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Goodbye to Cardinals pinch-hitters like Adam Wainwright

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers on March 24, 2022| 15 Comments »

Adam Wainwright may be the last pitcher to produce a pinch-hit for the Cardinals.

With the designated hitter being used in the National League for the first time in 2022, it may be a while before the Cardinals pick a pitcher to be a pinch-hitter. Even if a pitcher was needed to bat, the odds would be against him getting a hit after a long layoff as a batter.

According to researcher Tom Orf, the last time a Cardinals pitcher got a hit as a pinch-hitter was April 8, 2017, when Wainwright did it in a game against the Reds at St. Louis.

Late in the game, Wainwright did “significant lobbying” for a chance to pinch-hit, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said to Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

In the eighth inning, with one out, none on, and the Cardinals ahead, 9-3, Matheny sent Wainwright to bat for pitcher Jonathan Broxton. Wainwright singled to left against Drew Storen. Boxscore

Explaining why hitting was “something serious” to him, Wainwright told Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch, “You can win one or two games a year if you get a key hit, a key bunt.”

Big thrill

Wainwright, who hit a home run in his first plate appearance in the majors, is the last Cardinals pitcher to produce a RBI as a pinch-hitter, according to Orf.

It happened on June 10, 2016, at Pittsburgh. With the score tied at 3-3 in the 12th inning, the Cardinals had Matt Carpenter on first, two outs, Aledmys Diaz at the plate and Jonathan Broxton on deck.

Because the Cardinals had no more position players on the bench, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle ordered pitcher Juan Nicasio to give an intentional pass to Diaz, moving Carpenter into scoring position. Hurdle decided he’d rather have a pitcher at the plate than Diaz, the Cardinals’ rookie shortstop.

“I really struggle with having Diaz given an opportunity to beat us there when we figured Wainwright would be hitting next,” Hurdle told the Post-Dispatch.

Sent by Matheny to bat for Broxton, Wainwright hit a double to left-center, scoring Carpenter and Diaz and giving the Cardinals a 5-3 lead. The Cardinals scored six runs in the inning and won, 9-3. Boxscore and Video

Asked about Hurdle’s strategy, Wainwright told Rick Hummel, “I get it. I’m a pitcher and the odds are probably a lot less that I’m going to get a hit than Aledmys.”

Wainwright, who had 75 career RBI, called the two-run double as a pinch-hitter “one of the highlights of my career.”

“I’m like a kid in a candy store,” Wainwright said. “Winning the World Series is about the only time I could be happier than I am now.”

For his career with the Cardinals, Wainwright had five hits in 21 at-bats as a pinch-hitter, with three RBI.

His teammate, pitcher Jason Marquis, had six hits as a Cardinals pinch-hitter. Playing for manager Tony La Russa, Marquis was 3-for-9 as a pinch-hitter in 2005 and 3-for-10 in 2006, but he had no RBI.

The last Cardinals pitcher to hit a home run as a pinch-hitter was Gene Stechschulte in 2001. It came against Armando Reynoso of the Diamondbacks in Stechschulte’s first plate appearance in the big leagues.

Take that

Pitcher Bob Gibson had three hits in 11 career at-bats as a Cardinals pinch-hitter. He totaled 144 RBI, three as a pinch-hitter.

Gibson’s first RBI as a pinch-hitter came on Aug. 8, 1965, at St. Louis. Batting for pitcher Barney Schultz, Gibson, 29, doubled to left against Warren Spahn, 44, scoring Mike Shannon from second. Boxscore

Gibson hit .269 (7-for-26) versus Spahn in his career.

Nine months later, on April 17, 1966, the Cardinals played the Pirates at Pittsburgh. In the fifth inning, with Roberto Clemente at bat, Cardinals starter Nelson Briles “hummed a high fastball past Roberto’s left ear” and Clemente “hit the dirt to escape being clipped,” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

When Clemente got up, he glared at Briles and then at the Cardinals’ dugout. Gibson yelled at him, “I’d do the same thing to you.”

According to the Post-Gaztette, after the inning ended, Gibson shouted in the direction of Clemente and the Pirates’ dugout, “If you want a piece of me, you know where to come.”

Two innings later, manager Red Schoendienst sent Gibson to bat for reliever Ray Sadecki with the bases loaded. Facing Bob Veale, Gibson singled to right, where Clemente was stationed, and drove in two runs. Boxscore

As the Pirates took the field in the eighth, Gibson went to the clubhouse via the Pirates’ dugout. “No one said a word to him,” the Post-Gazette reported.

(A year later, Clemente hit a ball that struck Gibson, fracturing his leg.)

Gibson hit .538 (7-for-1) versus Veale in his career.

