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Gaylord Perry and his masterpiece vs. Cardinals

September 13, 2018 by retrosimba

(Updated March 5, 2026)

On a night when Juan Marichal was supposed to start for the Giants, Gaylord Perry got the call instead and outdueled the most dominant pitcher in baseball.

On Sept. 17, 1968, Perry pitched a no-hitter against the Cardinals at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. The Giants won, 1-0, overcoming a typically stellar performance by Bob Gibson.

Perry, pitching on three days’ rest because Marichal was sidelined by a sore right knee, tired in the eighth, prompting Giants pitching coach Larry Jansen to ask manager Herman Franks whether a reliever should get ready. Franks stuck with Perry, who delivered the only no-hitter of his Hall of Fame career.

One and done

The Tuesday night game against the Giants was the Cardinals’ first since they clinched the National League pennant two days earlier on Sept. 15, 1968, at Houston.

Manager Red Schoendienst started most of his regulars against Perry. The exceptions were Bobby Tolan, who substituted for Lou Brock in left field, and Phil Gagliano, who replaced Julian Javier at second base.

Gibson, on his way to securing NL Most Valuable Player and Cy Young awards, entered the game with a 21-7 record and 1.13 ERA. Perry was 14-14 and 2.55.

In the bottom of the first inning, Giants second baseman Ron Hunt, a St. Louis native, hit Gibson’s third pitch of the game over the left-field fence for a home run, his second and last of the season.

Hunt told the San Francisco Examiner the pitch “was about waist high and I think Gibson was just trying to throw me a strike.”

“Hunt hit a fastball that I threw a little inside,” Gibson said to United Press International.

Getting wet

In the second, the Cardinals got their first base runner when Mike Shannon walked with two outs, but Perry retired the next batter, Gagliano.

With two outs in the fourth, Perry made what he described as a “fat pitch,” a high slider, to Orlando Cepeda, but it was popped up to first baseman Willie McCovey, who caught it in foul territory for an out.

“The most important thing was my control,” Perry said to the Associated Press. “I was hitting the spots, keeping the ball low and my slider was really working.

“I knew after the fifth inning that I had a chance for a no-hitter and I tried to hit the corners all the way.”

Perry threw three types of pitches _ “a fastball, a sinking slider and a slider that was breaking real sharp on the outside,” catcher Dick Dietz told the Examiner.

“Most of the Cardinals charged that Perry threw about 75 percent spitballs or Vaseline balls,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

“Perry was throwing his same old sinker, but it was wet and it sure dropped,” Schoendienst said.

Wetting the ball with saliva or any substance such as Vaseline was against the rules, and the Cardinals were adamant Perry was in violation. Cepeda told the Post-Dispatch that Perry threw him six spitballs or Vaseline balls in his last at-bat, and pinch-hitter Johnny Edwards said all but one pitch to him were spitters.

Giants reliever Frank Linzy told the Tulsa World, “Gaylord threw about 90 percent spitters that night.” Linzy said Vaseline usually was hidden behind the right ear and underside of the left wrist.

In his 1974 book “Me and the Spitter,” Perry admitted, “I was greasing that night, but only a few times.”

“I had a great slider that day. Honest,” Perry said.

Fine fielding

Cardinals center fielder Curt Flood said, “We were trying to do anything to get a base hit.”

The Cardinals came close to getting a hit in the sixth.

Dal Maxvill led off and smacked a sharp grounder to Perry’s left. A right-hander, Perry wore his glove on his left hand and he was able to field the ball and throw out Maxvill. “The ball just fell right into my glove,” Perry said to the Post-Dispatch. “If the ball had been hit to my right, I couldn’t have got it.”

With two outs, Tolan cracked a hard grounder between first and second, but McCovey snared it and made a perfect toss to Perry, who was covering first. Perry credited McCovey with making a “tremendous play to his right.”

The Cardinals hit two balls to the outfield the entire game and both were caught by Bobby Bonds in center.

Finish the job

In the eighth, Gagliano walked with two outs and Jansen, the pitching coach, didn’t like what he was seeing. “When a pitcher’s ball starts to come up from the (batter’s) knees and gets around the waist or higher, then you have to feel he is beginning to tire,” Jansen said. “That’s the way it looked in the eighth.”

Jansen told Franks, “I think he is beginning to lose his stuff. Do you want to get somebody warm?”

Franks replied, “Not until they get a hit off him.”

After the walk to Gagliano, Perry struck out Edwards, who was batting for Maxvill.

In the ninth, Brock, batting for Gibson, led off and grounded out to short. Tolan followed with a groundout to second and Flood, who led the club in hits, came up next. “I was really worried about Flood,” Perry said. “Flood hits to all fields and I thought he might hit a ball between the infielders.”

Instead, Flood took three called strikes. Boxscore

Good calls

In his book “Stranger to the Game,” Gibson praised home plate umpire Harry Wendelstedt, “who distinguished himself with what I consider to be the best job of calling balls and strikes that I ever witnessed.”

“Harry didn’t miss a pitch all night,” said Gibson, “and I told him so afterwards. That wasn’t an easy thing for me to do, not only because I was reluctant to compliment an umpire, as a rule, but mostly because I was not in a sociable mood when the game ended.”

Gibson’s line: 8 innings, 4 hits, 1 run, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts. “That may have been one of the best games I ever pitched,” Gibson told Stan McNeal of Cardinals Yearbook in 2018.

Perry’s line: 9 innings, 0 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts.

The no-hitter was the first against the Cardinals since Don Cardwell of the Cubs did it on May 15, 1960. Perry also became the first Giant to toss a no-hitter since Marichal achieved one against Houston on June 15, 1963.

Perry’s gem was completed in one hour, 40 minutes and played before 9,546 spectators. He threw 101 pitches.

After celebrating with a dish of ice cream, Perry signed autographs for about 100 fans who were waiting for him outside the clubhouse.

Less than 24 hours later, on Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 18, 1968, Ray Washburn pitched a no-hitter against the Giants in the Cardinals’ 2-0 victory at Candlestick Park. Boxscore

Perry and Washburn became the first big-league pitchers to toss no-hitters in consecutive games.

Posted in Games, Opponents, Pitchers | 4 Comments »

Curt Flood embodied selflessness of 1968 Cardinals

September 10, 2018 by retrosimba

(Updated April 6, 2026)

Curt Flood, the most consistent hitter on the 1968 Cardinals, helped the team and himself with a perfect performance at the plate in the pennant clincher.

On Sept. 15, 1968, Flood produced five hits in five at-bats, sparking the Cardinals to a 7-4 victory over the Astros at Houston. The win combined with the Giants’ loss to the Reds assured the Cardinals their second consecutive National League pennant and their third in five years.

Flood’s 5-for-5 game also elevated his batting average for the year to .302 and positioned him to become one of the few players to finish the 1968 season with a mark of .300 or better.

Key player

The 1968 Cardinals were a club with four future Hall of Fame players _ Lou Brock, Steve Carlton, Orlando Cepeda and Bob Gibson _ and the reigning single-season home run record holder, Roger Maris, but Flood was an essential part of the team’s success.

Flood in 1968 led all National League center fielders in putouts (384) and assists (11) and he won the sixth of his seven Gold Glove awards. Flood also led the 1968 Cardinals in hits (186), batting average (.301) and on-base percentage (.339) and he ranked No. 1 in the league in singles (160).

Flood was one of six major-league players to achieve a batting mark of .300 or better in 1968. Pete Rose (.335), Matty Alou (.332), Felipe Alou (.317), Alex Johnson (.312) and Flood (.301) did it in the National League and Carl Yastrzemski (.301) was the lone achiever in the American League.

Manager Red Schoendienst usually batted Flood second in the order behind Lou Brock because Flood was able to hit consistently well even though he often took strikes to enable Brock to attempt steals of second base.

In the book “Redbirds Revisited,” Flood said, “Brock made me a better hitter. His ability to rattle the opposition gave me the opportunity to wait on good pitches … I became a more patient hitter up there. I’d take one strike, I’d take two strikes, as I gained confidence at the plate.”

Run generator

Flood went into the three-game series with the Astros determined to cut down on his stride at the plate and the strategy worked. Flood had nine hits in 13 at-bats for the series.

In the Sunday finale, Flood was the ignitor of the Cardinals’ offense.

Flood singled against Don Wilson in the first inning and Brock scored from second on the play. In the third, Flood singled and scored on Maris’ two-run home run, the last of his career, giving the Cardinals a 3-2 lead.

Flood singled and scored on Cepeda’s two-run hit in the fifth, singled and drove in Dal Maxvill from third in the sixth and capped his performance with a fifth single in the eighth.

Brock had three hits, a walk, two runs and a steal, Maris produced three RBI, and Cepeda contributed two hits and two RBI. Carlton struck out nine, went the distance and got the win, though he yielded 11 hits and four walks. Boxscore

Waiting game

With the win, the Cardinals were guaranteed of finishing the regular season in at least a tie for first place atop the 10-team league. The second-place Giants were playing the Reds in San Francisco that afternoon and needed a win to keep their pennant hopes alive.

After beating the Astros, the Cardinals gathered in the visiting team clubhouse, ate fried chicken and baked beans, played cards and monitored radio reports from the Reds-Giants game.

An hour later, when the final out was made in the Reds’ 4-0 triumph over the Giants, the Cardinals were outright champions, holding a 12.5-game lead over the Giants, who had 12 games remaining.

As the Cardinals celebrated with champagne, Cepeda got on top of a table and led the cheers.

“The Cardinals players baptized their newest teammate, 19-year-old catcher Ted Simmons, with champagne and beer after tearing off his undershirt,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Simmons, who joined the Cardinals for weekend games in September while attending college classes at Michigan on weekdays, “shook his head and said, ‘I’ve got to catch a plane to Michigan at 7 o’clock,’ ” the Post-Dispatch reported.

Winning combination

The 1968 pennant was the Cardinals’ 12th. The Sept. 15 date was the earliest they’d clinched a National League championship. “This is the game you wait for from March 1st on,” Flood said to the Associated Press.

Flood credited Gibson, who won 15 consecutive decisions, as the biggest factor in the Cardinals’ successful run to the 1968 pennant. “Gibson having that fantastic streak of his is the most important thing that happened to us this year,” Flood said. “He was winning consistently and pitching complete games, which helped our bullpen.”

The Cardinals finished the season at 97-65, nine wins better than the runner-up Giants at 88-74.

“They’re not selfish as a ballclub,” Schoendienst said. “They’ll give themselves up at bat, move up the runner, or do whatever it takes. It’s just like Flood. He’ll take a strike and give Lou a chance to steal a base. Anytime you get Brock on base, he’s got a chance to score. He’s tough _ and you got Flood hitting behind him.”

Nearly 50 years later, in a 2015 interview with Fox Sports Midwest, Flood’s 1960s Cardinals teammate, catcher Tim McCarver, said Flood was “as good a teammate as any of us had … He was about as conscientious a guy as I ever played with.”

Posted in Games, Hitters | 10 Comments »

One of a kind: Mark Whiten and his 4-homer game

September 7, 2018 by retrosimba

(Updated July 26, 2025)

Mark Whiten remains the only Cardinals player to hit four home runs in a game.

On Sept. 7, 1993, in the second game of a doubleheader at Cincinnati, Whiten hit a grand slam, a pair of three-run home runs and a two-run home run, leading the Cardinals to a 15-2 victory over the Reds. Boxscore

“This is the No. 1 achievement I’ve ever witnessed,” Cardinals manager Joe Torre said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Whiten’s 12 RBI tied the big-league single-game record established by Jim Bottomley of the Cardinals on Sept. 16, 1924, against the Dodgers at Brooklyn. In that game, Bottomley produced six hits _ three singles, a double and two home runs. The home runs were a grand slam and a two-run shot. Boxscore

Whiten was the 12th big-league player to hit four home runs in a game and the first since Bob Horner of the Braves did it on July 6, 1986, against the Expos at Atlanta. Boxscore

Eight major-league players have hit four home runs in a game since Whiten did it, bringing the total number of those who have achieved the feat to 20.

Whiten, Gil Hodges and Josh Hamilton are the only major-league players to hit four home runs in a game and have at least one runner on base for each of the four.

Whiten, a switch-hitter, hit each of his four home runs while batting left-handed against Reds right-handers. Whiten said he hit a fastball on each home run.

“Even though they were fastballs down the middle, you still have to know what to do with them,” Cardinals third baseman Todd Zeile said. “You can’t even do what he did in batting practice.”

Here is a look at each of Whiten’s four home runs, including the calls by KMOX broadcasters Jack Buck and Mike Shannon as published by the Post-Dispatch:

Home run No. 1

In the first inning, Whiten hit a 2-and-0 pitch from rookie starter Larry Luebbers 408 feet to left-center for a grand slam.

Jack Buck on KMOX: “Swing and a long one to left-center. That one won’t be caught. At the wall and goodbye.”

Home run No. 2

In the sixth, Mike Anderson, making his major-league debut, relieved Luebbers and walked the first two batters he faced, Zeile and Gerald Perry. Whiten was the next batter and he drilled the first pitch from Anderson 397 feet to right-center for a three-run home run.

Mike Shannon on KMOX: “Swing and a long one into right field. On the move the right fielder (Tim) Costo can’t get it. Over the wall and seven RBI in the second game for Whiten … Have a big evening and Whiten said, ‘I don’t mind if I do.’ ”

Home run No. 3

In the seventh, Whiten hit a 2-and-1 pitch from Anderson 388 feet to right for another three-run home run.

Jack Buck on KMOX: “Here’s another pitch and another home run by Whiten. He walks down to first base as it is over the fence for a three-run homer.”

Home run No. 4

When Whiten came up in the ninth to face the original Nasty Boy closer, Rob Dibble, the Cardinals had a 13-2 lead, a runner on first and one out.

“Do you think Dibble will come after him?” Jack Buck asked on the air, building the drama for his listeners. “Do you think Dibble will let him swing the bat?”

Dibble’s first two pitches to Whiten were outside the strike zone.

Said Whiten: “I felt he was going to try to pitch around me.”

“”I’m not going to walk him,” Dibble told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “That’s not my style. Put it in play, fine.”

With the count at 2-and-0, Whiten swung at Dibble’s next offering and crushed it 441 feet off the facing of the second-deck seats in right-center for a two-run home run.

Jack Buck on KMOX: “Swing and a long one. Looks like he did it. Four home runs for Mark Whiten. He powdered one over the center field fence … Man, what a blast that was! What a blast this is! … Excuse me while I applaud.”

On Cardinals’ television, Jack’s son, Joe Buck, was doing the play-by-play and his call of Whiten’s fourth home run was: “Into center field. Did he? Yes!”

Said Whiten: “It’s like when Michael Jordan gets in the zone. He’s going to score 50 points. That’s kind of the way I felt.”

Here is a video of all four home runs: Video

Ten years later, Whiten told Gabriel Kiley of Cardinals Gameday Magazine, “I was more excited about the third one because I had never hit more than two in a game in my life. The fourth dinger was icing on the cake.”

Whiten didn’t use his bat model to hit any of the four home runs, Rick Hummel of the Post-Dispatch reported, and “word is he has been using Jose Oquendo’s bat.”

Oquendo hit no home runs for the 1993 Cardinals. “There are plenty of home runs left in that bat,” Torre said.

The next night, in his first at-bat of the game leading off the second against the Reds’ Bobby Ayala, Whiten singled.

“What a bum,” Jack Buck said to listeners in his most endearing wise guy tone. “That’s the best he can do?”

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Records | 4 Comments »

Dean Stone: All-star winner became Cardinals reliever

September 4, 2018 by retrosimba

Dean Stone earned a save in his Cardinals debut, flirted with a no-hitter in his lone start for them and was the victim of a rare hitting feat.

A left-hander, Stone pitched in 18 games for the Cardinals in 1959, spent the next two seasons in their minor-league system and did well enough to earn a return to the majors with the Houston Colt .45s when the National League expanded from eight teams to 10 in 1962.

Stone pitched eight seasons in the big leagues with the Senators (1953-57), Red Sox (1957), Cardinals (1959), Colt .45s (1962), White Sox (1962) and Orioles (1963), composing a 29-39 record, 12 saves and a 4.47 ERA.

He was 0-1 with a save and a 4.20 ERA for the 1959 Cardinals.

All-star quality

Stone had his best major-league season in 1954 with the Senators and was named to the American League all-star team.

In the eighth inning of the All-Star Game at Cleveland on July 13, 1954, the National League led 9-8 and had Red Schoendienst on third base and Alvin Dark on first with two outs and Duke Snider at the plate. Stone was brought into the game by manager Casey Stengel to face Snider, a left-handed batter.

As Stone was about to throw his third pitch to Snider, Schoendienst broke from third and attempted a steal of home. Stone made a quick throw to catcher Yogi Berra, who applied the tag on Schoendienst for the third out. National League coaches Leo Durocher and Charlie Grimm claimed Stone committed a balk in his rush to throw home, but umpire Bill Stewart rejected their argument.

In the bottom half of the inning, the American League rallied for three runs and an 11-9 lead. Virgil Trucks pitched a scoreless ninth, earning the save, and Stone was credited with a win, even though he didn’t retire a batter. Boxscore

Stone finished the 1954 season with a 12-10 record, 3.22 ERA and 10 complete games. He slipped to 6-13 in 1955 and 5-7 in 1956 and was dealt by the Senators to the Red Sox on April 29, 1957.

After posting a 1-3 record and 5.27 ERA for the Red Sox in 1957, Stone spent all of 1958 with their farm club at Minneapolis and was 13-10 with a 3.18 ERA and three shutouts.

Meet me in St. Louis

Minneapolis was in the American Association and so was Omaha, the Cardinals’ affiliate managed by Johnny Keane. When Keane became a Cardinals coach on manager Solly Hemus’ staff in 1959, he recommended Stone to general manager Bing Devine.

On March 14, 1959, the Cardinals traded pitcher Nelson Chittum to the Red Sox for Stone.

The Boston Globe described the trade as a “transaction of no great magnitude.” Devine agreed and told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “It’s not a sensational move, of course, but any time we get a chance to look at a pitcher who might augment our left-handed staff we’ve got to consider it … Johnny Keane thought he might help us.”

Stone, 28, was assigned to Omaha where he was managed by Joe Schultz. After losing his first three decisions, Stone won nine of his next 12 and had a 9-6 record and 3.87 ERA in 121 innings when he got called up to the Cardinals in July 1959.

Positive impression

Stone made his National League debut on July 11, 1959, pitching 3.2 scoreless innings in relief of starter Marshall Bridges in a 4-3 Cardinals victory over the Phillies at Philadelphia. Stone yielded two hits, walked none, struck out five and got a save in what the Post-Dispatch described as “a brilliant relief job.” Boxscore

Stone used an “overpowering fastball” against the Phillies, the Sporting News reported.

“Funny thing, when we talked about bringing up Dean from Omaha, Joe Schultz said he had the stuff to help, but questioned his ability to relieve because of only one thing _ control,” Cardinals business manager Art Routzong said.

Stone yielded one run over his first 10 innings of relief work for the Cardinals and after five appearances had an ERA of 0.90.

No mercy

When Cardinals starter Vinegar Bend Mizell developed an aching back, Hemus gave Stone a start against the Braves on July 31, 1959, at Milwaukee.

Stone held the Braves hitless for five innings and was locked in a scoreless duel with Braves starter Bob Buhl.

In the sixth, Del Crandall led off with the Braves’ first hit, a double. After Buhl struck out, Bobby Avila walked and Felix Mantilla dribbled a grounder past shortstop Alex Grammas and into left field for a single, scoring Crandall and advancing Avila to third. Grammas told the Post-Dispatch he should have fielded the ball. “I couldn’t make up my mind whether to backhand the ball,” Grammas said. “I don’t know whether I could have thrown him out, but I should have stopped the ball.”

Hank Aaron followed with a weak single to left, scoring Avila with the second run and moving Mantilla to second. “By this time, Stone couldn’t have been expected to keep holding off the mighty Braves any more than Custer was expected to keep cutting down the Indians,” the Post-Dispatch wrote.

Joe Adcock followed with a three-run home run, capping the Braves’ five-run sixth. Stone went seven innings, giving up five runs on five hits and two walks, and Buhl pitched a shutout in a 6-0 Braves triumph. Boxscore

Ups and downs

Two days later, on Aug. 2, 1959, Bill Bruton of the Braves hit a pair of bases-loaded triples, one against Mizell and the other off Stone. Bruton became the second big-league batter since 1900 to hit two three-run triples in a game, according to The Sporting News. Boxscore

After the 1959 season, the Cardinals removed Stone from their roster and assigned him to Rochester. He was 9-7 with a 3.67 ERA in 130 innings for Rochester in 1960 and 12-8 with a 2.73 ERA in 178 innings for the Cardinals’ affiliate in San Juan and Charleston, W.Va., in 1961.

On Nov. 27, 1961, the Colt .45s selected Stone in the Rule 5 minor-league draft. He opened the 1962 season in their starting rotation and pitched 21.1 consecutive scoreless innings, including back-to-back shutouts versus the Cubs, before the Cardinals scored four runs against him in the fourth inning on April 25. Boxscore

Posted in Games, Pitchers, Trades | Leave a Comment »

Vinegar Bend Mizell vs. Reds: 9 walks, 0 runs, 1 win

September 1, 2018 by retrosimba

They came from places one might find in a John Grisham novel, but Wilmer Mizell of Vinegar Bend, Ala., and Ed Bailey of Strawberry Plains, Tenn., were real and they were central characters in an unusual game between the Cardinals and Reds.

On Sept. 1, 1958, in the opening game of a doubleheader at St. Louis, Mizell established a National League record for most walks in a shutout, issuing nine in a 1-0 Cardinals victory.

One reason Mizell was able to thrive despite a lack of command was his ability to retire Bailey in key situations. Three times, Bailey batted with two on and two outs and Mizell got him out each time.

Path to success

Mizell was from Leakesville, Miss., located along the Chickasawhay River in the southeast part of the state near the Alabama border. The nearby town of Vinegar Bend, Ala., became Mizell’s adopted home because Leakesville was on the Vinegar Bend mail route.

At 16, Mizell began playing baseball in Sunday leagues in Vinegar Bend and from then on he became known as Vinegar Bend Mizell.

A left-handed pitcher, Mizell signed with the Cardinals in 1949 when he was 18 and established himself as a top prospect. He was 12-3 with a 1.98 ERA for Albany (Ga.) in 1949 and also had strong seasons for Winston-Salem (17-7, 2.48) in 1950 and Houston (16-14, 1.97) in 1951.

Mizell got to the major leagues with the Cardinals in 1952, posted a 10-8 record and issued the most walks (103) of any National League pitcher. After composing a 13-11 record for the Cardinals in 1953, Mizell spent two years in military service and rejoined the Cardinals in 1956.

Windmill windup

Mizell brought an 8-11 record into his Labor Day start against the Reds in 1958. He faced his first challenge in the first inning when Bailey batted with two outs and runners on first and second.

Bailey, a left-handed batter, was born and raised in Strawberry Plains, about 20 miles from Knoxville, and made his major-league debut with the Reds in 1953. He became their starting catcher in 1956 when he hit 28 home runs.

Mizell got Bailey to fly out to right and escaped the first inning unscathed.

The Cardinals scored the lone run in the second against hard-luck Reds left-hander Joe Nuxhall, whose defense let him down. Ken Boyer led off, grounded to third baseman Alex Grammas and reached safely when Grammas booted the ball. After Joe Cunningham flied out, Gene Green hit a roller to second baseman Johnny Temple, who was thinking he could turn a double play, but when he went to scoop the ball it got past him for an error. Boyer advanced to third and Green was safe at first.

Wally Moon followed with a high chopper to the right of the mound. As Nuxhall reached for the ball, Boyer streaked to the plate and Nuxhall’s only play was to throw to first to retire Moon.

In the third, Bailey came up with two outs and runners on first and third, and again he flied out to right.

Mizell, described by the Cincinnati Enquirer as a “big left-hander with the windmill windup,” walked six in the first four innings, but had a no-hitter entering the fifth.

Escaping trouble

In the fifth, Temple singled for the Reds’ first hit, but was erased on Jerry Lynch’s double-play grounder. Pete Whisenant followed with a single, stole second and also stole third. Frank Robinson walked and stole second, giving the Reds runners on second and third with two outs and Bailey at the plate.

Bailey grounded out to second, ending the Reds’ best threat. He would hit .140 (7-for-50) against Mizell in his big-league career.

The Reds put a runner on base in every inning except the ninth and stranded 11. They had nine walks, five stolen bases and four singles but no runs, snapping a six-game winning streak.

The Post-Dispatch described the game as “an unusual thriller” and The Sporting News reported it as “a weird duel.” Boxscore

Mizell threw 150 pitches.

The major-league record for most walks issued in a shutout is 11 by Lefty Gomez of the American League Yankees on Aug. 1, 1941, in a 9-0 victory over the Browns at New York. Boxscore

Posted in Games, Opponents, Pitchers | 5 Comments »

Umpire to Mark McGwire: No special treatment for you

August 29, 2018 by retrosimba

Deep into his tainted pursuit of a home run record, Mark McGwire refused to heed an umpire’s repeated warnings to cease arguing a call and got ejected, prompting a dangerous outburst from some of the St. Louis spectators.

On Aug. 29, 1998, fans at Busch Memorial Stadium threw baseballs, bottles and helmets onto the field when umpire Sam Holbrook tossed McGwire for arguing a called third strike in the first inning of a game between the Braves and Cardinals.

McGwire, well aware he was the reason many had paid to attend the game, could have avoided ejection and protected the umpires from fan backlash if he had acted on any of Holbrook’s three warnings to return to the dugout and stop arguing.

When McGwire continued to rage while standing at home plate, Holbrook, a rookie umpire, banished him from the game.

Crossing a line

A crowd of 47,627 packed into Busch Stadium and thousands more tuned in to a national telecast to watch McGwire, who was in a neck-and-neck race with the Cubs’ Sammy Sosa in a bid to be first to break Roger Maris’ single-season home run mark of 61.

McGwire entered the game with a season total of 54 home runs. He eventually was the first to break Maris’ mark and finished with 70 home runs in what was trumpeted as a feel-good story that brought baseball back from the ill will of the 1994 players’ strike. Years later, McGwire admitted he cheated in pursuit of the record by using banned performance-enhancing drugs to boost his performance.

In retrospect, it’s natural to wonder whether steroids fueled McGwire’s relentless ranting at Holbrook in the game against the Braves.

McGwire, batting third in the Cardinals’ order, came to the plate with two outs in the first inning, worked the count to 3-and-2 and struck out looking against Tom Glavine.

McGwire protested vehemently to Holbrook and used his bat to make a mark in the batter’s box to indicate the pitch was out of the zone. Manager Tony La Russa ran from the dugout to the plate to protect his player. Holbrook warned La Russa to back off, but La Russa ignored him and was ejected. Holbrook asked McGwire to return to the dugout, but McGwire wouldn’t leave.

“The first ejection was La Russa,” Holbrook said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “That could have ended it right there if (McGwire) had walked away.”

Holbrook said to La Russa, “Please get (McGwire) out of here. If you don’t, I’m going to have to eject him.”

La Russa tried but McGwire kept arguing.

“I warned him again,” said Holbrook, who gave McGwire a total of three warnings. “When he continued after that, that’s when I ejected him.”

Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan was yelling at Holbrook from the dugout and Holbrook ejected him, too.

“The furthest thing from my mind was to eject Mark McGwire,” Holbrook said. “I bent over backwards not to. I did everything I could to keep him in the game, but at some point I had to draw the line. I tried to walk away a couple of times and he still came back around and continued arguing.”

Said McGwire: “Did I cross the line? Yeah, I probably did. I probably deserved what I got.”

Justice for all

On the national telecast, broadcaster Josh Lewin said, “Do you throw Batman out of Gotham City? That’s what Sam Holbrook just did.”

Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz wrote, “The fact that McGwire has a chance to break a home run record is irrelevant. Umpires aren’t supposed to hold players to different standards. They can’t go out of their way to protect McGwire. There should be no special treatment.”

Umpire crew chief Harry Wendelstedt said Holbrook “worked an excellent game” and McGwire “was given ample time to argue.”

“The rules have to stay the same for everybody,” Wendelstedt said.

La Russa, who disagreed with the strike call but not the ejections, said, “I’ve seen umpires get upset, but I watched Sam and he was in control.”

Dumb and dumber

Some of the fans, though, lost control and threw objects onto the field. “It was ugly there for a while,” said Braves outfielder Ryan Klesko.

In the second inning, as the barrage continued, Wendelstedt stopped the game, players scurried into the dugouts and announcements were made over the public-address system and on the scoreboard, informing fans to stop throwing objects onto the field or else a forfeit could be declared.

“For long minutes, the threat of forfeit hung heavy over Busch,” Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Constitution wrote.

Said Wendelstedt: “A forfeit is a very last resort for an umpire … but we don’t want someone to get hurt.”

The St. Louis Police Department called in 15 to 20 extra officers to keep order, the Post-Dispatch reported, and stadium security director Joe Walsh said several fans were ejected.

In addition, about 2,000 spectators departed in the second inning because McGwire no longer was in the game, according to the Atlanta Constitution.

After a 10-minute delay, fans quieted, the game resumed and the Braves went on to win, 4-3. Boxscore

“A national TV audience had to be watching and wondering whether St. Louis really is the best baseball town in America,” the Post-Dispatch opined.

Miklasz described the fan actions as “disgraceful” and added, “If you can’t control yourself, please stay away from Busch Stadium in the future because the rest of us don’t want to be injured as a result of your temporary insanity, your acts of cowardice.”

McGwire said of the fans who threw objects, “That’s wrong … We don’t need that in baseball.”

Miklasz wondered, “Is McGwire Mania officially out of control? … Have we created a monster? Or are we now the monster?”

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