RetroSimba

How Harry Caray got bounced from Cardinals booth

October 9, 2019 by retrosimba

Harry Caray built a broadcast career in St. Louis based on baseball and beer, but his relationship with the Anheuser-Busch brewery became as flat as a cup of Budweiser left outside in the summer sun.

On Oct. 9, 1969, Caray, the voice of the Cardinals for 25 years, was fired by the sponsor of the broadcasts, Anheuser-Busch.

Caray said he wasn’t told why he was fired.

Cardinals owner Gussie Busch, president of Anheuser-Busch, said the brewery’s marketing department recommended Caray’s dismissal.

In his 1989 book, “Holy Cow,” Caray scoffed at widespread speculation his departure came because he was having an affair with the wife of an Anheuser-Busch executive.

“At first, these rumors annoyed me,” Caray said. “Then they began to amuse me. They actually made me feel kind of good. I mean, let’s face it … I wore glasses as thick as the bottom of Bud bottles, and as much as I hate to say it, I was never confused with Robert Redford.”

Wild about Harry

In 1945, Caray, a St. Louis native, began broadcasting Cardinals games on radio station WIL. Griesedieck Brothers Brewery was the sponsor. Caray and former Cardinals manager Gabby Street formed the broadcast team.

Cardinals games also were broadcast on two other radio stations then. Johnny O’Hara and former Cardinals pitcher Dizzy Dean called the games on KWK. On KMOX, the broadcast team was France Laux and Ray Schmidt.

Caray’s colorful broadcasting style made him popular. In 1947, the Cardinals chose Griesedieck Brothers Brewery as the exclusive broadcast sponsor and Caray’s career soared.

In his book “That’s a Winner,” Cardinals broadcaster Jack Buck said, “In the Midwest, no announcer has been more revered or respected than Harry. He told it like he thought it was, and that’s different from telling it like it is. He never hesitated to give his opinion … He had the guts to do it. That was his style.”

In February 1953, Anheuser-Busch purchased the Cardinals and took over sponsorship of the broadcasts. Caray went from pitching Griesedieck Brothers beer to advertising Anheuser-Busch products.

Anheuser-Busch sales increased, and Caray and Gussie Busch became pals.

“Harry and Gussie Busch were close friends,” said Buck. “They used to drink and play cards at Busch’s home at Grant’s Farm.”

Said Caray: “Gussie and I rarely talked about baseball. Ours was not a business relationship. It was social.”

When Caray was struck by a car and severely injured in November 1968, Busch gave him use of a Florida beach house to recuperate during the winter. Caray made a triumphant return to the broadcast booth in the Cardinals’ 1969 opener.

Trouble brewing

A few months into the season, speculation about Caray’s job status became a hot topic in St. Louis. In August 1969, Pirates broadcaster Bob Prince told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette he was offered a five-year contract for “excellent money” to join KMOX.

Prince decided to stay with the Pirates’ broadcast team, but Caray was worried. Gossip about Caray’s alleged womanizing was rampant, so he met with Gussie Busch to talk about it. In his book, Caray said Busch laughed and told him, “You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

In September 1969, before he went on a trip to Europe, Busch told Caray “to keep his mouth shut” about his concerns until Busch returned, Buck said.

On Sept. 20, 1969, the Cardinals, whose hopes of qualifying for the postseason were fading, played the Cubs in Chicago when a journalist informed Caray of a report saying he would be fired. During the game broadcast, Caray told his audience, “The Cardinals are about to be eliminated and apparently so am I.”

According to Buck, Busch was livid with Caray for making the remark and for disobeying his edict to stay mum.

The ax falls

On Oct. 2, 1969, before the Cardinals played their season finale at St. Louis, Caray said he approached Buck, his broadcast partner since 1954, and asked him, “Do you know something I should know?”

Caray said Buck revealed he had been asked by Anheuser-Busch publicist Al Fleishman and KMOX general manager Robert Hyland to recruit other broadcasters. In his book, Caray said he and Fleishman “had been enemies for decades” and Fleishman wanted Caray fired.

A week later, Caray was at the Cinema Bar in downtown St. Louis on a Thursday afternoon when the bartender told him he had a phone call. An Anheuser-Busch advertising executive, who knew Caray’s hangouts, was on the line. The ad man informed Caray, 55, he was fired and Buck would replace him as head of the Cardinals broadcast team.