Both Spahn and Veale threw left-handed. A right-handed batter, Gibson hit .222 against left-handers and .199 versus right-handers.

Postscript

One of the most remarkable seasons by a Cardinals pitcher was achieved by Curt Davis in 1939. He had a 22-16 record and hit .381 (40-for-105) that year. As a pinch-hitter in 1939, Davis batted .357 (5-for-14) with no RBI.

Two of the Cardinals’ best-hitting pitchers, Dizzy Dean and Bob Forsch, were hitless as pinch-hitters.

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How Cardinals tried to get Elston Howard, Whitey Ford

Posted in Hitters, Pitchers, Trades on March 21, 2022| 6 Comments »

(Updated Jan. 11, 2025)

In December 1960, the Cardinals made a bid to acquire catcher Elston Howard from the Yankees. While they were at it, they tried for pitcher Whitey Ford, too.

It was an audacious attempt, coming two months after a World Series in which Howard hit .462 and Ford pitched a pair of shutouts, but Cardinals general manager Bing Devine indicated the Yankees gave him reason to try.

The Cardinals offered pitchers Larry Jackson and Ron Kline, plus catcher Hal Smith, for Ford, Howard and pitcher Ryne Duren.

The Yankees said no _ and, as it turned out, were mighty glad they did so.

Local connection

The Cardinals were in the market for a power hitter because in 1960 only one player, Ken Boyer, hit more than 17 home runs for them. Howard hit for power and played multiple positions _ catcher, outfield and first base.

“Anybody who can play two or three positions capably is going to be able to write his own ticket, and Howard can do that,” Devine told Bob Burnes of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. “He’s probably the best catcher in the American League, but can do almost as well in the outfield or at first base.”

Born and raised in St. Louis, Howard did well in a tryout with the Cardinals after he graduated from Vashon High School in the late 1940s, but the club wasn’t signing black players then and never made him an offer.

When Howard reached the big leagues in 1955 at 26, he was the first black Yankees player _ eight years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier with the Dodgers and one year after the first black, Tom Alston, played for the Cardinals.

In 1960, Howard was an American League all-star for the fourth consecutive season. Devine “tried hard to land him,” the Globe-Democrat reported.

Connecting the dots

After losing to the Pirates in the 1960 World Series, the Yankees replaced manager Casey Stengel with Ralph Houk and general manager George Weiss with Roy Hamey.

The Yankees had three catchers, Howard (31), fellow St. Louisan Yogi Berra (35) and Johnny Blanchard (27), and Houk was considering moving Berra to the outfield, the Globe-Democrat reported.

In his book “Season of Glory,” Houk said Berra “looked kind of funny on the ballfield, kind of short and lumpy, but he was a great athlete. One thing that always impressed me about him was how fast he could run. He didn’t look fast, but Yogi ran better than anyone realized.”

According to The Sporting News, “The Cardinals had heard reports that, because of the rapid development of Johnny Blanchard, the Yankees might be willing to trade Howard.”

If that was so, Devine figured, Cardinals catcher Hal Smith, a defensive specialist, might appeal to the Yankees as an experienced backup to Blanchard.

Also, reliever Ryne Duren, who had 67 strikeouts in 49 innings for the 1960 Yankees, appeared obtainable to the Cardinals because of reports he “was in the doghouse with Houk,” The Sporting News reported.

The Yankees had expressed interest in Cardinals pitcher Ron Kline, according to The Sporting News.

Devine approached Hamey with an offer of Smith and Kline for Howard and Duren. The Yankees wanted more, and that’s how Larry Jackson and Whitey Ford got mentioned, The Sporting News noted.

Expanding the offer

Ford (32) was the Yankees’ ace, but he experienced shoulder problems during the 1960 season and finished 12-9, his lowest winning percentage (.571) since entering the majors in 1950. Before he shut out the Pirates in Games 3 and 6 of the World Series, the Yankees talked to the Giants about a swap of Ford for pitcher Johnny Antonelli, the Associated Press reported.

That gave Devine the idea Ford may be obtainable in exchange for another quality starter. In order to expand the deal for Howard, Devine offered Larry Jackson, an 18-game winner for the Cardinals in 1960, if the Yankees would swap Ford.

On Dec. 5, 1960, a headline in the Globe-Democrat declared, “Redbirds May Land Ford, Howard.”

“The possibility of a Cardinals-Yankees trade, involving major athletes on both sides, picked up steam,” Jack Herman reported in the Globe-Democrat. “One thing that’s been established is the fact that Ford is on the block.”

According to John Fox, sports editor of the Binghamton (N.Y.) Press and Sun-Bulletin, the Cardinals said “the offer stood only if Ford was inspected first by a physician of their naming.”

