Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Pitchers’ Category

Cardinals gave Dick Scott an initiation to the majors

Posted in Games, Opponents, Pitchers on March 1, 2020| 2 Comments »

Dick Scott waited a long time to reach the major leagues, and when he got there, as a 30-year-old rookie, he quickly experienced highs and lows.

A left-handed pitcher, Scott was in his eighth season in the minor leagues when he got called up to the Dodgers for the first time in May 1963.

The first team Scott faced was the Cardinals at St. Louis. His debut went splendidly. The next night was a different story.

Down on the farm

Born in New Hampshire, Scott went to high school in Maine and played multiple sports. He was 20 when the Dodgers signed him as an amateur free agent in August 1953. After two years in the Army, Scott began his pro baseball career in the Dodgers’ farm system in 1956.

One of Scott’s biggest boosters was Bobby Bragan, who managed him at Spokane in 1958.

Scott “should make the majors,” Bragan said to the Spokane Chronicle.

Bragan, who managed the Pirates and Indians before taking the Spokane job, told the Spokane Review, “All that Scott needs is a little confidence, that feeling of thinking to himself, ‘Just give me the ball and let me out there. I’ll mow them down.’ ”

In 1960, Scott, 27, was 8-1 with a 2.27 ERA for the Dodgers’ farm club in Atlanta, but he had left elbow surgery in September, the Atlanta Constitution reported. Toward the end of spring training in 1961, Scott pitched 18 consecutive scoreless innings, but he remained in the minors.

While pitching for Spokane in 1962, Scott “has given up the idea of trying to overpower every batter and has become a better pitcher in the process,” according to the Spokane Chronicle.

“I’ve found out I have better control when I don’t throw too hard,” Scott said.

Meet me in St. Louis

Scott had a strong spring training in 1963 and nearly made the Dodgers’ Opening Day roster. His impressive pitching carried over to the regular season with Spokane. In his first start, he pitched a three-hit shutout at Denver in a game attended by heavyweight boxing champion Sonny Liston.

On May 7, 1963, Scott was leading the Pacific Coast League in ERA (0.77) when he was called up to the Dodgers.

Scott reported to the Dodgers at St. Louis on May 8 and made his major-league debut that night against the Cardinals.

Entering in the eighth, with the Dodgers ahead, 10-5, Scott retired Curt Flood, Dick Groat and Bill White in order.

After the Dodgers added a run in the top of the ninth, Stan Musial led off the bottom half against Scott and lined out to second. Ken Boyer doubled, but Scott got George Altman to ground out and Tim McCarver to pop out to third. Boxscore

Scott’s two scoreless innings against the star-studded Cardinals lineup made a strong impression. Scott “is ready to pitch any time the Dodgers need him,” the Los Angeles Times declared.

Tough encore

Scott didn’t have to wait long. The next night, May 9, the Dodgers led, 2-0, in the fifth when the Cardinals loaded the bases with none out against starter Pete Richert.

Manager Walter Alston called for Scott to face Bill White, a left-handed batter.

“I was looking for the fastball on the first pitch because I figured Scott would try to get ahead of me,” White told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “The ball was right down the middle.”

White hit the ball over the pavilion roof at Busch Stadium and onto Grand Avenue for a grand slam, giving the Cardinals a 4-2 lead.

After Boyer lined out to center and Musial flied out to right, Charlie James singled and Gene Oliver put the Cardinals ahead, 6-2, with a two-run home run off Scott.

Rattled, Scott gave up singles to Julian Javier and Bob Gibson before Larry Sherry relieved him. Sherry surrendered a RBI-single to Flood and the run was charged to Scott.

Scott’s line: 0.2 innings, four runs, five hits. Boxscore

Wrong place, wrong time

Scott pitched in nine games for the Dodgers before he was returned to Spokane in July 1963.

A month later, Scott was sitting on the edge of the visitors dugout at San Diego when the weighted end of a lead warmup bat swung by teammate Bart Shirley, who was in the on-deck circle, came loose and struck him above the right eye.

Scott was taken to a hospital and needed 25 stitches to close the wound, according to the Spokane newspapers.

Fortunately, Scott recovered, started against Portland on Sept. 3 and pitched 7.1 innings, allowing one run.

Scott finished with a 2.28 ERA for Spokane. In December 1963, the Dodgers traded him to the Cubs for pitcher Jim Brewer and catcher Cuno Barragan.

The 1964 season was Scott’s last as a professional player. He pitched in three games for the Cubs and spent most of the year with their Salt Lake City farm team.

Read Full Post »

For Omar Olivares, joining Cardinals was like family

Posted in Games, Pitchers, Trades on February 27, 2020| 2 Comments »

A trade to the Cardinals gave Omar Olivares the chance to start his major-league career with the same franchise his father did.

On Feb. 27, 1990, the Cardinals acquired Olivares, a right-handed pitcher, from the Padres for outfielder Alex Cole and reliever Steve Peters.

Six months later, Olivares made his big-league debut, following in the footsteps of his father, Ed Olivares, an outfielder and third baseman who got to the majors with the Cardinals in 1960.

Ed and Omar Olivares became the first father and son to play for the Cardinals.

Family ties

Ed Olivares appeared in 24 games for the Cardinals from 1960-61.

Omar Olivares was born in Puerto Rico in 1967, a year after his father finished his pro playing career in the farm system of the Tigers.

Ed Olivares became a sports and recreation director in Puerto Rico and helped his son develop baseball skills.

“He taught me everything I know,” Omar Olivares told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “He’s the one who thought about making me a pitcher. He knew I had a nice and loose arm, and he knew I was going to never get hurt. I was 16 years old. So I changed from an outfielder to a pitcher.”

In September 1986, Omar Olivares, 19, signed with the Padres. He earned 16 wins in the minors in 1988 and 12 at Class AA in 1989.

Special talent

Olivares caught the attention of Cardinals personnel, who urged general manager Dal Maxvill to acquire him.

“Six of our people had seen him pitch and they all liked him,” said Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog. “That’s unusual. The only other player that all our people had good reports on before we got him was Willie McGee.”

Though Olivares was assigned to start the 1990 season with the Cardinals’ farm club at Louisville, Herzog was impressed by what he saw in spring training. “He’s a great athlete,” Herzog told the Post-Dispatch. “I’d like to make an outfielder out of him. He could pitch every fifth day and play the outfield the other four.”

Herzog resigned in July 1990 before he could test his idea, but Olivares remained in the Cardinals’ plans. Cardinals director of player development Ted Simmons said Olivares was “a legitimate pitching prospect, make no mistake.”

During a visit to Louisville, Cardinals minor-league pitching instructor Bruce Sutter noticed Olivares had stopped throwing a forkball and asked him about it. “I threw it the other night and the guy hit it for a homer,” Olivares replied.

Said Sutter: “If he hit your fastball for a homer, would you quit throwing your fastball?” Olivares got the message and returned the forkball to his arsenal.

“I wasn’t too happy about it, but I kept throwing the forkball after that,” Olivares told the Post-Dispatch. “One night, I had 14 strikeouts and that’s the best I’d had my forkball. They told me they wanted me to throw it at least 20 times a game. I’ve got much better control of it than I used to have.”

Welcome to the bigs

in August 1990, Joe Torre replaced Herzog as Cardinals manager. Soon after, John Tudor went on the disabled list. Olivares, with a 2.82 ERA in 23 starts for Louisville, was called up to take Tudor’s spot in the rotation. “When they told me, I called home right away,” Olivares said. “My dad wasn’t there but my mother was … She’s more excited than I am, and I’m pretty excited.”

Torre never had seen Olivares, but he got good reports from those who had.

“He started learning that forkball because he needed another pitch,” said Cardinals pitcher Bob Tewksbury. “He’s got good mechanics and a good, live arm. He’s a good athlete. He swings the bat pretty good. He’s a good kid, too.”

On Aug. 18, 1990, Olivares, 23, made his major-league debut with a start at St. Louis and limited the Astros to a run and three hits in eight innings.

With the Cardinals ahead, 2-1, Torre lifted Olivares for closer Lee Smith, who gave up a home run to the first batter he faced, Franklin Stubbs, in the ninth, depriving Olivares of a win. The Astros prevailed, 3-2, in 11. Boxscore

“You have to go with your best,” Olivares said, defending Torre’s decision. “I’m not angry at all.”

Making his mark

According to the Post-Dispatch, Olivares was the first major-league player with the initials O.O. since Oswald Orwoll, a pitcher and first baseman for the 1928-29 Athletics. In 1993, Olivares switched to uniform No. 00 with the Cardinals.

Olivares got his first major-league home run before he got his first major-league win. On Sept. 8, 1990, Olivares hit a solo home run and a two-run double versus Rick Sutcliffe of the Cubs at Wrigley Field, but didn’t get the decision. Boxscore

His first win came in his next start, on Sept. 13, 1990, against the Expos at Montreal. Boxscore

Olivares finished 1-1 with a 2.92 ERA for the 1990 Cardinals. His best St. Louis season was 1991 when he was 11-7.

Olivares pitched five seasons for the Cardinals and was 29-24 with a 4.02 ERA. He batted .229 with three home runs.

The Cardinals released him in April 1995 and he signed with the Rockies.

In 12 seasons in the majors, Olivares was 77-86, including a combined 15-11 for the Angels and Athletics in 1999.

Read Full Post »

How Dizzy Dean got ensnared in federal gambling probe

Posted in Pitchers on February 24, 2020| 4 Comments »

Decades after he pitched for the Cardinals as a member of the Gashouse Gang, Dizzy Dean was involved in a federal investigation of a gambling gang.

A grand jury indictment named Dean, 60, a co-conspirator in a gambling scandal on Feb. 24, 1970.

Dean, who placed bets for a friend and also made payoffs for him, testified as a witness for the government in the case and wasn’t charged with a crime.

Biloxi blues

Dean was the ace of the 1930s Cardinals clubs known as the Gashouse Gang, a feisty, aggressive group featuring Pepper Martin, Joe Medwick and Leo Durocher.

Dean achieved 30 regular-season wins in 1934 and two more in the World Series against the Tigers. He led National League pitchers in strikeouts for four consecutive seasons (1932-35).

After his playing career, Dean was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was broadcaster on Cardinals and Browns games in the 1940s and national baseball telecasts in the 1950s.

In retirement, Dean made his home in Bond, Miss. A friend, trucking executive Howard Sober of Lansing, Mich., asked Dean to place illegal bets for him with bookmakers in Biloxi, Miss. Dean agreed to place the bets and be the go-between for receiving and making payouts.

On Jan. 1, 1970, Dean was in Las Vegas when he was questioned and searched by authorities, the Associated Press reported. Dean wasn’t arrested and federal officials said he was cooperating with them.

Dean “is furnishing information,” a U.S. attorney in Detroit said to the New York Times.

According to the Associated Press, a document in federal district court in Detroit alleged Dean delivered a $6,000 gambling payoff for Howard Sober.

Suspended Tigers pitcher Denny McLain, the first big-leaguer since Dean with 30 wins in a season, met with federal attorneys to cooperate in the investigation, the Associated Press reported.

Give info, avoid charges

Ten people, arrested in Detroit and Biloxi, were indicted by the federal grand jury on one county of conspiring to use interstate commerce for illegal gambling.

Dean “was named as a co-conspirator but not as a defendant in the indictment,” the Associated Press reported. Because Dean “is named only as a co-conspirator and not a defendant, he is not charged with any crime.”

According to the indictment, the 10 defendants and six co-conspirators used telephones for “unlawful gambling purposes” from April 1969 to January 1970.

The indictment charged three of the defendants, all from Biloxi, “would knowingly accept bets from unindicted co-conspirators” Dizzy Dean and his nephew, Paul Dean Jr., “on behalf of unindicted co-conspirator Howard Sober.” Paul Dean Jr., was the son of Dizzy’s brother and Cardinals teammate, pitcher Paul Dean Sr.

Dizzy Dean’s “very helpful” information led to several arrests in the case, United Press International reported.

U.S. attorney James Brickley said being cited as a co-conspirator meant “the grand jury believed the person was involved,” but not to a sufficient degree to be indicted.

Favor for a friend

On Feb. 25, 1970, an emotional Dizzy Dean met with reporters and said, “I am happy and pleased I was not arrested, indicted and charged. I am sad for my family and friends all over the United States because I was accused of a lot of things. There is not a bit of truth to it.”

Dean said, “I have never been involved in big-time gambling.” He told United Press International he met the Biloxi defendants “through a friend (Howard Sober) who asked me to make wagers for him and I did. I was later told it was the wrong thing to do and I quit. I never received one dime, not a penny.”

Three years later, on June 20, 1973, two of the Biloxi defendants, Frank Duvic and Salvatore “Sammie” Sicuro, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Detroit They were fined and placed on probation.

Dizzy Dean, Paul Dean Jr. and Howard Sober appeared as witnesses for the government and were excused from the subpoenas after Duvic and Sicuro pleaded guilty, an Internal Revenue Service spokesman told the Associated Press.

Duvic said he accepted wagers from the Deans while working at a Biloxi club, the Associated Press reported.

“Duvic told the court he knew Dizzy Dean was placing bets for Howard Sober, who phoned them to Dean from Michigan,” according to the Associated Press. “Duvic said he accompanied Dean to a bank” and was given a check to cover Sober’s bets.

Sicuro testified he knew Dizzy Dean was placing bets for Howard Sober, the Associated Press reported. Sicuro said Dizzy Dean appeared every Monday to settle the gambling account.

Read Full Post »

How Babe Didrikson became a Cardinals pitcher

Posted in Games, Pitchers on February 21, 2020| 2 Comments »

Babe Didrikson, who won Olympic medals in track and field before she became one of America’s top golfers, was the starting pitcher for the Cardinals in a spring training game.

On March 22, 1934, Didrikson pitched for the Cardinals against the Red Sox at Bradenton, Fla.

A relentless self-promoter, Didrikson’s performance helped develop her reputation as America’s premier woman athlete.

Diamond dandy

A daughter of Norwegian immigrants, Didrikson was born in Port Arthur, Texas, and grew up in nearby Beaumont, where she excelled in multiple sports.

At 21, she was a member of the U.S. Olympic track and field team. At the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Didrikson won two golds (hurdles and javelin) and a silver (high jump).

With America in the grip of the Great Depression, opportunities for women in professional sports were limited. Didrikson sought to earn income in several sports, including basketball, billiards and baseball.

In 1934, Didrikson joined the House of David barnstorming baseball team. Promoter Ray Doan arranged for Didrikson to have a training session with Cardinals pitcher Burleigh Grimes in Hot Springs, Ark.

According to the Associated Press, Didrikson “would be one of the best prospects in baseball if she were a boy,” said Grimes.

The Associated Press also noted, “The Babe has mastered somewhat of a curve.”

Timely fielding

The Athletics and Cardinals each agreed to let Didrikson pitch an inning in a spring training game.

On March 20, 1934, at Fort Myers, Fla., Didrikson started for manager Connie Mack’s Athletics against manager Casey Stengel’s Dodgers before a Tuesday afternoon gathering of 400 spectators.

Didrikson walked the first batter, Danny Taylor, and hit the next, Johnny Frederick, with a pitch.

The No. 3 hitter, Joe Stripp, lined the ball. Second baseman Dib Williams caught it for the first out and tossed to shortstop Rabbit Warstler, who tagged second to double up Taylor, who had headed for third. Warstler threw to first baseman Jimmie Foxx to nip Frederick, who couldn’t get back to the bag in time, and complete a triple play.

According to the book “Diz,” a biography of Dizzy Dean, Stengel shook his head in mock sorrow and said, “My little lambs just couldn’t get to her.”

“The Babe was wildly cheered as she left the premises,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Didrikson, a right-hander, stood between 5-foot-5 and 5-foot-7 and weighed between 115 and 145 pounds, according to varied sources. She “looked like a slightly built boy except for a few stray feminine locks that stuck from under her black baseball cap,” the Fort Myers News-Press reported. “She possessed a slow curve but had some difficulty in finding the plate.”

With her inning of work done, Didrikson was lifted and the Dodgers won, 4-2.

Tough break

Two days later, before a Thursday afternoon crowd again estimated at 400, Didrikson made her start for manager Frankie Frisch’s Cardinals against manager Bucky Harris and the Red Sox.

Didrikson “is gaining experience and improving her pitching,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. “Under the tutelage of Burleigh Grimes, Dizzy Dean and others, she has learned to stand on the rubber, wind up like a big-leaguer and throw a rather fair curve.”

Joining Didrikson and Frisch, who played second base, in the Cardinals’ starting lineup were first baseman Rip Collins, shortstop Burgess Whitehead, third baseman Pepper Martin, left fielder Joe Medwick, center fielder Buster Mills, right fielder Jack Rothrock and catcher Spud Davis.

After Red Sox leadoff batter Max Bishop grounded out to second, Didrikson allowed singles to Bill Cissell and Ed Morgan, putting runners on second and first.

Cleanup hitter Roy Johnson grounded to Frisch, who threw to Whitehead, covering the bag at second, for the force on Morgan.

With two outs and runners on third and first, rookie Moose Solters faced Didrikson next. Didrikson got two strikes on Solters and threw a curve. Solters watched it go into the catcher’s mitt. To press box observers, the pitch was strike three, which should have ended the inning, but the umpire called it a ball.

Solters hit the next pitch for a two-run double.

Didrikson “deserved a better fate than she received,” the St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported. “A hit followed what could have been called a third strike and the third out.”

The St. Louis Star-Times declared Didrikson would have escaped with a scoreless inning “but for a questionable decision by the umpire.”

On the links

After Solters doubled, Dusty Cooke reached on an error by Rip Collins. Rick Ferrell singled, scoring Solters and giving the Red Sox a 3-0 lead. Didrikson got the next batter, Bucky Walters, to fly out to left.

The Red Sox “would have been scoreless if it had not been for loose fielding and what the Cards described as the plate umpire’s failure to see a third strike as a strike,” the Post-Dispatch reported.

The Cardinals rallied for three runs in the bottom of the first against Fritz Ostermueller. Whitehead, the eighth-place batter, made the last out of the inning, depriving Didrikson of a plate appearance.

Bill Hallahan relieved Didrikson in the second and pitched four innings. Dean, who told Didrikson he’d show her some “real chucking,” pitched the last four, held the Red Sox hitless and the Cardinals won, 9-7. Said Dean: “I had them swinging like ham on a hook.”

“Well, our Red Sox managed to get three runs in one inning off Babe Didrikson, the girl athlete,” the Boston Globe declared. “So perhaps later on they will be able to play ball with the boys.”

Columnist L.C. Davis of the Post-Dispatch concluded, “As a pitcher, Babe is an outstanding field and track athlete. Babe may be a drawing card, but a woman’s place is on the bench.”

Three days later, Didrikson pitched two scoreless innings for the minor-league New Orleans Pelicans against the Cleveland Indians.

Didrikson eventually focused on golf. At the 1938 PGA Tour Los Angeles Open, where she competed against the men, Didrikson met professional wrestler George Zaharias. Eleven months later, in December 1938, they married in St. Louis and she became Babe Didrikson Zaharias.

A founding member of the LPGA Tour, Babe Didrikson Zaharias won 41 titles, including 10 majors. She was a three-time winner of the Women’s U.S. Open, including in 1954 after she underwent surgery for colon cancer.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias was 45 when she died of cancer in 1956.

Read Full Post »

Roger Kahn and his insights about the Cardinals

Posted in Executives, Hitters, Pitchers on February 12, 2020| 6 Comments »

(Updated March 5, 2023)

Roger Kahn, who gained prominence for his work about the Dodgers, wrote extensively about the Cardinals as well.

A newspaper and magazine journalist, Kahn wrote 20 or so books, including the 1972 classic “The Boys of Summer” about his hometown Brooklyn Dodgers.

After covering sports for the New York Herald Tribune, Kahn wrote for magazines such as Collier’s, The Saturday Evening Post and Sports Illustrated.

Kahn was respected by colleagues and the baseball people he covered. In February 1954, he called former Cardinals and Dodgers executive Branch Rickey, who had moved to the front office of the Pirates, at his spring training base in Fort Pierce, Fla., and was “offered a job,” The Sporting News reported.

When Kahn asked Rickey how long it would take him to do for the Pirates what he did for the Cardinals and Dodgers, Rickey replied, “I need help. If you know how to help a tail end ballclub, come down here. I’ll pay you more than you’re making. I don’t care what it is.”

Lane explains

In May 1956, Dodgers outfielder Duke Snider was the subject of a controversial Kahn article in Collier’s titled, “I Play Baseball For Money, Not Fun.”

A month later, in The Saturday Evening Post, Kahn wrote about Cardinals general manager Frank Lane in a piece titled, “I’m Here To Win A Pennant.” Lane was in his first season with the Cardinals and created a ruckus by trading players such as Red Schoendienst, Harvey Haddix and Bill Virdon.

“I didn’t come to St. Louis to raise red roses or tell after-dinner stories or take the tenor lead in ‘Hearts and Flowers,’ ” Lane told Kahn. “I came here to win a pennant and that’s exactly what I intend to do any way I can.

“I’ve got a program here to keep the club growing and improving,” Lane said. “I want to tell the other general managers around the National League that, with our fine farm clubs, and with the tough core we’ve welded, I’m not going to have to jump at every little offer for a trade. If I see something good, though, they’d better be ready.”

Lane lasted two seasons with the Cardinals and didn’t win a pennant.

Prideful struggle

Four years later, in September 1960, Kahn wrote a story on Stan Musial for Sports Illustrated titled, “Benching of a Legend.”

Musial, 39, was hitting .250 when he was benched by Cardinals manager Solly Hemus. Musial was kept out of the starting lineup from May 27 through June 23. His season batting average fell to .229 on June 25, but Musial recovered by hitting .352 in July and finished the year at .275 with 17 home runs.

Musial “intends to end his career with dignity and with base hits,” Kahn wrote. “Neither comes easily to a ballplayer several years past his peak, and so to Musial, a man accustomed to ease and to humility, this has been a summer of agony and pride.”

Regarding Musial’s struggles in the first part of the season, Kahn concluded, “Athletes, like chorus girls, are usually the last to admit that age has affected them, and Musial appeared to be following the familiar unhappy pattern.”

In an interview with Kahn, Hemus said, “What’s my obligation as manager? It’s not to a friendship, no matter how much I like a guy. My obligation is to the organization that hired me and to 25 ballplayers. I have to win. Stan was hurting the club. He wasn’t hitting and balls were getting by him at first base.”

Kahn reported, “Musial hated the bench. He confided to a few friends that he wouldn’t mind being traded to a club that would play him every day.”

After returning to the starting lineup, Musial told Kahn, “Maybe my wheels are gone, but I’ll be able to hit like hell for a long time.”

Musial went on to play three more seasons for the Cardinals, including 1962 when he hit .330, before retiring at 42.

High praise

When “The Boys of Summer” came out in February 1972, it received a glowing review from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which called Kahn’s work “a magnificent sports volume” and “a book which is redolent of dream and magic and which finds a common ground between one boyhood in a big city and lots of boyhoods in many other places.”

In September 1972, when Kahn was in St. Louis for a Cubs-Cardinals series, columnist Jerome Holtzman wrote in The Sporting News, “A half-dozen ballplayers got into line to meet and shake hands with Roger Kahn, who was in town promoting his bestselling ‘Boys of Summer.’ I had never seen players line up to meet a writer, and Kahn said it was a big thrill for him.”

Pitching lessons

In 2000, Kahn’s book, “The Head Game,” was published. It focused on pitchers, including two who were prominent with the Cardinals, Bob Gibson and Bruce Sutter.

Gibson told Kahn, “Pitching is inexact. It begins as a craft, working with your hands, but the longer you go, if you know how to think, the more it becomes an art.”

To illustrate, Gibson cited how he threw fewer knockdown pitches as he gained experience.

“As the art, the thinking, takes over, I’ve come to realize not everyone is bothered by knockdowns and some of them are afraid of my fastball, whether I throw at them or not,” Gibson said.

Like Gibson, Sutter won head games with batters. A Cardinals closer, Sutter did it with an innovative pitch, the split-fingered fastball.

“It was some time before I could control the splitter the way I had to,” Sutter told Kahn. “After a while, I found out I did best throwing for the top of the catcher’s mask. That became my target. If I used a wide finger split, the ball would end up in the dirt. If I split the fingers a little less, it would be a strike at the knees.

“Once in a while,” said Sutter, “maybe one pitch in 10, to cross them up, I’d play real dirty. I’d throw a straight fastball that didn’t drop at all.”

Sutter was taught the split-fingered pitch by Cubs minor-league instructor and ex-Cardinals pitcher Fred Martin. Sutter told Kahn that he and Martin later taught the pitch to another ex-Cardinal, Roger Craig, who as a pitching coach and manager encouraged his pitchers to throw it.

“I was the guy who showed Roger Craig how to throw a splitter,” Sutter said to Kahn. “I was with the Cubs. Craig was pitching coach for San Diego. Fred Martin was there with me on the major league club that day, and on the sideline there I showed Roger how to throw it. Then Fred spent some time talking to him about it. I’m sure Roger came up with modifications, but it was Fred Martin and I who showed him the pitch.”

Read Full Post »

Top 5 Canadian Cardinals of all-time

Posted in Hitters, Pitchers on February 9, 2020| 5 Comments »

(Updated March 9, 2021)

The election of outfielder Larry Walker to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020 qualifies him as the top Canadian to play for the Cardinals.

Here’s a look at the five best Canadian Cardinals:

LARRY WALKER

Acquired from the Rockies on Aug. 6, 2004, Walker, 37, hit .280 in 44 games for the 2004 Cardinals. With a .393 on-base percentage, the right fielder helped the Cardinals win a division title.

In the 2004 postseason, Walker hit six home runs: two in the National League Division Series versus the Dodgers, two in the NL Championship Series against the Astros and two in the World Series versus the Red Sox.

In Game 1 at Fenway Park in Boston, Walker, appearing in a World Series for the first time, was 4-for-5, including two doubles and a home run, and two RBI. Boxscore

The Associated Press noted, “He hasn’t allowed the atmosphere to overwhelm him. He said he was most excited about seeing Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler, who sang ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,’ standing a few feet away from him.”

Born in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Walker became the second Canadian to hit a home run in a World Series game. The first was George Selkirk for the 1936 Yankees against the Giants.

In 2005, his final season, Walker hit .289 for the Cardinals. His .384 on-base percentage helped them qualify for the postseason again.

RON TAYLOR

A right-handed pitcher who could start and relieve, Taylor was 19-12 with 20 saves in three seasons (1963-65) with the Cardinals. His best pitches were a sinking fastball and slider.

Acquired from the Indians on Dec. 15, 1962, the Toronto native was a prominent member of the Cardinals’ staff in 1964 when they won a World Series title.

“As long as we have him in the bullpen, we’ll be well-fortified,” Cardinals consultant Branch Rickey told The Sporting News.

In the 1964 World Series against the Yankees, Taylor allowed no hits in 4.2 scoreless innings of relief.

Five years later, in the 1969 World Series for the Mets versus the Orioles, Taylor allowed no hits in 2.1 scoreless innings of relief.

His career statistics in the World Series: seven innings pitched, no hits, no runs and two saves.

Taylor, who earned a degree in engineering from the University of Toronto in 1961, enrolled in medical school after his playing career, graduated in 1977 and became the team physician of the Blue Jays in 1979.

REGGIE CLEVELAND

Born in Swift Current, Canada, the pitcher was 17 when he signed with the Cardinals as an amateur free agent in August 1965.

He made his Cardinals debut with a start against the Phillies on Oct. 1, 1969.

Cleveland lost his first six big-league decisions before outdueling Juan Marichal and beating the Giants at San Francisco on April 20, 1971.

Cleveland’s best season with the Cardinals was 1973 when he was 14-10 with a 3.01 ERA in 32 starts.

Though he threw right-handed, Cleveland used his left hand to eat, write and play other sports such as bowling and billiards.

“If somebody gave me a million dollars, I still couldn’t pitch left-handed,” Cleveland told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

In five seasons with the Cardinals, Cleveland was 40-41 with eight shutouts and 27 complete games.

RHEAL CORMIER

A left-handed pitcher, Cormier was chosen by the Cardinals in the sixth round of the amateur draft in 1988 when he was a member of the Canadian Olympic team.

A native of Moncton, Canada, he spent college summers working as a lumberjack.

Cormier played for the Cardinals for four seasons (1991-94). Appearing in 87 games, including 68 as a starter, he was 24-23.

His best Cardinals season was 1992 when he won his last seven decisions in a row and finished 10-10 in 30 starts. The winning streak was a relief for Cormier after he lost 10 of his first 13 decisions. He told the Post-Dispatch, “My wife and I were talking. She said we could be back in Canada chopping wood.”

TYLER O’NEILL

A native of Burnaby, Canada, O’Neill went to high school in Larry Walker’s hometown of Maple Ridge. In 1975, O’Neill’s father was named Mr. Canada for winning the nation’s bodybuilding championship.

O’Neill, who played the piano as a youth, is a power-hitting outfielder who bats right-handed.

Selected by the Mariners in the third round of the 2013 amateur draft, O’Neill was acquired by the Cardinals for pitcher Marco Gonzales on July 21, 2017.

In his first three seasons (2018-20) with the Cardinals, O’Neill had far more strikeouts (153) than hits (94), but the club remained intrigued by his slugging potential.

“I get overanxious and I swing at stuff I shouldn’t swing at,” O’Neill told the Post-Dispatch in January 2020. “When I’m in my groove, I’m not chasing nearly as much and I have the ability to play in this league and excel in this league.”

SPECIAL MENTION

_ Tip O’Neill: A native of Springfield, Canada, the outfielder never played for the Cardinals but he did play for their predecessors.

O’Neill spent seven seasons (1884-89 and 1891) with the St. Louis Browns of the American Association, a major league at the time. The American Association Browns were unrelated to the St. Louis Browns of the American League. In 1892, the American Association Browns joined the National League and eventually were renamed the Cardinals.

O’Neill, a right-handed batter, hit .344 during his St. Louis years, with an on-base percentage of .406.

_ Dave McKay: The Vancouver native was a Cardinals coach for 16 seasons (1996-2011) and helped them win three pennants and two World Series titles. His son, Cody McKay, also a Canadian, was a Cardinals utility player in 2004.

_ Stubby Clapp: A native of Windsor, Canada, Clapp became a Cardinals coach in 2019 after a successful stint as a manager in their farm system. Clapp managed Memphis to consecutive Pacific Coast League titles in 2017 and 2018.

His big-league playing career consisted of 23 games as a utility player for the Cardinals in 2001.

_ April 14, 1969: The Cardinals faced the Expos at Montreal in the first regular-season big-league game played outside the United States.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »