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Why barely 1,500 fans paid to see contending Cardinals

September 10, 2019 by retrosimba

For many, it no longer paid to watch the Cardinals try to remain in the 1989 division title chase.

On Sept. 14, 1989, the paid attendance to see the Pirates play the Cardinals in a Thursday afternoon game at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis was 1,519.

It was the lowest paid attendance total for a Cardinals game since the stadium opened in May 1966.

The Cardinals’ previous lowest paid attendance figure at Busch Memorial Stadium was 3,380 on Sept. 27, 1972, for a game against the Mets. The Wednesday afternoon game was the regular-season home finale for the Cardinals, who began the day 23 games out of first place at 71-79. Boxscore

In 1989, the Cardinals were supposed to have an off-day on Sept. 14, but a game hastily was scheduled to make up for the previous night when rain halted a scoreless standoff with the Pirates in the sixth inning.

Change of plans

The three-game series with the Pirates should have been a chance for the Cardinals to secure their position in the National League East Division race, but instead it turned out to be a continuation of a slide out of contention.

The Cardinals’ woes began a few days earlier at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The Cardinals (76-63) were 1.5 games behind the Cubs (78-62) entering the three-game weekend series. The Cubs won two of three and the Cardinals returned home to face the Pirates (63-79).

Held to a total of three runs, the Cardinals lost the first two games to the Pirates and went into the Sept. 13 series finale 4.5 games behind the Cubs.

The Wednesday night game matched starting pitchers Doug Drabek of the Pirates and Jose DeLeon of the Cardinals. They waged a scoreless duel before the game was called off because of rain with one out in the top of the sixth. Boxscore

The game, to be replayed entirely, was rescheduled for 12:35 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14. With little notice of an unscheduled game for a day when many were at work or school, few bought tickets.

In addition to the 1,519 paid attendees, the Cardinals allowed those with ticket stubs from the previous night’s rain-halted game to get in free. The Cardinals said 2,015 people used the free vouchers, bringing the total number of spectators to 3,534.

Stranger things

The few fans were confined to the lower deck of the stadium. The sight of such a small gathering for a Cardinals home game was unsettling to both teams.

“It was almost like a 10 o’clock in the morning game in spring training,” Pirates manager Jim Leyland said to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Pirates outfielder Andy Van Slyke, a former Cardinal, told the Pittsburgh Press: “I’d have given you my paycheck if you told me I’d have played before 3,500 in Busch Stadium in September with the Cardinals four games out.”

Said Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog: “We’d have done better (in ticket sales) if we’d played the game in Pittsburgh.”

Adding to the weird vibe was the smoke wafting into the stadium from a fire at a burning warehouse nearby. Herzog told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the scene looked to him “like a graveyard with lights.”

Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz noted, “The Cardinals’ season is burning and you could smell it at Busch Stadium.”

Hitting the skids

The game matched pitchers Jeff Robinson, a converted reliever, for the Pirates versus Bob Tewksbury, making his first start as a Cardinal.

The Cardinals led, 2-1, before the Pirates scored three runs in the seventh against relievers Dan Quisenberry and Ken Dayley.

In the ninth, trailing 4-2, the Cardinals scored a run on consecutive doubles by Tim Jones and Ozzie Smith. With Smith on second and one out, Vince Coleman laced a liner, but it was snared by shortstop Jay Bell, who caught Smith venturing too far off second base and turned a game-ending double play. Boxscore

The sweep by the Pirates gave the Cardinals five losses in a row and pushed them 5.5 games behind the Cubs. The Cardinals scored a total of nine runs in those five defeats.

“It’s hard to say when the nail is in the coffin,” Dayley said, “but there isn’t much daylight getting in right now.”

Said Jones: “Luckily, with the way we played, there weren’t 30,000 people in the stands.”

The Cubs (93-69) went on to win the division crown. The Mets (87-75) finished second and the Cardinals (86-76) were third.