Ford told the Associated Press, “I don’t know if I’d quit or not if I were traded. It all depends on where I was traded.”

Howard said, “I don’t want to be traded. I’m happy where I am.”

No deal

On Dec. 6, 1960, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Yankees co-owner Dan Topping “turned thumbs down” on the Cardinals’ proposal. “We won’t deal Howard,” he said.

Though Houk told The Sporting News that “talk of our considering any offer which included Ford was based on hot air,” the Binghamton newspaper reported the reason the proposal was rejected “was not the idea of including Duren or Ford, but the request for Howard.”

In his autobiography, Houk said, “Ellie could hit. The ball jumped off his bat. His ground balls would go through the infield like a shot.”

The Cardinals’ chances for a deal also were hampered by the entrance of the Dodgers into trade talks for Howard. “We got a better proposition from the Dodgers,” Houk told The Sporting News.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the Dodgers offered pitcher Johnny Podres and outfielder Duke Snider for Howard.

If the Yankees added rookie pitcher Bill Short to the package, the deal with the Dodgers would have been made, United Press International reported.

Instead, the Yankees stayed pat, and got rewarded.

In 1961, Ford was 25-4, got two more wins in the World Series against the Reds and received the Cy Young Award. Howard batted a career-high .348 with 21 home runs. Two years later, he won the 1963 American League Most Valuable Player Award.

In the book “We Would have Played For Nothing,” Ford said Howard would “scrape the ball up a little for me” with his shin guard.” Ford said he told Howard, “Elston, if I want to do that, I can handle it myself. You don’t have to help me.”

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High hopes got dashed for Andy Rincon with Cardinals

Posted in Games, Pitchers, Prospects on March 17, 2022| 15 Comments »

A surprising aspect of the Cardinals’ 1982 season was they succeeded without a big contribution from a pitcher considered a key to the starting rotation.

In March 1982, the Cardinals were counting on right-hander Andy Rincon to be a consistent winner.

Instead, he spent much of the season in the minors and wasn’t with the Cardinals when they won the National League pennant and the World Series championship.

Ticketed for majors

Born and raised in California, Rincon played high school baseball in Santa Fe Springs, near Los Angeles, and was a teammate of Mike Gallego.

The Cardinals chose Rincon, 18, in the fifth round of the 1977 June amateur draft.

In 1980, Rincon pitched for Class AA Arkansas, earning 10 wins during the regular season and two in the playoffs for the Texas League champions. After the final game, he left Little Rock to drive home to California.

Cardinals general manager Whitey Herzog, who scouted the Arkansas team, wanted Rincon to join the Cardinals for the final month of the season. Herzog said “it looked like Andy had the best arm in the organization,” interim Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Hoping to contact Rincon before he got to California, the Cardinals alerted authorities in Texas to be on the lookout for him, The Sporting News reported.

Rincon was stopped for speeding in El Paso, Texas, and immediately brought to traffic court. According to the Post-Dispatch, when Rincon gave his name in court, the judge replied, “Oh, you’re the guy we’ve been looking for,” and told him to call the Cardinals.

Herzog informed Rincon to take a flight from El Paso to Philadelphia and join the team there. Rincon paid a $23 traffic fine, parked at the El Paso airport and boarded a plane. “All my stuff is in the car,” he told the Post-Dispatch.

From Philadelphia, the Cardinals went to Chicago and Rincon, 21, made his debut for them there, pitching a five-hitter in a win against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Boxscore

“Who is he, anyway?” Cubs shortstop Ivan DeJesus asked the Post-Dispatch.

Rincon made three more starts for the 1980 Cardinals and finished 3-1 with a 2.61 ERA.

Bad break

Herzog, who returned to managing the Cardinals in 1981, had Rincon in the starting rotation to begin the season. After four starts, he was 2-1 with a 2.22 ERA. Rincon was the “Cardinals’ best pitcher in the first month of the season,” The Sporting News declared.

On May 9, 1981, in a start at St. Louis, Rincon was cruising to his third win. He shut out the Pirates for seven innings, drove in three runs and had a 13-0 lead.

In the eighth, Phil Garner led off and hit a line drive that struck Rincon in the throwing arm. The ball caromed to third baseman Julio Gonzalez, who fielded it and threw out Garner at first base. Rincon suffered a hairline fracture of the right forearm. Boxscore

Rincon (3-1, 1.77 ERA) was placed on the disabled list. Two days before the players went on strike on June 12, Rincon received medical clearance to resume pitching, The Sporting News reported. “He was throwing the hell out of the ball,” Herzog said. “I couldn’t see anything wrong with him.”

The Cardinals sent Rincon to their Class AAA Springfield (Ill.) farm club so that he could pitch during the strike, but it was too much too soon and he strained his right shoulder.

“Being weak in my forearm put more strain on my shoulder,” Rincon told The Sporting News. “If I’d just backed off and been more patient, things might have been better.”

In eight starts for Springfield, Rincon was 1-3 with a 6.55 ERA. Instead of helping the Cardinals after the strike ended in August, Rincon was reassigned to Arkansas and was 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA in two starts there.

“We wanted him to pitch, but he wasn’t worth a damn down there,” Herzog said to the Post-Dispatch.

Cardinals first baseman Keith Hernandez criticized Rincon for not working hard enough to come back from the injury and help the club in 1981, The Sporting News reported.

“He might be right,” Rincon said. “I feel like I did let the guys down.”

Missing out

Despite the setbacks encountered in 1981, Rincon was viewed by Herzog as “the key to the pitching staff” entering 1982 spring training, The Sporting News reported.

After working daily during the winter on a Nautilus machine and in aerobic exercises, Rincon, 23, reported to spring training fit and healthy. “I feel great,” he said. “I want to be the stopper of our staff. I want to pitch the tough games.”

The Cardinals entered the 1982 season with a starting rotation of Rincon, Bob Forsch, Joaquin Andujar, Steve Mura and John Martin.

“Rincon potentially is the Cardinals’ best starting pitcher,” The Sporting News declared.

In his first start of the season, Rincon pitched a three-hitter to beat Ferguson Jenkins and the Cubs at Wrigley Field, but his performances unraveled after that. Boxscore

Lacking command, he had more walks (25) than strikeouts (11). In his last start, against the Dodgers, Rincon “incurred Herzog’s displeasure for failing to hold runners on” and “missing a hit-and-run sign,” The Sporting News reported.

Rincon (2-3, 4.73 ERA) and Martin were sent to the minors, and John Stuper and Dave LaPoint replaced them in the Cardinals’ rotation.

At Class AAA Louisville, Rincon was 5-8 with a 5.09 ERA. When it came time to call up players to help the contending Cardinals, Louisville manager Joe Frazier told Herzog he didn’t think Rincon merited a chance.

“What Frazier said is good enough for me,” Herzog told The Sporting News.

Without Rincon, the Cardinals went on to win their first World Series championship in 15 years.

Still trying

Rincon never got back to the majors.

At spring training with the Cardinals in 1983, Herzog became unhappy with the number of runners stealing bases against Rincon and wanted him to change his pitching delivery. “I could steal on him, and I’m 51 years old,” Herzog told the Post-Dispatch.

Eric Rasmussen, 31, edged Rincon for the final pitching spot on the Cardinals’ Opening Day roster.

Rincon reported to Louisville, experienced elbow pain and was limited to 31 innings pitched in 1983. Granted free agency after the season, he signed with the Pirates and spent 1984 in their farm system, pitching a no-hitter for Hawaii.

Rincon went to spring training with the Orioles in 1985, but, when his arm didn’t respond, he went home. He sat out the 1985 and 1986 seasons, had shoulder surgery late in 1986, and was sidelined again in 1987.

In 1988, Rincon pitched in Mexico, then joined Fresno, an unaffiliated Class A club that had become a refuge for former big-leaguers seeking comebacks.

Cardinals scout Fred McAlister saw Rincon pitch at Fresno and signed him to a minor-league contract for 1989. “It’s a chance,” Rincon told the Post-Dispatch. “That’s all I want.”

Assigned back to Class AA Arkansas, from where he first made the leap to the majors nine years earlier, Rincon, 30, ended his playing days with a 1-0 record and 4.21 ERA in 11 relief appearances in 1989.

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Profile in courage: Cardinals prospect Bob Slaybaugh

Posted in Games, Pitchers, Prospects on March 10, 2022| 2 Comments »

In his quest to pitch for the Cardinals, Bob Slaybaugh lost an eye, but not his determination.

On March 24, 1952, Slaybaugh was pitching batting practice at Cardinals spring training when he was struck in the head by a line drive. He suffered severe damage to his left eye and it had to be surgically removed.

A couple of months later, Slaybaugh was pitching again.

Promising prospect

Robert Slaybaugh was born and raised in the village of Hartville, Ohio, located about halfway between Akron and Canton. According to census records and his obituary, the family name was spelled Slabaugh. At some point, either intentionally or inadvertently, a “y” was added to the spelling of his last name.

Known as Bob or Bobby, Slaybaugh was stricken by rheumatic fever as a youth and had to use a wheelchair for a time, according to baseball-reference.com.

