RetroSimba

(Updated June 26, 2020)

The Cardinals paid $75,000 and gave up a trio of players for a pitcher who netted them two outs.

Guillermo Romero “Memo” Luna pitched in one game for the Cardinals in 1954, failed to complete an inning and never played in the majors again.

A left-hander, Luna was the first Mexican-born player to appear in a game for the Cardinals.

On April 20, 1954, he got the start in his Cardinals debut against the Reds at St. Louis, even though his arm was hurting. In the clubhouse before the game, the St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported, “Luna smiled his usual pleasant fashion and said his arm felt fine and indicated by widening the grin and slapping his glove that he was ready to go out and do a little pitching.”

The confidence gave way to a shelling.

In the first inning, Luna yielded two runs on two doubles, two walks and a sacrifice fly. He was lifted with two outs. One of the outs came on a fly ball caught by Stan Musial with his back against the wall. Boxscore

“He was pounded so hard … that manager Eddie Stanky would hardly be justified in another such risky trial,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch observed.

The Globe-Democrat declared Luna had “a hard time throwing a nickel’s worth” of the price the club paid to acquire him.

A few days later, the Cardinals sent Luna to their farm club in Rochester, N.Y.

Though he continued to pitch in the minor leagues and in Mexico until 1961, Memo Luna never returned to the majors.

His big-league career totals: 0-1 record, 27.00 ERA, 0.2 innings, 2 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 6 batters faced.

Super southpaw

In 1951, after he was 26-13 for Tijuana of the Southwest International League, Luna was pursued by the St. Louis Browns, but the San Diego club in the Pacific Coast League had a working agreement with Tijuana and acquired him. In addition to his pitching, Luna was a sketch artist. Asked what he sketched, Luna told the Globe-Democrat, “Everything in life.”

On Sept. 23, 1953, the Cardinals acquired Luna from San Diego for $75,000 and players to be named. They eventually sent pitchers Cliff Chambers and John Romonosky and outfielder Harry Elliott to San Diego, completing the deal.

At the time, Luna, 23, seemed worth the price. He had a 17-12 record and a league-best 2.67 ERA with 16 complete games for San Diego in 1953. Jack Bliss, a catcher for the 1908-1912 Cardinals, watched Luna at San Diego and told Cardinals manager Eddie Stanky, “He’s got exceptional control and a good curve.”

Cardinals scout Joe Mathes checked him out and was impressed. Luna is “a great control pitcher with other skills,” Mathes told the Post-Dispatch. “His knuckleball and curve are very good, he has tremendous poise on the mound and is outstanding in fielding his position and holding runners on base.”

That fall, Luna pitched in the Cuban League for Almendares and manager Bobby Bragan. The Cardinals granted permission with the understanding Luna would quit around Dec. 1, The Sporting News reported.

Luna posted a 4-1 record in his first five decisions for Almendares. The Sporting News wrote Luna “has shown remarkable poise and control, plus a fine knuckler.”

After Luna lost his next two decisions as the Dec. 1 deadline loomed, the Cardinals suggested he leave Cuba and rest his arm before reporting to spring training in February. Luna obliged and went to St. Louis, where he passed a physical examination.

While in St. Louis, Luna told the Cardinals that a day in his honor was being planned in Mexico City and he was being asked to pitch, the Globe-Democrat reported. The Cardinals misunderstood, thinking the game was in December, not February, and agreed to let Luna pitch, the Globe-Democrat reported.

Luna went home to Mexico, believing he had the Cardinals’ approval to pitch on Memo Luna Day.

Worn down

On Feb. 19, 1954, pitching for the Mexico City Reds against Aztecas, Luna struck out a batter in the third inning and grabbed his left elbow in pain.

According to The Sporting News, Luna stayed in the game until its completion, yielding five runs and nine hits in nine innings, and “was throwing with only half speed after the injury.” It was the second farewell game he pitched since returning to Mexico. The Cardinals’ front office had approved him to pitch only one, the Post-Dispatch reported.

Luna reported late to Cardinals spring training camp in Florida, complaining of a sore arm.

“We asked Luna to quit pitching Dec. 1, but we have no way of controlling what a man does back in his home country,” said Stanky.

In spring training, Luna failed to impress. He gave up three runs in two innings to the Phillies and surrendered a two-run, game-winning home run to the Reds’ Gus Bell. The Post-Dispatch described his exhibition game efforts as “a sorry spring.”

Having paid a high price for him, the Cardinals put Luna on the Opening Day roster. He got the start in the Cardinals’ sixth game of the season _ and never got another chance with them again.

“Luna, in Spanish, means moon, but only the English version, outfielder Wally Moon, has resembled a star in the making,” the Post-Dispatch concluded.

After Luna’s demotion to Rochester, Bob Burnes of the Globe-Democrat wrote, “Whether he hurt his arm before he started for spring training or whether it was something else, like maybe getting and feeling a little lost in the hustle and bustle of major league work, no one can say except Luna and he apparently can’t explain it himself. If he regains his control and confidence, both of which he must have to win, the Cardinals probably will accommodate him with a second look. If he doesn’t, they’ll probably leave him at Rochester.”

In late June 1954, when asked whether Luna would be a candidate to return to the Cardinals, Rochester manager Harry Walker told the Post-Dispatch, “Frankly, I’d have to consider him doubtful.”

Luna told the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, “Could I pitch for the Cardinals? Without the fastball, no. If my arm was not hurt anymore, I can pitch for the Cardinals.”

Said Walker: “His changeup and his curveball are his strong points, but his control has to be sharp or he’s in trouble.”

Luna was 9-11 with a 3.50 ERA for Rochester in 1954.

Used primarily in relief, Luna pitched for manager Johnny Keane with the Cardinals’ farm club in Omaha in 1955 and was 4-4 with a 5.43 ERA. Luna spent a season in the Orioles’ farm system and played the rest of his career in Mexico.

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(Updated July 1, 2024)

Desperate for pitching, the 1954 Cardinals settled on a simple solution: Raid the Yankees, winners of five consecutive World Series titles.

The strategy backfired, but the Cardinals at least succeeded in electrifying the fan base and creating buzz throughout the major leagues.

On Feb. 23, 1954, the Cardinals made bids to pry two right-handed aces, Vic Raschi and Allie Reynolds, from the Yankees. They got Raschi but failed to land Reynolds.

The acquisition of Raschi, one of the top pitchers in the American League, was considered a bold move by the Cardinals. Though some were skeptical about why the Yankees were willing to part with Raschi, many believed the deal vaulted the Cardinals from also-rans to National League pennant contenders.

Raschi, 35, had a regular-season record of 120-50 in eight years with the Yankees. He was 5-3 with a 2.24 ERA in six World Series (1947 and 1949-53) for New York. Reynolds, 37, was 118-56 from 1947-53 with the Yankees. He was 7-2 with a 2.79 ERA in six World Series for them.

Big spenders

In 1954, the Cardinals and Yankees both trained in St. Petersburg, Fla. While there, Cardinals owner Gussie Busch saw Dan Topping, a co-owner of the Yankees, and asked whether the Yankees could spare “any kind of right-hander with a fair chance,” The Sporting News reported.

Busch had deep pockets and a desire to spend. Meanwhile, several Yankees were feuding with general manager George Weiss over contract offers for the 1954 season. The Yankees were willing to dump some of their aging, high-priced talent.

According to The Sporting News, Busch “was astonished” when he found the Yankees willing to deal. Busch offered $85,000 for Raschi and $100,000 for Reynolds, according to John Carmichael of the Chicago Tribune.

First, both pitchers needed to clear waivers through the American League in order for the transactions to be completed with the Cardinals. Raschi went unclaimed; Reynolds didn’t. When the Indians claimed him, the Yankees pulled Reynolds off the waiver list and kept him for the 1954 season.

Surprise shake-up

Raschi was at the beach when Bill Greene, a photographer for the New York World-Telegram and Sun, found him and informed him of the trade.

Greene: “You’ve been sold to the Cardinals.”

Raschi: “No, you’re kidding.”

Raschi, who was 13-6 for the 1953 Yankees, wanted a salary for the 1954 season of $40,000, the same amount he was paid in 1951 (when he won 21 for the third season in a row) and in 1952 (when he won 16). Weiss offered $34,000.

“This club is complacent … Raschi’s attitude was like so many other attitudes on this club,” Weiss said.

Almost no one saw the deal coming. Wrote The Sporting News: “Imagine the amazement of the writers when (it was) announced the New York club had sold Raschi to the Cardinals.”

Frank Lane, general manager of the White Sox, thought Raschi was in decline. “As short as the Yankees are on pitchers, don’t you think they would have kept him if he possibly could have helped them? Guys the Yankees get rid of usually are through,” Lane said.

Most, though, thought the Cardinals helped themselves. The 1953 Cardinals had finished at 83-71 _ 22 games behind the National League champion Dodgers.

_ Steve O’Neill, Phillies manager: “Before this deal, we figured we had only Brooklyn and Milwaukee to beat. But now we have the Cards as well.”

_ Leo Durocher, Giants manager: “This tightens up our race some more. I know Raschi is a great competitor.”

_ Casey Stengel, Yankees manager: “(Raschi) certainly wasn’t sold for anything he did on the field. They must have been awfully sore at him in the front office.”

_ Bob Broeg, St. Louis writer: “The acquisition of Vic Raschi was hailed from ballpark front office to tavern backroom … Raschi considerably strengthened the club’s pennant chances.”

_ The Sporting News: “If Raschi wins for the Cards, and the Bombers fail, there will be a storm over the Bronx which will rock (Yankee) Stadium to its very foundations.”

In his autobiography, “The Mick,” Yankees slugger Mickey Mantle said, “They called Raschi the Springfield Rifle. He was a battler, always pushing himself to the limit of his abilities and probably beyond, playing the bulk of his career on damaged knees.”

Ace folds

Raschi heightened expectations, saying, “I expect to have three or four more seasons of top-flight pitching … I’ll be disappointed if I don’t win 20 games.”

Cardinals manager Eddie Stanky said he’d be pleased if Raschi matched the 13 wins he had in 1953. “I’m sure he can do that, at least,” Stanky said.

Raschi won his first five decisions for the 1954 Cardinals, including a shutout of the Giants on May 19 at New York. Raschi held the Giants to five singles, two by Willie Mays, in a 3-0 Cardinals triumph. Boxscore The win gave Raschi a career mark of 125-50, a .714 winning percentage.

When Raschi shut out the Giants again, on a three-hitter on July 29 Boxscore, his record was 8-5, but an assortment of ailments, including back pain, plagued Raschi in the final two months. He lost his last four decisions and finished the 1954 season at 8-9 with a 4.73 ERA in 30 games.

Raschi ranked second on the 1954 Cardinals in starts (29), innings pitched (179) and strikeouts (73). He was 3-0 with 1.85 ERA against the Giants, who won the pennant that season, but Raschi didn’t deliver at the level he and the Cardinals expected. St. Louis led the league in batting (.281) but was seventh in pitching (4.50 ERA). The Cardinals slumped to 72-82 _ 25 games behind the Giants.

At Cardinals spring training in 1955, Raschi was limited to five innings pitched. He made one start in the regular season, got shelled by the Reds and was released the next day.

“I always admired Vic as a great competitor,” Stanky told The Sporting News, “and he proved himself a man, a real man, the way he took this unfortunate news, but we’ve got to stake our chances on younger pitchers who have shown promise.”

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