Posted in Games, Opponents | 2 Comments »

How Chris Carpenter pitched a gem vs. Brewers

September 7, 2019 by retrosimba

Chris Carpenter capped an unbeatable streak with a nearly unhittable performance.

On Sept. 7, 2009, Carpenter won his 11th consecutive decision, pitching a one-hitter in a 3-0 Cardinals triumph over the Brewers at Miller Park in Milwaukee.

The win gave Carpenter a season record of 16-3 with a 2.16 ERA.

It was the second one-hitter of Carpenter’s major-league career. The other occurred on June 14, 2005, against his former team, the Blue Jays, at Toronto.

Mow ’em down

The Labor Day game between the Cardinals and Brewers matched Carpenter against David Bush. who had lost his last six decisions.

In the first inning, Carpenter walked Felipe Lopez with two outs. He retired the next 11 batters before Jody Gerut hit a double to deep left field. A left-handed batter, Gerut told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the hit was “dumb luck.”

Carpenter retired another 11 in a row before Craig Counsell led off the ninth with a walk. Corey Patterson batted next and grounded into a double play. Carpenter got Frank Catalanotto to ground out, ending the game.

Albert Pujols provided Carpenter with run support, hitting a two-run double against Bush in the fifth and scoring a run on Matt Holliday’s RBI-single against Mark DiFelice in the eighth. Boxscore

In command

Carpenter struck out 10 and was ahead in the count most of the time.

“I’m not wasting pitches,” Carpenter said to the Post-Dispatch. “I’m trying to get strike one, strike two, strike three as fast as I can, or get you to put the ball in play and let my guys work behind me.”

Said Brewers manager Ken Macha: “That was a clinic on how to move your fastball around, cutting it in, cutting it away, sinking it away from lefties and in on righties while mixing his curveball.”

Gerut, whose hit came on a first-pitch fastball, told the Associated Press, “You just hope you get a mistake because most of the time he puts it where he wants it.”

Carpenter, 34, completed the 2009 season with a 17-4 record and led the National League in ERA at 2.24.

Posted in Games, Pitchers | 2 Comments »

Enos Slaughter vs. Danny Murtaugh: Old-school hardball

September 5, 2019 by retrosimba

(Updated Sept. 26, 2024)

Enos Slaughter and the Cardinals tried to intimidate Danny Murtaugh and the Pirates, but the tactic backfired.

On Sept. 5, 1949, at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis, Slaughter slashed Murtaugh in the chest with his spikes while sliding into second base in an unsuccessful effort to break up a double play.

Murtaugh, a former Cardinals prospect, considered the rough contact unnecessary because he had thrown the ball to the first baseman before Slaughter arrived at second.

Slaughter’s spikes-high slide shook the Pirates from a slumber.

Head hunters

On April 27, 1949, during a 7-1 Pirates victory at St. Louis, Cardinals pitchers twice hit leadoff batter Stan Rojek with pitches. The second one, by reliever Ken Johnson, beaned Rojek. The Pirates “thought it was deliberate,” according to The Pittsburgh Press. Boxscore

Rojek was sidelined for a week and the Pirates lost eight of their next nine.

Five months later, when they went to St. Louis for a Labor Day doubleheader, the Pirates (57-71) were 23.5 games behind the first-place Cardinals (81-48).

In the first game of the doubleheader, Slaughter produced a triple, home run and five RBI, carrying the Cardinals to a 9-1 triumph and handing the Pirates their eighth consecutive loss. Boxscore

Rough stuff

In the second inning of the second game, Nippy Jones led off with a single. Slaughter hit a grounder to the second baseman, Murtaugh, who fielded it cleanly but bobbled the ball as he started to throw. The error allowed Slaughter to reach first and moved Jones to third with none out.

Marty Marion batted next and hit a grounder to third baseman Eddie Bockman. As Jones held third, Bockman fired a throw to Murtaugh at second.

Murtaugh caught the ball on the bag for the forceout of Slaughter, pivoted and threw to first baseman Jack Phillips in time to complete the double play. Murtaugh’s throw “barely missed Enos’ head,” the St. Louis Star-Times reported.