A left-handed pitcher who stood 5 feet 9, Slaybaugh developed into a pro prospect and was signed by the Cardinals. In his first season, 1950, he was 6-17 with a 4.85 ERA for Goldsboro, N.C., a Class D farm team. He returned to Goldsboro in 1951, became the ace (17-10, 2.33 ERA) and led the league in strikeouts (224 in 219 innings, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch).

The Cardinals rewarded Slaybaugh with an invitation to attend big-league spring training at St. Petersburg, Fla., in 1952.

Described by the St. Petersburg Times as a “quiet, likeable, team-type player,” Slaybaugh roomed at the Bainbridge Hotel with another pitcher, Gary Blaylock.

“Residents along lower Second Avenue South became accustomed to seeing the two stroll toward the Bainbridge each evening after games, so absorbed in replaying the contest that they stopped from time to time to demonstrate by gestures what had occurred,” the St. Petersburg Times observed.

Slaybaugh got into two Cardinals exhibition games, pitching two innings against the Senators and three versus the Braves. He allowed one run, showing Cardinals manager Eddie Stanky enough to convince him “he was only a year or two away” from being ready for the majors, the St. Petersburg Times noted.

“Right back at me”

On March 24, 1952, it was Slaybaugh’s turn to pitch batting practice during morning drills for rookies and prospects. Jim Dickey, a power-hitting first baseman at the Class A level, stepped in from the left side of the plate. Slaybaugh threw a pitch on the outside corner.

“I was expecting it to be pushed down the left field line as usual,” Slaybaugh told Helen Popa for The Sporting News. “Instead, it shot right back at me. I watched it all the way and threw my gloved hand in front of my face for protection, but at the same moment I jerked my head. The ball tipped one of my gloved fingers and hit the left side of my face.”

Slaybaugh “dropped as though shot,” the St. Petersburg Times reported.

According to The Sporting News, “the line drive shattered the left cheekbone and forced the left eyeball partly out of the socket.”

Stanky and Don McGranaghan, a vacationing New York state police officer, rushed Slaybaugh to a hospital in McGranaghan’s car, Bob Broeg reported in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

“With a towel, Stanky literally held the eye in place,” according to Broeg.

Stanky told The Sporting News, “In the car on the way to the hospital, he talked about baseball. No whimper out of him, and the pain must have been terrific. He told me that, if they had to operate, for me to be sure to tell the surgeons that he had rheumatic fever when he was young, so they could be careful about the effect of anesthetic on the heart.”

Significant damage

A St. Louis ophthalmologist, Dr. S. Albert Hanser, happened to be vacationing in nearby North Reddington Beach. A police escort raced him to the hospital, according to the St. Petersburg Times.

Dr. Hanser joined St. Petersburg ophthalmologist Dr. Bernard Bell in treating Slaybaugh. They performed “a delicate operation” in an effort to save the left eye, the Associated Press reported.

In addition to the damaged eye, Dr. Hanser said Slaybaugh suffered a fracture of the left cheekbone, a fracture of a group of bones near the eye and multiple fractures of the nasal bones, the St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported.

Cardinals owner Fred Saigh called Slaybaugh’s parents in Ohio, informed them of their son’s injury and arranged for them and another son to travel by plane to St. Petersburg the next day, The Sporting News reported.

After a week in the St. Petersburg hospital, Slaybaugh, accompanied by his mother, took a flight to St. Louis on March 31 for further treatment at a hospital there. That same day, Jim Dickey, who hit the line drive, was assigned by the Cardinals to their Rochester farm team. He’d never make it to the majors.

On April 4, Slaybaugh’s damaged eye was removed in “an emergency operation,” the Associated Press reported. Dr. Hanser, who performed the operation, said, “A rupture at the rear of the eyeball forced the removal.”

Passing grade

Sometimes, good can come amid tragedy. While recuperating from his eye operation in the St. Louis hospital, Slaybaugh met a nurse, Joy, and she became his wife, according to The Sporting News.

In late April, Slaybaugh was cleared to practice with the Cardinals at Sportsman’s Park.

“When I first started working out, I was ready to give up,” he told The Sporting News. “I couldn’t do anything right. I was confused by distances and was just plain scared, but Eddie Stanky and the players kept encouraging me and gradually I started feeling better.”

In mid-May, Slaybaugh was discharged from the hospital. He made a brief visit home to Ohio, then reported to the Cardinals’ Omaha farm team, managed by George Kissell.

Ray Oppegard, business manager of the Omaha team, said, “(Slaybaugh) still thinks he can pitch and so do we and our doctors.”

Kissell wasn’t so sure. Asked in May by the Des Moines Tribune whether he’d let Slaybaugh pitch in a game, Kissell said, “Too dangerous. A one-eyed person has no depth perception.”

When Slaybaugh arrived in Omaha, he said to Kissell, “I didn’t come here to sit on the bench. Let me pitch.”

According to The Sporting News, Kissell set up a program to help determine Slaybaugh’s chances of playing again. He had Slaybaugh throw on the sideline. After several good sessions, Slaybaugh was allowed to stand behind the pitcher during batting practice to get used to batted balls again.

After that, Slaybaugh progressed to pitching in bunting practice, then batting practice.

“At first, he threw the ball only to the inside corner so that he knew when it was hit it wouldn’t come back at him,” Kissell told The Sporting News. “Now he throws all over the plate.”

Kissell then put Slaybaugh through fielding practices. “He had his players drive grounders straight at Slaybaugh and to both sides,” the Des Moines Tribune reported. “Then he tested him with line drives.”

Finally, Slaybaugh got to bat in batting practice. When he passed all the tests to Kissell’s satisfaction, it was time to play in games.

Quite a comeback

On June 22, in his first game since losing the eye, Slaybaugh allowed one run in 6.1 innings of relief against Colorado Springs.

His next appearance, on June 29, was a start against Des Moines in the first game of a doubleheader. Slaybaugh responded with a four-hit shutout in a 1-0 Omaha victory in seven innings.

“That shows you what determination and courage will do,” Des Moines manager Harry Strohm told the Des Moines Tribune.

Slaybaugh called it “the biggest game of my life.”

He pitched 31 innings for Omaha in 1952 and posted a 2-2 record, according to baseball-reference.

The next year, he was 2-9 for Columbus (Ga.) and Winston-Salem. On May 1, he tried to pitch for the first time without an eye patch, placing a strip of tape over the left optic. In the fifth inning, the artificial eye fell to the ground. “Unflustered, Bobby picked it up and stuck it in his pocket,” The Sporting News reported.

The 1954 season was Slaybaugh’s last as a pro. After brief stints with Columbus (Ga.) and Lynchburg (Va.), the Cardinals asked him to report to Winnipeg, Canada. “Instead, he went home and obtained a job as a bookkeeper with a produce firm,” according to The Sporting News.

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What a relief: Bob Gibson, Don Drysdale called from pen

Posted in Games, Opponents, Pitchers on February 19, 2022| 4 Comments »

(Updated Jan. 15, 2025)

Imagine going to a regular-season game in St. Louis and getting to see Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale pitch.

It happened on May 12, 1962, in a game Koufax started for the Dodgers against the Cardinals. Gibson and Drysdale relieved and were the winning and losing pitchers in a 15-inning, 6-5 Cardinals victory.

Gibson pitched five innings of scoreless relief. Drysdale gave up the winning run and barely avoided a serious injury.

Fit to be tied

The Saturday night game at the original Busch Stadium matched Koufax against Ernie Broglio.

When Koufax was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the seventh, the Cardinals led, 4-3. They increased the lead to 5-3 with a run in the eighth against Larry Sherry.

Bobby Shantz, who relieved Broglio in the sixth, held the Dodgers hitless until the ninth when eighth-place hitter Larry Burright followed a walk to Daryl Spencer with a two-run home run, tying the score at 5-5.

Two nights earlier, when Burright hit his first big-league home run against Bob Bruce of the Colt .45s, the Long Beach Press-Telegram reported that Dodgers manager Walter Alston said to him, “I hope that doesn’t make you a home run hitter. I don’t want you swinging for the fences.”

In the bottom of the ninth, when Red Schoendienst singled to right, Bill White tried to score the winning run from second, but was thrown out at the plate on a powerful peg by right fielder Frank Howard.

Costly outing

Making his first relief appearance of the season, Gibson (3-2, 4.02 ERA) entered in the 11th. Two nights earlier, he’d pitched 4.2 innings in a start against the Giants and gave up five runs.

Against the Dodgers, Gibson got into a jam in the 12th when they loaded the bases with two outs. Though pinch-hitters Duke Snider, Andy Carey, Doug Camilli and Norm Sherry were available, Alston let rookie pitcher Pete Richert bat and he grounded out.

In the 13th, Richert tore a muscle in his elbow pitching to White. Dodgers first baseman Tim Harkness said he could hear the muscle rip loose. “It sounded like two sticks clicking together,” Harkness told the Los Angeles Times.

Another rookie, Joe Moeller, relieved Richert and held the Cardinals in check until Snider batted for him in the 15th. The Dodgers got a runner, Burright, to second with two outs before Maury Wills, a .211 career hitter against Gibson, struck out.

Emergency call

Alston needed a replacement for Moeller in the bottom half of the 15th. He chose Drysdale (5-1, 2.98 ERA) to make his first relief appearance of the season. Two nights earlier, Drysdale pitched a complete game against the Colt .45s.

