(Updated June 12, 2024)
With Vince Coleman offering a younger, less expensive and more productive alternative as a left fielder, the Cardinals deemed Lonnie Smith expendable.
On May 17, 1985, the Cardinals dealt Smith to the Royals for John Morris, a minor-league outfielder.
Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog told a Kansas City reporter seeking a comment about the trade, “You’ve just won the damn pennant.”
Five months later, Smith played an integral role in the Royals defeating the Cardinals in seven games in the 1985 World Series.
St. Louis sparkplug
In four seasons with the Cardinals, Smith hit .292 with 173 steals and a .371 on-base percentage.
In 1982, his first season with the Cardinals, Smith ignited the offense, hitting .307, scoring 120 runs and stealing 68 bases. In the 1982 World Series, Smith hit .321 with six runs scored, helping the Cardinals beat the Brewers in seven games.
Smith underwent rehabilitation for drug abuse in 1983, missing about a month of the season, but hit .321 with 43 steals. In 1984, his batting average was .250.
Smith opened the 1985 season as the Cardinals’ left fielder, joining Willie McGee in center and Andy Van Slyke in right. When McGee was sidelined by an injury in April, the Cardinals promoted Coleman from Class AAA Louisville. The rookie speedster established himself as a force, hitting .300 with 12 steals in his first dozen games. When McGee returned to the lineup, Smith was odd man out.
“If the National League had a designated hitter, he would have died a Cardinal,” Herzog told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Royals come calling
The Royals were among several clubs that expressed interest in Smith, Cardinals general manager Dal Maxvill said. According to the Post-Dispatch, Royals general manager John Schuerholz contacted Maxvill, who asked for Morris. “John Morris is the top prospect in their organization,” Maxvill said. “We’ve checked with tons of people to find out about the young man. All reports were excellent.”
Morris, 24, was the first-round choice of the Royals in the 1982 amateur draft. In 1983, he was named winner of the Southern League Most Valuable Player Award, hitting .288 with 23 home runs and 92 RBI for Jacksonville.
On May 13, 1985, four days before the trade was made, the New York Daily News reported a deal was in the works. Morris got a phone call from his mother, who informed him of the newspaper report. Stunned, Morris called Schuerholz and asked him about it.
According to Morris’ book “Bullet Bob Comes to Louisville,” Schuerholz told him, “The news about you being traded is strictly a rumor created by the St. Louis media. You have nothing to worry about. Everything will be fine.”
Hurt feelings
On the day of the trade, Morris was with the Omaha club in Buffalo when he got a call from Schuerholz. According to Morris’ book, the conversation went like this:
Schuerholz: “John, we just made a trade. You’ve been dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals for Lonnie Smith. I know we discussed this the other day, but at the time I couldn’t give you any information.”
Morris: “So, you knew all along that I was going to be traded. I think it’s unfortunate that I had to find out from my mom, who just happened to stumble upon it in the newspaper.”
Schuerholz: “You’re going to a first-class organization and we know you will do well with the Cardinals … Whitey Herzog is a great manager who thinks the world of you. He even told me that himself in spring training.”
Smith was upset about being traded and told the Post-Dispatch, “I had thought about quitting very seriously.”
Smith also said to Cardinals Magazine, “I didn’t want to leave St. Louis.”
Some Cardinals said they thought the club should have gotten more in return for Smith. Cardinals pitcher John Tudor said to the Post-Dispatch, “I think the deal stinks. I don’t think it helps the club … Lonnie always had a lot of spark, he was aggressive, he’d run into a wall for you if that was going to win you a game. I’m sorry to see him go.”
Said Van Slyke: “I wonder why we couldn’t get a pitcher in return?”
Maxvill told The Sporting News he expected to be criticized for trading Smith. “People are going to say that it’s a matter of economics, that the Cardinals don’t want to pay the salaries,” Maxvill said.
Coleman, 23, had a $60,000 salary. Smith, 29, was getting $850,000.
Cardinals management said playing time was a factor, too.
“We didn’t plan on Lonnie playing that much … I don’t think he would be satisfied as a utility player,” said Maxvill.
Herzog said, “I would venture to say there’s never been a better defensive outfield than Van Slyke, McGee and Vince.”
Royals benefit
The Cardinals assigned Morris to Class AAA Louisville. Smith became the Royals’ left fielder.
“Lonnie Smith adds the element of speed and run production to our lineup,” said Schuerholz. “When you start your lineup with Willie Wilson, Lonnie Smith and George Brett, it can be very exciting.”
Regarding Smith’s drug history, Royals manager Dick Howser told United Press International, “Our indications are _ and we’ve checked it out _ he’s very good. He’s done what he’s had to do. We feel comfortable with the fact he’s clean.”
Smith told the Post-Dispatch, “My doctor, my counselor and my wife know I’m clean … Knowing that I’m clean, I can deal with my problems a lot easier.”
(In his book “White Rat: A Life in Baseball,” Herzog said of Smith’s drug problem, “I admired him, and still do, for having the guts to ask for help.”)
Smith hit .257 with 40 steals for the 1985 Royals. In the World Series versus the Cardinals, he batted .333 with four runs scored, four RBI and two steals.
Morris played five seasons (1986-90) with the Cardinals, hitting .247.