Slaughter, who had gone into his slide, raised his feet high and crashed hard into Murtaugh, who was cut “across the right side of his chest,” drawing blood, The Pittsburgh Press reported.

Slaughter got up, dusted himself off, said nothing to Murtaugh and trotted into the Cardinals’ dugout along the third-base line.

Murtaugh “didn’t realize he was bleeding until he put his hands inside his shirt,” The Pittsburgh Press observed.

Sticks and stones

Incensed, Murtaugh shouted at Slaughter in words “too hot to handle or to take without retort,” according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Slaughter motioned for Murtaugh to come over and fight. Murtaugh tossed his glove aside and moved rapidly toward Slaughter, who advanced onto the field.

Nippy Jones alertly left the third-base bag and clamped his arms around Murtaugh to keep him from pursuing Slaughter. Members of the Cardinals stopped Slaughter from proceeding.

No one was ejected because “nothing more harmful than expressive nouns and adjectives” were exchanged, the St. Louis Star-Times noted.

Murtaugh was given first aid in the dugout and insisted on staying in the game.

The Pirates built a 4-0 lead before the Cardinals fought back, tied the score and forced extra innings.

Sweet revenge

With one out and none on in the 10th, Murtaugh lashed a double into right-center. Ed Fitz Gerald ran for him and scored when Rojek doubled with two outs, giving the Pirates a 5-4 lead.

In the bottom of the 10th, Slaughter led off, singled and moved to second on Marty Marion’s sacrifice bunt, but Vic Lombardi got the next two batters to ground out, sealing the win. Boxscore

Three weeks later, the first-place Cardinals held a 1.5-game lead over the Dodgers when they went to Pittsburgh for a two-game series with the Pirates.

Still steaming from the beaning of Rojek and the spiking of Murtaugh, the Pirates won both games, 6-4 on Sept. 27 and 7-2 on Sept. 29, knocking the Cardinals from first place.

The Cardinals went on to Chicago for a season-ending series with the Cubs, lost two of three and finished in second, a game behind the champion Dodgers.

Cardinals prospect

Murtaugh began his professional career in the Cardinals’ organization, but never played for their big-league club.

In the book “Baseball’s Best Managers,” author Harold Rosenthal wrote, “The beginnings for Danny Murtaugh in baseball were modest. He might just as easily have wound up as a foreman in some phase of shipbuilding had the Cardinals passed up Chester, Pa., in their extensive series of tryout camps. The offer wasn’t much, but the $200 a month looked positively brilliant to young Danny alongside the 34 cents an hour rate he was drawing as a passer in a rivet gang at the Chester shipyards. He had only two alternatives on that job _ catch the red-hot rivet in a cup or in his shirt if he missed.”

Murtaugh spent five seasons (1937-41) in the Cardinals’ farm system.

On June 28, 1941, the Cardinals sold Murtaugh’s contract to the Phillies. Five years later, the Cardinals reacquired Murtaugh, but sent him to their farm club at Rochester, where he batted .322. After the season, the Braves selected Murtaugh in the Rule 5 draft.

Murtaugh finished his big-league playing career with the Pirates. He hit .290 for them in 1948 and .294 in 1950.

In 1957, Murtaugh became the Pirates’ manager. He managed them for 15 seasons and led them to World Series championships in 1960 and 1971.

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents | 6 Comments »

Red Schoendienst and his dramatic return to majors

September 2, 2019 by retrosimba

(Updated Sept. 7, 2024)

Red Schoendienst made a brave comeback from a serious illness.

On Sept. 2, 1959, Schoendienst appeared in a major-league game for the first time since being sidelined because of tuberculosis.

Schoendienst was diagnosed with tuberculosis in November 1958, shortly after he played in the World Series for the Braves, and it was expected he would sit out the entire 1959 season or perhaps never play again.

Schoendienst, who was confined to a sanitarium in St. Louis for several months and also underwent lung surgery, made a full recovery.

He returned to the Braves’ active roster sooner than expected, on Sept. 1, 1959, and was used as a defensive replacement and pinch-hitter in the last month of the season.

Feeling drained

Schoendienst had experience overcoming adversity. When he was 16, he was struck in the left eye by a staple while building a fence. Doctors wanted to remove the damaged eye, but Schoendienst wouldn’t let them, and his sight recovered.

A nine-time National League all-star as a second baseman for the Cardinals, Schoendienst was traded to the Giants on June 14, 1956. A year later, June 15, 1957, the Giants dealt him to the Braves. Schoendienst helped the Braves win National League pennants in 1957 and 1958. They were World Series champions in 1957.

In his book, “Eddie Mathews and the National Pastime,” Braves third baseman Eddie Mathews said of Schoendienst, “It would be hard to overstate how important he was in our winning the pennant in 1957. Leadership is hard to define. It involves clutch hitting, turning the key double play, a whole lot of things. Red did them all.”

Hank Aaron, in his autobiography, “I Had a Hammer,” said Schoendienst “was a master second baseman” who “made our team complete.”

Toward the end of the 1958 season, Schoendienst, 35, felt unusually tired. In his book, “Red: A Baseball Life,” Schoendienst said he told people he had a bad cold, “but in my own mind, I was scared.”

Schoendienst started at second base in all seven games of the 1958 World Series, batted .300, produced nine hits, including three doubles and a triple, and made one error in 63 innings, but he felt terrible.

In the 1964 book “The Quality of Courage,” Mickey Mantle, who played against Schoendienst in the 1958 World Series, recalled, “Seriously ill, he played up to the hilt for seven games. He never quit. More than that, he never stopped producing. He batted .300, fielded beautifully and literally ran his lungs out to stretch a hit into a triple.”

In an article she wrote for Parade magazine, Red’s wife, Mary Schoendienst, said her husband was so weak during the 1958 World Series “he spent nearly every hour away from the ballpark in bed.”

Said Red: “During the World Series when I was in the field, I couldn’t move. When I walked up to bat, I could hardly swing the bat. I saw the ball well, but I couldn’t react to it. There was no question I was sick.”

When he returned home to St. Louis, Schoendienst, coughing and having trouble breathing, was examined by his personal physician, who sent him to a hospital. Tests revealed Schoendienst had tuberculosis. Schoendienst’s condition was made public in November 1958. Dr. Ray Martin of St. Louis said Schoendienst would be confined to Mount St. Rose Sanitarium in St. Louis “for four to six months,” The Sporting News reported.

“Sometimes it takes as long as a year for a tubercular patient to return to even an ordinary job,” Dr. Martin said.

The Sporting News concluded, “The disclosure made it all but certain Schoendienst would be lost to the Braves for the entire 1959 season. Under the circumstances, there is grave doubt (he) will ever play again.”

Doctor’s orders

Schoendienst said he decided, “I was going to fight this disease as hard as I had played any game in my life. I had too much to live for to surrender without waging all-out war. I pledged to do whatever the doctor said, to become a model patient and listen to him as closely as I ever listened to any manager and coach.”

In February 1959, when doctors recommended surgery to remove part of an infected lung, Schoendienst replied, “Let’s do it.”

While he was in the sanitarium, Schoendienst was visited by Braves executives, who offered him a contract for 1959.

“The Braves’ owner, Lou Perini, knew I might not play a game in 1959, but he still wanted me to have that salary and I certainly appreciated it,” said Schoendienst. “Had the team not been willing to do that, I am certain it would have added a lot of mental stress to wonder how I would take care of my family. Giving me that contract allowed me to concentrate entirely on getting well.”

On March 24, 1959, Schoendienst was sent home, four months after he had entered the sanitarium. By July, he began preparing to return to baseball.

“I did bending exercises to get my legs in shape and arm exercises to strengthen my shoulders,” he said. “I started playing catch with some of the kids in the neighborhood and also my father-in-law. The doctors told me the only thing they didn’t want me doing was running.”