“I knew I didn’t have a thing left,” Drysdale told the Los Angeles Times. “I told them so in the bullpen.”

Rookie outfielder Doug Clemens, a replacement for Minnie Minoso, who was injured the previous night when he crashed into a wall, led off with a single. Julio Gotay, attempting a sacrifice bunt, was hit by a Drysdale pitch.

As the next batter, Gibson, backed away from a pitch, catcher John Roseboro fired a strike to second, picking off Clemens for the first out of the inning.

When he resumed pitching to Gibson, Drysdale felt something pop in his right elbow. Gibson drew a walk, advancing Gotay to second.

Drysdale fanned Curt Flood for the second out.

Julian Javier, a career .195 hitter versus Drysdale, was up next. Drysdale got two strikes on him, followed by three consecutive pitches outside the zone.

At 12:58 a.m., nearly five hours after the game began, Javier hit a blooper to the opposite field. The ball landed barely fair, just inside the right field line. Gotay, who was running with the payoff pitch, easily scored from second. Boxscore

If Javier had made the third out, the game would have been declared a tie because the National League had a curfew that barred the start of an inning after 12:50 a.m. The game would have been replayed another time.

Upset with the outcome, Drysdale stormed into the clubhouse and “smashed a mirror with his fist and kicked a sandbox,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

“My arm was stiff. I didn’t want to pitch but Alston asked me to go in,” Drysdale told Sport magazine. “I didn’t argue. I’d never argue with him.”

Fortunate recovery

When he showed up at the ballpark the next day, Drysdale “had a Band-aid on his right pinkie, and his left big toe was taped, souvenirs of his outburst,” according to the Los Angeles Times.

The good news was his elbow was OK.

“When I rolled over in bed early this morning, the elbow popped back into position,” Drysdale said.

Drysdale went on to have a career year, earning the 1962 National League Cy Young Award. He led the league in wins (25), strikeouts (232) and innings pitched (314.1).

Against the Cardinals in 1962, Drysdale was 2-4. He had winning records versus each of the other eight National League teams that season.

In addition to his 41 starts, Drysdale made two relief appearances in 1962 _ the one against the Cardinals and another on July 8 when he earned a save for Koufax versus the Giants. Boxscore

In the book “We Would have Played For Nothing,” slugger Frank Robinson said Drysdale “was the toughest pitcher for me to hit off of in my career … His fastball would tail in on you, slide away, and would be on top of the plate … When I would finish four at-bats against Drysdale, it was like wrestling a horse or a mule, or being in a fight. That’s how tired I would be after the game.”

Gibson finished 15-13 with a 2.85 ERA in 1962 and tied Bob Friend of the Pirates for the league lead in shutouts (5). With 208 strikeouts, Gibson ranked third in the league behind Drysdale (232) and Koufax (216).

In addition to his 30 starts, Gibson made two relief appearances in 1962 _ the one against the Dodgers and another July 29 when he was credited with a save versus the Mets. Boxscore

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How Phil Niekro came close to pitching for Cardinals

Posted in Games, Opponents, Pitchers on February 15, 2022| 8 Comments »

Unwanted by Joe Torre and Bob Gibson with the Braves, Phil Niekro was coveted by the Cardinals.

Looking to bolster their starting pitching in 1984, the Cardinals made a pitch to Niekro, who asked for and received his release from the Braves after they told him he wasn’t in their plans.

Niekro was approaching his 45th birthday, but the Cardinals, and other clubs, were confident the knuckleball pitcher remained effective.

Old pro

In 1983, Niekro, 44, had a poor start to the season. After a loss to the Astros on June 21, his record was 2-6 with a 5.04 ERA.

“On 3-and-2 counts, he didn’t trust his knuckleball and, turning to his fastball, now semi-fast, he was often only setting himself up,” columnist Furman Bisher observed in The Sporting News.

Braves manager Joe Torre and pitching coach Bob Gibson lost confidence in Niekro, but, lacking a better option, kept him in the rotation.

Niekro and his knuckleball warmed with the weather. On Aug. 24, he beat the Cardinals, limiting them to two runs in seven innings. Boxscore

“I’m a better pitcher in the second half of the season,” Niekro told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “In the spring, I go out there and seem to try to throw the knuckleball through the catcher’s mitt. When it gets hot, it makes you slow down and think a lot better.”

Niekro finished the season 11-10 with a 3.97 ERA in 201.2 innings pitched. He was 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA in three starts against the Cardinals. It was the 16th time Niekro had achieved double-digit wins in a season for the Braves.

Power vs. finesse

Niekro’s good finish didn’t change the minds of Torre and Gibson. They informed Braves owner Ted Turner they didn’t want Niekro in the starting rotation in 1984.

Turner met with Niekro, suggested it was time to quit playing and offered him his choice of other jobs, including a chance to manage in the minors. Niekro said Turner also told him he would override the decision of Torre and Gibson if Niekro wanted, but Niekro instead asked for his release.

“The coaching staff does not want me to pitch here,” Niekro said to the Atlanta Constitution. “I’m not going into spring training holding Ted Turner’s hand, pitching under his shadow.”

Referring to Gibson, Niekro told Chris Mortensen of the Atlanta Constitution, “One of the coaches thought I should have retired in May or June. This coach stated, ‘Phil Niekro is 100 years old and he ought to quit right now.’ “

Regarding Torre, who was Niekro’s catcher in the 1960s, Niekro said, “I’ve gotten along with him about as well as any manager I’ve had. I just haven’t gotten along as well when it comes to pitching.”

Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Constitution wrote, “A lot of it has to do with the almost fanatical preference of Joe Torre and Bob Gibson for power pitchers. They simply would rather not have a knuckleballer on the staff.”

In his book “Stranger to the Game,” Gibson said, “I had been of the opinion that our talented young pitchers would be more of an asset to the ballclub than Niekro at age 45.

“I certainly believed in an organization’s loyalty to its cornerstone players, but at some point loyalty steps aside and good judgment takes over.”

Fitting in

Niekro’s unceremonious departure surprised many. Gibson acknowledged, “The Niekro affair had made me an unpopular figure in town and in certain parts of the front office.”

Noting that Niekro won his fifth Gold Glove Award in 1983, columnist Bill Conlin of The Sporting News wrote, “Niekro’s knuckleball is undiminished, he’s still among the best at holding runners on first and fielding his position, and he’s the kind of individual any manager would like to have around a young pitching staff.”

The Phillies’ Pete Rose told the Atlanta paper, “Are you telling me the Braves think they have 10 better pitchers than Phil Niekro? if so, I haven’t seen them.”

Pitcher Gaylord Perry said, “If he can get a park that suits his style, he can win 15 to 17 games again.”

The Cardinals considered Busch Memorial Stadium that kind of ballpark.

Of the five teams that pursued Niekro, the Cardinals appeared to have the strongest interest. Other suitors were the A’s, Pirates, White Sox and Yankees.

Niekro became a target after a proposed trade in which the Cardinals would send Neil Allen, Ken Oberkfell and Jim Adduci to the Orioles for Dennis Martinez, Tim Stoddard and Benny Ayala didn’t materialize, according to The Sporting News.

Money matters

At the 1983 baseball winter meetings, Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog said, “I’d like to have Phil Niekro.”

Cardinals general manager Joe McDonald told The Sporting News, “I would think Phil would want to pitch somewhere where he would get the ball regularly. He’d get the ball with us.”

Niekro wanted to play in a World Series before he retired and the Cardinals had won the title in 1982.

McDonald said Herzog determined Glenn Brummer, backup to starting catcher Darrell Porter, would be best suited to handle the knuckleball and catch Niekro.

According to the Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals offered Niekro his choice of one-year offers. One was for a flat salary of just less than $500,000. The other had incentives that could increase the total contract to more than $500,000.

Atlanta Constitution sports editor Jesse Outlar wrote, “It’s the guess here that he’ll be on the Cardinals’ payroll before Christmas. Niekro mentions the Cardinals frequently during conversations.”

According to the Post-Dispatch, Niekro’s brother, Joe, an Astros pitcher, told a sports banquet that Phil’s first choice was the Cardinals.

It was a bit surprising then when on Dec. 30 Niekro and his agent, Bruce Church, declined both Cardinals offers.

“All I can say is their interest in Phil was not followed up with what I would consider to be reasonable financial opportunities,” Church said to the Atlanta Constitution.

McDonald told the Post-Dispatch, “I thought we made an outstanding offer considering everything.”

A week later, Niekro accepted a two-year, $1.4 million offer from the Yankees. In addition to the guaranteed $700,000 per season, the contract included incentives that could increase Niekro’s annual income to more than $800,000, according to the Atlanta Constitution. The deal also included a no-trade clause.

“I don’t think anybody in their right mind could have turned this down,” Niekro said.

Niekro, who turned 45 in April 1984, was 16-8 for the Yankees in 1984 and 16-12 for them in 1985. Video

In “Stranger to the Game,” Gibson said, “It turned out Niekro did have some good pitching left in him and he still could have been valuable to the Braves, but in his absence younger arms like Rick Mahler’s and Pascual Perez’s came along nicely.”

Niekro pitched for the Indians in 1986. In 1987, when he was 48, Niekro was with the Indians and Blue Jays before finishing his playing career with a start for the Braves in Atlanta against the Giants. Boxscore

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