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Cardinals to Jim Bouton: Hats off on World Series effort

Posted in Games, Opponents, Pitchers on July 21, 2019| 6 Comments »

Before he became a celebrated author with “Ball Four,” Jim Bouton was a power pitcher whose cap flew off with nearly every delivery.

In 1964, Bouton made two starts for the Yankees against the Cardinals in the World Series and won both.

The Cardinals won the championship, but Bouton impressed with his ability to produce on the big stage. He was the first pitcher to earn two wins in a World Series versus the Cardinals since the Yankees’ Spud Chandler in 1943.

Stubbornly effective

Bouton, 25, was 18-13 with a 3.02 ERA for the 1964 Yankees. The right-hander led the team in wins, starts (37) and innings pitched (271.1).

For the first two World Series games in St. Louis, Yankees manager Yogi Berra started ailing ace Whitey Ford, who lost, and rookie Mel Stottlemyre, who won. Bouton was the starter for Game 3 at Yankee Stadium and was matched against Curt Simmons.

In his book “October 1964,” author David Halberstam called Game 3 “probably the best played and best pitched game of the series.”

Played on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 10, 1964, before 67,101 spectators, the game became a duel between Bouton and Simmons.

Bouton threw “virtually straight overhanded with his delivery and his forearm brushed the back of his cap, sending it sailing,” the Sporting News noted.

Said Berra: “We’ve tried a dozen different caps on him, and he wears a small, tight one now, but it doesn’t do any good.”

The Yankees got a run in the second on Clete Boyer’s RBI-double and the Cardinals tied the score, 1-1, on a RBI-single by Simmons in the fifth.

After retiring the Cardinals in order in three of the first four innings, Bouton worked out of multiple jams. The Cardinals loaded the bases in the sixth with two outs, but Mike Shannon grounded into a forceout. In the seventh, Dal Maxvill led off with a double and moved to third on Simmons’ sacrifice, but Curt Flood and Lou Brock stranded him.

“Bouton was keeping the ball away from me good,” Flood said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Said Brock: “I was out in front of this guy all day. I never do this … I hit the ball off the end of the bat all four times.”

In the ninth, Tim McCarver led off and reached on an error by shortstop Phil Linz. Shannon’s sacrifice bunt moved McCarver to second. Carl Warwick, batting for Maxvill, walked, but Bouton retired Bob Skinner and Flood.

Barney Schultz relieved Simmons in the bottom of the ninth and Mickey Mantle walloped his first pitch, a knuckleball, into the upper deck in right for a walkoff home run and a 2-1 Yankees victory. Boxscore

Bouton threw 123 pitches in what the New York Daily News described as a “stubborn pitching performance.” Video highlights at 1:30 mark

Under pressure

The Cardinals won Games 4 and 5 at Yankee Stadium. Back in St. Louis with a chance to clinch the title in Game 6 on Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 14, 1964, the Cardinals started Simmons in a rematch with Bouton, who welcomed the challenge.

“Far more than most baseball players, he was an adrenaline player, and he liked pitching under this kind of pressure,” said Halberstam. “He loved being the center of attention and being given the ball in a game this big.”

When Flood and Brock opened the bottom of the first with singles, it was a wakeup call for Bouton, who said, “I had to stop and boot myself in the fanny. Those hits kind of shook me up.”

Bouton got the next batter, Bill White, to ground into a double play. Flood scored from third, but Bouton settled down.

In the fifth, Bouton lined a single over the head of shortstop Dick Groat, driving in Tom Tresh from third and tying the score at 1-1.

The game turned in the sixth when Roger Maris and Mantle hit back-to-back home runs against Simmons, giving the Yankees a 3-1 lead.

In the seventh, Bouton told Berra to get a reliever ready because his right shoulder was getting tight. The Yankees extended their lead in the eighth, scoring five times. The big hit was a grand slam by Joe Pepitone against Gordon Richardson.

Bouton yielded a run in the eighth and another in the ninth. He went 8.1 innings before being relieved by Steve Hamilton, and the Yankees won, 8-3. Boxscore  and Video highlights at 1:45 mark

Cardinals slugger Ken Boyer said Bouton “kept the ball low and away all afternoon, and, if he missed the plate, he barely missed it.”

Jim and Joe

Bouton’s career took a downturn the next year. He developed a sore arm, posted records of 4-15 in 1965 and 3-8 in 1966, and was dropped from the starting rotation.

The Yankees sold Bouton’s contract to the Seattle Pilots, who joined the American League as an expansion team in 1969. The Pilots’ manager was Joe Schultz, who was a Cardinals coach from 1963-68 after managing in their farm system.

Schultz, a round, balding, good-natured baseball lifer, became a central character in “Ball Four.” Two samples of Bouton’s musings:

_ “Joe Schultz stopped by again today to say a kind word. I noticed he was making it his business to say something each day to most of the guys. He may look like Nikita Khrushchev, but it means a lot anyway. I’m sure most of us here feel like leftovers and outcasts and marginal players and it doesn’t hurt when the manager massages your ego a bit.”

_ “After the game, Joe Schultz said, ‘Attaway to stomp on ’em, men. Pound that Budweiser into you and go get ’em tomorrow.’ Then he spotted John Gelnar sucking out of a pop bottle. ‘For crissakes, Gelnar,’ Joe said, ‘You’ll never get them out drinking Dr. Pepper.’ ”

Fitting in

Bouton was 2-1 with a save and a 3.91 ERA in 57 appearances for the Pilots. On Aug. 24, 1969, they traded him to the Astros for pitchers Dooley Womack and Roric Harrison.

Two nights later, on Aug. 26, 1969, Bouton made his National League debut, relieving Larry Dierker and pitching a scoreless eighth against the Cardinals at St. Louis. Bouton retired Shannon on a groundout and Julian Javier on a pop-up before striking out Maxvill on a 3-and-2 knuckleball.

“The knuckleball was a doll,” Bouton said.

When Bouton got to the dugout, Astros pitching coach Jim Owens asked him why he threw a knuckleball with the count full.

“I told him that first time around I want to earn a little respect,” Bouton said. “I want everyone to know that I’m liable to throw that pitch in any situation … I want them to know that they can’t count on getting the fastball.” Boxscore

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Roger Freed vs. John Denny: Cardinals’ feathers ruffled

Posted in Games, Hitters, Pitchers on July 4, 2019| 4 Comments »

Credible journalists adhere to a self-imposed policy of no cheering in the press box. John Denny wanted his Cardinals teammates to do the same in the dugout.

On July 1, 1979, Denny got into an animated argument with teammate Roger Freed, whose rah-rah spirit annoyed the Cardinals’ pitcher.

Manager Ken Boyer intervened before Freed and Denny exchanged punches.

After the game, Freed was demoted to the minor leagues, though the Cardinals said the decision wasn’t related to the flareup with Denny.

Pipe down

Denny and Dick Ruthven of the Phillies were the starting pitchers in the first game of the Sunday doubleheader at St. Louis.

In the first inning, Denny walked three batters, loading the bases, before yielding a three-run triple to Garry Maddox and a RBI-single to Manny Trillo.

After getting the third out of the inning, Denny, who hadn’t won since May 15, was in a foul mood as he headed off the field.

In the dugout, Freed, who wasn’t in the lineup, was “trying to rally the troops,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported, and loudly urged his teammates to fight back from the 4-0 deficit. When Denny got to the dugout, the clatter caused by the fiery Freed got on his nerves.

“John told everybody on the bench to shut up,” Freed said.

Freed told Denny, “I’ll say what I want to say.”

Denny and Freed got into a heated discussion. “Boyer and a couple of players stepped in to prevent push from becoming shove,” the Post-Dispatch reported.

Said Boyer: “Roger is a pretty strong man. I didn’t want him breaking Denny’s jaw.” Though Boyer didn’t take sides in the dispute, he noted Denny had a reputation for being moody and “guys who have been around long enough should know to lay off him.”

Denny declined comment to the Post-Dispatch.

Moving on

While Denny held the Phillies scoreless over the next five innings, the Cardinals came back against Ruthven, getting three runs in the third and one in the sixth to tie the score at 4-4.

In the seventh, the Phillies scored twice against Denny, taking a 6-4 lead, but the Cardinals responded with three runs off Warren Brusstar in the bottom half of the inning to go ahead, 7-6.

The Cardinals prevailed, 13-7, with the win going to reliever Mark Littell. Boxscore

After the game, the Cardinals demoted Freed to Springfield to open a roster spot for Game 2 starting pitcher Roy Thomas, who had been in the minors. Thomas was throwing in the bullpen when Boyer informed Freed he was being optioned.

“Roger sat on the bench, staring into space in deep shock,” according to the Philadelphia Daily News.

Freed told the Post-Dispatch, “I don’t deserve it … It hurts.”

A right-handed batter who primarily was used as a pinch-hitter, Freed returned to the Cardinals on July 11, got sent back to Springfield two weeks later and was recalled again when big-league rosters expanded in September.

In 1977, his first season with the Cardinals after stints with the Orioles, Phillies, Reds and Expos, Freed hit .398 (33-for-83), including .421 versus left-handers. He dropped to .239 in 1978, but hit .379 (11-for-29) as a pinch-hitter.

Freed got 31 at-bats with the 1979 Cardinals, hit .258, including a walkoff grand slam, and was released on April 2, 1980.

After finishing the 1979 season with an 8-11 record and 4.85 ERA, Denny was traded by the Cardinals to the Indians for outfielder Bobby Bonds.

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How Jose Jimenez baffled the Diamondbacks

Posted in Games, Opponents, Pitchers on June 19, 2019| 6 Comments »

In their two matchups against one another, Randy Johnson, as expected, pitched like a Hall of Famer, but Jose Jimenez unexpectedly was better.

On June 25, 1999, Jimenez pitched a no-hitter for the Cardinals, beating Johnson and the Diamondbacks, 1-0, at Phoenix.

Two weeks later, on July 5, 1999, Jimenez pitched a two-hitter, beating Johnson and the Diamondbacks, 1-0, at St. Louis.

The outcomes were surprising because the Diamondbacks led the National League in runs scored in 1999 and Jimenez was battered by nearly every other opponent.

Prized prospect

Jimenez, a right-hander from the Dominican Republic, signed as an amateur free agent with the Cardinals in October 1991 when he was 18. He spent his first three seasons as a professional in the Dominican Summer League before the Cardinals brought him to the United States in 1995 to pitch in their minor-league system.

His breakout season in the minors occurred with Class AA Arkansas in 1998 when he was 15-6 in 26 starts. Jimenez credited Arkansas pitching coach Rich Folkers, a former Cardinals reliever, with helping him develop an effective sinker, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

The Cardinals rewarded Jimenez by bringing him to the big leagues in September 1998. After making his major-league debut in relief against the Reds, Jimenez made three starts and was the winning pitcher in each, beating the Pirates and Brewers on the road and the Expos at home.

With his 3-0 record and 2.95 ERA in four appearances for the 1998 Cardinals, Jimenez was regarded a special prospect. When the Cardinals tried to acquire second baseman Fernando Vina from the Brewers after the 1998 season, they were told they’d have to give up Jimenez and pitcher Manny Aybar, according to the Post-Dispatch. The Cardinals declined.

Mix and match

Jimenez, 25, opened the 1999 season as a Cardinals starter, but the success he experienced in 1998 didn’t carry over.

He entered his June start at Phoenix with a 3-7 record and 6.69 ERA. Matched against Johnson, the left-hander who was at the peak of his Hall of Fame career, the game figured to be lopsided in favor of the Diamondbacks.

The Diamondbacks led the National League in hitting at .287 coming into the game.

Relying on a mix of pitches, Jimenez was in command from the start.

“I was throwing very well,” he said to the Arizona Republic. “I was hitting my spots. I’ve been working on my mechanics, my sinker.”

Said Diamondbacks outfielder Luis Gonzalez: “His fastball was moving really well. His changeup was effective. He was nasty.”

Jimenez yielded a one-out walk to Steve Finley in the second, but the next batter grounded into a double play. In the third, Jimenez hit Andy Fox with a pitch, but retired the next two batters to end the inning.

“All his pitches were working to all parts of the plate,” said Cardinals manager Tony La Russa.

Dueling shutouts

In the sixth, Fox hit a drive to right-center, but right fielder Eric Davis reached down, snared the sinking liner and held onto the ball as he rolled onto the ground.

The Diamondbacks got their last baserunner in the seventh when Gonzalez drew a one-out walk, but Jimenez coaxed the next batter to ground into a double play.

“His ball was moving all over the place,” Johnson said. “He was in control. He made a lot of our hitters frustrated.”

Johnson was tough on the Cardinals as well. He retired the first nine batters in a row before Joe McEwing led off the fourth with a double. The Cardinals got doubles from Edgar Renteria in the fifth and David Howard in the sixth, but couldn’t score.

In the ninth, with the game scoreless, Johnson issued one-out walks to Darren Bragg and Mark McGwire. After Davis struck out, Thomas Howard hit a broken-bat single to left, scoring Bragg.

Flying high

In the bottom of the ninth, Fox led off and struck out. David Dellucci batted for Johnson and looped a liner toward right-center.

“I thought it would drop in,” Dellucci said.

Davis darted toward the ball, caught it near his shoe tops, tumbled and held on for the out.

“I know he’s a good outfielder,” said Dellucci, a teammate of Davis in 1997 with the Orioles. “Anybody else, it might have been in there.”

Jimenez completed the no-hitter by getting Tony Womack to ground out to second. [Boxscore and video of last out]

“This is something special,” Jimenez said. “I feel great. I feel like I want to fly.”

The no-hitter was the first by a Cardinal since Bob Forsch accomplished the feat against the Expos on Sept. 26, 1983.

Jimenez struck out eight. Johnson, who yielded five hits and two walks, struck out 14. Video of game

Snake bit

Jimenez got one more win for the Cardinals. When the Diamondbacks came to St. Louis, he retired the first 13 batters in order before Finley doubled with one out in the fifth. The only other hit Jimenez allowed was a single by Fox in the sixth.

Once again, Thomas Howard drove in the lone run. His single against Johnson scored McGwire from second with two outs in the fourth.

Jimenez walked one and struck out nine. Johnson gave up four hits and four walks, striking out 12. Boxscore

Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan said Jimenez “was relaxed and let it all flow. When he has pitched good, that’s the way he has looked.”

Jimenez never found the groove again with the Cardinals. He finished the 1999 season with a 5-14 record and 5.85 ERA. He was 2-0 versus the Diamondbacks and 3-14 against everyone else.

On Nov. 16, 1999, the Cardinals traded three pitchers _ Jimenez, Aybar and Rich Croushore _ and infielder Brent Butler to the Rockies for pitchers Darryl Kile, Dave Veres and Luther Hackman.

The Rockies made Jimenez a reliever and in four seasons with them he was 15-23 with 102 saves and a 4.13 ERA. He had 41 saves for the 2002 Rockies.

Jimenez became a free agent after the 2003 season, signed with the Indians and finished his big-league career with them in 2004.

In seven big-league seasons, Jimenez was 24-44 with 110 saves and a 4.92 ERA.

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Bill Buckner vs. Al Hrabosky: Showdown in St. Louis

Posted in Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers on June 7, 2019| 4 Comments »

On a sultry Sunday in St. Louis, Bill Buckner handled the high heat of Al Hrabosky.

Buckner played 22 seasons in the major leagues, primarily as a first baseman, and was a premier hitter, winning a National League batting title in 1980 and generating a career total of 2,715 hits. A left-handed batter with a .289 career average, Buckner never struck out more than 39 times in a season.

Though widely known for an error at first base in the 10th inning of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series that enabled the Mets to score the winning run against the Red Sox, Buckner played his first 16 seasons in the National League, with the Dodgers and Cubs, and produced 172 hits in 173 career games against the Cardinals.

Perhaps his most prominent at-bat versus the Cardinals came on July 3, 1977, against Hrabosky, the left-handed reliever known as the “Mad Hungarian.”

Pitchers prevail

The game between the Cubs and Cardinals was played on what the Chicago Tribune described as a “hot, humid Mississippi River afternoon” on the steamy artifical turf surface at Busch Memorial Stadium.

Starting pitchers Rick Reuschel of the Cubs and Eric Rasmussen of the Cardinals were in top form.

The game was scoreless when Reuschel was forced to depart with two outs in the seventh inning because of a blister on his pitching hand. Bruce Sutter relieved, walked the first batter he faced, Ken Reitz, loading the bases, and struck out Jerry Mumphrey to end the threat.

In the eighth, Sutter, batting with one out and the bases empty, singled against Rasmussen for his first major-league hit.

“Now that I’ve got my hitting stroke down, anything can happen,” Sutter said.

After Ivan De Jesus popped out to first baseman Keith Hernandez for the second out, Greg Gross singled to right, advancing Sutter to third. According to the Chicago Tribune, Sutter barely beat Reitz’s tag at third and was jolted so hard “the spikes were knocked out of his shoes.”

With Buckner up next, Cardinals manager Vern Rapp called for Hrabosky to relieve Rasmussen.

Fastball hitter

Before delivering a pitch to Buckner, Hrabosky went into his “Mad Hungarian” routine, turning his back on the batter and doing a self-psyching meditation before pounding the ball into his mitt and whirling around to face his foe.

Herman Franks, in his first season as Cubs manager, said to the Associated Press, “I’d never seen that ‘Mad Russian’ act before. That’s got to be embarrasing when it doesn’t work.”

After Hrabosky got ahead on the count, 1-and-2, catcher Ted Simmons went to the mound and urged him to throw a pitch down and away to Buckner, hoping he’d chase it and strike out, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Instead, the ball bounced to the plate and Simmons blocked it to keep Sutter from scoring from third.

Buckner looked for a fastball on the next pitch, got it and lined it into the right-field seats for a three-run home run. The Cubs added a run in the ninth against Rawly Eastwick and won, 4-0. Boxscore

The home run was Buckner’s second of the season.

“Most of my homers this season have gone foul,” he said, “but I was ready for this fastball and got it just right.”

Buckner’s two best seasons against the Cardinals were in 1980 and 1983 with the Cubs. In 1980, he batted .313 versus the Cardinals, with 21 hits in 17 games, and in 1983 his batting average against them was .359, with 28 hits in 18 games.

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Why Cardinals put out welcome mat for 3 defectors

Posted in Games, Hitters, Pitchers on June 4, 2019| 2 Comments »

(Updated April 11, 2026)

After saying adios to the Cardinals, pitchers Max Lanier and Fred Martin and infielder Lou Klein returned from exile three years later and helped the club challenge the Dodgers in a down-to-the-wire National League pennant race.

On June 5, 1949, baseball commissioner Happy Chandler granted amnesty to 18 major-league players and six minor-leaguers who defected to the Mexican League, lifting their five-year bans and allowing them to apply for reinstatement to professional baseball in the United States.

The trio of Cardinals who defected _ Lanier, Martin and Klein _ all asked to come back and the Cardinals agreed.

“They’ve been punished enough and we’ll be glad to give them a chance to prove they’re still major leaguers,” Cardinals manager Eddie Dyer said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Crossing the border

In 1946, Lanier, Martin and Klein broke their contracts with the Cardinals and jumped to the rival Mexican League in pursuit of more lucrative salaries. Chandler banned them all from returning to professional baseball in the U.S. for five years.

In addition to the three Cardinals, the most prominent defectors were Giants pitcher Sal Maglie and Dodgers catcher and former Cardinal Mickey Owen.

Lanier, Martin and another defector, Giants outfielder Danny Gardella, filed lawsuits against Major League Baseball, challenging the legality of the reserve clause that bound a player to the team holding his contract.

In explaining why he lifted the bans on the defectors, Chandler said he decided “to temper justice with mercy,” United Press reported.

Roster revamp

On the day Chandler granted amnesty, the Cardinals beat the Braves, improving their record to 23-19 and putting them 1.5 games behind the first-place Giants. The Cardinals figured to get a boost from the three Mexican League refugees.

Lanier, 33, was a left-handed pitcher who debuted with the Cardinals in 1938 and developed into a consistent winner. He posted records of 15-7 in 1943 and 17-12 in 1944 for pennant-winning Cardinals clubs. His ERA of 1.90 in 1943 was best in the National League. Lanier also was the winning pitcher for the Cardinals against the Browns in the Game 6 championship clincher of the 1944 World Series.

In 1946, Lanier was 6-0 with a 1.93 ERA for the Cardinals when he joined Martin and Klein in bolting to the Mexican League in May. In the book “Redbirds Revisited,” Lanier said his Cardinals salary was for $10,500. The Mexican League offered him a $25,000 signing bonus, plus a five-year contract for $20,000 per year. “You didn’t need to be a brain to see how much more that was than what the Cardinals were paying me,” Lanier said.

Martin, 33, was a right-handed pitcher who was 2-1 with a 4.08 ERA as a Cardinals rookie in 1946. ‘He knew how to pitch,” Cardinals outfielder Stan Musial told writer Roger Kahn. “Not the greatest fastball, but he was smart.”

Klein, 30, was a second baseman who debuted with the Cardinals in 1943 and had a big rookie season (.287 with 180 hits). In 1946, he was the Cardinals’ Opening Day second baseman before he slumped and was replaced by Red Schoendienst.

Dyer envisioned Lanier as a starter for the 1949 Cardinals, with Martin in the bullpen and Klein backing up Schoendienst and shortstop Marty Marion.

“I don’t know of any player on the club who holds anything against them and won’t be happy to see them come back,” Musial said to the St. Louis Star-Times.

Helping hands

All three prodigal Cardinals helped the club in 1949. Lanier won five consecutive decisions between Aug. 28 and Sept. 21. Martin, who moved into the starting rotation, was 3-0 in August and 2-0 in September. Klein batted .323 with runners in scoring position.

In August 1949, Lanier and Martin dropped their antitrust suit against Organized Baseball. Two months later, Gardella also discontinued his lawsuit and signed with the Cardinals as a free agent.

On Sept. 20, 1949, after Martin improved his record to 6-0 with a win against the Phillies, the Cardinals were in first place, 1.5 games ahead of the Dodgers. Boxscore

The next day, Sept. 21, 1949, the Dodgers and Cardinals played a doubleheader at St. Louis. Lanier pitched a five-hit shutout in the opener and the Cardinals won, 1-0. Boxscore

The Dodgers won the second game, 5-0, behind the pitching of Preacher Roe, a former Cardinal, and a two-run triple by Luis Olmo, one of the defectors to the Mexican League who was allowed back. Boxscore.

After losing five of their next seven, the Cardinals went into the last day of the regular season a game behind the first-place Dodgers.

The Cardinals won their finale, 13-5 versus the Cubs at Chicago, but the Dodgers also won, beating the Phillies, 9-7, at Philadelphia on 10th-inning RBI-singles by Olmo and Duke Snider, and clinched the pennant. Boxscore

As for the trio who came back to the Cardinals from Mexico:

_ Lanier had a son, Hal Lanier, who became a major-league infielder for the Giants and Yankees, a coach with the Cardinals from 1981-85 and manager of the Astros from 1986-88.

_ Martin became a Cubs pitching instructor and taught the split-fingered pitch to prospect Bruce Sutter, who went on to a Hall of Fame career highlighted by his stint with the 1982 World Series champion Cardinals. In an interview for the 2006 Hall of Fame yearbook, Sutter said, “It was just a stroke of luck that I ran into Fred Martin. He just said, ‘Try this pitch. It’s a pitch you don’t have to rotate your wrist or twist your elbow.’ It came to me right away.”

_ Klein managed the Cubs for parts of 1961-62 and 1965.

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Mudcat Grant was music man of Cardinals bullpen

Posted in Games, Pitchers, Trades on June 1, 2019| 11 Comments »

Mudcat Grant began the 1969 season as the top starting pitcher for the Expos and ended it as the top right-handed relief pitcher for the Cardinals.

On June 3, 1969, the Expos traded Grant to the Cardinals for pitcher Gary Waslewski.

Grant, 33, preferred to start but the Cardinals needed bullpen help.

As a reliever, Grant appeared in 27 games for the 1969 Cardinals and was 6-3 with seven saves and a 3.22 ERA. In three starts, he was 1-2 with a 7.62 ERA. Overall, in 30 appearances for the 1969 Cardinals, Grant was 7-5 with a 4.12 ERA.

“Our bullpen did OK once we got Mudcat Grant,” Cardinals pitching coach Billy Muffett said to The Sporting News.

Pointing to his forehead, Muffett added, “He has it up here.”

Name game

James Timothy Grant was at a Cleveland Indians minor-league camp in Daytona Beach when a colleague, mistakenly assuming the Florida native was from Mississippi, began calling him Mudcat, according to the Society for American Baseball Research.

The nickname stuck like Mississippi mud on a catfish’s whiskers.

Grant made his major-league debut with the Indians in 1958 and got traded to the Twins in 1964. He had his best season in 1965, posting a 21-7 record, and made three starts in the World Series against the Dodgers. Grant won Game 1 and Game 6 and lost Game 4.

In November 1967, the Twins traded Grant to the Dodgers and they converted him from a starter to a reliever. Grant did well in the role. As a reliever, Grant appeared in 33 games for the 1968 Dodgers and was 5-2 with three saves and a 1.80 ERA. He also made four starts. Overall, in 37 appearances for the 1968 Dodgers, Grant was 6-4 with a 2.08 ERA.

Playing our song

The Expos selected Grant in the National League expansion draft and wanted him to be a starter. “Mudcat will win more games than any pitcher ever on a first-year expansion team,” Expos manager Gene Mauch predicted to the Montreal Gazette.

Grant impressed by yielding one earned run in spring training and was chosen to start the Expos’ first regular-season game on April 8, 1969, against the Mets at New York. Matched against Tom Seaver, Grant lasted 1.1 innings, surrendering three runs, but the Expos won, 11-10. Boxscore

Grant, a professional singer who toured with the group, “Mudcat and the Kittens,” said he planned to open a discotheque in downtown Montreal. “I’ve been in a lot of countries and a lot of states, but I’ve never felt as free as I feel right here in Montreal,” he said.

Though his record for the Expos was 1-6 with a 4.80 ERA, Grant “made a big impression” with Cardinals scout Bob Kennedy, who recommended the club acquire him to bolster the bullpen, The Sporting News reported.

Initially, Grant was displeased with the trade. “I’ll have to go back to the bullpen and I don’t dig that,” he said to the Montreal Gazette.

Grant told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “All pitchers prefer to start. Man, that’s where the action is.”

Action man

Grant got decisions in his first three relief appearances for the Cardinals.

In his Cardinals debut, on June 7, 1969, at Houston, Grant relieved Ray Washburn in the seventh inning with the score tied at 2-2, yielded a two-run single to former Cardinal Johnny Edwards and was the losing pitcher in a 4-2 Astros victory. Boxscore

On June 11, 1969, Grant pitched seven innings in relief of starter Mike Torrez and was the winning pitcher in the Cardinals’ 10-5 triumph over the Reds at Cincinnati. Boxscore

Grant’s third Cardinals appearance was June 19, 1969, versus the Expos at St. Louis and he got the win with 5.1 scoreless innings in relief of Washburn in a 5-3 Cardinals victory. Boxscore

Six days later, Grant started the second game of a doubleheader against the Expos at Montreal, pitched a complete game and got the win in an 8-3 Cardinals triumph.

Grant was “loudly booed” by the crowd of 28,819 at Jarry Park, the Post-Dispatch reported. After the game, as Grant walked near the stands, a spectator threw a cup of beer in his face and Grant retaliated

“I let him have a Joe Frazier right-cross right on the back of the ear,” Grant said. “I buckled him.” Boxscore

After losing each of his next two starts, to the Cubs and Mets, Grant returned to a relief role.

That’s entertainment

Grant made as big a splash in St. Louis with his singing as he did his pitching. On July 12, 1969, Grant performed at an event sponsored by the St. Louis Pinch-Hitters, wives and friends of Cardinals players, before more than 1,200 people at the Stouffer’s Riverfront Inn.

Under the headline, “Mudcat Grant Steals Show At Ball-B-Que,” the Post-Dispatch reported Grant performed solo and did numbers such as “I’m Going To Sit Right Down and Write Myself A Letter,” and “If I Had A Hammer.”

Four nights later, on Teen Night at Busch Stadium, Grant sang with the Bob Kuban band before a July 16 game. Video of Mudcat Grant singing “Wonderful World” at 2011 memorial for Harmon Killebrew

Grant’s best month with the 1969 Cardinals was August when he was 2-1 with a save and a 2.19 ERA. In September, he had five saves.

“Mudcat is sneaky out there,” said Cardinals catcher Tim McCarver. “He showed me he knows the hitters and he showed me he likes to pitch.”

On Dec. 5, 1969, the Cardinals sold Grant’s contract to the Athletics for what The Sporting News described as “considerably in excess of” the $25,000 waiver price. The move backfired on the Cardinals. In 1970, pitching for the Athletics and Pirates, Grant made 80 appearances and was 8-3 with 24 saves and a 1.86 ERA.

Grant played 14 seasons in the big leagues for the Indians, Twins, Dodgers, Expos, Cardinals, Athletics and Pirates, producing a 145-119 record and 3.63 ERA.

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