Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Pitchers’ Category

Battle stations: Dizzy Dean versus Paul Derringer

Posted in Games, Opponents, Pitchers on June 5, 2023| 12 Comments »

Pitchers Dizzy Dean and Paul Derringer didn’t get along as Cardinals teammates. As opponents, their dislike for one another erupted into public view.

On June 6, 1933, Dean and Derringer got into a fight on the field before a game at Cincinnati. Only their egos got bruised.

Dean, the consummate showman, was a flamboyant flamethrower who craved attention. Derringer, a skilled but less flashy pitcher, was “a belligerent man who often used his fists to settle disputes,” according to the Society for American Baseball Research.

Dean became a Hall of Famer, but Derringer earned far more career wins (223) than Dizzy did (150).

Intramural rivalry

Conflict between Dean and Derringer began in 1931 when both competed at spring training for a spot as a rookie in the Cardinals’ starting rotation. The Cardinals chose Derringer, 24, and returned Dean, 21, to the minors.

Derringer responded with an excellent rookie season for the 1931 Cardinals, helping them to repeat as National League champions. Derringer was 18-8, leading National League pitchers in winning percentage (.692). He also was the Cardinals’ team leader in shutouts (four).

While Derringer thrived with the Cardinals, Dean pitched for minor-league Houston and took out his frustrations on Texas League foes, crafting a 26-10 record and 1.57 ERA in 1931. 

Dean joined Derringer in the 1932 Cardinals’ starting rotation. Smug after his successful debut season, Derringer “strutted too much” and “became his worst enemy,” Sid Keener observed in the St. Louis Star-Times.

That made Derringer a target for Dean’s barbs. “Derringer had trouble with Dean,” the Dayton Daily News reported, “and he was prepared to report to the league president that Dean had been nasty in riding him all season.”

June of 1932 was a turning point for the two rivals. Dean was 3-1 with a 1.91 ERA in June. Derringer’s June numbers: 2-3 and 6.09. From then on, manager Gabby Street turned increasingly to Dean, prompting Derringer to accuse the club of favoritism, according to the book “Diz.”

True to his nature, Derringer “challenged Gabby Street to a fistic duel in the clubhouse,” the Star-Times reported, “because he objected to the managerial maneuvers.”

Dean finished his rookie season as the National League leader in strikeouts (191), shutouts (four) and innings pitched (286). He was 18-15 with a 3.30 ERA. Pitching with “a chip on his shoulder,” according to the Star-Times, Derringer was 11-14 with a 4.05 ERA.

On the move

After Derringer lost his first two decisions in 1933, the Cardinals traded him and two others to the Reds on May 7 for shortstop Leo Durocher, plus two pitchers.

The Cardinals beat Derringer the first time they faced him, on May 30 at St. Louis. Boxscore Five days later, when the Cardinals came to Cincinnati, Derringer turned the tables and won. Boxscore

Derringer was one of eight former Cardinals on the 1933 Reds, according to the Dayton Daily News. Others included Sparky Adams, Jim Bottomley and Chick Hafey. When the series started, “the boys were all pals,” Si Burick noted in the Dayton newspaper. “Leo Durocher, the famous (bench) jockey, was kidding all his former teammates good-naturedly, and the Reds kidded right back. There was entirely too much fun going on.”

That all changed on June 6 before the start of a Tuesday afternoon game.

Fighting words

According to the Dayton Daily News, “Derringer was pitching in batting practice and Dean was razzing him from the Cardinals dugout.”

Dean was “riding the life out of me,” Derringer told the Associated Press.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Derringer said Dean was “questioning his courage.”

Derringer approached Dean and “asked him if he meant what he had been saying,” the Dayton newspaper reported.

“I replied, ‘I meant every word of it,’ ” Dean said to the Post-Dispatch.

Derringer threw a punch and claimed it landed square in Dean’s eye, the Dayton newspaper reported.

Dean told the Post-Dispatch, “I’m skillful at the manly art of self-defense and I ducked very cleverly.”

To prove his point, Dean “showed an eye that had no shiner,” according to the Dayton newspaper.

After the punch, Derringer grabbed Dean, “and when I saw he wanted to wrestle I caught him around the neck and threw him to the ground,” Dean explained to the Post-Dispatch.

As the clinched pair rolled around, Cardinals pitcher Dazzy Vance, 42, “strolled out and sat on them until the situation was in hand,” the Dayton Daily News reported.

Derringer told the newspaper that he “would have won by a knockout if Vance hadn’t stopped the bout.”

Dean claimed he gave Derringer “a right to the side of the head” before Vance arrived.

The Three Stooges-like antics carried over into the game. Cardinals player George Watkins was ejected for throwing his cap at an umpire after being called out on the base path, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported, and Reds coach Jewel Ens also was ejected for arguing a call.