“I’m bruised, I’m hurt and I feel badly about it,” Caray said to the Post-Dispatch.

Caray also was miffed he didn’t hear about the decision from Gussie Busch. “You’d think after 25 years they would at least call me in and talk to me face to face about this,” said Caray.

Buck said, “I had nothing to do” with the decision to fire Caray.

“I always wanted to be No. 1 on the broadcast team,” Buck told the Post-Dispatch, “but not at the expense of Harry or anyone else.”

Special order

On his way home, Caray stopped at Busch’s Grove restaurant in the suburb of Ladue _ despite its name, the restaurant wasn’t affiliated with Anheuser-Busch _ and “decided to get some revenge,” he said.

Caray ordered a Schlitz, a beer made by an Anheuser-Busch rival. The restaurant didn’t carry the brand, so the bartender went across the street to a liquor store and bought cans of Schlitz.

As news photographers and television cameramen arrived, Caray posed with a can of Schlitz in his hand and “drew applause from a large number of patrons,” the Associated Press reported.

The bartender made several runs to the liquor store to stock up on Schlitz because customers kept ordering the beer in support of Caray, according to the Associated Press.

“I thought it was funny at the time because I was angry and hurt,” Caray said. “It seemed like the right gesture to make, but now I realize it was petty.”

After former players Bill White and Elston Howard each rejected a chance to join Buck in the Cardinals booth, Jim Woods, who did Pirates games with Bob Prince, was hired to be Buck’s broadcast partner.

According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Reds were interested in Caray. Their general manager, Bob Howsam, was the Cardinals’ general manager from August 1964 to January 1967. “You know Harry and I are good friends,” Howsam said.

Instead, Caray joined the Athletics broadcast team in 1970. He left after one season, went to the White Sox and capped his career with the Cubs, for whom he hawked Budweiser with the line, “I’m a Cubs fan and a Bud man.” Video

Posted in Broadcasters, Executives | 14 Comments »

Curt Flood fought for freedom after trade by Cardinals

October 6, 2019 by retrosimba

(Updated June 18, 2020)

Center fielder Curt Flood wasn’t bluffing when he said he’d rather quit playing than accept a trade.

In October 1969, the Cardinals dealt Flood, catcher Tim McCarver, pitcher Joe Hoerner and outfielder Byron Browne to the Phillies for first baseman Richie Allen, pitcher Jerry Johnson and infielder Cookie Rojas.

“I wasn’t surprised to see Richie go to St. Louis,” Cardinals first baseman Bill White told the Philadelphia Inquirer, “but I was very surprised to see Flood leave St. Louis.”

When informed of the trade on the morning of Oct. 8, 1969, Flood, who had been with the Cardinals since 1957, turned to a companion and said, “There ain’t no way I’m going to pack up and move 12 years of my life away from here. No way at all.”

In his 1971 book, “The Way It is,” Flood said, “I took it personally. I felt unjustly cast out.”

Flood issued a statement to the media, saying he would retire and focus on being a portrait artist and operating a photo studio in St. Louis.

Baseball’s establishment didn’t take Flood’s intentions seriously, figuring the retirement plan was a ploy to get the Phillies to offer him an increase on his $90,000 yearly salary. Orioles scout Frank Lane, the former Cardinals general manager, told the Philadelphia Inquirer, “Unless Curt Flood is better than Rembrandt, he’ll be playing for Philadelphia.”

Flood, though, was offended by baseball’s reserve clause, which bound a player to a team and deprived him of the right to determine where to work. He said baseball officials “were entirely incapable of understanding that a basic principle of human life was involved.”

Two months after the trade, Flood announced he would challenge the reserve clause in court. He lost his case, but his legal fight led to an arbitrator’s 1976 ruling establishing free agency.

Shakeup in St. Louis

Flood and McCarver were core players for the 1960s Cardinals, who won three National League pennants and two World Series titles. In October 1969, they were deemed expendable for different reasons.

Flood created hard feelings with Cardinals owner Gussie Busch in contract negotiations before the 1969 season. Flood wanted a $100,000 salary. “I would not consider taking even $99,999,” Flood told The Sporting News, and Busch viewed the ultimatum as disrespect. (Flood got $90,000 instead.) During spring training, the Cardinals offered to trade Flood and Orlando Cepeda to the Braves for Felipe Alou and Joe Torre, the Atlanta Constitution reported, but the Braves wouldn’t part with Alou and the clubs settled for a swap of Cepeda for Torre.

