RetroSimba

The Cardinals tried to acquire Don Zimmer to be their second baseman but were outmaneuvered by the Cubs.

On April 8, 1960, the Dodgers told Zimmer he would be traded later in the day to either the Cardinals or the Cubs. Zimmer said he preferred to go to the Cubs because they would play him at third base, his favorite position.

The Cardinals offered the Dodgers a pair of minor-league players and cash. The Cubs offered three minor-leaguers and cash.

After weighing both offers, the Dodgers chose the Cubs, dealing Zimmer for pitcher Ron Perranoski, infielder John Goryl and outfielder Lee Handley. Only Goryl had big-league experience, but Perranoski was the prize. The left-hander became a prominent reliever for the Dodgers.

The Cardinals’ failure to land Zimmer turned out to be fortuitous. A month later, they made a trade with the Pirates for Julian Javier, who developed into an all-star and was their second baseman on three National League championship clubs.

Hard knocks

In December 1959, the Cardinals traded second baseman Don Blasingame to the Giants for shortstop Daryl Spencer and outfielder Leon Wagner. With the acquisition of Spencer, the Cardinals planned to shift Alex Grammas from shortstop to second base.

Near the end of spring training in 1960, when the Dodgers started shopping Zimmer, the Cardinals saw an opportunity to upgrade at second base. Zimmer (29) was five years younger than Grammas (34). The Cardinals thought it would be better to have Grammas in a utility role.

Zimmer was available because Maury Wills had taken over the Dodgers’ shortstop job and Bob Lillis was a capable backup.

In 1953, Zimmer was beaned in a minor-league game, suffered a skull fracture and needed a plate inserted in his head. He made his debut in the majors with the Dodgers in 1954 and two years later suffered a broken cheekbone when beaned again by a pitch from Hal Jeffcoat of the Reds.

Zimmer “just doesn’t get out of the way,” pitcher Sal Maglie said to the Associated Press.

After being used primarily as a backup at second, third and short, Zimmer became the Dodgers’ starting shortstop in 1958 and hit .262 with 17 home runs.

“A colorful fielder, Zimmer looks like a chubby Nellie Fox, always yelling encouragement about the infield with a wad of chewing tobacco bulging in his jaw,” the Associated Press observed.

Zimmer returned as Dodgers shortstop in 1959, but struggled to hit for average. “Likable little Zimmer never has ceased stubbornly to swing for the fences,” Bob Broeg of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted.

In June 1959, the Dodgers called up Wills from the minors and the speedster supplanted Zimmer, who never got untracked and finished the season with a .165 batting mark for the National League champions.

Time to go

At spring training in 1960, Zimmer choked up on the bat and shortened his swing. “I’ve never seen Zimmer look better,” Dodgers manager Walter Alston told The Sporting News.

Alston may have been trying to prop up Zimmer’s trade value. He and Zimmer weren’t getting along.

“I wanted to get away, especially from Alston,” Zimmer told the Associated Press. “I know he doesn’t care for me. That’s because I’m always after him to play me or trade me.”

The Cardinals and Cubs were the most ardent suitors for Zimmer. The Cubs wanted him as the third baseman to replace Alvin Dark, who they traded to the Phillies in January 1960.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Zimmer “stated frankly he was not interested in going to the Cardinals when he learned they planned to play him at second base. He prefers third.”

The Dodgers “were understood to be seeking a suitable place for Zimmer in the major leagues,” the Tribune reported, “and his preference for the Cubs undoubtedly was taken into consideration.”

The Cardinals offered two minor-league players and cash to the Dodgers for Zimmer, the Post-Dispatch reported, adding the identities of the players were unknown. It’s possible pitcher Jim Donohue and outfielder Duke Carmel were the minor-leaguers offered because two months later the Cardinals dealt them to the Dodgers for outfielder John Glenn.

According to the Associated Press, Dodgers general manager Buzzie Bavasi told Zimmer, “You’re going to either the Cubs or the St. Louis Cardinals. I can’t tell you yet. I’ll be able to tell you later on.”

A few hours later, Zimmer learned he was a Cub.

“I would have liked to have had Zim because he can play three infield positions well and I like his fire,” Cardinals manager Solly Hemus told the Post-Dispatch.

Foiled in their attempt to acquire Zimmer, the Cardinals turned their attention to a Pirates prospect, Julian Javier, whose path to the majors was blocked by Bill Mazeroski, a future Hall of Famer. On May 28, 1960, the Cardinals dealt pitcher Vinegar Bend Mizell and infielder Dick Gray to the Pirates for reliever Ed Bauta and Javier, who became their mainstay at second base for more than a decade.

Crowd pleaser

Zimmer was the third baseman when the Cubs opened the season on April 12, 1960, against the Dodgers at Los Angeles. In his first at-bat as a Cub, Zimmer hit a home run against his former teammate, Don Drysdale.

“The crowd of 67,550 stood and cheered Don as he rounded the bases,” The Sporting News reported.

Zimmer told the Los Angeles Times, “I can’t think of anything that has happened to me in baseball that gave me a bigger thrill, and I hit it off one of my best buddies.” Boxscore

The next day, Zimmer was chatting with Drysdale at the ballpark when Dodgers outfielder Duke Snider approached and informed them his wife stood and applauded for Zimmer when he hit the home run.

Zimmer replied, “I can top that one. I saw Ginger Drysdale outside the dressing room after the game and she gave me a kiss and a hug.”

In June 1960, the Cubs called up prospect Ron Santo from the minors, put him at third base and moved Zimmer to second. Zimmer eventually played for the Mets, Reds, Dodgers again, and Senators before ending his playing career in 1965.

From 1971 through 2006, Zimmer was in the major leagues as either a coach or manager. He had a 906-873 record as manager of the Padres, Red Sox, Rangers, Cubs and Yankees.

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The Cardinals had Willie Montanez in their organization, lost him, got him back, lost him again and made another attempt to reacquire him.

On April 8, 1970, the Cardinals sent Montanez to the Phillies as partial compensation for Curt Flood’s failure to report after being traded.

A first baseman and outfielder in the Cardinals’ farm system, Montanez became a prominent player for the Phillies.

He spent 14 seasons in the majors with nine teams, but not the Cardinals.

Big leap

Cardinals scout Chase Riddle, who signed Steve Carlton and who also opened the talent pipeline for the club in Latin America, discovered Montanez in Puerto Rico. Montanez signed with the Cardinals on March 1, 1965, a month before he turned 17. He spent the 1965 season with a Cardinals club managed by George Kissell in the Florida Rookie League.

Years later, Montanez admitted he too often flashed a temper in those development years. “I was really bad then,” Montanez said to the Philadelphia Daily News. He also told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “I wouldn’t take anything from anybody and I’m sure that’s what held me down in the minor leagues.”

Left off the Cardinals’ 40-man major-league roster, Montanez was selected by the Angels in the November 1965 Rule 5 draft. The move was a surprise because Montanez had little professional experience and, under the rules, would have to remain with the Angels throughout the 1966 major-league season or be offered back to the Cardinals.

Montanez, 18, was on the Angels’ Opening Day roster and made his debut in the majors on April 12, 1966, as a pinch-runner for Norm Siebern. Boxscore

He appeared in eight games for the Angels, had two at-bats and struck out both times. On May 5, 1966, the Angels returned Montanez to the Cardinals, who sent him to their farm club at Rock Hill, S.C. A month later, in June 1966, Rock Hill placed Montanez on a 10-day inactive list so he could return to Puerto Rico and graduate with his high school class, The Sporting News reported.

From 1966-69, Montanez made a steady rise through the Cardinals’ system. In 1969, he hit .375 in 14 games for Class AAA Tulsa before he fractured his right knee sliding into second base, ending his season.

Compromise solution

In October 1969, the Cardinals traded Flood, Tim McCarver, Joe Hoerner and Byron Browne to the Phillies for Richie Allen, Cookie Rojas and Jerry Johnson. Flood refused to report and filed an antitrust lawsuit, challenging baseball’s reserve clause.

At spring training in 1970, when it became obvious Flood wouldn’t reconsider, the Cardinals and Phillies opened talks regarding a player to replace him in the trade. The Phillies were interested in third baseman Mike Shannon, the Post-Dispatch reported, until medical tests revealed he had a kidney ailment.