Schoendienst discreetly went with his brother Joe to local parks and began hitting baseballs again.

When the Braves came to St. Louis to play the Cardinals in mid-summer, Schoendienst went to the ballpark one morning and took batting practice. He also went to second base and fielded grounders and pop flies.

After the Braves left town, Schoendienst said the Cardinals allowed him to come to Busch Stadium each day and work out.

Doctors gave Schoendienst, 36, approval to resume playing before the season ended if he and the Braves “were willing to be cautious and not overdo things.”

United Press International reported, “Regular play could overtire him and that is still forbidden, according to doctors’ orders.”

Big moment

The Braves were home in Milwaukee for two games against the Phillies Sept. 1-2. Schoendienst was back in uniform for the first game but didn’t play. The next night, the Braves had a runner on second, two outs, in the seventh inning when manager Fred Haney told Schoendienst to bat for pitcher Juan Pizarro. The crowd of 18,047 at County Stadium roared and gave a standing ovation when Schoendienst emerged from the dugout.

“I had more butterflies than I ever had,” Schoendienst said to the Associated Press. “It was truly a big moment.”

In his book, Schoendienst said, “The cheers sent goosebumps down my back and I stepped out of the box a couple of extra moments to compose myself.”

Schoendienst hit a groundball to pitcher Robin Roberts, who fielded it and threw to first for the out. Boxscore

Schoendienst appeared in five games, mostly as a defensive replacement, for the 1959 Braves and was hitless in three at-bats, but he was healthy and ready to keep playing.

Schoendienst was the Opening Day second baseman for the 1960 Braves, but eventually was benched by manager Chuck Dressen. The Braves released him after the season and Schoendienst returned to the Cardinals after rejecting an offer from the Angels. He batted .300 in a utility role for the 1961 Cardinals and was a player-coach for them in 1962 and 1963.

After serving fulltime as a coach in 1964, Schoendienst became Cardinals manager for 1965, embarking on a successful second career.

Posted in Games, Hitters | 4 Comments »

How Al Jackson earned his masterpiece vs. Sandy Koufax

August 30, 2019 by retrosimba

After losing 10 of 11 decisions against the Dodgers, Al Jackson persevered and outdueled Sandy Koufax.

A left-handed pitcher who relied on a sinker for groundball outs, Jackson made his major-league debut in 1959 with the Pirates, spent most of his career with the Mets and had two strong seasons with the Cardinals.

During his first stint with the Mets from 1962-65, Jackson was 1-9 versus the Dodgers. He lost eight consecutive decisions against them before spinning a three-hitter and outdueling Claude Osteen in a 1-0 Mets victory on June 21, 1965, at Dodger Stadium. Boxscore

Two months later, on Aug. 10, 1965, Koufax got his 20th win of the season, striking out 14 Mets and beating Jackson in a 4-3 Dodgers victory at Los Angeles. Boxscore

The Mets traded Jackson and third baseman Charlie Smith to the Cardinals for third baseman Ken Boyer after the 1965 season.

Tough luck

After opening the 1966 season as a reliever, Jackson was moved into the Cardinals’ starting rotation in May, replacing Ray Sadecki, who got traded to the Giants.

The first time Jackson faced the Dodgers as a Cardinal was June 1, 1966, at St. Louis. Although he pitched well, he again took the loss. Jackson held the Dodgers to three hits in seven innings, but Koufax pitched a shutout in a 1-0 Dodgers victory.

Jackson “deserved a better fate, but he was pitted against a master,” the Los Angeles Times observed.

The Dodgers scored an unearned run in the seventh. With one out and none on, Jackson “got a slider too high and too close” to Willie Davis, who hit the pitch into the right-field corner for a triple, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. When right fielder Bobby Tolan’s throw eluded relay man Julian Javier, Davis raced to the plate on the error.

“I’m sure Jackson would like to have that pitch back,” Davis said. Boxscore

The loss dropped Jackson’s career record versus the Dodgers to 1-10.

Beating the best

One month later, on July 1, 1966, at Dodger Stadium, Jackson and Koufax again were matched against one another.

Koufax had a five-game winning streak versus the Cardinals. His season record was 14-2. Jackson had been given an extra day of rest since making his last start five days earlier against the Astros.

The two left-handers held their opponents scoreless through the first six innings. With one out in the seventh, Orlando Cepeda singled and Mike Shannon slugged a home run, giving the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.

Jackson did the rest, pitching a six-hit shutout. Only one Dodgers baserunner, Wes Parker in the first inning, reached second base. Jackson got the Dodgers to ground into three double plays and walked none.

“When I have a good day, I work my infielders pretty hard,” Jackson said.

The game was completed in 1 hour, 53 minutes.

Jackson said “my breaking ball wasn’t working so good” and his fastball initially was “too straight.” A word of advice from pitching coach Joe Becker helped.

Becker “told me to become a pitcher again, instead of a thrower, and I started keeping the ball down,” Jackson said.

In the ultimate compliment, Koufax said, “I had the best stuff I’ve had all year, but Al just pitched better.” Boxscore

Action Jackson

Jackson’s gem changed his luck against the Dodgers. Six of his last eight career decisions versus the Dodgers were wins. Jackson was 2-2 with an 0.92 ERA versus the Dodgers for the 1966 Cardinals and 3-0 against them for the 1967 Cardinals.

Jackson, who was traded back to the Mets after the Cardinals won the 1967 World Series title, finished with a career mark of 7-12 and a 3.41 ERA versus the Dodgers. He was 5-2 against them as a Cardinal; 2-10 as a Met.

Here is the breakdown of Jackson’s Dodgers decisions: 3-0 vs. Don Sutton, 1-0 vs. Claude Osteen, 1-0 vs. Jim Brewer, 1-2 vs. Don Drysdale, 1-5 vs. Koufax, 0-2 vs. Joe Moeller, 0-2 vs. Pete Richert and 0-1 vs. Bill Singer.

Jackson had an overall major-league record of 67-99 with a 3.98 ERA. In two seasons with St. Louis, he was 22-19 with a 2.97 ERA.

In 1966, when he was 13-15 with a 2.51 ERA, Jackson was second on the Cardinals in wins, games started (30), complete games (11) and innings pitched (232.2). He was 12-14 with a 2.61 ERA as a starter; 1-1 with an 0.73 ERA in six relief appearances.

Jackson was 9-4 with a 3.95 ERA in 39 appearances for the 1967 Cardinals. He was 5-3 with a 4.88 ERA in 11 starts; 4-1 with a 2.81 ERA as a reliever.

Posted in Games, Opponents, Pitchers | 2 Comments »

Steve Huntz: 1st home run made Cardinals a winner

August 27, 2019 by retrosimba

Steve Huntz had impressive timing for a player with unimpressive numbers.

On Aug. 28, 1969, Huntz hit his first major-league home run, giving the Cardinals a 2-1 walkoff victory over the Astros at St. Louis.

Huntz was an unlikely candidate for such a feat. The rookie infielder entered the game with a season batting average of .186.

Prospect with pop

Huntz began his professional career when he signed with the Orioles as an amateur free agent after three successful varsity seasons at St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland.

In 1964, his first professional season, Huntz had 74 RBI for the Class A Midwest League Fox Cities Foxes. Of his 98 hits, 34 were for extra bases.

Cardinals scouts Jim Belz and Joe Mathes liked what they saw from Huntz. Based on their recommendations, the Cardinals paid $8,000 for the right to select Huntz in the November 1964 minor-league draft.

Huntz broke his leg in 1965 and sat out the season. He came back in 1966, played for Class AA Arkansas and committed 44 errors at shortstop.

After spending the 1967 season with Class AAA Tulsa, Huntz was called up to the big leagues when rosters expanded in September and appeared in three games for the Cardinals.

Huntz, a switch-hitter, was considered a prime candidate to earn a spot with the 1968 Cardinals as a utility player, but he batted .167 in spring training and “displayed limited range at the most critical position as backup man to Dal Maxvill at shortstop,” The Sporting News reported.

The Cardinals kept veteran Dick Schofield as their reserve shortstop and sent Huntz to Tulsa for the 1968 season.

Playing for manager Warren Spahn, Huntz hit .284 with 35 doubles and 74 RBI, helping Tulsa win the 1968 Pacific Coast League championship. Though Huntz committed 41 errors at shortstop, the Cardinals were intrigued by his power.

“He’s an infielder with sting at the plate and there aren’t many prospects like that around,” said Cardinals assistant farm director Fred McAlister.

As for fielding, McAlister said, “Huntz does a good job of moving to his right, bracing himself and gunning the ball. He can’t move to his left the way Dal Maxvill can, but how many men can a shortstop throw out when he fields the ball deep to his left? It’s making the routine plays that’s most important with a shortstop.”

Ups and downs

After the 1968 season, Schofield was traded to the Red Sox for pitcher Gary Waslewski, opening a path for Huntz to be a reserve infielder for the 1969 Cardinals. A headline in The Sporting News declared, “Cards Tap Huntz As New Super Sub.”

Huntz, 23, spent the entire 1969 season with the Cardinals, but struggled from the start. A breakthrough came on July 1, 1969, in a doubleheader against the Mets at St. Louis. Huntz, who had one RBI for the season, started at second base in the opener and drove in a run. Boxscore In the second game, he started at shortstop and drove in three runs with a bases-loaded double against Don Cardwell. Boxscore

Nearly two months later, Huntz got his first big-league home run. He entered the game against the Astros at Busch Stadium in the ninth inning as a replacement for Maxvill, who was lifted in the bottom half of the eighth for pinch-hitter Vic Davalillo.

The Astros led, 1-0, until the Cardinals tied the score in the bottom of the ninth against starter Don Wilson. Vada Pinson led off with a single. Joe Torre followed with a potential double-play grounder, but the ball took a bad hop, caromed off shortstop Denis Menke’s shoulder and went into center field for a single, advancing Pinson to third. A Dave Ricketts sacrifice fly scored Pinson.

Huntz led off the bottom of the 10th and hit a 2-and-1 pitch from Wilson over the right-field wall for the walkoff home run. Boxscore

Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “When Steve went up to hit in the 10th, I said, ‘Hit one out of here so we can get going,’ and damned if he didn’t.”

Huntz had one more Cardinals highlight. On Sept. 26, Huntz became the only 1969 Cardinals batter to hit two home runs in a game. Facing the Expos at Jarry Park in Montreal, Huntz hit a two-run home run against Don Shaw and a solo home run versus ex-Cardinal Larry Jaster. Boxscore

“I haven’t exactly been mashing the ball, you know,” Huntz said. “I’ve tried to do the job, but I haven’t performed as well as I thought I would.”

Huntz completed the 1969 Cardinals season with a .194 batting average in 71 games. He had more strikeouts (34) than hits (27) and committed nine errors in 52 games at shortstop.

Moving on

At spring training in 1970, Huntz hit .345, but the Cardinals deemed him overweight and opted to send him to Tulsa. After Huntz told teammates he wouldn’t report to the minors, the Cardinals traded him to the Padres for pitcher Billy McCool on April 2, 1970.

The Padres assigned Huntz to their Class AAA farm club at Salt Lake City. He threatened to quit, but reconsidered after a talk with Padres manager Preston Gomez. “I told him to get in shape and he could be up with us before too long,” Gomez said.

Huntz hit .308 in seven games for Salt Lake City and got called up to the Padres.

On April 28, 1970, in his first Padres at-bat, Huntz hit a home run against the Expos at San Diego. It came against Waslewski, his former Cardinals teammate. Boxscore

Huntz hit 11 home runs for the 1970 Padres. Three of those homers came against future Hall of Famers _ Tom Seaver, Gaylord Perry and Phil Niekro.

Huntz also played for the White Sox in 1971 and again for the Padres in 1975.

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents | 4 Comments »

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