Though Flood hit .285 with 31 doubles in 1969 and won his seventh consecutive Gold Glove Award, the rift between he and Busch remained.

McCarver, who debuted with the Cardinals at age 17 in 1959, batted .260 with 27 doubles in 1969, but had trouble throwing out runners. McCarver allowed the most stolen bases, 64, of any National League catcher in 1969.

“There is nothing wrong with my arm,” McCarver said. “My technique got fouled up this season because I was pressing.”

St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports editor Bob Broeg noted, “If he can cut down wasted motion behind the plate and get the ball away more quickly, he might reduce the high rate of stolen bases charged against him.”

With catching prospect Ted Simmons waiting for playing time, the Cardinals were willing to part with McCarver.

In his 1994 book “Stranger to the Game,” Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson said, “I was sickened by the thought of Flood and McCarver leaving us. Those two guys struck right at the heart of what the Cardinals had been all about for the past decade. I loved the Cardinals, was proud to be one, and recognized that Curt Flood and Tim McCarver were two of the biggest reasons why. With them gone, being a Cardinal would never mean quite the same thing.”

Power outage

The 1969 Cardinals ranked 10th in the 12-team National League in runs scored _ ahead of only the expansion clubs, the Expos and Padres _ and last in home runs.

General manager Bing Devine was determined to acquire a run producer and targeted Allen, 27, who hit 32 home runs in 118 games for the 1969 Phillies.

The risk was Allen had a reputation as a malcontent. The Phillies suspended him for 29 games in 1969 after he failed to show for a June doubleheader.

Allen said Phillies officials “treat you like cattle” and he wanted out of Philadelphia.

In an editorial, the Philadelphia Inquirer was glad to see him go, saying, “If Richie Allen had been traded for the St. Louis bat boy, it would have been a fair exchange.”

Unfazed, Devine said, “We acquired him for hitting and power. The image of our club needed changing in that respect. We wanted someone who could help with runs and power production. Allen was the best available hitter of this type.”

Said Allen: “I’m not going to worry about hitting home runs. I won’t have to. All I can see right now is Lou Brock standing on second base after stealing about 60 or 70 bases.”

Right or wrong

Devine’s first trade after he became Cardinals general manager in 1957 was to acquire Flood from the Reds. Flood was 19 then and the notion of challenging baseball’s reserve clause “did not even occur to me,” he said in his book. “If it had, I would not have dared to act on it.”

Twelve years later, he was better positioned to oppose a trade.

“I refused to accept it,” Flood said. “It violated the logic and integrity of my existence. I was not a consignment of goods. I was a man, the rightful proprietor of my own person and my own talents.”

After Flood announced his intention to retire, he traveled to Denmark. Phillies general manager John Quinn contacted him by phone and got Flood to agree to defer a final decision until they had a chance to meet.

Phillies manager Frank Lucchesi said, “I’m sure once he gets over the shock of being traded, he’ll want to play.”

Flood and Quinn met in St. Louis and again in New York. Flood said the Phillies offered him a $100,000 salary for 1970, but he told Quinn, “It may be time for me to make my break with baseball.”

Changes in attitudes

On Dec. 24, 1969, Flood sent a letter to baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn, informing him he wanted to be declared free to negotiate with any team. Kuhn rejected the proposal, citing the reserve clause.

With the support of the players’ union, Flood announced on Dec. 29, 1969, he would file a lawsuit, challenging the reserve clause.

To make up for the loss of Flood, the Cardinals likely planned to send third baseman Mike Shannon to the Phillies to complete the deal. When a kidney ailment put Shannon’s playing career in jeopardy, the Phillies agreed instead to accept two prospects, Willie Montanez and Jim Browning.

Flood attempted a comeback with the Senators in 1971 but gave up after appearing in 13 regular-season games.

Years later, Flood said of his challenge to the reserve clause, “I look back on what I did as a contribution.”

Devine was among those whose perspectives were changed.

“The players had no control over their careers,” Devine said. “It’s opposed to what the Constitution stands for _ freedom.”

Flood “was a good person with strong beliefs and the character to act on them,” Devine concluded.

Posted in Trades | 9 Comments »

Browns vs. Cardinals: An unordinary World Series opener

October 4, 2019 by retrosimba

A pitcher with a losing record and a batter with a bad back provided a winning combination for the St. Louis Browns in their World Series debut.

On Oct. 4, 1944, Denny Galehouse outdueled Cardinals ace Mort Cooper and George McQuinn hit a two-run home run in the Browns’ 2-1 victory in Game 1 of the World Series at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis.

The American League champion Browns, appearing in their only World Series, defied convention all season and did so again against the three-time defending National League champion Cardinals.

Browns manager Luke Sewell bypassed his ace, Nelson Potter, and started Galehouse (9-10) against Cooper (22-7). Galehouse was the first pitcher with a losing season record to start Game 1 of a World Series, The Sporting News reported.

McQuinn, the Browns’ first baseman, was another unexpected standout. He suffered from sciatica and needed to be rested for a stretch of games in early September when his chronic back pain became severe, according to United Press.

McQuinn “rarely gets a good night’s rest,” The Sporting News reported. “He has difficulty in sleeping because if he lies for several hours in one position the back becomes pinched and exceedingly painful.”

Given opportunities on baseball’s biggest stage, though, Galehouse and McQuinn delivered grand performances.

Duty calls

Galehouse, a right-hander, pitched for the Indians and Red Sox before being sent to the Browns in December 1940. Like his Browns teammate, outfielder Chet Laabs, Galehouse was too old for military service in World War II but the Army sent him to work in a plant in 1944 when he was 32.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Galehouse was working fulltime at a rubber factory in the Akron-Youngstown region of northeast Ohio in 1944. In May, the Browns arranged for Galehouse to travel by train from Ohio for Sunday games.

Galehouse pitched in three Sunday games in May and three Sunday games in June, losing three decisions, before he got an indefinite leave of absence from the war plant. He became a fulltime member of the Browns’ starting rotation on July 24.

After the Browns clinched the pennant on the last day of the regular season, most expected Sewell to select Potter (19-7) to be the Game 1 World Series starter. Instead, Sewell opted for Galehouse, who in September had a 1.92 ERA in 56.1 innings pitched. Galehouse allowed one earned run in his last three regular-season starts, covering 23 innings.

Sewell hoped his hot starter would win Game 1 and Potter would follow suit in Game 2.

The strategy almost worked.

Great escape

Galehouse got out of an early jam in Game 1 with the help of a questionable decision by Cardinals manager Billy Southworth, who took the bat out of Stan Musial’s hands.

With the game scoreless, Johnny Hopp led off the bottom of the third inning with a single for the Cardinals. Ray Sanders followed with a sinking liner. Right fielder Gene Moore, trying to make a backhand grab, got his glove on the ball, but couldn’t hold it. Hopp, waiting to see whether Moore would catch the ball, advanced only to second on Sanders’ single.

Musial, who batted .347 with 94 RBI during the regular season, stepped to the plate with runners on first and second, none out. After fouling off a pitch from Galehouse, Musial was given the bunt sign. He sacrificed successfully, moving Hopp to third and Sanders to second, but Southworth deprived the Cardinals’ best hitter of a chance to deliver a big blow.

The next batter, Walker Cooper, was walked intentionally, loading the bases with one out for Whitey Kurowski.

After getting two strikes on Kurowski, Galehouse noticed the Cardinals’ batter “was protecting the far side of the plate,” the St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported. Galehouse threw a slider inside and Kurowski swung at it and missed for the second out. Next, Danny Litwhiler hit into a force play at third, enabling Galehouse and the Browns to escape the inning unscathed.

Grantland Rice, writing for the North American Newspaper Alliance, said Galehouse possessed a “stout right arm, cool head and scrappy heart.”

“Galehouse looked cooler than a slice of cucumber on ice,” wrote Rice.

Mighty McQuinn

With two outs in the fourth, Cooper gave up his first hit, a single by Moore.

Up next was McQuinn, a left-handed batter.

McQuinn, 34, hit 11 home runs during the season, but only one after Aug. 13.

With the count 1-and-0, Cooper threw him a fastball. “One of his low, fast ones _ almost too low for me,” McQuinn said to the St. Louis Star-Times.

McQuinn swung and “caught it just right,” he told United Press.

“The noise that followed sounded like the shot from a big gun,” Grantland Rice observed.

McQuinn’s rising line drive headed toward a right-field screen that extended from the wall to the pavilion roof.

“I was a bit worried at first (the ball) wasn’t quite high enough,” McQuinn said to the Globe-Democrat.

According to the Star-Times, “the ball cleared the pavilion roof by no more than a foot or so” for a home run and a 2-0 Browns lead.

St. Louis showdown

Cooper went seven innings, allowing only the two hits, and Blix Donnelly held the Browns hitless over the last two innings.

In the bottom of the ninth, Marty Marion led off with a drive to left-center for the Cardinals. Center fielder Mike Kreevich tried to make a shoestring catch, but barely missed, and Marion had a double.

Galehouse got Augie Bergamo to ground out to second, advancing Marion to third.

Ken O’Dea, batting for Donnelly, battled Galehouse, fouling off six pitches, before he flied out to deep center. Marion scored on the sacrifice fly, moving the Cardinals to within a run at 2-1, but the bases were empty with two outs.

The drama ended when Hopp flied out to right-center. Boxscore

“We were lucky,” Sewell said to the Post-Dispatch. “We had the breaks and I freely admit it. You have to be lucky to win when a pitcher holds you to two hits.”

Said Southworth: “We had everything that usually wins ballgames for you. You couldn’t have asked for better pitching than we got.”

The Browns’ mojo nearly held up in Game 2. Potter limited the Cardinals to two unearned runs, but Donnelly pitched four scoreless innings in relief of Max Lanier and the Cardinals won, 3-2, in 11 innings.

After the clubs split Games 3 and 4, Cooper got his revenge, striking out 12 and beating Galehouse with a 2-0 shutout in Game 5.

Needing one more win for the crown, the Cardinals got it, beating the Browns, 3-1, in Game 6.

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers | 2 Comments »

The day the St. Louis Browns became league champions

October 1, 2019 by retrosimba

Chet Laabs produced pipes to help win a war and home runs to help win a pennant.

On Oct. 1, 1944, Laabs hit a pair of two-run home runs, powering the St. Louis Browns to a 5-2 victory over the Yankees and clinching the club’s lone American League championship.

The Browns went on to play the Cardinals in the only all-St. Louis World Series.

Laabs was an unlikely hero, even for the Browns, who were described by the New York Daily News as “a ragbag ball team pieced together from remnants shed away by the rest of the circuit.”

A right-handed batter, Laabs, 32, had hit three home runs during the 1944 season before he slugged two in the pennant-clinching season finale.

His home run production was limited because when the season began he was working in a factory instead of in a ballpark.

Hard labor

Laabs began his major league career with the Tigers in 1937 and was traded to the Browns in 1939.

A 5-foot-8 outfielder, he hit 27 home runs for the Browns in 1942 and 17 the next season.

Laabs “derives tremendous power from muscular wrists and forearms,” the New York Daily News explained.

In February 1944, Laabs passed his Army induction physical, but his military service was deferred because he was older than 26. The Army put him to work in a fulltime defense job at a St. Louis plant, making pipes for construction of nuclear weapons used in World War II.

Because of the war work, Laabs missed spring training and wasn’t with the club when it won nine of its first 10 games to start the season.

In May, the Browns arranged for Laabs to play on weekends and in selected night games after his shift at the pipe plant, “but many times he was unable to even take part in batting practice” because the day job “kept him busy until a few moments before game time,” the St. Louis Star-Times reported.

Laabs appeared in his first game for the 1944 Browns on May 24. He returned fulltime to baseball in late June, but struggled. Laabs batted .133 in May, .154 in June, .239 in July and .172 in August. He hit a home run on May 30, didn’t hit another until July 18 and went two more months before hitting his third homer on Sept. 25.

The Star-Times called Laabs “the big bust of the Browns’ attack.”

Down to the wire

September was a good month for Laabs and the Browns. He batted .304 in September and the Browns went on a tear at the end of the month, winning 10 of their last 11 September games.

On the morning of Oct. 1, the last day of the 1944 regular season, the Browns and Tigers both had 88-65 records and were tied for first place. The Tigers were to finish at home against the Senators and the Browns had a game at home versus the Yankees.

At Detroit, the Senators’ knuckleball specialist, Dutch Leonard, was matched against the Tigers’ 27-game winner, Dizzy Trout.

At St. Louis, the largest home crowd in Browns history, 37,815, packed Sportsman’s Park for the Sunday afternoon game, looking for the hometown club to complete a four-game sweep of the defending champion Yankees.

The starting pitchers were the Yankees’ Mel Queen, a hard-throwing rookie, versus the Browns’ 35-year-old Sig Jakucki, a hard-drinking brawler.

In the minors, Jakucki beaned Cardinals prospect Johnny Keane, the future manager, and fractured his skull.

Jakucki made his big-league debut with the Browns in 1936 and didn’t return to the majors for eight years. The New York Daily News described him as “a tough solider who has rambled around the world, working his way by playing semipro baseball,” preferring “hoboing around the globe to playing in the big leagues.”

Jakucki was pitching for a shipyard team in Houston when the Browns rediscovered him and coaxed him back.

Going deep

Queen held the Browns hitless in the first three innings and the Yankees went ahead, 2-0. Browns batters treated Queen’s deliveries “as gently as if he were a lady,” the Star-Times noted.

Mike Kreevich got the Browns’ first hit, a line single to left, to lead off the fourth. Laabs came up next. According to the Star-Times, “There had even been a bit of booing when Laabs was announced as the starting left fielder.”

Undaunted, Laabs “cracked a fastball high into the left-field bleachers, the ball almost reaching the refreshment stand at the top,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Soon after Laabs’ longball tied the score at 2-2, the Sportsman’s Park scoreboard posted the final from Detroit, a 4-1 Senators victory. According to the Post-Dispatch, “the big crowd went wild, the cheering lasting for about five minutes.”

The Tigers’ loss meant the Browns would win the pennant if they beat the Yankees.

In the fifth, Kreevich singled with two outs and Laabs launched a slow curve from Queen 400 feet into the seats in left-center, giving the Browns a 4-2 lead.

Vern Stephens extended the lead to 5-2 with a solo home run against reliever Hank Borowy in the eighth.

Jakucki held the Yankees scoreless over the last six innings, completing the win. Boxscore

“His slider had plenty of sail and his curve was breaking fast and sharp,” Browns catcher Red Hayworth told United Press.

St. Louis showcase

In the victorious Browns clubhouse, “while his teammates sang, laughed, danced, kissed one another, Chet sat silently in front of his locker, wiping a towel across his brow,” the Star-Times observed. “He looked at the floor as if in a daze, as if he wondered if it were true.”

Asked about his home runs, Laabs said, “I think I hit the first one just a little bit harder. There was nothing to it.”

Billy Southworth, manager of the National League champion Cardinals, said he was “delighted” for the Browns and looked forward to the entire World Series being played in St. Louis.

“It’s going to be a nice family party,” Southworth said to the Post-Dispatch. “We won’t have to catch any trains or worry about hotel reservations or baggage. What’s more important, St. Louis can show the world that it can put on a World Series on its own.”

The Browns (89-65) were matched against a Cardinals club (105-49) which ran away with its third consecutive National League pennant, clinching the title on Sept. 21 and finishing 14.5 games ahead of the second-place Pirates.

The Browns won two of the first three World Series games before the Cardinals won the last three in a row. Jakucki started and lost Game 4, allowing four runs in three innings. Laabs had three hits in 15 World Series at-bats and no RBI.

Posted in Games, Hitters | 4 Comments »

Choosing sides: How Garry Templeton set hitting mark

September 28, 2019 by retrosimba

With a chance to achieve an unprecedented feat, Garry Templeton did what was necessary to make it happen.

On Sept. 28, 1979, Templeton became the first major-league player to get 100 hits from each side of the plate in one season.

The switch-hitting shortstop produced 211 hits _ 111 while batting from the left side and 100 while batting from the right side _ for the 1979 Cardinals.

Going all in

From Opening Day through Sept. 22, Templeton batted left-handed against right-handed pitching and right-handed versus left-handers.

With nine games left in the regular season, Templeton had 91 hits as a right-handed batter. He already had the 111 hits from the left side. To give himself the best shot at getting 100 from the right side, Templeton decided to bat exclusively right-handed the remainder of the season, regardless of whether he was facing a right-hander or a left-hander.

Some purists criticized the decision as selfish, saying Templeton would have a better chance of getting hits and helping his team by continuing to bat from the left side versus right-handers, but Templeton determined he likely would face more right-handers than left-handers and wanted to give himself a chance for the record.

“I wouldn’t be doing it if I wasn’t going for 100 hits,” Templeton said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Besides, Templeton was a natural right-hander and he hit for a higher average from that side of the plate. He became a switch-hitter at the Cardinals’ request when he was in the minors.

Of the nine hits Templeton produced after making the decision to bat exclusively right-handed, five came against right-handers and four versus left-handers.

“I thought I did all right,” Templeton said. “I hit a lot of breaking balls for hits.”

Making his move

After playing 18 innings in a doubleheader on Sept. 22, 1979, Templeton was kept out of the lineup by manager Ken Boyer in the next day’s game against the Mets at New York.

Templeton’s first game as an exclusively right-handed batter was Sept. 24, 1979, versus the Phillies at Philadelphia. He got a double and a single against left-handed starter Randy Lerch, giving him 93 hits for the season as a right-handed batter. Boxscore

The next night, Sept. 25, 1979, Templeton batted right-handed against a right-handed pitcher, starter Dan Larson, a former Cardinals prospect, and slugged a home run and a triple, moving his total to 95 hits as a right-handed batter. Boxscore

Templeton went 0-for-3 against the Phillies’ ace left-hander, Steve Carlton, in the series finale on Sept. 26, 1979.

The Cardinals went to Pittsburgh for their final road game on Sept. 27, 1979, and Templeton got a single off right-hander Don Robinson and a double against right-hander Kent Tekulve, bringing his total as a right-handed batter to 97. Boxscore

The Cardinals went from Pittsburgh to St. Louis to finish the season with four games against the Mets.

Getting it done

The Mets and Cardinals had a Friday night doubleheader on Sept. 28, 1979, at Busch Memorial Stadium.

In Game 1, Templeton singled against right-hander Juan Berenguer for his 98th hit as a right-handed batter. Boxscore

The Mets started left-hander Pete Falcone, Templeton’s former Cardinals teammate, in Game 2.

Templeton led off the first inning with a double to left, moving him within a hit of reaching his goal.

In his next at-bat, leading off the third, Templeton bunted down the third-base line and streaked to first for a single, his 100th hit of the season from the right side. His mission accomplished, Templeton was removed from the game for a pinch-runner, Mike Phillips. Boxscore

Asked about bunting for the record-setting hit, Templeton said, “I’d been wanting to bunt all the time.”

Templeton didn’t play the next day and he went 0-for-2 in the season finale on Sept. 30, 1979.

His 211 hits for the season led the National League and were one more than the 210 achieved by his teammate, left-handed batter Keith Hernandez. Templeton also led the league in triples (19) and his batting average was .314.

Elite group

Templeton, 23, joined Frankie Frisch and Pete Rose as switch-hitters who got 200 hits in a season two or more times. Templeton had 200 hits for the Cardinals in 1977. Rose did it 10 times (nine with the Reds and once with the Phillies) and Frisch did it three times (twice with the Giants and once with the Cardinals in 1927).

Templeton went on to play 16 years in the big leagues and produced 2,096 career hits, including 911 with the Cardinals.

In 1980, Willie Wilson of the Royals became the only other switch-hitter to get 100 hits from each side of the plate in one season. Wilson produced 230 total hits _ 130 from the left side and 100 from the right side _ for the 1980 Royals.

Posted in Games, Hitters, Records | 3 Comments »

Why Cardinals thought Wally Westlake had right stuff

September 25, 2019 by retrosimba

When the Cardinals acquired Wally Westlake from the Pirates, he seemed to be the ideal hitter to put pop into the cleanup spot, but it didn’t work out the way they expected.

Westlake played in the major leagues for 10 years, primarily with the Pirates. In a stretch between 1949-51, he was one of the top hitters in the National League.

On June 15, 1951, the Cardinals traded five players _ pitchers Howie Pollet and Ted Wilks, catcher Joe Garagiola, outfielder Bill Howerton and infielder Dick Cole _ to the Pirates for Westlake and pitcher Cliff Chambers.

The surprise deal was big news because Westlake, 30, was among the National League leaders in home runs and RBI, and his departure upset many Pirates fans.

Westlake was acquired to be the Cardinals’ center fielder and to bat No. 4 in the order between future Hall of Famers Stan Musial and Enos Slaughter.

“Baseball men believe the Cardinals got the best of the deal,” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

Said Pollet: “The Cards have been looking for a hard right-handed hitter and now they’ve got one.”

Position change

Westlake debuted in the majors with the Pirates in 1947. He had his first big season two years later when he hit .282 with 23 home runs and 104 RBI for the 1949 Pirates. In 1950, he had similar numbers: .285, 24 home runs, 95 RBI.

In 1951, Westlake began the season in left field. In the Pirates’ home opener, his home run was the decisive run in a 5-4 victory over the Cardinals. Boxscore

On May 8, 1951, Pirates manager Billy Meyer, acting on instructions from club executive Branch Rickey, moved Westlake to third base, a position he last played 10 years earlier in the minors. The move was made as part of an overall infield shift to add hitting to the lineup.

Westlake responded well, producing 34 RBI in 34 games as the third baseman.

Looking to deal

The 1951 Cardinals were struggling to score. Musial and Slaughter were productive left-handed hitters, but the club lacked a consistent power threat from the right side.

From June 1 through June 14, the Cardinals lost 10 of 14 games and scored two runs or less in eight of those defeats.

“Musial is the greatest player in the game today _ he’s always on base _ but he can’t do it all himself,” Cardinals manager Marty Marion said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The Cardinals made an offer for Andy Pafko, a right-handed hitter who played center field for the Cubs, but he was dealt to the Dodgers.

“The strange thing is we offered the Cubs considerably more for Pafko than the Dodgers did, but the deal was turned down as not enough,” Cardinals owner Fred Saigh said.

According to The Sporting News, the Cubs wanted second baseman Red Schoendienst for Pafko, but the Cardinals refused.

Good fit

With Pafko out of the picture, the Cardinals went after Westlake. The Pirates were in last place in the National League and Rickey was looking for a package of players to upgrade several positions.

At the time of the trade, Westlake was second in the league to Gil Hodges in home runs and second to Duke Snider in RBI.

According to the Pittsburgh Press, the Cardinals demanded Westlake “or it was no deal.”

The inclusion of Chambers in the trade also was appealing to the Cardinals. Chambers, a left-hander, pitched a no-hitter against the Braves on May 6, 1951. Though he lost his next four decisions, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported he still was considered “a dandy southpaw when his arm is right.”

Loss of appetite

Westlake, teammate Ralph Kiner and Pirates broadcaster Bob Prince were having lunch at Dutch Henry’s restaurant on Diamond Street in downtown Pittsburgh when Prince took a call from a secretary informing him Westlake had been traded to the Cardinals.

When Prince returned to the table, he said, “Wally, you’re going to St. Louis.”

Westlake was “stunned” and took the news “very hard,” the Pittsburgh Press reported.

Westlake liked Pittsburgh. The reason he, Kiner and Prince were at the restaurant is they were negotiating to buy it, The Sporting News reported.

The Pittsburgh Press called the decision to deal Westlake “a shocking surprise.” The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette added, “A shocker to say the least.”

“Next to Ralph Kiner, the most popular Pittsburgh player was Westlake,” the Pittsburgh Press reported.

Westlake was batting .282 with 16 home runs and 45 RBI in 50 games for the 1951 Pirates. Chambers was 3-6 with a 5.58 ERA.

“I won’t have to worry about pitching to Stan Musial anymore,” Chambers said.

Tough to adjust

Westlake arrived at the St. Louis airport on June 16, 1951, and went directly to Sportsman’s Park for the Saturday night game between the Phillies and Cardinals. Marion put him in the lineup as the center fielder, batting fourth.

In a storybook start to his Cardinals career, Westlake lined a three-run home run to left in the eighth inning against relief ace Jim Konstanty, breaking a 3-3 tie and carrying the Cardinals to a 6-5 victory. Boxscore

Westlake totaled five hits and five RBI in his first three Cardinals games, but his production faded as the season unfolded. Westlake hit .255 with six home runs and 39 RBI in 73 games for the 1951 Cardinals. He batted .180 against left-handers.

One factor in Westlake’s struggles could have been the dimensions of Sportsman’s Park. It was 351 feet from home plate to left field, 20 feet more than at Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field, where the fence had been moved in to create Greenberg Gardens, a cushy landing spot for the shots hit by right-handed sluggers Hank Greenberg, Kiner and Westlake.

For Westlake, drives which hit or cleared the left-field wall in Pittsburgh were outs in St. Louis.

Chambers gave the Cardinals the better value from the deal. He was 11-6 with a 3.83 ERA for them in 1951.

Westlake’s woes continued the next season. He batted .216 with no home runs in 21 games for the Cardinals. On May 13, 1952, the Cardinals traded Westlake and third baseman Eddie Kazak to the Reds for first baseman Dick Sisler and shortstop Virgil Stallcup.

Westlake played in the majors until 1956, including a stint with the Indians, whom he helped to an American League pennant in 1954, but he never replicated the power numbers he produced for the Pirates.

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