With Shannon unavailable, the Cardinals submitted a list of players for consideration, but the Phillies rejected it because “we felt the players listed were no better than the players we already had,” Phillies general manager John Quinn told the Post-Dispatch. “In some cases, we felt they weren’t even quite as good as the players we had.”

The Phillies suggested to the Cardinals some alternative names, including Montanez. Phillies manager Frank Lucchesi had seen Montanez while managing winter baseball in Puerto Rico and urged the Phillies to take him, the Sporting News reported.

“Montanez was more or less a compromise name,” Cardinals general manager Bing Devine told the Post-Dispatch.

The Phillies got Montanez and the right to choose another Cardinals prospect. On Aug. 30, 1970, the Phillies took pitcher Jim Browning.

Fantastic Phillie

Montanez spent the 1970 season in the minors before being called up to the Phillies in September. He went to spring training in 1971 “with only an outside chance of winning a job as a utility man,” The Sporting News reported.

Instead, Montanez was the surprise of training camp and opened the 1971 season as the Phillies’ center fielder.

On April 25, 1971, when the Phillies were in St. Louis to play the Cardinals, Montanez made an over-the-shoulder catch of a Jose Cardenal liner and “collapsed to the warning track, the breath knocked out of him by the head-on collision with an unyielding wall,” the Philadelphia Daily News reported. Boxscore

Five months later, on Sept. 13, 1971, Montanez had five hits and a walk in six plate appearances against the Cardinals at St. Louis. Besides two singles and a double, Montanez hit two home runs. The first, against Reggie Cleveland, tied the score in the seventh and the second, against Don Shaw in the 10th, gave the Phillies a 6-5 victory. Boxscore

Montanez finished the 1971 season with 30 home runs and 99 RBI for the Phillies. The next year, he tied for the National League lead in doubles (39).

Near deal

In May 1975, the Phillies traded Montanez to the Giants for Garry Maddox.

Montanez didn’t like San Francisco’s weather or its stadium, Candlestick Park. He chose to play the 1976 season without a contract. The Giants, concerned Montanez intended to play out his option and become a free agent, decided to trade him. Montanez’s agent, Dennis O’Brien, told the Giants his client would play in St. Louis, Pittsbugh, Philadelphia or New York, the Post-Dispatch reported.

On June 12, 1976, the Cardinals and Giants made a deal “on the condition that Montanez would sign with the Cardinals,” the San Francisco Examiner reported, but the Cardinals backed out when Montanez indicated he would stay unsigned.

“Montanez’s agent called and said we appreciate the opportunity but we’ve decided to play out our option,” Devine told the Post-Dispatch.

Montanez said to the Examiner, “I never did say I’d sign with the Cardinals … I might have signed with St. Louis if the price had been right.”

According to the Examiner, the Cardinals intended to send Reggie Smith to the Giants for Montanez. The Post-Dispatch reported the Cardinals would have sent Smith or Keith Hernandez. Pitcher Lynn McGlothen told The Sporting News he was the player the Cardinals intended to swap for Montanez.

A year earlier, the Cardinals traded Ken Reitz, a San Francisco native, to the Giants. Hernandez, also a San Francisco native, told the Post-Dispatch he wouldn’t have been surprised if he had been dealt to the Giants for Montanez. “They’re looking for Bay Area products,” Hernandez said. “That’s why they got Reitzie. They’re looking for people who’ll bring fans into the park.”

The next day, June 13, 1976, the Giants traded Montanez to the Braves for Darrell Evans. Two days after that, the Cardinals swapped Smith to the Dodgers for Joe Ferguson.

Extra mustard

Montanez batted .275 with 1,604 career hits for the Angels, Phillies, Giants, Braves, Mets, Rangers, Padres, Expos and Pirates. He developed a reputation for flamboyant catches and bat flips.

Bill Conlin of the Philadelphia Daily News concluded Montanez “has all the subtlety of a peacock.”

“He walks toward the plate twirling his bat, almost like a baton,” The Sporting News noted.

Padres second baseman Tito Fuentes said, “He’s headed for the hot dog hall of fame. Nobody else is close to him.”

Said Montanez: “Some players do those things, they call them colorful. I do them, they say I am a hot dog.”

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