at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, the Braves had a 9-24 record and had lost 19 of their last 20.

When the Cardinals built a 10-1 lead through four innings, it appeared the Braves were headed for another loss, but they made an improbable comeback and won, 15-12.

As the Cardinals prepared to leave for the airport after the game, Braves owner Ted Turner, giddy with joy, boarded their bus, waved a straw skimmer and said, “Thanks for that one today. We really needed it.”

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, some of the Cardinals laughed at Turner’s theatrics, but manager Vern Rapp did not.

“We’ve had a lot of team victories this year,” Rapp said. “Today it was a team loss.”

Rally time

Playing before a Jacket Day crowd of 36,693, the Braves’ largest since their home opener, the Cardinals broke a 1-1 tie with nine runs in the fourth against the trio of Phil Niekro, Frank LaCorte and Dave Campbell. The Cardinals collected seven hits and three walks in the inning and also were helped by a pair of Braves errors. Three runs scored on a double by Bake McBride and three more came in on a pair of singles by Dave Rader, who was 5-for-5 in the game.

“When it was 10-1, I was in the bullpen, crossing my legs and getting some sun,” Braves reliever Don Collins said to the Atlanta Constitution. “Then things began to happen.”

The Braves responded with three runs in the fifth (Jeff Burroughs had a two-run home run against starter John Denny) and five runs in the sixth (Gary Matthews hit a grand slam off Buddy Schultz), getting within a run, 10-9.

When McBride and Jerry Mumphrey hit solo home runs in the eighth, stretching the lead to 12-9, the Cardinals were poised to complete the series sweep, but the Braves scored three times against Al Hrabosky in the bottom of the eighth, tying the score at 12-12.

Before the eighth was completed, Rapp replaced Hrabosky with John D’Acquisto. With two outs and Pat Rockett on first, D’Acquisto unleashed a wild pitch, advancing Rockett to second, and walked Jerry Royster and Junior Moore, loading the bases for Barry Bonnell.

“I was nervous. Really, really nervous,” Bonnell said.

Lots of drama

With the count at 3-and-2, the runners took off on D’Acquisto’s next pitch. Bonnell swung at the inside delivery, broke his bat and lofted a single to center. All three runners scored, giving Atlanta a 15-12 lead.

“I just looked for the ball, dug my shoulder into it and swung the bat,” Bonnell said.

In the ninth, Braves manager Dave Bristol brought in Collins, a left-hander seeking his first major-league save, to protect the lead. With one out, Garry Templeton and McBride each singled.

Keith Hernandez, a left-handed batter, was lifted for switch-hitter Ted Simmons, batting right-handed. Simmons drilled a drive to center field. “I thought it was gone,” Bonnell said. Bonnell turned, raced to the 402-foot sign and caught the ball with his back against the fence.

“If Simmons’ ball had gone out, I’d of felt like bombing the place with 37,000 people in it,” said Bristol.

Collins got the next batter, Mumphrey, to hit into a forceout, ending the game. Boxscore

“You’re going to have those games once in a while,” Hrabosky said. “You’re a fool and an idiot if you worry more than two seconds about them.”

A wire service story in The Milwaukee Sentinel reported: “Later, more than a dozen players sat around the clubhouse and watched the six-run eighth again on owner Ted Turner’s television replay equipment.”

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »