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How Cardinals put Sal Maglie on new career path

Posted in Games, Pitchers, Trades on June 15, 2018| Leave a Comment »

(Updated Jan. 10, 2025)

The Cardinals became a bridge for Sal Maglie, enabling him to transition from being a pitcher to a coach.

On June 14, 1958, the Cardinals acquired Maglie from the Yankees for minor-league pitcher Joe McClain and $20,000.

Maglie was nicknamed The Barber “for the close shaves he gave hitters with high and tight pitches designed to intimidate,” according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

With a scowl and heavy, dark stubble, the sight of Maglie glaring at batters from the mound “resembles Jack Dempsey stepping into the ring,” Bob Broeg wrote.

“When I throw at a guy, I put it right here,” Maglie said, swiping his hand under his chin, “so he can’t hit it, but I never throw to hit a man.”

Maglie, 41, was past his prime when the Cardinals got him to be a spot starter, but he still was a prominent name and his acquisition attracted attention.

Traveling man

Maglie reached the major leagues in 1945 with the Giants and was mentored by pitching coach Dolf Luque. The next year, Maglie jumped to the Mexican League, even though it meant he would be banned from returning to the major leagues.

In Mexico, Maglie’s manager with the Puebla Parrots was Luque, who taught him a variety of curveballs. Described by Broeg as “chorus girl curves,” Maglie’s assortment ranged from slow and sweeping to sharp and darting.

After pitching in Mexico in 1946 and 1947, Maglie returned to the United States and played in 1948 for a barnstorming team of former major-leaguers against semipro clubs. In 1949, Maglie pitched in an independent pro league in Canada.

When baseball commissioner Happy Chandler lifted the ban on players who defected to the Mexican League, Maglie, 33, rejoined the Giants and thrived, compiling records of 18-4 in 1950, 23-6 in 1951 and 18-8 in 1952.

In the book “We Would Have Played For Nothing,” Dodgers pitcher Carl Erskine said, ‘I always admired Maglie … When he walked out on the mound, you knew who was in charge. No question … He had the sharpest, latest breaking curveball I ever saw. It would come right up under your arm, almost, and ‘shoom’ across the plate … He threw at hitters a lot to keep guys pushed back because he’s breaking the ball away all the time.”

Maglie pitched for the Giants (1945 and 1950-55), Indians (1955-56), Dodgers (1956-57) and Yankees (1957-58) before joining the Cardinals. He was the last player to appear with the Giants, Dodgers and Yankees while all three were based in New York.

(Don Drysdale, who was a rookie when Maglie joined the Dodgers in May 1956, told writer Roger Kahn, “I learned more from Sal than from any single individual.”)

Maglie pitched in three World Series and was the hard-luck Dodgers starter who opposed Don Larsen when he pitched a perfect game for the Yankees in 1956.

When the Cardinals acquired him, Maglie had a career record of 117-56 and his winning percentage of .678 was the best among active pitchers.

Good start

Maglie was 1-1 with a 4.63 ERA when Yankees manager Casey Stengel summoned him into his office and informed him he was being sent to St. Louis.

“I told him it was my fault because I didn’t produce for him when he gave me the chance,” Maglie told The Sporting News. “I’m the kind of fellow who has to work regularly to make the ball break the way I want it to and also to have control.”

Cardinals general manager Bing Devine said, “We expect to be able to give him more work than the Yankees could.”

Maglie was dealing with dental issues and an income tax problem when the trade was made. The Cardinals approved his request to resolve those situations and to drive his family from New York to their home in Niagara Falls before reporting to the team.

Maglie made his first appearance for the Cardinals in a June 22 start against the Braves at Milwaukee. He pitched seven innings and earned the win in a 2-1 Cardinals victory. Boxscore

In his second start, on June 28 at Philadelphia, Maglie won again, pitching a complete game against the Phillies in an 8-1 Cardinals triumph. Maglie had a shutout until Carl Sawatski hit a home run with one out in the ninth. Boxscore

Barber trimmed

Maglie left the Cardinals in July to be with his wife, who had surgery for cancer. When he returned, he wasn’t the same. After posting a 2-0 record and 1.12 ERA for the Cardinals in June, Maglie was 0-3 with a 6.48 ERA in July and 0-3 with a 6.20 ERA in August.

“First, my teeth bothered me. Then my wife became desperately ill,” Maglie said. “It wasn’t the physical or mental environment in which to win.”

Maglie finished with a 2-6 record and 4.75 ERA in 10 starts for the Cardinals.

“I feel I have another year of big-league pitching in me,” Maglie told columnist Dick Young.

Maglie reported to spring training with the Cardinals in 1959, hoping to impress manager Solly Hemus, but he yielded seven runs in the eighth inning of an exhibition game against the Phillies.

Maglie was released, but the Cardinals weren’t done with him.

Teaching role

On April 13, 1959, the Cardinals hired Maglie to be their minor-league pitching instructor. Asked which prospects impressed him, Maglie cited Bob Gibson. “All he needs is to improve his changeup to go with his speed,” Maglie said.

In June, Cal Browning, a minor-league left-hander, credited Maglie with correcting a flaw in his leg motion. In August, Bob Miller was called up to the Cardinals and said Maglie “helped me a lot with my breaking stuff.”

Reflecting on his season as Cardinals minor-league instructor, Maglie said, “I couldn’t concentrate on a player or a problem for more than three or four days at a time. No sooner would I get into a town than I’d have to leave for another. The kids did what I told them to do as long as I watched them, but slipped into their old ways as soon as I left.”

Maglie became Red Sox pitching coach in 1960 and was in that role in 1967 when Boston produced the American League Cy Young Award winner, Jim Lonborg, won the pennant and advanced to the World Series against the Cardinals. However, Maglie clashed with manager Dick Williams and was fired.

In 1969, Joe Schultz, who’d been a minor-league manager in the Cardinals system when Maglie was minor-league pitching instructor, became manager of the Seattle Pilots and hired Maglie to be pitching coach.

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Steve Carlton learned to hit long ball with Cardinals

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers on June 12, 2018| 6 Comments »

In the Year of the Pitcher, Steve Carlton showed he could hit as well as pitch for the Cardinals.

On June 13, 1968, Carlton hit his first home run in the major leagues, and allowed one run in eight innings, leading the Cardinals to a 3-1 victory over the Braves at Atlanta.

Carlton’s home run was the first by a Cardinals pitcher since Bob Gibson hit one against Jim Lonborg of the Red Sox in Game 7 of the 1967 World Series and the first by a St. Louis pitcher in the regular season since Larry Jaster accomplished the feat on Sept. 23, 1966, against Larry Jackson of the Phillies.

Mistake pitch

The 1968 season became known as the Year of the Pitcher because a mere six major-league players batted .300 or better and the sport was dominated by the likes of Gibson (1.12 ERA, 13 shutouts, 268 strikeouts), the Giants’ Juan Marichal (26 wins, 30 complete games), the Tigers’ Denny McLain (31 wins, 28 complete games) and the Indians’ Luis Tiant (1.60 ERA, nine shutouts).

Carlton, 23, was developing into a premier pitcher. The left-hander would finish the 1968 season with a 13-11 record, 2.99 ERA and five shutouts.

He also was showing an ability to handle the bat.

Carlton, a left-handed batter, had three hits in his last three at-bats entering his start against the Braves and his batting average was .233.

In the third inning, in his first at-bat of the game, Carlton hit an 0-and-2 fastball from Braves starter Ken Johnson over the wall in right-center.

“The pitch was right down the middle with nothing on it,” Johnson said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I tried to go inside with that pitch and I figured on coming back with a knuckleball. Carlton hit a pitch that my two sons, both pitchers, wouldn’t make in Little League.”

Carlton said he never hit a home run in the minor leagues, but hit some in winter league games.

Knuckle under

Carlton’s home run gave the Cardinals a 1-0 lead. The Braves tied the score in the sixth on Joe Torre’s RBI-single with two outs.

Carlton pitched eight innings, allowing four singles and a walk and striking out seven, and departed with the score tied at 1-1.

In the 12th inning, shortstop Dick Schofield led off for the Cardinals with a home run against Phil Niekro. “A lousy, lousy knuckler,” Niekro told the Atlanta Constitution.

Said Schofield: “It wasn’t one of Niekro’s better knucklers because nobody hits those.”

The home run was Schofield’s 17th in 16 major-league seasons and his only one in 1968.

Phil Gagliano, who batted after Schofield, walked and scored on Lou Brock’s double, extending the Cardinals’ lead to 3-1.

In the Braves’ half of the 12th, Wayne Granger struck out Torre, walked Deron Johnson and yielded a single to Tommie Aaron. Hal Gilson relieved and retired Clete Boyer and Marty Martinez on groundouts, stranding the runners and sealing the win. Boxscore

Power pitchers

Carlton hit two more home runs for the Cardinals _ on July 27, 1968, against the Pirates’ Bob Moose and on Sept. 1, 1969, against the Astros’ Don Wilson _ before he was traded to the Phillies after the 1971 season.

Carlton hit 13 regular-season home runs in his major-league career and one in the postseason. In Game 3 of the 1978 National League Championship Series, Carlton hit a three-run home run against the Dodgers’ Don Sutton.

Bob Gibson holds the Cardinals record for regular-season career home runs by a pitcher, with 24. Gibson also holds the club single-season mark for regular-season home runs by a pitcher, with five.

The all-time major-league leader for regular-season career home runs by a pitcher is Wes Ferrell. He hit 38 in a big-league career from 1927-41 with the Indians, Red Sox, Senators, Yankees, Dodgers and Braves.

After Ferrell, the next best in regular-season career home runs by a pitcher are Bob Lemon (37) and Warren Spahn (35).

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Mark Worrell and his Cardinals clout

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers on June 9, 2018| 2 Comments »

(Updated April 19, 2019)

In his brief stint with the Cardinals, Mark Worrell provided a lasting impression with his hitting instead of his pitching.

On June 5, 2008, in the second game of a doubleheader between the Cardinals and Nationals in Washington, Worrell hit a three-run home run in his first major-league plate appearance.

Worrell, no relation to Cardinals reliever Todd Worrell, was regarded as a premier pitching prospect, but didn’t last long with St. Louis.

After four relief appearances for the 2008 Cardinals, Worrell was returned to the minors, got traded after the season and hurt his arm.

His place in franchise lore, though, was secured as one of 10 Cardinals to hit a home run in his first plate appearance in the major leagues.

The list:

_ Eddie Morgan, pinch-hitter, April 14, 1936, vs. Cubs.

_ Wally Moon, center fielder, April 13, 1954, vs. Cubs.

_ Keith McDonald, pinch-hitter, July 4, 2000, vs. Reds.

_ Chris Richard, left fielder, July 17, 2000, vs. Twins.

_ Gene Stechschulte, pinch-hitter, April 17, 2001, vs. Diamondbacks.

_ Hector Luna, second baseman, April 8, 2004, vs. Brewers.

_ Adam Wainwright, pitcher, May 24, 2006, vs. Giants.

_ Mark Worrell, pitcher, June 5, 2008, vs. Nationals.

_ Paul DeJong, pinch-hitter, May 28, 2017, vs. Rockies.

_ Lane Thomas, pinch-hitter, April 19, 2019, vs. Mets.

Climbing the ladder

Worrell, a starting pitcher at Florida International University, was selected by the Cardinals in the 12th round of the 2004 amateur baseball draft and established himself as a quality reliever. In 2005, Worrell played for Class A Palm Beach, led all minor leagues in saves with 35 and was named Cardinals minor-league pitcher of the year.

Worrell led the Texas League in saves, with 27 for Class AA Springfield in 2006, and he struck 66 batters in 67 innings for Class AAA Memphis in 2007.

In 21 games for Memphis in 2008, Worrell had a 1.88 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 24 innings before he was called up to the Cardinals.

Worrell had an unorthodox pitching motion. “As he begins his delivery, Worrell bends over and then springs up to throw sidearm while stepping almost toward first base,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

“In the end, his success is the ball on the edge and not the middle of the plate,” said Cardinals manager Tony La Russa.

Power pitcher

Worrell made his major-league debut on June 3, 2008, in the Cardinals’ first visit to Nationals Park and pitched a scoreless ninth inning in a 6-1 St. Louis victory. Boxscore

Two nights. later, Worrell made his second appearance when he relieved rookie starter Mike Parisi in the fifth. Parisi allowed eight runs in four innings and also got his first major-league hit, a two-run double against Nationals starter Tim Redding.

After Worrell pitched a scoreless fifth, the Cardinals batted in the sixth against Redding, looking to chip away at an 8-3 deficit. With runners on first and third, two outs, Worrell made his first major-league plate appearance and hit a 3-and-2 fastball from Redding into the left field stands for a three-run home run.

“Look at these pitchers! That’s a home run,” Nationals television broadcaster Bob Carpenter exclaimed as the ball carried over the fence. Video

“I let two different pitchers drive in five runs and a guy that had never swung a bat in the big leagues hit a three-run homer off me,” Redding said to the Washington Times. “Other than those two outcomes, I felt good.”

Worrell pitched a scoreless sixth and exited with the Nationals ahead, 8-6. The Cardinals rallied with two runs in the ninth to tie the score at 8-8 and went ahead, 9-8, with a run in the 10th, but the Nationals got a two-run home run from Elijah Dukes against Ryan Franklin in the bottom half of the inning and won, 10-9. Boxscore

Arm ailment

Worrell made his third appearance for the Cardinals on June 12 against the Reds and was the losing pitcher, yielding two runs in two-thirds of an inning. Boxscore

After one more appearance, in which he gave up three runs to the Phillies, Worrell was sent back to Memphis. His record in four games with the Cardinals was 0-1 with a 7.94 ERA, but his slugging percentage was 2.000.

On Dec. 4, 2008, the Cardinals traded Worrell and a player to be named to the Padres for shortstop Khalil Greene. Three months later, the Cardinals sent the Padres pitcher Luke Gregerson to complete the deal.

At spring training with the Padres in 2009, Worrell injured his right elbow and needed reconstructive surgery, sidelining him for the season.

Two years later, Worrell returned to the major leagues with the 2011 Orioles and yielded eight earned runs in two innings over four appearances for a 36.00 ERA.

In his last big-league appearance, on July 24, 2011, Worrell gave up a three-run home run to Mike Trout, the first in the big leagues for the Angels rookie. Trout, 19, became the first teen to hit a home run in the major leagues since 2007, according to the Los Angeles Times. Boxscore

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Joe Hoerner: Consistently good for 1968 Cardinals

Posted in Games, Pitchers, Records on June 6, 2018| 4 Comments »

A closer for a rotation that often completed what it started, Joe Hoerner still served a valuable role for the 1968 National League champion Cardinals and supported the staff with a stellar season.

On June 1, 1968, Hoerner struck out six Mets in a row, tying the National League record for consecutive strikeouts by a reliever.

Hoerner went on to post an 8-2 record with 17 saves and a 1.47 ERA for the 1968 Cardinals. The left-hander ranked second in the National League in saves to the 25 by Phil Regan of the Cubs and his ERA was second on the club to the 1.12 achieved by Bob Gibson.

Led by Gibson’s 28, Cardinals starters pitched 63 complete games in 1968. Hoerner only was needed for 49 innings and he usually was effective, allowing no earned runs in 40 of his 47 appearances.

“Joe is almost as much of a machine out there as Bob Gibson,” Cardinals reliever Wayne Granger said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “He just goes out there and does the job time after time.”

Overcoming adversity

Hoerner, son of an Iowa farmer, made his professional baseball debut in the White Sox minor-league system in 1957. A year later, Hoerner was diagnosed with muscle weakness near his heart. Because any strain on the muscle impaired Hoerner’s circulation, doctors advised him to change his pitching delivery from overhand to sidearm.

“I took four pills a day for a long time to strengthen the muscle, but I haven’t been bothered since then,” Hoerner told the Post-Dispatch in 1968.

Hoerner, 26, made his major-league debut in September 1963 with the Houston Colt .45s. The Cardinals acquired him in November 1965 and he pitched for them in 1966 (5-1 record, 13 saves,1.54 ERA) and 1967 (4-4, 14 saves, 2.59 ERA).

After the Cardinals won Game 7 of the 1967 World Series against the Red Sox, Hoerner was celebrating with his teammates in the locker room at Boston’s Fenway Park when a champagne bottle he was holding exploded, severing a tendon in the middle finger of his pitching hand.

“If we win many more pennants, my fingers won’t stand it,” Hoerner said.

Tough to hit

Hoerner recovered from the injury and yielded no runs in his first nine appearances in 1968.

On June 1, the Cardinals played the Mets at Shea Stadium in New York. The Mets led, 4-1, before the Cardinals rallied for three runs in the seventh against Nolan Ryan, tying the score at 4-4.

Hoerner, the third Cardinals pitcher of the game, was brought in to pitch the seventh and retired the Mets in order. The Cardinals took the lead, 5-4, with a run in the eighth, but the Mets tied the score on Ed Charles’ pinch-hit home run in the bottom half of the inning.

In the ninth, Hoerner struck out Al Weis, Ron Swoboda and Don Bosch. After Mike Shannon hit a home run against Cal Koonce in the 10th, putting the Cardinals ahead, 6-5, Hoerner struck out Greg Goossen, Jerry Buchek and Jerry Grote, sealing the win. Boxscore

Hoerner’s six consecutive strikeouts came against right-handed batters.

Hoerner was effectively consistent during the 1968 season. He was 4-1 with a 1.05 ERA in home games and 4-1 with a 1.93 ERA in away games. Left-handed batters hit .189 against him and right-handed batters hit .194.

In the 1968 World Series against the Tigers, Hoerner earned a save in Game 3 with 3.2 scoreless innings in relief of Ray Washburn boxscore and was the losing pitcher in Game 5 when he faced four batters, retired none and was charged with two runs. Boxscore

Hoerner and Cardinals teammate Dal Maxvill owned a successful travel agency in St. Louis for several years.

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Why Cardinals made big investment in Ray Sadecki

Posted in Pitchers, Prospects on May 25, 2018| 17 Comments »

(Updated Dec. 24, 2018)

At 17, Ray Sadecki threw with as much velocity as anyone on the Cardinals’ major-league pitching staff.

An amateur free agent, Sadecki was pursued by most big-league teams. Cardinals scout Runt Marr, who followed Sadecki for two years, recommended the club invest in the left-handed pitcher from Kansas City, Kansas.

On June 1, 1958, Sadecki signed with the Cardinals for a bonus of $50,000 and a three-year contract totaling another $18,000.

High interest

Sadecki was an exceptional prospect. At 16, he pitched four no-hitters, two in high school and two in summer league games. In his senior year at Ward High School, Sadecki was 9-0 and pitched another no-hitter. Marr said Sadecki averaged two strikeouts per inning over two high school seasons and twice struck out 21 batters in seven-inning games.

At the state high school baseball tournament at Eldorado, Kansas, in 1958, 12 of the 16 major-league teams sent scouts to watch Sadecki. Marr was joined by Cardinals minor-league director Walter Shannon. They saw Sadecki win the state championship game, capping a 17-0 season for Ward High School.

After graduating, Sadecki met with representatives from the Athletics, Pirates and Yankees. He worked out for the Orioles in Kansas City and went to Cleveland to throw for the Indians, who offered a $50,000 bonus. Sadecki returned home briefly before heading to St. Louis for a workout with the Cardinals.

Frank Sadecki, Ray’s father, asked bidders for a “$55,000 trust fund or insurance type deal that would provide a salary for life,” United Press International reported.

Hard thrower

The Cardinals announced Sadecki’s signing while he was pitching on the sidelines in a workout at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

In his book “October 1964,” author David Halberstam wrote, “Frank Sadecki, an immigrant’s son who had not been permitted to play baseball by his father, took the $10,000 check for the first part of the bonus and showed it to his own father. The old man looked at it and broke into tears of both pleasure and anguish; the boy, he said, is making that much money just for playing a game, while he had had to work so hard all his life for so much less.”

Cardinals manager Fred Hutchinson, who pitched 10 years in the big leagues, compared Sadecki with Cardinals ace Sam Jones, who led the National League in strikeouts in 1958.

“He’s very smooth,” Hutchinson told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “We won’t have to do a thing with his delivery. We’ll have to develop a curveball. He throws as hard as Sam Jones does.”

In The Sporting News, Bob Broeg wrote Sadecki “has the potential of developing into one of the hardest-throwing pitchers in the game.”

After receiving mentoring from Cardinals pitching coach Al Hollingsworth in St. Louis, Sadecki was assigned to their farm club in Winnipeg.

Wild thing

Sadecki “felt some resentment from career minor-league players because he’d made so much money before he’d even thrown his first pitch,” Halberstam wrote.

On June 19, 1958, Sadecki made his pro debut, pitching a four-hitter in a win against St. Cloud. He struck out 11, walked 10 and hit a two-run home run.

Games with high totals of strikeouts and walks were commonplace for Sadecki in 1958. On July 21, he pitched a three-hitter in a win over Duluth-Superior, striking out 14 and walking 11. Facing Minot on July 29, Sadecki won a four-hitter, striking out 13 and walking nine.

Sadecki finished the 1958 season with a 9-7 record, 3.34 ERA and 11 complete games for Winnipeg. In 132 innings, he struck out 174 and walked 129.

Though he’d pitched a full schedule of high school and minor-league baseball that year, the Cardinals sent Sadecki to their Florida Instructional League for more work in October 1958.

On Oct. 15, in his debut for the Florida Instructional League Cardinals, Sadecki combined with teammates Roland Passaro and Jerry Lock on a no-hitter against the Athletics.

A month later, Cardinals pitching instructor Johnny Grodzicki said Sadecki “could be one of the game’s great left-handers. Control is his only problem.”

The Post-Dispatch called Sadecki “one of the best prospects, but he also is one of the wildest.”

VIPs impressed

On Dec. 6, with Cardinals general manager Bing Devine, manager Solly Hemus and talent evaluator Eddie Stanky in attendance, Sadecki pitched a no-hitter against the Florida Instructional League Yankees at St. Petersburg. Sadecki struck out 12, walked nine and hit a batter in a 3-0 victory.

“We won’t rush him no matter how good he looks … but we do believe that Sadecki, with his unusual speed and fine curve, can make it a quick trip to the majors,” Devine said.

Hemus, who had replaced Hutchinson as Cardinals manager, said Sadecki “throws hard and gets a lot of stuff on the ball for a boy of his age.”

Sadecki finished the Florida Instructional League season with a 5-3 record and 2.50 ERA. In 72 innings, he struck out 89, yielded 36 hits and averaged seven walks per game.

Soon after Sadecki turned 18 on Dec. 26, 1958, the Cardinals invited him to their 1959 major-league spring training camp.

Fast track

Cardinals pitching coach Howie Pollet liked what he saw from Sadecki at spring training. “We won’t try to change Sadecki’s delivery in any way,” Pollet said. “Whoever taught the boy taught him well. He has one of the finest basic, or fundamental, styles of pitching I’ve ever seen … Wherever Sadecki pitches the coming season, we’ll impress on his manager never to try to change the boy’s style. Just concentrate on having the boy practice spot control.”

In four innings pitched in Cardinals spring training games, Sadecki yielded no earned runs, two hits, two walks and struck out four.

Hemus said Sadecki “has the equipment to be a great pitcher.”

On March 26, 1959, the Cardinals sent Sadecki to their minor-league training camp at Daytona Beach, Fla., and he was assigned to Class AAA Omaha.

Sadecki was 13-9 with a 4.06 ERA for Omaha in 1959. He had 175 strikeouts and 145 walks in 193 innings.

In May 1960, Sadecki, 19, made his major-league debut with the Cardinals. He went on to earn 135 wins in 18 big-league seasons, including eight (1960-66 and 1975) with the Cardinals.

Sadecki was 68-64 for St. Louis and his best year was 1964 when he led the Cardinals in wins (20) during their run to a National League pennant. He also earned a win in Game 1 of the World Series against the Yankees.

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For Brady Raggio, this hit parade was off the charts

Posted in Games, Opponents, Pitchers on May 19, 2018| Leave a Comment »

In answering a call for help from the Cardinals, Brady Raggio got into a jam and required rescue.

On May 15, 1998, Raggio started for the Cardinals against the Marlins and allowed 11 consecutive batters to reach base before he was lifted in the first inning.

Though he was sent to the minor leagues the next day, Raggio returned to the Cardinals a month later and earned redemption.

Bad results

Needing someone to fill in for Donovan Osborne, who developed a shoulder ailment, the Cardinals called on Raggio, who was with their Class AAA Memphis club, and gave him the start in the Friday night opener of a series against the Marlins at St. Louis. Raggio, who’d made 15 appearances as a rookie with the 1997 Cardinals, was 4-2 with a 2.48 ERA at Memphis.

Though the Marlins were defending World Series champions, three of their best players _ third baseman Bobby Bonilla, catcher Charles Johnson and outfielder Gary Sheffield _ were held out of the lineup against the Cardinals while the club negotiated a deal to trade them to the Dodgers.

Raggio got the first batter, John Cangelosi, to ground out. The next eight _ Edgar Renteria, Cliff Floyd, Derrek Lee, Mark Kotsay, Gregg Zaun, Craig Counsell, Dave Berg and pitcher Brian Meadows _ each singled.

The hits by Floyd, Kotsay, Zaun, Berg and Meadows produced five runs. It could have been more except Kotsay made the second out of the inning when he drifted too far off second base after Zaun singled.

The Marlins, though, weren’t done. Batting for the second time in the inning, Cangelosi walked, loading the bases. Renteria singled again, driving in a run and making the score 6-0.

After Raggio walked Floyd, forcing in a seventh run, manager Tony La Russa replaced him with Curtis King, who got Lee to ground out, ending the Marlins’ half of the first.

Raggio departed with an ERA of 94.50, yielding seven runs in two-thirds of an inning.

“They found the holes,” Raggio said to the Miami Herald. “I thought I was making pretty good pitches, but they had, like, six groundball hits.”

La Russa agreed, telling the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “We expected him to get a bunch of ground balls. We didn’t get anything hit at anyone. I think the results were a little misleading.”

Raggio told the Memphis Commercial-Appeal he received “some encouraging words” from La Russa after the outing. “I make the same pitches that I made in that inning in 100 more innings and I get out with no runs,” Raggio said.

Keep on trying

Down 7-0, the Cardinals chipped away, scoring a run in the first, a run in the third and four in the fifth. Meadows gave up two home runs to Ray Lankford and one to Brian Hunter. The Marlins added a run in the fourth against Kent Bottenfield and led, 8-6, after five innings.

The Cardinals made Marlins reliever Jay Powell squirm in the ninth. With two outs, John Mabry doubled, scoring Gary Gaetti from first and getting the Cardinals within a run at 8-7. When La Russa sent Willie McGee to bat for pitcher Juan Acevedo, the Marlins opted to walked him intentionally, even though he represented the potential winning run. Tom Pagnozzi ended the drama by lining out to Renteria at short. Boxscore

Raggio was returned to Memphis after the game and pitched well, boosting his record to 6-3 with a 2.50 ERA. On June 15, the Cardinals recalled him. “Brady deserves it,” said Memphis manager Gaylen Pitts. “That’s what happens when you come down and work. He could have gone the other way, but he worked hard and did what he had to do to get back.”

In his first appearance for the Cardinals since his recall, Raggio pitched 2.1 scoreless innings of relief, earning the win against the Diamondbacks. Boxscore

After two more relief stints, Raggio went back to Memphis. Released after the season, Raggio was in the Rangers’ system in 1999 and spent three years (2000-2002) in Japan. In 2003, he returned to the big leagues with the Diamondbacks.

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