After the ejection of Ens, a woman spectator heaved a soda bottle from the stands, intending it for the umpire. Instead, it struck Cardinals infielder Burgess Whitehead on the shoulder as he stood on a dugout step, according to the Associated Press. Boxscore

Postscript

Dean was a 20-game winner for the 1933 Cardinals, then followed with 30 wins in 1934, plus two more in the World Series. He is the last National League pitcher to achieve 30 wins in a season.

Though his ERA was 3.30, Derringer was 7-27 in 1933 _ 0-2 with the Cardinals and 7-25 with the last-place Reds.

Despite that, he posted more wins (223) than losses (212) in his 15 seasons in the majors. He also pitched in four World Series for three franchises _ Cardinals (1931), Reds (1939 and 1940) and Cubs (1945).

 

Read Full Post »

Cardinals got tangled up with true Vida Blue

Posted in Games, Opponents, Pitchers on June 1, 2023| 11 Comments »

Before his fastball faded and spray hitters such as Ozzie Smith could pull it with power, the Cardinals saw the vintage Vida Blue, the one who, as Sports Illustrated noted, threw heat that “explodes in all directions.”

Blue was 28 when he came to the National League in a trade from the Athletics to the Giants in 1978. Though he would continue to pitch in the majors until 1986, his first year as a Giant was the last of his prominent seasons.

A left-hander who totaled 209 wins, Blue helped the Athletics win three World Series titles.

Rhapsody in Blue

Blue, 18, made his big-league debut with the Athletics on July 20, 1969. Two years later, he was the best pitcher in the American League, winning the Cy Young and Most Valuable Player awards. His numbers in 1971: 24-8 record, 1.82 ERA, 24 complete games, eight shutouts and 301 strikeouts in 312 innings.

“He throws harder than Sandy Koufax did,” Orioles slugger Boog Powell said to Sports Illustrated.

After Blue produced three seasons of 20 or more wins, Athletics owner Charlie Finley wanted to cash in on that success. In June 1976, he tried to trade Blue to the Yankees in exchange for $1.5 million, but baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn voided the deal, declaring he did so in the best interests of baseball. (At the same time, Kuhn also canceled Finley’s attempt to swap reliever Rollie Fingers and outfielder Joe Rudi to the Red Sox for $1 million apiece.)

A year later, in December 1977, Finley sent Blue to the Reds for $1.75 million and first baseman Dave Revering. “They call Cincinnati the Big Red Machine. Now they have to call it the Big Blue Machine,” Vida said to The Sporting News.

The Reds envisioned a starting rotation led by Blue and Tom Seaver, but Kuhn again voided the deal. Part of the reasoning for Kuhn’s decision is he said he didn’t think the Athletics were getting enough talent in return. (In his nine seasons with the Athletics, Blue had a 124-86 record and 2.95 ERA.)

Ace vs. Cards

Giants general manager Spec Richardson sensed an opportunity. On March 15, 1978, Blue was traded to the Giants for seven players and nearly $400,000 in cash. Kuhn had no objections.

Naturally, Blue’s Giants debut came against the Reds at Cincinnati and he was the losing pitcher. Boxscore

After that, he went on a roll, winning six in a row. Two of those wins came against the Cardinals.

Blue’s first appearance versus the Cardinals was on May 1, 1978, at St. Louis. He limited them to four hits through seven innings on a mere 57 pitches. Trailing 2-0, the Cardinals scored a run against him in the eighth, but Blue got the win with strong relief help from Randy Moffitt in the ninth. Boxscore

Two weeks later, Blue faced the Cardinals at San Francisco and pitched a complete game for the win. He also singled, walked and scored a run in the Giants’ 9-3 triumph. Boxscore

Blue made three starts against the 1978 Cardinals and was 3-0 with a 2.08 ERA. For the season, he was 18-10 with four shutouts and a 2.79 ERA.

The Padres’ Gaylord Perry (21-6, 2.73) was selected as the 1978 National League Cy Young Award recipient by the Baseball Writers Association of America, but Blue was named The Sporting News National League pitcher of the year in voting by the players.

Throughout the season, Blue was backed by the hitting of 22-year-old Jack Clark, who batted .306 and led the 1978 Giants in doubles (46), home runs (25), RBI (98) and runs scored (90).

Hard time

In an eight-year stretch from 1971 to 1978, Blue pitched 258 innings or more in seven of those seasons. He wouldn’t work that many again.

In 1979, he was 0-2 with a 4.84 ERA in three starts against the Cardinals. On Aug. 29 that year, he gave up a career-high 14 hits to the Cardinals. Tony Scott had four hits and scored twice in the 5-1 Cardinals triumph at San Francisco. George Hendrick, Blue’s former teammate with the Athletics, hit a home run. Boxscore

Cardinals first baseman Keith Hernandez told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “That’s the slowest I’ve seen him throw.”

In March 1982, the Giants traded Blue to the Royals. A year later, he pleaded guilty to a cocaine possession charge and was sentenced to three months in federal prison. Kuhn suspended him for the 1984 season.

Blue returned to the Giants in 1985 and eventually joined a starting rotation with ex-Cardinal Dave LaPoint and Atlee Hammaker, one of the players acquired from the Royals in the Blue trade.

On July 10, 1985, at St. Louis, Blue started, gave up five runs in three innings and took the loss. With two outs in the second, Blue threw a waist-high fastball to Ozzie Smith, who yanked it over the wall in left for a two-run home run. “A terrible pitch,” Giants manager Jim Davenport told United Press International.

An inning later, Blue’s former teammate, Jack Clark, also launched a two-run homer. “He challenges you,” Clark told the Post-Dispatch. “He gives you the fastball.” (Clark produced four hits, including two home runs, in five career at-bats versus Blue.)

In 17 career appearances, including 12 starts, versus the Cardinals, Blue was 5-5 with a 5.36 ERA.

Ted Simmons hit .316 (12-for-38) against Blue. Those with high on-base percentages against him included Tommy Herr (.500, with six hits and three walks in 18 plate appearances) and Keith Hernandez (.421, with 13 hits and three walks in 38 plate appearances).


 

Read Full Post »

Why Dennis Ribant took his slap shots to the big leagues

Posted in Games, Pitchers, Trades on May 28, 2023| 7 Comments »

Dennis Ribant hoped to be the second person _ and first American _ to play in both the National Hockey League and in baseball’s major leagues.

He made a good run at it, playing in the farm systems of baseball’s Milwaukee Braves and hockey’s Detroit Red Wings.

Encouraged by the Braves to focus on baseball, Ribant reluctantly gave up hockey and pitched in the majors with six teams, including one game for the Cardinals.

Cleats and skates

A Detroit native, Ribant was 12 when he worked for tips dusting off seats for fans at Tiger Stadium, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noted.

A right-handed pitcher, Ribant got offers from the Tigers and Yankees after he graduated from high school but both were contingent on him quitting hockey, the Detroit Free Press reported. He signed with the Braves for less money because they “didn’t object too strenuously to hockey,” according to the newspaper.

About the same time, Ribant, 19, got assigned to the Detroit Red Wings’ Junior A hockey team in Hamilton, Ontario, for the 1960-61 season. “It’s a tremendous accomplishment in itself for an American kid to make a Junior A team,” Red Wings scout Jimmy Skinner told the Free Press. “It’s really rare.”

In a late-season game, Ribant “was hit blindside by a burly defenseman of the Toronto Marlboros and sent reeling into the boards of Maple Leaf Gardens,” Dick Young reported in the New York Daily News.

Ribant dislocated his left elbow. Soon after, when he showed up for his first spring training with the Braves in 1961, they were surprised to see his left arm in a sling.

(Five years later, Ribant still felt pain in the left elbow when he swung a bat, the Daily News reported in 1966.)

Fortunately for him, Ribant’s pitching arm, the right one, was undamaged. Assigned to Davenport (Iowa), a Class D team in 1961, Ribant was 17-2 and pitched a perfect game. Promoted to Class AA Austin (Texas) late in the season, he was 4-2. His overall ERA for the year was 1.68.

Playing hardball

After his successful pro baseball debut in 1961, Ribant planned to play another junior hockey season in the Red Wings’ system, but the Braves “shudder at the thought of him playing hockey,” the Free Press reported.

Braves general manager John McHale contacted his Red Wings counterpart, Jack Adams, and asked him to help convince Ribant to give up hockey, according to the New York Daily News.

As the Free Press noted, “The Red Wings find themselves in the strange position of discouraging a hockey prospect, especially an American hockey prospect and, taking it a step further, one born and raised in Detroit … Good American boys don’t come along very often, especially one from the club’s own town.”

According to the Daily News, Adams agreed to send scout Jimmy Skinner to talk with Ribant, but told McHale, “He’s a pretty good hockey player … The decision will be up to the boy.”

Ribant told the Daily News that Skinner said, “You’re going to be a big-league ballplayer. You can make a lot of money in baseball.”

Ribant replied, “I can do both, at least for a little while. I can make the National Hockey League, too, can’t I?”

Skinner said, “Maybe. You have a chance. They tell me you have a better chance in baseball. Think it over.”

Ribant decided to make baseball his sole sport.

(In an interview with the Free Press, Skinner said, “If he stayed in hockey, he would need several more years of seasoning, and I don’t think he’d ever make the National (Hockey) League, although he could play in the high minors.”)

A Canadian, Jim Riley, is the only person to play in the NHL and in baseball’s major leagues. An infielder, Riley played four games with the 1921 St. Louis Browns and two games with the 1923 Washington Senators. He also played in the NHL with Chicago and Detroit in 1927.

On the move

Ribant never did pitch for the Braves, In August 1964, during his fourth season in their farm system, the Braves traded him to the last-place Mets, who put him in their starting rotation. His first big-league win, on Aug. 17, 1964, was a four-hit shutout of the Pirates. Boxscore

After spending part of the 1965 season back in the minors, Ribant returned to the Mets’ starting rotation in 1966, finishing 11-9 with a 3.20 ERA. He and Bob Shaw (11-10) became the first Mets starters to complete a season with a winning mark.

After the season, Mets general manager George Weiss retired and was replaced by Bing Devine, the former Cardinals general manager who had become an assistant to Weiss. Devine determined the Mets needed a center fielder and went shopping for a Pirates prospect, Don Bosch. According to the New York Times, Mets scouts rated Bosch’s fielding skills “as good as Willie Mays, Bill Virdon or Curt Flood.”

Devine offered Pirates general manager Joe Brown a choice of a starting pitcher, Bob Shaw or Jack Fisher, for Bosch, but Brown insisted on Ribant, The Pittsburgh Press reported.

On Dec. 6, 1966, the Mets dealt Ribant and outfielder Gary Kolb to the Pirates for Bosch and pitcher Don Cardwell. “I hated to give up Ribant, but you can’t expect something for nothing in this business,” Devine told the New York Daily News.

Bosch flopped, batting .140 for the 1967 Mets and .171 the next year before being banished to the Expos.

Ribant was 9-8, including 2-0 versus the Cardinals, for the 1967 Pirates, and brought a hockey player’s attitude to the diamond. “Ribant doesn’t walk, he strides,” Roy McHugh wrote in The Pittsburgh Press. “He approaches the mound like John L. Sullivan on his way through the double doors of an 1890 saloon, ready to make the announcement that he can lick anyone in the house.”

After Ribant beat the Braves for his first win with the Pirates, Hank Aaron told The Pittsburgh Press, “He battles you … You get Ribant in a tough spot and he pitches his way out.”

Pirates teammate Roberto Clemente said to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “I like this Ribant.”

Fast fade

The Pirates traded Ribant to his hometown team, the Tigers, in November 1967. It should have been a dream come true. The Tigers were headed to a World Series championship in 1968, but Ribant didn’t get to partake in the celebration.

Though he was 2-2 with a save and a 2.22 ERA in 14 relief appearances for the 1968 Tigers, they determined they needed a more experienced reliever in the pennant stretch. On July 26, 1968, the Tigers dealt Ribant, 26, to the White Sox for Don McMahon, 38.

An American League expansion team, the Royals, acquired Ribant before the 1969 season but planned to send him to the minors. When Ribant balked, Bing Devine, who had returned to the Cardinals, bought his contract. “I know Ribant,” Devine said to The Sporting News. “I know he likes to work and I’ve never seen him when he wasn’t ready to pitch.”

Ribant was sent to minor-league Tulsa. Its manager, Warren Spahn, was a Braves ace when Ribant joined that organization. Later, Spahn was a pitcher and coach with the Mets when Ribant was there.

“I know I can pitch up there (the majors),” Ribant told the Tulsa World. “I’m young (27), no problems and in good shape. My arm is sound and I’m throwing as good as ever.”

After earning three consecutive wins, including a shutout of Iowa, for Tulsa, Ribant was called up to the Cardinals on June 4, 1969. A day later, he relieved Mike Torrez in a game against the Astros, pitched 1.1 innings and allowed two runs, including a Joe Morgan home run. Boxscore

The Cardinals never gave him another chance. A week later, he was sent to the Reds for pitcher Aurelio Monteagudo.

Ribant made seven relief appearances for the 1969 Reds, posting a 1.08 ERA, and never pitched in the majors again.

Read Full Post »

Cardinals were bridge between roles for Tom Murphy

Posted in Games, Pitchers, Trades on May 1, 2023| 12 Comments »

As Tom Murphy felt his pitching career sliding downhill, the Cardinals pulled him back into the big leagues.

On May 8, 1973, the Cardinals rescued Murphy from the Royals’ farm system, acquiring him for pitcher Al Santorini.

A right-hander who had been in the Angels’ starting rotation for four years, Murphy used his season in St. Louis to show he could be effective again in the majors, After that, he transformed into a closer _ but not with the Cardinals.

Baseball cards come to life

Born in Cleveland and raised in nearby Euclid, Ohio, Tom Murphy and his identical twin brother, Roger, became college athletes. Tom was a pitcher for Ohio University and Roger became a wide receiver for Northwestern’s football team.

Tom Murphy had a combined 16-1 record his sophomore and junior seasons at Ohio U. Roger Murphy had 51 catches for Northwestern in 1966 and went on to play in the Canadian Football League.

The Astros (1965) and Giants (1966) drafted Tom Murphy but he preferred to stay in college. When the Angels drafted him in January 1967, one of the reasons he signed was they agreed to let him complete his bachelor of arts degree in English that spring, The Sporting News reported.

Murphy’s first stop in the Angels’ system was with Quad Cities, a Class A club in Iowa managed by Fred Koenig. Murphy was 5-1 with a 2.34 ERA in six starts.

The Angels called up Murphy, 22, the next year, in June 1968, and put him in the starting rotation. The Angels’ pitching coach, Bob Lemon, had been Murphy’s favorite boyhood player with the Indians, according to The Sporting News.

In beating the Yankees for his first big-league win, Murphy faced another baseball icon from his childhood, Mickey Mantle. Though Mantle, 36, was playing in his last season on wobbly knees, “I was scared,” Murphy told the Los Angeles Times. “You better believe I did a little trembling. Here was a guy I idolized.”

Murphy managed to twice retire Mantle in key situations. His strategy, he told the Times, was, “I figured I’d challenge him with my best, and let him hit it as far as he could,”

In the third inning, with runners on second and third, one out, Mantle hit “a whistling drive directly at first baseman Chuck Hinton, who threw to shortstop Jim Fregosi at second for a double play,” the Times noted.

Two innings later, Mantle batted with two on and two outs. “Murphy threw two sweeping curveballs and Mantle could do no better than hit foul balls,” the Times reported. “The third pitch was a high fastball. Mantle swung ferociously, but the ball nestled in catcher Tom Satriano’s glove” for strike three. Boxscore

Murphy made 15 starts for the 1968 Angels and had a 2.17 ERA.

California dreaming

Being a rookie in the big leagues in Southern California in 1968 made for heady times for Murphy. Tall (6 feet 3) and angular, Murphy was a bachelor who enjoyed the California beach life. Murph the Surf, they called him.

He wore the mod clothes of the time, including silk brocade Nehru jackets. As the Los Angeles Times observed when he arrived for an interview, “Murphy wears a brown shirt of Edwardian cut. It is complemented by a brown and gold ascot. The pants are hip huggers. They are white with a black stripe and bell-bottomed.”

His road roommate, pitcher Andy Messersmith, told the Times, “I get my kicks walking around with Tom and hearing what people say about his clothes. Like the day in Boston after he had just bought this gold Nehru. We walked around downtown and people thought he was Ken Harrelson (of the Red Sox). They thought he was The Hawk.”

Murphy replied, “Aw, it was because of my nose.”

In 1969, Murphy and Messersmith joined Rudy May and Jim McGlothlin _ the four M’s _ in a mod Angels starting rotation, all 25 or younger.

During spring training, players sneaked Murphy’s twin brother Roger into an Angels uniform and sent him onto the field for calisthenics. Roger lied down in the grass and used first base for a pillow, then got up and told astonished Angels manager Bill Rigney he was retiring. Rigney thought Roger was Tom until he was brought in on the gag, the Times reported.

There wasn’t much funny, though, about Tom Murphy’s season for the 1969 Angels. He had 16 losses, threw 16 wild pitches and hit 21 batters with pitches. “The statistics seem to suggest that Murphy’s pitching was as wild as his wardrobe,” John Wiebusch of the Times reported.

Murphy told the newspaper, “There are smart pitchers and stupid pitchers, and it doesn’t take a genius to classify me.

“I tend to lose my cool too quickly. Things upset me and when that happens I lose my poise.”

Murphy did much better in 1970 (16 wins) but not so well in 1971 (17 losses, but in eight of those the Angels failed to score. He also lost three games by 2-1 scores and another by 3-2.)

K.C. and the Sunshine Band

After the 1971 season, the Angels obtained a pitcher who was 29-38 with the Mets (Nolan Ryan), put him into their starting rotation and traded Murphy to the Royals in May 1972. “I can’t quite picture myself sunbathing in Kansas City,” Murphy quipped to The Sporting News.

Bob Lemon was the Royals’ manager. Murphy’s first start for him was against the Angels. He pitched well (two runs allowed in seven innings) but lost. Boxscore

In July, Murphy (3-2, 4.79 ERA) was demoted to minor-league Omaha. He pitched a no-hitter against Indianapolis and was back with the Royals in September. His highlight was a shutout against a Twins lineup with Rod Carew and Harmon Killebrew, beating Bert Blyleven. Boxscore

Murphy had an 0.34 ERA in 26.1 innings pitched for the Royals in September 1972, but when the season opened in 1973 he was back in the minors.

Join the club

The 1973 Cardinals lost 20 of their first 25 games and were looking for any help.  Cardinals director of player development Fred Koenig, Murphy’s first minor-league manager, recommended him and the deal was made with the Royals.

Murphy joined a pitching staff populated with other American League castoffs such as Alan Foster, Orlando Pena and Diego Segui. His first two Cardinals appearances, both in relief, resulted in 4.1 scoreless innings, and he was moved into the starting rotation on June 10.

Though Murphy lost his first three decisions as a Cardinals starter, he pitched well. He allowed one run in a 3-1 loss to the Expos Boxscore and two runs in a 2-0 loss to the Cubs. Boxscore

His breakthrough came on July 4, 1973, with a complete-game win against the Pirates. Murphy also contributed a single and a double, scored a run and drove in another. Boxscore

He won his next start as well, beating the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Boxscore

The next day, Murphy’s twin brother pulled another prank. He got into the clubhouse, dressed in Tom’s uniform and asked trainer Gene Gieselmann for a rubdown, saying he’d hurt his arm in a surfing accident. Gieselmann went to work, thinking it was Tom.

Murphy also became a source of amusement for Bob Gibson, who delighted in imitating his teammate’s herky-jerky pitching motion. “Murphy has the habit of prefacing his windup by flipping his gloved hand forward, as if shooing flies,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted.

On July 29, 1973, Murphy had two hits in the Cardinals’ win against the Cubs but didn’t qualify for a decision. Boxscore In his next start, he limited the Expos to two runs. but was the losing pitcher. Balor Moore shut out the Cardinals on four hits. Boxscore

Soon after that, Murphy was moved to the bullpen and was effective. He finished the season 3-7 with a 3.76 ERA. In his six relief appearances totaling 13.1 innings, he was 1-0 with an 0.68 ERA.

Finding a niche

Murphy’s strong relief work for the Cardinals was a sign of good things to come for him. It was the Brewers, though, who benefitted.

On Dec. 8, 1973, the Cardinals sent Murphy to the Brewers for utilityman Bob Heise. Brewers manager Del Crandall made Murphy, 28, the closer. “He’s got heart,” Crandall told The Sporting News. “While other guys get nervous in certain situations, he can go out there and do the job.”

Using a combination of sinkers and sliders, Murphy made 70 relief appearances for the 1974 Brewers and was 10-10 with 20 saves and a 1.90 ERA.

He had 20 saves again for the Brewers the next year but overall wasn’t as dominant, posting a 1-9 record and 4.60 ERA.

Murphy went on to finish his playing career with the Blue Jays. In 12 seasons in the majors, he was 68-101 with 59 saves and a 3.78 ERA.

Read Full Post »

How Cardinals got into a no-win situation

Posted in Games, Hitters, Managers, Pitchers, Records on April 26, 2023| 10 Comments »

Not even a dugout full of four-leaf clovers would have been enough to help Patsy Donovan turn the 1903 Cardinals into winners.

What Donovan needed more than the luck of the Irish was a dugout full of run producers and premium pitchers.

As player-manager of the 1903 Cardinals, Donovan (pictured here) did all he could. He was a crafty hitter and a smart manager _ and he also had a rookie pitcher who would become a Hall of Famer _ but that was not enough to compete in the National League.

The 1903 Cardinals finished in last place in the eight-team league at 43-94. Their .314 winning percentage is the lowest in Cardinals franchise history, and the 43 wins are the fewest by a Cardinals club in a season not shortened by labor strife or pandemic.

Popular lad

Born in County Cork, Ireland, Patsy Donovan immigrated to the United States with his family when he was a boy and settled in Massachusetts.

An outfielder and left-handed batter, Donovan reached the big leagues in 1890 and replaced Connie Mack as player-manager of the Pirates in 1896. “As a field general, Patsy ranks with the best in the business,” The Pittsburgh Press noted.

After the 1899 season, the Pirates had an ownership change and Donovan’s contract was sold to the Cardinals. Playing right field for them in 1900, Donovan hit .316 with 45 stolen bases, but the team finished 65-75.

Donovan became Cardinals player-manager in 1901 and led them to a 76-64 record. He hit .303 with 73 RBI and 28 steals. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch declared that “Donovan comes very near to being the best-versed man in the inside workings of the game.”

Many eyes, Irish or otherwise, were smiling on Donovan, whose “classic features (unlike those of some roughhouse ballplayers) don’t look as if they had been chiseled out with a crowbar,” the Post-Dispatch observed.

As the newspaper noted, “The ladies turned out in full force to see the old favorite of the fair fans, Patsy Donovan.”

Shuffling the Cards

Any hopes the Cardinals had of continuing a rise in the National League standings in 1902 were dashed when the fledgling American League made a raid on their roster. Five of their eight starting position players (first baseman Dan McGann, second baseman Dick Padden, shortstop Bobby Wallace, left fielder Jesse Burkett and center fielder Emmet Heidrick) and three top starting pitchers (Jack Harper, Jack Powell and Willie Sudhoff) were enticed to jump to the American League. Most went to the St. Louis Browns.

Donovan hit .315 with 34 steals in 1902, but with so much of his supporting cast departed, the Cardinals fell to 56-78.

Discouraged, Donovan resigned and planned to quit baseball. “He had no money (from the Cardinals) with which to build up a team,” the Post-Dispatch reported in November 1902. “With the prospect of going through another season like the one closed, Donovan concluded he wanted to change.”

Cardinals owners Frank and Stanley Robison convinced Donovan to change his mind and come back for the 1903 season. To help appease him, they acquired a third baseman, Jimmy Burke, from the Pirates and purchased the contract of a minor-league pitcher, Mordecai Brown.

Helping hands

A son of Irish immigrant parents, Jimmy Burke was born and raised in Old North St. Louis. Playing for the Shamrocks, an amateur sandlot team, Burke developed a reputation as a scrappy competitor. As The Sporting News noted, “He made up in hustle and fight what he may have lacked in exceptional ability.”

Mordecai Brown hailed from Nyesville, Ind., 30 miles northeast of Terre Haute. He was a youth when he mangled his right hand in a corn chopper accident, the Chicago Tribune reported. Soon after, he fell while chasing an animal on the family farm and did more damage to the hand.

As a teen, Brown worked in a coal mine and played baseball. Because of the unusual way he was forced to grip the ball in his deformed hand, Brown’s pitches had an unorthodox spin that often baffled batters, the Chicago Tribune noted.

Brown was 24 when he entered professional baseball with a minor-league team in Terre Haute in 1901. After posting 27 wins for Omaha in 1902, he was signed by the Cardinals, and by then he had a nickname _ Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown.

On the skids

Donovan began to feel optimistic about his 1903 team. In February, he told The Pittsburgh Press, “The Cardinals will be much stronger than they were last year.”

The good vibes continued when the Cardinals won their season opener, beating the Cubs, 2-1, on a five-hitter by Clarence Currie. Boxscore

“Three Finger” Brown made his big-league debut against the Cubs and pitched a one-hit shutout for the win in a game shortened to five innings because of rain. Boxscore

Before Brown’s next start, against Pittsburgh, “Patsy Donovan warned the Pirates that they would be surprised when they saw his find in the person of a pitcher with only three (usable) digits on his throwing hand,” The Pittsburgh Press reported. “The (Pirates) laughed, but their laughs turned to weeping when the battle was on.”

Brown gave up five runs in the fourth inning, held the Pirates scoreless for the other eight innings, and got the win. Boxscore

The good times faded fast. After a 6-7 record in April, the Cardinals were 4-23 in May. They collapsed over the last two months, losing 38 of 48 games. Their 43-94 mark for the season put them 46.5 games behind the National League champion Pirates (91-49).

The Cardinals gave up the most runs (787) in the league and scored the fewest (505). Their top home run slugger, Homer Smoot, hit four.

Patsy Donovan, 38, was the club’s leading hitter (.327) and also had 25 stolen bases. Jimmy Burke hit .285 with 28 steals.

“Three Finger” Brown led the pitching staff in ERA (2.60) and strikeouts (83), and tied Chappie McFarland for the team high in wins (nine).

On the move

After the season, the Cardinals made matters worse, trading “Three Finger” Brown and catcher Jack O’Neill to the Cubs for pitcher Jack Taylor and catcher Larry McLean. Patsy Donovan left to manage the Washington Senators.

Brown went on to help the Cubs win four National League pennants and two World Series titles. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Donovan finished with 2,256 hits and a .301 batting average. He managed the Senators, Dodgers and Red Sox after leaving the Cardinals.

In 1914, when he was a Red Sox scout, Donovan was sent to Baltimore to check out a pitching prospect, Dave Danforth. The player who got his attention was Babe Ruth. Donovan told the Red Sox to sign Ruth immediately and, acting on his recommendation, they did, The Sporting News reported.

According to the Associated Press, Donovan’s acquaintance with one of the Xavierian brothers who coached Ruth at a Baltimore orphanage helped get The Babe to sign with the Red Sox.

Described by The Sporting News as “a great developer of young players,” Donovan was hired to manage the minor-league Buffalo Bisons in 1915. He encouraged one of their infielders, Joe McCarthy, “to study the strategy of the game,” The Sporting News reported.

McCarthy followed Donovan’s advice and embarked on a managing career with the Cubs, Yankees and Red Sox that led to his election to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Read Full Post »

Doggone it: Pitcher Russ Van Atta was pet’s best friend

Posted in Games, Pitchers on April 21, 2023| 12 Comments »

Russ Van Atta, a left-handed pitcher fresh off a promising start in the majors, earned a noble, but costly, save.

After an impressive rookie season with the 1933 Yankees, Van Atta injured his pitching hand when he rescued his dog from a house fire.

No longer able to control a curveball, his performance waned and he got sent from the Yankees to the St. Louis Browns.

Iron man

Born in the northwestern New Jersey community of Augusta, Van Atta turned 14 in 1920, the year his father died of typhoid fever, he told the Morristown (N.J.) Daily Record. Van Atta said he went to work in a local zinc mine. “I worked at the 700-foot level and I made 57 cents an hour,” he said to the Morristown newspaper.

Van Atta also excelled in local baseball games and the owner of the mine helped him get an athletic scholarship to Penn State. In 1928, Yankees scout Paul Krichell, who signed Lou Gehrig, Leo Durocher and Tony Lazzeri, got Van Atta, 22, a bonus offer of $250.

After five seasons in the minors, Van Atta was nearly 27 when he made the Yankees’ Opening Day roster in 1933, joining a starting rotation that included Lefty Gomez and Red Ruffing.

Welcome to the show

On April 25, 1933, Van Atta made his big-league debut with a start against the Senators at Washington.

The starting lineups were loaded with future Hall of Famers _ center fielder Earle Combs, third baseman Joe Sewell, right fielder Babe Ruth, first baseman Lou Gehrig, second baseman Tony Lazzeri and catcher Bill Dickey for the Yankees; left fielder Heinie Manush, right fielder Goose Goslin and shortstop Joe Cronin for the Senators. (Another, Senators outfielder Sam Rice, entered the game in the ninth.)

Van Atta shined amid the stellar cast. He pitched a five-hit shutout and produced four singles and a sacrifice bunt in the Yankees’ 16-0 victory. Years later, he told The Montana Standard, a newspaper in Butte, that “the greatest thrill was going 4-for-4.”

Stealing the spotlight, though, was the brawl that occurred in the fourth inning after the Yankees’ Ben Chapman slid hard into second, knocking down the Senators’ Buddy Myer. As several players fought, “hundreds of fans came pouring out of the lower tier” of the stands and joined in a “pitched battle,” the New York Times reported. Five spectators were arrested, and three players (Chapman and Dixie Walker of the Yankees, and Myer) were ejected. Boxscore

Outdoors with the Babe

Van Atta relished being a member of the Yankees and was especially fond of Babe Ruth and manager Joe McCarthy.

“Babe came down (to New Jersey) one time for a turkey hunt,” Van Atta recalled to the Morristown Daily Record. “It was supposed to be a wild turkey hunt, but the turkey was actually a tame one that weighed about 36 pounds. The turkey was on an oak tree and Babe was supposed to be the guy who shot it, but his first shell jammed. Finally, he put another shell in the gun and he put the buckshot through the turkey, and we carried the turkey to (the) house.”

Van Atta said Ruth took the bird to the Fulton Fish Market in New York to get it cleaned, then served it for dinner at his apartment.

Regarding Joe McCarthy, Van Atta told the Morristown newspaper, “He knew the game like no one else alive.”

Van Atta completed his rookie season with a 12-4 record and a .283 batting average. His .750 winning percentage tied him with Lefty Grove of the Athletics for best among American League pitchers in 1933.

Good deed

At 2;30 a.m. on Dec. 13, 1933, Van Atta was awakened at his Mohawk Lake, N.J., home by his wife, who discovered the house was on fire, Van Atta recalled to the Montana Standard.

In addition to Van Atta and his wife, others in the house were their child and Van Atta’s mother, United Press reported. All escaped, but then Van Atta realized his cocker spaniel pup still was in the burning house, the St. Louis Star-Times reported.

Van Atta rushed back into the building and grabbed the dog, “but in trying to get back out he smashed into a glass door,” the Star-Times reported. Among his injuries was a severed nerve on the index finger of his pitching hand.

The index finger went numb and Van Atta said he never recovered any sense of feeling in the digit. (More than 40 years later, Van Atta lit a match under the finger and held it there without flinching to demonstrate to a newspaper reporter that the numbness remained.)

Van Atta kept the injury a secret from the Yankees, the Montana Standard reported.

Without any feeling in the index finger, Van Atta couldn’t control the curveball. “I had a good fastball and I still had the curve, but I never knew where the curve would go,” he told the Montana newspaper. Batters “started laying for my fastball,” he said.

Van Atta was 3-5 with a 6.34 ERA for the 1934 Yankees. In May 1935, his contract was sold to the Browns

Change of scene

Going from the Yankees, who never had a losing season during the 1930s, to the Browns, who never had a winning season during that decade, was a step down in every regard.

“When the Yankees traveled (by train), they had two sleeping cars for the players and only used the bottom berths,” Van Atta told the Montana Standard. “The Browns had one sleeping car, and the players had to use both the upper and lower berths.”

Fortunately for Van Atta, the Browns were desperate for pitching, and they gave him plenty of work. He led American League pitchers in appearances (58) in 1935, but was 9-16 with a 5.34 ERA.

In 1936, Van Atta again appeared in the most games (52) among American League pitchers, but was 4-7 with a 6.60 ERA.

On June 10, 1937, Van Atta tore a ligament in his pitching arm while trying to complete a game against the Senators. He didn’t win again for the rest of the season. During the winter, he underwent an elbow operation.

In his first start in 1938, Van Atta was pitted against Cleveland’s Bob Feller. For four scoreless innings, he “matched Feller pitch for pitch,” the St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported, then was knocked out of the game when struck in the left forearm by a Lyn Lary line drive. “Desperately, Van Atta tried to keep on pitching but he could barely lift the arm,” the newspaper observed. Boxscore

Van Atta sat out most of the 1939 season. At spring training with the Browns in 1940, he called it quits at 33. “I can’t throw right, so there’s no use wasting my time and the club’s money,” he told the Star-Times.

In seven years in the majors, Van Atta was 33-41 overall and 21-37 after the house fire.

Reflecting on the turn his career took after injuring his finger in the rescue of his dog, Van Atta good-naturedly told the newspaper, “I still got him, and every time I look at him I say, ‘There goes $100,000.’ “

According to the Morristown Daily Record, Van Atta was elected sheriff and then freeholder (or commissioner) in New Jersey’s Sussex County. He owned seven Gulf Oil service stations there from 1950-71.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »