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Roy Halladay gems were not rare versus Cardinals

Posted in Games, Opponents, Pitchers on November 13, 2017| Leave a Comment »

(Updated Jan. 22, 2019)

Besides being a principal player in a Cardinals classic, Roy Halladay also factored prominently in other games versus St. Louis.

Halladay was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Jan. 22, 2019, 14 months after he died at age 40 in a plane crash on Nov. 7, 2017. He will be best remembered by Cardinals fans as the Phillies pitcher who dueled St. Louis’ Chris Carpenter in the decisive Game 5 of the 2011 National League Division Series.

Carpenter and the Cardinals won that game, 1-0, on Oct. 7, 2011, extending a postseason run that led to a World Series championship.

Halladay, who shut out the Cardinals for seven innings after yielding a run in the first, was the hard-luck loser in that drama. He and Carpenter had been teammates on the Blue Jays from 1998-2002.

Usually, though, when Halladay pitched a gem against the Cardinals, he won.

Halladay made seven regular-season starts and two postseason starts against the Cardinals. His regular-season career record versus St. Louis: 4-2 with a 2.68 ERA. In the postseason, Halladay was 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA against the Cardinals.

Here is a look at the games in which Halladay got decisions when facing St. Louis:

Swinging at sinkers

Halladay faced the Cardinals for the first time on June 13, 2005, at Toronto. He pitched a complete game in a 4-1 Blue Jays victory.

Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch described Halladay’s effort as “a dominant performance worthy of his resume.”

The Cardinals got five hits _ two apiece by David Eckstein and John Mabry, and one by designated hitter Scott Seabol. Mabry got the Cardinals’ lone extra-base hit _ a home run in the fourth inning.

“He’s out there throwing the ball 94 (mph) with a lot of sink,” Mabry said. “He’s using both sides of the plate, sinking and cutting it. His curveball is awesome. He makes it tough. You just try to stay on top of it.” Boxscore

Simply the best

Five years later, Halladay next faced the Cardinals as a member of the Phillies. On May 6, 2010, Halladay pitched seven innings, yielding one earned run, and got the win in a 7-2 Phillies triumph at Philadelphia.

Skip Schumaker, who had two hits for the Cardinals, called Halladay “probably the best pitcher I’ve ever faced.” Boxscore

A breakthrough

On Sept. 19, 2011, Halladay lost to the Cardinals for the first time.

Playing at Philadelphia, Rafael Furcal hit Halladay’s first pitch for a double. Furcal moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a groundout by Nick Punto. One out later, Lance Berkman followed with a home run, giving St. Louis a 2-0 lead.

The Cardinals won, 4-3, and advanced to within 2.5 games of the Braves for the wild-card spot in the playoffs. Halladay gave up eight hits and walked four in eight innings. Boxscore

Don’t get me mad

Two weeks later, on Oct. 1, 2011, the Cardinals and Phillies played Game 1 of the best-of-five NL Division Series at Philadelphia.

In the first inning, Furcal singled and Albert Pujols walked. With one out, Halladay threw Berkman a two-seam fastball intended to sink away from the left-handed batter. Instead, the pitch was “thigh-high and center cut. About as bad as you can put it,” Halladay told the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Berkman connected for a three-run home run.

Halladay “got mad after he gave up the homer,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. “That ticked him off and he got going.”

After Schumaker led off the second with a single, Halladay retired the next 21 batters in a row. In eight innings, he gave up three hits and three runs, getting the win in an 11-6 Phillies victory. Boxscore

Dog fight

In his column about Game 5 of the 2011 NL Division Series, Bernie Miklasz of the Post-Dispatch wrote, “Carpenter and Halladay, two alpha dogs, could have burned the hitters’ bats with the intensity of their glares.”

After scoring in the first, the Cardinals were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position against Halladay. Fortunately for the Cardinals, Carpenter was better than Halladay, holding the Phillies scoreless for nine innings.

“You hate to lose in a one-run game,” Halladay said, “but you have to hand it to him (Carpenter). He was unbelievable.”

Furcal led off the game with a triple to center.

“He tried to come inside with a cutter,” Furcal said. “I got a good swing on it and the ball jumped off my bat.” Video

Said Halladay: “The ball was up.”

Schumaker followed with a run-scoring double to right on a curve after fouling off six pitches, including five with two strikes. Video

“I don’t think it was a terrible curveball,” Halladay said. “It was a very good at-bat.” Boxscore

It hurts

The next time Halladay faced the Cardinals was May 27, 2012, at St. Louis. Yadier Molina hit a grand slam in the first and Halladay departed after the second because of a sore shoulder. The Cardinals won, 8-3. Boxscore

Asked about Halladay’s ailment, Manuel said, “Worried? Yeah, definitely I’m concerned.”

Wily veteran

Soon after, Halladay went on the disabled list. When he returned, he made the adjustments needed to be effective again.

On Aug. 10, 2012, Halladay held the Cardinals to two hits in eight innings and got the win in a 3-1 Phillies victory at Philadelphia. A home run by Carlos Beltran accounted for the St. Louis run. Boxscore

“I don’t try to do what I used to do,” Halladay said. “I try to do what I need to do to be successful.”

Science of pitching

Halladay beat the Cardinals for the final time on April 19, 2013, at Philadelphia. He limited them to two hits _ home runs by Beltran and Matt Holliday _ over seven innings in an 8-2 Phillies victory. Boxscore

Halladay retired 14 batters in a row. “When I stay within myself and execute the mechanics the way it should be done, I feel good,” he said.

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Why Cardinals wanted Jeff Brantley as their closer

Posted in Hitters, Pitchers, Trades on November 10, 2017| 2 Comments »

(Updated Oct. 30, 2022)

The Cardinals took a chance on Jeff Brantley and lost.

Needing a closer, the Cardinals traded a prime prospect, Dmitri Young, to the Reds for Brantley, even though the pitcher had spent most of the previous season on the disabled list.

Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty made the deal on Nov. 10, 1997, when he got assurances Brantley had recovered fully from surgery to repair injuries to his right shoulder and rotator cuff.

The Cardinals, though, should have been as skeptical as columnist Bernie Miklasz, who, at the time of the trade, wrote in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “The Jeff Brantley trade makes me nervous; a 34-year-old pitcher coming off shoulder surgery?”

Brantley flopped with the 1998 Cardinals. Claiming his arm hurt, Brantley pitched poorly, clashed with pitching coach Dave Duncan, was removed from the closer’s role and got traded after the season.

The Cardinals’ misjudgment of Brantley set back the organization in significant ways. The Cardinals had to continue to scramble to find a closer and they had to do so without one of their strongest trade chips. Young, a productive hitter, was given away to a division rival without St. Louis getting full value in return.

Price is right

When closer Dennis Eckerlsey opted for free agency after the 1997 season, the Cardinals went in search of a replacement.

Wanting to avoid getting involved in bidding for free agents, Jocketty looked to make a trade. He was willing to part with Young, a first baseman and outfielder, because the Cardinals had talent at those positions. Mark McGwire was the first baseman and Ron Gant, Ray Lankford and Brian Jordan were the outfielders.

Though Brantley, 34, had not pitched since May 19, 1997, the Cardinals thought he could pitch again like he did when he earned 44 saves for the 1996 Reds.

“We knew we had to act quickly because other clubs were interested in him,” Jocketty said to Rick Hummel of the Post-Dispatch.

Given orders by ownership to cut player payroll, Reds general manager Jim Bowden was eager to deal Brantley, who was under contract for salaries of $2.8 million over each of the next two years.

The Reds had another capable closer, Jeff Shaw, on their roster and he was paid less than Brantley.

The $5.6 million owed Brantley over 1998 and 1999 didn’t dissuade the Cardinals from pursuing a deal for him. “Guys who might be available in free agency would have cost twice as much,” Jocketty said.

Special hitter

When Jocketty offered Young, 24, to the Reds, Bowden accepted.

“This deal was made for financial reasons,” Bowden said to the Associated Press, “and is consistent with our commitment to get younger and cheaper.”

Asked by Jeff Horrigan of The Cincinnati Post about Young, Reds manager Jack McKeon replied, “He has a great attitude and a great upside … We might have something special here.”

Young, a switch hitter, was the top pick of the Cardinals in the 1991 amateur draft. He led the Class AAA American Association in batting average (.333) in 1996, producing 153 hits in 122 games.

Young debuted with the Cardinals in August 1996 and hit a key triple for them that fall in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series against the Braves. In 1997, Young hit .258 in 110 games for St. Louis.

Projecting Young to be best-suited as a designated hitter, Jocketty said, “Dmitri is going to be a very good hitter. He’d be a good American League player.”

Regarding Young’s potential role with the 1998 Cardinals, manager Tony La Russa said, “There was a way to wedge him onto the team, but it was not a good fit.”

The acquisition of McGwire by St. Louis in July 1997 “kind of put a damper” on the Cardinals’ plans for him, Young told Mike Bass of The Cincinnati Post. “I didn’t have a clue what the Cardinals were going to do with me,” Young admitted.

Not the same

Before the deal became official, the Cardinals sent Brantley to Birmingham, Ala., for an examination by Dr. James Andrews. With Cardinals trainer Barry Weinberg witnessing the exam, Andrews declared Brantley physically fit to pitch.

“I didn’t have any doubts that it wouldn’t be a problem,” Brantley told the Post-Dispatch. “I’ve been throwing for over two months.”

Brantley told The Cincinnati Post that Andrews “gave me a 100 percent clean bill of health.”

Brantley was effective at the start of the 1998 season for the Cardinals. On May 11, he had six saves and a 1.93 ERA.

Then danger signs developed.

On May 12, St. Louis led the Brewers, 5-3, in the ninth when Brantley entered and gave up a two-run home run to Jeff Cirillo. Boxscore

On May 22, with the Cardinals ahead of the Giants, 3-1, in the ninth, Brantley yielded a two-run homer to Bill Mueller. Boxscore

Brantley remained the closer _ and it proved costly to the Cardinals.

On the morning of May 30, the Cardinals had a 28-24 record. St. Louis lost nine of its next 10 and 12 of 17. Included in that stretch:

_ May 30, Padres 3, Cardinals 2: Brantley entered in the ninth with the score 2-2. Quilvio Veras beat him with a one-out RBI-single. Boxscore

_ June 4, Dodgers 3, Cardinals 2: Different game, same outcome. Brantley entered in the ninth with the score 2-2. Charles Johnson beat him with a one-out RBI-single. Boxscore

_ June 13, Diamondbacks 7, Cardinals 4: St. Louis led 4-3 with two outs in the eighth when Brantley entered with a runner on third. After Jay Bell walked, Travis Lee slammed a three-run home run and Matt Williams followed with a solo shot. Boxscore

_ June 17, Astros 6, Cardinals 5: After Brantley was handed a 5-2 ninth-inning lead, Craig Biggio was hit by a pitch, Bill Spiers reached on a bunt single, Biggio scored on a sacrifice fly and Jeff Bagwell belted a two-run home run, tying the score. When Carl Everett singled, Brantley was lifted for Curtis King. After a walk, Brad Ausmus’ single scored Everett. Boxscore

Brantley eventually was replaced as closer by Rich Croushore and then by Juan Acevedo. Brantley recorded one save after July 10 and finished the 1998 season with an 0-5 record, 4.44 ERA and 14 saves in 48 appearances. Booed by Cardinals fans, Brantley was especially bad in home games: a 6.38 ERA in 24 appearances at Busch Stadium.

After the season, Brantley was traded to the Phillies in a deal that brought the Cardinals another erratic closer _ Ricky Bottalico.

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Cardinals helped Mike Maddux get foothold in majors

Posted in Games, Opponents, Pitchers on November 4, 2017| 2 Comments »

Needing an effective performance to show he belonged in the major leagues, Phillies rookie Mike Maddux broke through with an impressive effort against the 1986 Cardinals.

Maddux, 25, limited the Cardinals to one earned run in 6.1 innings and got the win in a 4-3 Phillies victory on Sept. 18, 1986, at Philadelphia.

That performance helped Maddux establish himself as a big-leaguer. He went on to pitch for 15 seasons (1986-2000) in the majors. After his playing days, he built a second career as a big-league pitching coach.

On Oct. 26, 2017, the Cardinals hired Maddux to be their pitching coach, replacing Derek Lilliquist.

Throwing darts

Chosen by the Phillies in the fifth round of the 1982 amateur draft, Maddux rose through the farm system until he was promoted to the big-league club in June 1986.

Placed in the Phillies’ starting rotation, Maddux struggled. After 13 starts, his record was 2-6 with a 6.05 ERA.

To some, he seemed to be regressing. On Sept. 8, Maddux yielded five runs in three innings against the Cubs. Five days later, he gave up three runs in the first and was lifted before recording an out against the Mets.

Maddux was trying to be perfect with his pitches and was aiming the ball. “He wasn’t a pitcher; he was a dart-thrower,” wrote Bill Conlin of the Philadelphia Daily News.

Maddux’s ERA for the first inning of his 13 starts was 15.00.

“Something had to be done,” Maddux said to Jayson Stark of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Maddux sought the advice of Phillies manager John Felske and pitching coach Claude Osteen. “I absorbed everything they said like a sponge,” Maddux said.

(Osteen had been Cardinals pitching coach from 1977-80.)

Wrote Stark: “They told him to think more about winning than about surviving the first inning.”

Different guy

In his next start, Maddux was matched against Greg Mathews of the Cardinals.

From the first pitch, when he made Vince Coleman skip away from a low delivery, Maddux was in command.

In the second inning, his confidence grew when he lined a RBI-single to right against Mathews. It was the first hit and first RBI in the big leagues for Maddux.

Maddux held the Cardinals to one hit _ a Terry Pendleton single _ over six innings.

Maddux struck out seven before he was relieved with one out in the seventh. Boxscore

“He went out tonight totally prepared to pitch,” Felske said. “He was a different guy out there. He was confident. He was determined to do well. He really threw some outstanding breaking balls.”

Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “I can see why they’re putting him out there.”

Herzog compared Maddux to the Cardinals’ Tim Conroy, “who has struggled but is considered to have a major-league arm,” wrote Rick Hummel of the Post-Dispatch.

Cardinals outfielder Andy Van Slyke, however, compared Maddux with Aaron Herr, 4-year-old son of St. Louis second baseman Tommy Herr.

Noting that the Cardinals weren’t swinging the bats well, Van Slyke said, “They could have put Aaron Herr out there and he could have held us to one hit for five innings.”

Lengthy career

Maddux, whose younger brother, Greg, became a Hall of Fame pitcher, played for nine clubs: Phillies, Dodgers, Padres, Mets, Pirates, Red Sox, Mariners, Expos and Astros.

Converted to a relief pitcher after he left the Phillies, Maddux has a career record of 39-37 with 20 saves and a 4.05 ERA in the big leagues.

His career record versus the Cardinals is 3-3 with a 5.24 ERA in 25 appearances. (On Aug. 11, 1988, Maddux started and pitched eight scoreless innings against the Cardinals, but got no decision. The Phillies won, 1-0, with a run in the ninth.)

Maddux was pitching coach for the Brewers (2003-08), Rangers (2009-15) and Nationals (2016-17) before joining the Cardinals.

He was the Rangers’ pitching coach in 2011 when Texas played the Cardinals in the World Series.

Previously: Cardinals tried making Greg Maddux a teammate

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Cardinals pitching was no mystery to Don Lock

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers on October 19, 2017| Leave a Comment »

(Updated Nov. 27, 2018)

During a season in which the Cardinals won a National League pennant and World Series championship, Don Lock found the key to success against their formidable pitching.

In 1967, Lock, in his first National League season as a center fielder for the Phillies, batted .382 (13-for-34) with 12 RBI in 11 games against the Cardinals.

A right-handed batter, Lock was especially effective against Cardinals left-handers. He hit four home runs against them in 1967.

Hit or miss

As a teen in Kansas, Lock was a standout athlete in multiple sports. “The Cardinals were interested in signing Lock when he was playing American Legion baseball back home in Kingman, Kan.,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Instead, Lock attended Wichita State on a basketball scholarship and played for coach Ralph Miller, who would be enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Lock earned varsity letters in baseball, basketball and track.

By then, other big-league organizations, including the Yankees, Red Sox, Athletics and Dodgers, had joined the Cardinals in pursuit of Lock. According to his obituary, Lock accepted a $22,500 bonus to sign with the Yankees in 1958.

The Yankees’ deal “was $2,500 more than the next best, the one Boston offered. So I took it,” Lock told the Post-Dispatch. “I was just a kid out of college who had a wife and a kid and car payments to meet. I needed money.”

Lock played in the Yankees’ minor league system from 1958-62. He had 35 home runs in 1960 for the Class A Binghamton (N.Y.) Triplets and 29 home runs in 1961 for the Class AAA Richmond Virginians. Though he had established himself as a power prospect, Lock couldn’t find a spot on a Yankees roster filled with sluggers such as Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and Bill Skowron.

The Cardinals continued to look for ways to acquire Lock. In December 1961, Cardinals general manager Bing Devine offered to trade first baseman Joe Cunningham to the Yankees for outfielder Tom Tresh, catcher Jesse Gonder and Lock, The Sporting News reported.

“We were interested in Cunningham, but not to the point of giving up a front-line player (Tresh) for him,” Yankees manager Ralph Houk said.

Unable to make a deal with the Yankees, the Cardinals traded Cunningham to the White Sox for outfielder Minnie Minoso.

In July 1962, the Yankees traded Lock to the Senators. He became one of the American League’s premier power hitters, ranking among the top 10 in home runs in 1963 (27) and 1964 (28), but he also had more strikeouts than hits each year he played for Washington. He was second in the league in strikeouts in both 1963 (151) and 1964 (137).

Second chance

After the 1966 season, the Senators dealt Lock to the Phillies for pitcher Darold Knowles and cash. “Lock came to the Phillies with a reputation as one of baseball’s most inconsistent hitters,” wrote Bill Conlin of the Philadelphia Daily News. “His pattern was a short rash of homers followed by a long rash of strikeouts.”

Phillies manager Gene Mauch decided to utilize Lock and Johnny Briggs in a center field platoon.

On May 26, 1967, at Philadelphia, Lock hit a home run that beat the Cardinals.

In the eighth inning, with the score tied at 4-4, the Phillies had runners on second and third, two outs, with Lock at the plate against left-handed reliever Joe Hoerner. Cookie Rojas was on deck.

“The strategy with the score tied and the winning run on base would normally be to intentionally walk Lock and pitch to Rojas,” Conlin wrote.

Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst thought otherwise. He remembered that 10 days earlier, at St. Louis, Rojas had hit a home run against the Cardinals and Hoerner had struck out Lock.

Schoendienst wanted Hoerner to pitch to Lock rather than to Rojas.

If not for a misplay, it would have been the right decision.

Hoerner got Lock to hit a pop fly into foul territory, just beyond first base. Second baseman Phil Gagliano, who had the best angle for a catch, called off first baseman Orlando Cepeda, but misjudged the ball and it fell to the ground.

Given another chance, Lock swung at a low fastball and sent a laser over the left-field wall. “The ball was still rising when it ticked the front slope of the roof and bounced off a sign,” Conlin wrote.

Said Lock: “That’s as good as I can hit a ball, I guess.”

The three-run home run was the difference in a 7-4 Phillies victory. Boxscore

Special day

A month later, on June 25, 1967, the Phillies were in St. Louis for a doubleheader against the Cardinals.

Lock had what he called his best day in the major leagues. He produced six hits in eight at-bats and drove in six runs, leading the Phillies to a sweep.

Lock was 4-for-5 with three RBI in the first game and 2-for-3 with three RBI in the second game.

In the opener, Lock had a two-run home run and two singles in three at-bats against the Cardinals’ starter, left-hander Larry Jaster, helping the Phillies to a 6-4 victory. Boxscore

(A month earlier, Lock also was 3-for-3 _ two doubles and a single _ against Jaster. So, in two games against Jaster, Lock was 6-for-6.)

In the doubleheader nightcap, Lock hit a two-run home run against left-hander Al Jackson, propelling the Phillies to a 10-4 triumph. Boxscore

“I’ve shortened my stroke a little,” Lock said. “I’m not taking the bat back as far and I’m choking up about an inch-and-a-half.”

Lock also hit two home runs _ one in 1967 and the other in 1968 _ against Cardinals left-hander Steve Carlton.

Lock finished the 1967 season with 14 home runs in 112 games.

He was with the Phillies again in 1968 and ended his big-league career playing for both the Phillies and Red Sox in 1969.

Lock’s overall batting mark in eight major-league seasons is .238. His career batting average versus the Cardinals is .359 (23-for-64) with five home runs and 17 RBI in 22 games.

Previously: Epic showdowns: Jim Bunning vs. Bob Gibson

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Why Solly Hemus was controversial Cardinals manager

Posted in Games, Hitters, Managers, Opponents, Pitchers on October 16, 2017| 8 Comments »

A month into his first season as Cardinals manager, Solly Hemus behaved in a way that damaged his reputation and diminished his stature among some players.

Disgusted when the Cardinals lost 15 of their first 20 games in 1959, Hemus resorted to insults and intimidation in an effort to rattle the opposition and motivate his team.

Using racist remarks, Hemus lost respect and created resentment.

Two years later, he was fired.

Managing up

Hemus, an infielder, played for the Cardinals from 1949 until he was traded to the Phillies in May 1956. Skilled at reaching base, Hemus scored 105 runs in 1952 and 110 in 1953.

After he was traded, Hemus, a prolific letter writer, wrote to Cardinals owner Gussie Busch, expressing gratitude for his playing career in St. Louis and indicating a desire to return to the organization.

Busch and Hemus continued to correspond. When the Cardinals fired Fred Hutchinson in September 1958, Hemus was Busch’s choice _ not general manager Bing Devine’s _ to become player-manager.

The 1959 Cardinals started sluggishly. After losing the first game of a doubleheader to the Pirates May 3 at Pittsburgh, the Cardinals were 5-15. The Pirates won in the 10th when a fly ball by Bill Mazeroski was misjudged by right fielder Gino Cimoli and sailed over his head for a RBI-single.

An instigator

Determined to shake the Cardinals from their slumber, Hemus put himself into the starting lineup at second base for Game 2.

In the first inning, Hemus faced Bennie Daniels, making his first start of the season for the Pirates.

A pitch from Daniels to Hemus “nicked him on the right pants leg,” according to the Pittsburgh Press.

“Hemus just stuck his leg out to be hit on purpose as usual,” Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Daniels’ pitch “wasn’t a brushback pitch, but Hemus tried to make a federal case out of it,” said Pittsburgh writer Les Biederman.

As Hemus went to first base, he “tossed a few choice phrases in Daniels’ direction,” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

In his book “The Long Season,” Cardinals reliever Jim Brosnan said, “(Hemus) yelled at Daniels, ‘You black bastard.’ ”

Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson, in his book “Stranger to the Game,” said, “I can understand that Hemus wanted to light a fire under us, but that was no excuse for calling Daniels a black bastard.”

As Daniels and Hemus exchanged words, Pirates first baseman Dick Stuart “blocked Solly’s path in case he might be thinking of pursuing Daniels,” the Post-Dispatch reported.

Players poured onto the field, but there was no fighting.

In his book, “Uppity,” Cardinals first baseman Bill White said, “After that, Daniels always called Hemus ‘Little Faubus,’ a reference to Arkansas governor Orval Faubus, who tried to block school desegregation in Little Rock in 1957.”

Tempers flare

In the third inning, Hemus blooped a run-scoring double to left against Daniels, giving the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.

When Hemus batted again in the sixth, Daniels’ first pitch “just missed” Hemus’ chin, according to the Post-Dispatch.

“I didn’t think that pitch was too close,” Daniels told the Post-Gazette. “I guess Hemus did.”

On the next delivery, Hemus moved up in the batter’s box and “threw his bat toward Daniels before the pitch reached the plate,” the Pittsburgh Press said.

“What was I supposed to do, turn the other cheek?” Hemus told the Post-Dispatch. “The bat slipped out of my hand just like the ball slipped out of Daniels’ hand.”

The bat landed several feet from Daniels. Players again rushed onto the field and scuffles ensued.

Murtaugh “got a short punch at Hemus during the fighting and drew a little blood,” according to the Pittsburgh Press.

Hemus, who told The Sporting News he “was clipped a few times,” grappled with Pirates coach Len Levy.

“I told Solly it was silly to be throwing a bat because somebody could be killed,” Levy said. “Hemus challenged me, so I had to protect myself.”

Fans booed and threw beer cans onto the field.

After order was restored, play resumed with no ejections. “They didn’t have anything to throw me out for,” Hemus said.

Daniels retired Hemus on a groundout to short. After the Cardinals completed their half of the inning, Hemus removed himself from the game.

(Because of a curfew, the game was suspended in the seventh and resumed on the Cardinals’ next trip to Pittsburgh in June. The Cardinals won, 3-1.) Boxscore

Bad example

Noting that Hemus claimed he had tried to put a spark into the Cardinals, Brosnan said, “If that truly was his intention, he did it as awkwardly as he could. All he proved to me was that little men _ or boys _ shouldn’t play with sparks, as well as with matches.”

Wrote the Post-Gazette: “Hemus’ behavior seemed something less than expected from a major league manager.”

The Pittsburgh Press concluded Hemus “went to great lengths to set what turned out to be a bad example.”

After the second game was suspended, Hemus held a closed-door meeting with his team.

During the session, Gibson said, “Hemus referred to Daniels as a nigger … It was hard to believe our manager could be so thickheaded and it was even harder to play for a guy who unapologetically regarded black players as niggers.”

In his book “The Way It Is,” Cardinals outfielder Curt Flood said Hemus told the team, “I want you to be the first to know what I said to Daniels. I called him a black son of a bitch.”

Flood said he and teammates “sat with our jaws open, eyeing each other” as Hemus spoke.

“We had been wondering how the manager really felt about us,” Flood said. “Now we knew. Black sons of bitches.”

Said Gibson: “Hemus’ treatment of black players was the result of one of the following: Either he disliked us deeply or he genuinely believed that the way to motivate us was with insults.”

White said of Hemus, “I never had a problem with him, but some of the other players, especially Curt Flood and Bob Gibson, absolutely despised him, partly because he didn’t play them as much as they would have liked but also because they thought he was a racist.”

In 1992, Gibson recalled, Hemus approached him at a Cardinals reunion and said he wasn’t a racist. Gibson reminded Hemus of the incident with Daniels. According to Gibson, Hemus defended himself as “a master motivator doing what he could to fire up the ball club.”

Said Gibson: “My response was ‘Bullshit.’ ”

In his book “October 1964,” author David Halberstam said Hemus “was saddened that years later Gibson and Flood still thought of him as a racist. He accepted the blame for what had happened. The world had been changing, but he had not, he later decided.”

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Umpire to John Denny: You gab, you’re gone

Posted in Games, Pitchers on September 30, 2017| Leave a Comment »

In a season that started spectacularly before shattering into shambles, the low point for Cardinals pitcher John Denny occurred when he was ejected from a game before it began.

On Sept. 27, 1977, Denny was tossed because he ignored an umpire’s directive to stop talking with people in or near the stands.

It was that kind of season for Denny. He won his first seven decisions for the 1977 Cardinals before losing his next eight in a row. During the skid, he was injured and sat out for more than a month.

A year after leading the National League in earned run average, Denny was an underachiever for the 1977 Cardinals.

Up and down

Denny debuted in the big leagues with the Cardinals in September 1974. He earned 10 wins for St. Louis in 1975 and followed that with 11 wins and a league-leading 2.52 ERA in 1976. Denny was especially strong in the second half of the 1976 season, posting ERAs of 1.93 in July, 1.88 in August and 1.15 in September.

His effectiveness carried over into the start of the 1977 season. Denny was 5-0 with a 2.94 ERA in April and his record stood at 7-0 after a shutout victory over the Cubs on May 31.

After that, his season began to unravel. In June, Denny was 0-2 with a 4.91 ERA. He was ejected on June 6 for bumping an umpire and he got tossed again on June 11 for fighting with Reggie Smith of the Dodgers.

On June 21, Denny suffered a hamstring injury and didn’t pitch from June 22 until July 30. After he came back, Denny lost six decisions in a row, dropping his record to 7-8 with a 4.67 ERA.

“That was the worst stretch I’ve ever been through,” Denny said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “It really bothered me.”

Social hour

In their final homestand of the 1977 season, the Cardinals had games with the Expos and Mets.

On Sept. 27, the night before he was scheduled to make a start against the Expos, Denny was talking with people in or near the Busch Stadium stands before the game.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Edwardsville (Ill.) Intelligencer offered slightly different versions of what transpired between Denny and umpire Paul Runge.

_ Post-Dispatch: “Before the game, Runge noticed Denny leaning across the rail, talking to fans in violation of a league rule. When the umpire ordered Denny to return to the dugout, the pitcher got testy and was ejected.”

_ Intelligencer: “Runge objected to Denny talking to photographers in their booth by the dugout after he had asked that players move away from the stands.”

Cardinals management said Runge had overstepped his authority because the game hadn’t started, the Intelligencer reported.

Happy ending

Because Runge was scheduled to work home plate in the Expos-Cardinals game on Sept. 28, Denny was scratched from his start that night by manager Vern Rapp, who wanted to avoid a potential conflict between pitcher and umpire. Rapp moved Denny’s start to Sept. 30 in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Mets.

Denny, 25, ended the tumultuous season on a high note. He pitched a complete game in a 7-2 Cardinals victory against the Mets. The win was his first since May and evened his record at 8-8.

Denny, who yielded eight hits and issued three walks, was helped by a defense that turned three double plays.

“That was one of the hardest games for me because I had to wait so long to win one,” Denny said. Boxscore

Denny credited pitching coach Claude Osteen with finding and fixing a flaw. “Claude noticed in some films that I had been hurrying too much with my pitches,” said Denny. “That made me erratic with my curve and with my changeup.”

Previously: Larry Dierker and his unsatisfying stint with Cardinals

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