RetroSimba

In his short stay with the Cardinals, Bobby Locke pitched a total of two innings in one game and faced four future Hall of Famers.

A right-handed pitcher, Locke played in nine seasons in the majors leagues, primarily with the Indians, Phillies and Angels.

His time with the Cardinals consisted of three weeks in April 1962 when he made one appearance for them. It came against the Cubs, the team that traded him to the Cardinals. Locke pitched two scoreless innings in relief and faced nine batters, including the four who would make it to Cooperstown, Ernie Banks, Lou Brock, Ron Santo and Billy Williams.

Though Locke had a good outing, he and the Cardinals weren’t a good fit.

Unused and unhappy, Locke wanted to pitch more and the Cardinals responded by dealing him to the Phillies.

Pitching prospect

After excelling as a high school athlete in Republic, Pa., about 45 miles south of Pittsburgh, Locke briefly attended Arizona State on a football scholarship, returned home and signed a baseball contract with the Indians in 1953.

After four seasons (1953-56) in the Indians’ farm system, Locke spent two years in military service. He returned to baseball in 1959 with the Indians’ farm club at San Diego, posted a 1.63 ERA and was promoted to the majors in June.

Used as a reliever and spot starter, Locke was 3-2 for the Indians in 1959, 3-5 in 1960 and 4-4 in 1961. He also had a total of six saves.

Coveted by the Cubs

Locke threw a sinking fastball and it caught the attention of the Cubs, who traded second baseman Jerry Kindall for him in November 1961.

“I was surprised by the Kindall deal,” Locke told the Philadelphia Daily News. “Hell, I thought I could hit better than Kindall and I’m a pitcher.”

Before trading for Locke, the Cubs rejected a Braves offer of starting pitcher Bob Buhl for reliever Don Elston and Kindall, The Sporting News reported. Braves general manager John McHale said, “It’s kind of hard to understand. Buhl can win 15 games a year for just about anybody and Locke is pretty much an unknown.”

In its assessment of Locke, The Sporting News declared, “There are times when he appears to be the world’s greatest. At other times, you wonder if he isn’t traveling incognito.”

The Cubs projected Locke, 27, to join a 1962 starting rotation with Don Cardwell, Glen Hobbie and Dick Ellsworth. Locke “was virtually handed the No. 4 starting berth on a platter,” The Sporting News noted.

Elvin Tappe, designated as Cubs head coach in a system featuring multiple coaches as field leaders instead of a manager, said, “Locke is exactly the type of pitcher who is most successful at Wrigley Field. He’s a hard thrower with a good, sinking fastball.”

Regarding his fastball, Locke said, “I’ll match it against anyone’s.”

Conform or else

The relationship between Locke and Cubs management began to deteriorate soon after he arrived at spring training camp in Arizona. The Cubs gave him a manual on fundamentals and Locke disregarded it, saying he knew how to play. They also gave him a jump rope. “Everybody got a rope to skip with in their spare time, but I didn’t see much sense in it,” Locke told the Philadelphia Daily News.

Regarding Locke’s relationship with the coaches, his “clubhouse conversation and independence disenchanted them quickly,” the Chicago Tribune reported.

Locke also disliked the Cubs’ system of a board of coaches, who took turns being head coach, in place of a manager. The issue flared into a controversy on March 6, 1962, during an intrasquad scrimmage. Locke walked off the mound and headed to the training room without consulting any of the coaches. The head coach, Elvin Tappe, wasn’t at the game because he was attending a civic luncheon in Phoenix.

“My arm was tight and I didn’t think I should pitch any more,” Locke told the Philadelphia Inquirer, “but the pitching coach wasn’t around and the others were involved in some kind of argument on the field and weren’t in the dugout when I came in. So I just went into the clubhouse.”

Locke added, “With this all-coach system, I just didn’t know who to talk to.”

One of the coaches, Vedie Himsl, said, “Bobby just has to get used to doing things our way.”

According to Himsl, “Bobby apologized for the public defection,” but Locke stayed deep in the Cubs’ doghouse.

“After that,” wrote Philadelphia Daily News columnist Larry Merchant, “a leper would have become more at home with the Cubbies than Locke.”

Locke said, “Nobody talked to me for two weeks after that incident, honest. Even the players shied away from me. Maybe they could feel I was an outcast with the front office.”

Odd man out

On April 7, 1962, before he had a chance to pitch in a regular-season game for the Cubs, Locke was traded to the Cardinals for a minor-league outfielder, Allen Herring, and cash.

Locke’s arrival gave the Cardinals five right-handed relievers. Getting enough work for Locke, John Anderson, Ed Bauta, Lindy McDaniel and Paul Toth was a challenge for manager Johnny Keane.

Locke was a Cardinal for two weeks before he got into the game against the Cubs. He entered in a mop-up role in the seventh inning with the Cubs ahead, 11-5.

After retiring the first two batters, Locke gave up a single to pitcher Dick Ellsworth before getting Lou Brock to ground to second for a forceout. In the eighth after retiring the leadoff batter, Locked walked Ron Santo, who advanced to second on a wild pitch. After Ernie Banks grounded out, Billy Williams walked, but Locke escaped unscathed when he got Bob Will to fly out to center. Boxscore

According to the Philadelphia Daily News, Locke told the Cardinals he’d just as soon move on if they weren’t going to pitch him more often.

“They had a lot of big stars over there and I knew I wouldn’t get much of a chance,” Locke said. “I want to pitch.”

On the move

On April 28, 1962, the Cardinals traded Locke to the Phillies for Don Ferrarese, a left-handed reliever who had been in the majors since 1955 and was Locke’s teammate with the Indians in 1959.

Ferrarese finished his big-league career with the 1962 Cardinals and was 1-4 with one save and a 2.70 ERA in 38 appearances for them.

In his first appearance for the Phillies, on April 29, 1962, Locke held the Mets to one hit in 4.2 innings of relief and got the win. He also contributed a run-scoring single. Boxscore

A happy Locke said, “With the Cardinals, everyone went separate ways. Here, everyone is on the same level.”

The good vibes faded quickly. Locke yielded runs in each of his next four appearances and was sent to minor-league Buffalo, his fifth club since October.

After pitching in parts of three seasons (1962-64) for the Phillies, Locke pitched for the Reds (1965) and Angels (1967-68).

Read Full Post »

(Updated Nov. 21, 2024)

For the second time in five years, the Cardinals in June got a future Hall of Fame pitcher who helped them become champions.

On June 16, 1930, the Cardinals acquired Burleigh Grimes from the Braves for pitchers Bill Sherdel and Fred Frankhouse.

A spitball specialist whose dark stubble gave him a menacing look on the mound, Grimes, 36, had a reputation as an intimidating competitor and consistent winner.

In the book “Voices From Cooperstown,” Cubs second baseman Billy Herman said, “Burleigh Grimes was … real hard-nosed. The day he’d pitch, he didn’t want anyone even looking at him. He was mean on the mound.”

With the Cardinals, Grimes was 13-6 in 1930 and 17-9 in 1931, and they won National League pennants both years. In the 1931 World Series, Grimes, pitching in pain caused by an inflamed appendix, started and won the deciding Game 7.

Like Grimes, Grover Cleveland Alexander, a right-hander destined for election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, was acquired by the Cardinals in a June transaction. The Cardinals claimed Alexander, 39, on waivers from the Cubs in 1926 and he helped them win pennants in 1926 and 1928. His strikeout of the Yankees’ Tony Lazzeri with the bases loaded in Game 7 was the iconic moment in the Cardinals’ first World Series championship.

Winning formula

Grimes, 23, made his debut in the majors with the Pirates in 1916. After posting a 3-16 record in 1917, a trade to the Dodgers (involving outfielder Casey Stengel) revived Grimes’ career. Grimes was 19-9 in 1918, the first of 14 consecutive seasons of double-digit wins.

In February 1920, baseball outlawed the spitball, but exempted pitchers who threw the pitch in the majors before then. Grimes was one of those exempted and was permitted to throw the spitball the remainder of his career. He chewed slippery elm bark for the substance used for the pitch.

Grimes four times had 21 or more wins in a season for the Dodgers, including 1920 when he was 23-11 for the National League champions. “No pitcher in baseball history was a more determined fighter,” The Sporting News reported.

Off the field, Grimes was talkative and thoughtful. He studied and analyzed pitching techniques and willingly shared his views. On the field, he was intense.

“There was only one man standing between me and more money, and that was the guy with the bat,” Grimes said.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted, “When pitching, he is a snarling hard-to-get-along-with personality. He glares at an infielder who makes an error behind him and sneers at umpires who fail to meet his approval in their decisions.”

Bust with Braves

In 1928, Grimes was with the Pirates and was 25-14. The next year, he was 16-2 and on pace for 30 wins when he was struck on the right thumb by a ball off the bat of the Giants’ Bill Terry in July. Sidelined a month, Grimes won once the rest of the 1929 season and finished at 17-7.

A holdout in spring training in 1930, Grimes was traded to the Braves in April when the Pirates rejected his demand for a two-year contract. Rushed into the season without any spring training, Grimes struggled to a 3-5 record and 7.35 ERA for the 1930 Braves, who sought to unload his contract.

When offered Bill Sherdel (3-2, 4.64 ERA) and Fred Frankhouse (2-3, 7.32) for Grimes, the Braves agreed. The year before, Frankhouse was 7-2 for the Cardinals. Sherdel had been with them since 1918 and eight times had seasons of double-digit wins, including 21-10 for the 1928 National League champions.

Sherdel told the Post-Dispatch, “I’ll be pulling for the Cardinals except when I pitch against them.”

Said Frankhouse, “I was hoping we’d land Grimes, but I didn’t even think I might be sent away.”

The Boston Globe concluded, “The Braves cannot be any worse off with Sherdel and Frankhouse. In fact, they should benefit for all the good the high-priced Burleigh Grimes was to them.”

Braves manager Bill McKechnie, who managed the Cardinals to the 1928 pennant, had a different viewpoint, telling the Globe there was no doubt Grimes would win a lot of games for St. Louis.

Making a difference

Grimes joined a Cardinals rotation of Bill Hallahan, Syl Johnson, Jesse Haines and Flint Rhem.

“We have made a deal that will make us a more dangerous pennant contender,” said Cardinals manager Gabby Street. “Grimes is a great pitcher.”

According to the Post-Dispatch, Grimes told club owner Sam Breadon, “You didn’t make any mistake when you got me. There’s nothing the matter with my arm.”

On the day the Cardinals got Grimes, they lost to the Dodgers and their record dropped to 26-28.

The addition of Grimes, along with the return to the lineup of two ailing future Hall of Famers, second baseman Frankie Frisch (spike wound) and left fielder Chick Hafey (sinuses), eventually helped propel the Cardinals higher in the standings.

After posting losing records in June and July, the 1930 Cardinals surged to 23-9 in August and 21-4 in September. Grimes had a significant role. He was 5-2 in August and 4-1 in September.

When Grimes shut out the Pirates on Sept. 25, 1930, it enabled the Cardinals to keep a three-game lead over the Cubs with three to play, assuring at least a share of the pennant. Boxscore

The Cardinals clinched the next day and faced the Athletics in the World Series.

Grimes was 12-4 with a 3.13 ERA as a starter for the 1930 Cardinals and 1-2 with a 6.35 ERA as a reliever. He pitched a pair of five-hitters in the 1930 World Series, but was the loser in both. The Athletics won four of six versus the Cardinals.

In the 1931 World Series rematch, Grimes was 2-0 with a 2.04 ERA. He beat Lefty Grove in Game 3 and George Earnshaw in Game 7.

Field manager

Two months after his World Series success, Grimes, 38, was traded by the Cardinals to the Cubs for outfielder Hack Wilson and pitcher Bud Teachout.

The Cardinals reacquired Grimes in July 1933 after he was released by the Cubs. He pitched in four games for the Cardinals in 1933 and four more in 1934. Grimes also pitched for the Yankees and Pirates in 1934, his last season as a big-league pitcher, and finished with a career record of 270-212.

In 1935, he became manager of a Cardinals farm club in Bloomington, Ill.

In 1937, 20 years after he was traded for Casey Stengel, Grimes replaced Stengel as Dodgers manager. Grimes managed the Dodgers for two seasons before Leo Durocher took over the role.

Grimes managed for several more seasons in the minors, including 1945 and part of 1946 with the Cardinals’ Rochester farm team.

Read Full Post »

The 1970 Cardinals found the closer they needed, but, following a familiar pattern, gave up on him too soon.

On May 29, 1970, St. Louis got Ted Abernathy from the Cubs for infielder Phil Gagliano.

A right-hander, Abernathy, 37, threw underhanded with a delivery described as submarine style.

At 6 feet 4, he was a formidable presence when he whipped his right arm down low to the ground and sent the ball zipping toward the plate.

The Cardinals needed quality relief and Abernathy provided it. He made 11 appearances for them and was 1-0 with a save and 2.95 ERA.

Inexplicably, a month after the Cardinals acquired Abernathy, general manager Bing Devine dealt him to the Royals for pitcher Chris Zachary, who was assigned to the minors.

Abernathy went on to pitch in 36 games for the 1970 Royals and was 9-3 with 12 saves and a 2.59 ERA for them. He joined Wayne Granger (Reds), Dave Giusti (Pirates), Joe Hoerner (Phillies) and Mudcat Grant (Athletics and Pirates) as premier relievers dealt by Devine during his second stint with the Cardinals.

In 1970, when the Cardinals ranked last in the league in saves (20) and their team leader was Chuck Taylor (eight), Granger, Giusti, Hoerner and Grant had a combined record of 32-16 with 94 saves.

Adapt and adjust

Abernathy threw overhand until he injured his right shoulder as a high school freshman and switched to a sidearm delivery.

After signing with the Senators in 1952, Abernathy made his major-league debut with them in 1955.

Near the end of the 1956 season, Abernathy hurt his right elbow. Trying to compensate for the pain, he put pressure on his shoulder and damaged it again. Weakened, Abernathy was 2-10 with a 6.78 ERA for the Senators in 1957.

Except for two appearances for the Senators in 1960, Abernathy spent the next five seasons (1958-62) in the minors. After undergoing shoulder surgery in 1959, he adopted the submarine delivery.

In 1963, Abernathy, 30, made it back to the majors with the Indians and experienced a career rebirth. With his arm strength restored and his submarine delivery perfected, Abernathy became a durable, effective big-league reliever.

“His delivery was sweeping so low it swept him to the top as a relief pitcher,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted.

Late bloomer

Abernathy was the National League leader in saves twice (31 for 1965 Cubs and 28 for 1967 Reds). He also led the league in games pitched three times (84 for 1965 Cubs, 70 for 1967 Reds and 78 for 1968 Reds).

Relying on a sinking fastball, curve and knuckleball he used as a changeup, Abernathy thrived on work. The more often he pitched, the better the results.

“If I don’t have to work more than a couple of innings, I can go for seven or eight days in a row, take a rest, and do it again,’ Abernathy told The Sporting News.

In 1970, during his second stint with the Cubs, Abernathy began the season as the setup reliever to closer Phil Regan.

On May 16, 1970, Abernathy relieved Cubs starter Ken Holtzman in the ninth inning of a game at St. Louis. With the Cubs ahead, 3-1, Abernathy was brought in to face slugger Dick Allen with the bases loaded and two outs.

With the count at 2-and-1, Abernathy needed to throw a strike, but his pitch sailed toward Allen. Though he tried to turn away, the ball struck Allen in the back of the head.

“I was surprised Allen didn’t get out of the way,” Abernathy told the Post-Dispatch. “I yelled to him, but I guess he didn’t hear me.”

Allen’s advancement to first allowed the runner from third to score, carrying the Cardinals to within a run at 3-2, but Regan came in and got Joe Torre to line out to center, ending the game. Boxscore

Come and gone

Two weeks later, the Cubs traded Abernathy to the Cardinals. Though Abernathy had a 2.00 ERA and a save in 11 games for the 1970 Cubs, manager Leo Durocher had lost confidence in him.

“The Cardinals were the only team who wanted Abernathy,” Durocher told the Chicago Tribune. “They needed relief pitching and were willing to take the chance. Maybe he’ll help them. I don’t know. All I know is that every time I put him in a game this year he was getting bombed.”

Before the Cardinals acquired Abernathy, five pitchers, Chuck Taylor, Tom Hilgendorf, Jerry Johnson, Sal Campisi and Billy McCool, earned saves for them in 1970. A week before Abernathy arrived, the Cardinals got another closer candidate, Frank Linzy, from the Giants.

“What they’re doing, of course, is indulging in a bit of wishful thinking when they claim anything in sight with a toeplate,” Bob Broeg wrote in the Post-Dispatch.

On May 30, 1970, Abernathy made his Cardinals debut at St. Louis against the Dodgers and pitched 3.1 innings in relief of starter Santiago Guzman. Boxscore

Abernathy got a save a week later in a game Bob Gibson won against the Padres at St. Louis. Boxscore

On June 27, 1970, in his last Cardinals appearance, Abernathy worked out of a bases-loaded jam he inherited and got the win versus the Phillies at St. Louis. Boxscore

Four days later, he was traded to the Royals.

Royal gift

“I was pitching well for the Cardinals,” Abernathy said. “At least I thought I was pitching pretty well. I asked Bing Devine (about the trade) and he told me, ‘That’s baseball. You move around.’ ”

When Abernathy reported to the Royals, he said to manager Bob Lemon, “I need work.” Lemon replied, “You came to the right place.”

Abernathy pitched five times in his first six days with the Royals and was 3-0 with a save and 0.96 ERA. In his first 9.1 innings, he allowed a run and struck out 13.

Lemon, an ace for the Indians when Abernathy debuted in the American League 15 years earlier, knew how to utilize his reliever. Abernathy was 5-3 with four saves in July, 2-0 with four saves in August and 2-0 with four saves in September. Right-handed batters hit .202 against him.

Abernathy was the second productive player the Royals got from the Cardinals in 1970. A month earlier, they obtained second baseman Cookie Rojas.

“We appreciate the Cardinals,” Royals general manager Cedric Tallis said to the Post-Dispatch. “They treated us as equals, not as just another expansion club, the way everybody else did.”

Abernathy’s combined 1970 record with the Cubs, Cardinals and Royals was 10-3 with 14 saves and a 2.60 ERA.

Abernathy pitched for the Royals again in 1971 and 1972, ending his 14 years in the majors with a 63-69 record and 149 saves.

Read Full Post »