RetroSimba

How Andy Benes, Cardinals struck out on new contract

February 28, 2018 by retrosimba

Andy Benes left the Cardinals and went to the Diamondbacks because he, his agent and general manager Walt Jocketty couldn’t follow baseball rules.

On Feb. 3, 1998, Benes, a starting pitcher, signed a three-year contract worth $18 million to play for the Diamondbacks, who joined the National League as an expansion team that season.

Benes had reached an agreement to stay with the Cardinals, but the deal came together after expiration of a deadline mandated by the baseball owners’ Player Relations Committee.

Instead of getting the Cardinals’ offer of a five-year contract worth $32.5 million, Benes settled for less with the Diamondbacks.

Deadline pressure

Benes joined the Cardinals as a free agent after the 1995 season. He was 18-10 with a 3.83 ERA in 1996 and 10-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 1997 before becoming a free agent.

The Cardinals wanted to re-sign him and Benes indicated he wanted to remain in St. Louis, but negotiations stalled.

Because the Cardinals hadn’t offered Benes salary arbitration, baseball rules established by the Player Relations Committee dictated he and the club had to reach a contract agreement by midnight on Dec. 7, 1997, or else Benes would not be eligible to re-sign with the Cardinals until May 1, 1998.

Benes didn’t want to wait until May to sign a contract, so it became imperative he and the Cardinals reach an agreement by the Dec. 7 deadline if he was to stay in St. Louis.

Breaking the rule

Jocketty and Benes’ agent, Scott Boras, went down to the wire in the negotiations. When it became apparent they needed more time, they asked Major League Baseball officials for an extension and were granted an additional 30 minutes to get a deal done.

The deadline extension passed without an agreement being reached. About two hours later, the sides settled on the five-year, $32.5 million contract.

The Player Relations Committee, however, ruled the agreement invalid because it hadn’t been reached in the allotted time.

Benes and the Cardinals initially appealed the ruling, but dropped the matter when it became clear baseball officials wouldn’t budge.

Bernie Miklasz, columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, questioned why the agreement wasn’t approved. “The bureaucrats who run baseball are poised to kill the deal and all of this good faith because of some arcane rule? Absurd,” Miklasz wrote.

Go west

With the Cardinals out of the picture, Benes and Boras negotiated with the Cubs, Mets and Indians, but got no offers, in part, because Boras wanted a contract clause that would allow Benes the option to leave his next team after one season.

With little bargaining leverage remaining, Benes agreed to the three-year offer from the Diamondbacks that gave him the option to depart after two seasons.

Though he could have waited until May and signed with the Cardinals, Benes feared he could suffer an injury during the wait and ruin any chance for a contract offer, so he opted to sign the guaranteed contract from the Diamondbacks.

“We made a very substantial offer, which unfortunately wasn’t able to get completed on time,” Jocketty said. “We can’t look back.”

Said Benes: “I was disappointed with the way things didn’t work out in St. Louis, but things sometimes don’t work out for a reason. Maybe (Arizona) is the place I was supposed to be after all.”

Post-Dispatch columnist Dan O’Neill described Benes’ departure as “a messy tale of a ballplayer burned by the system, a victim of bad timing, a casualty of miscommunication and red tape.”

In two seasons with the Diamondbacks, Benes was 14-13 with a 3.97 ERA in 1998 and 13-12 with a 4.81 ERA in 1999. After that, he exercised his option, departed and rejoined the Cardinals, playing his final three big-league seasons (2000-2002) with St. Louis.

Posted in Executives, Pitchers | Leave a Comment »

Why Bud Norris looked like a winner to Cardinals

February 19, 2018 by retrosimba

(Updated Feb. 14, 2019)

In his first major-league start, Bud Norris pitched against the Cardinals with the poise and skill of an established winner.

On Aug. 2, 2009, Norris, appearing in his second big-league game, started for the Astros at St. Louis, held the Cardinals to two hits in seven innings and earned the win.

Nine years later, on Feb. 14, 2018, Norris, a free agent, joined the Cardinals, signing a one-year contract for a base salary of $3 million after earning 19 saves for the 2017 Angels.

“I’m honored to be here,” Norris said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “This is a world-class organization.”

With Luke Gregerson the projected closer, the Cardinals viewed Norris as a candidate for any number of roles, including starting. Though he succeeded as a reliever with the 2017 Angels, Norris told the Post-Dispatch he was excited about possibly having a chance to start for the Cardinals. “In my heart of hearts, I believe I can do that,” Norris said.

This Bud’s for you

David Norris, nicknamed “Bud” because at age 3 he imitated his father and ordered a beer in a restaurant, was selected by the Astros in the sixth round of the 2006 amateur draft.

After making his major-league debut in relief against the Cubs on July 29, 2009, Norris, 24, got the start four days later at Busch Stadium when Astros ace Roy Oswalt became sidelined with a bad back.

Norris, a right-hander, held the Cardinals hitless the first five innings.

In the sixth, the Cardinals appeared poised to strike when Adam Wainwright led off with a single and, one out later, Colby Rasmus walked. Norris got out of the jam by inducing Albert Pujols to pop out to third and striking out Matt Holliday.

“He kept his composure,” Wainwright said.

In the seventh, the Cardinals threatened again. With one out, Mark DeRosa walked and Yadier Molina singled, but Norris struck out Julio Lugo and Joe Thurston.

The Astros prevailed, 2-0. “I told him he had 299 (wins) more to go and he’d be in the Hall of Fame,” Oswalt said. Boxscore

Purpose pitches

Norris was 7-2 with a 2.17 ERA in his first 11 career appearances versus the Cardinals. Pujols took to calling him “Chuck Norris,” in reference to the tough-guy actor, Rick Hummel of the Post-Dispatch reported.

By the time Norris joined the Cardinals, his career mark against them was 8-7, but he maintained the reputation as a nemesis.

Perhaps Norris’ best outing came on June 8, 2011, when he limited the Cardinals to one hit in eight innings in a 4-1 Astros victory at Houston.

“Every pitch he threw had a purpose,” said Cardinals leadoff batter Ryan Theriot.

Wrote Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz: “The Cardinals turn Norris into Bob Gibson, circa 1968.”

The lone hit allowed by Norris was a solo home run to former teammate Lance Berkman with two outs in the seventh. Noting how Norris effectively mixed sliders and changeups with fastballs, Berkman said, “He’s got a better feel for his off-speed stuff.” Boxscore

Norris had his best season as a starter (15-8, 3.65 ERA) with the 2014 Orioles.

In 2018, Gregerson was injured and Norris stepped into the role of closer. Norris led the Cardinals in saves (28) and posted a 3-6 record and 3.59 ERA in 64 relief appearances. In July 2018, a report by The Athletic indicated tensions had developed between Norris and rookie reliever Jordan Hicks, but Hicks told the Post-Dispatch that Norris “has the best intentions for me.”

Posted in Games, Opponents, Pitchers | 2 Comments »

How Don Choate helped Cardinals acquire Bill White

February 15, 2018 by retrosimba

Along with Bob Gibson and Ray Sadecki, Don Choate was a prized pitching prospect who was projected to be in the Cardinals’ plans entering the decade of the 1960s, but he never got the chance to play for them in the regular season.

Instead, Choate went to the Giants in the trade that brought Bill White to the Cardinals.

Choate, a right-hander, reached the major leagues with the Giants in 1960.

A native of Potosi, Mo., Choate grew up in East St. Louis, Ill. He signed with the Cardinals in 1956, the year he turned 18, and made his pro debut that season with their minor-league club in Peoria, Ill. In February 1957, Cardinals general manager Frank Lane cited Choate as one of the “talented kids from the St. Louis area in the Cardinals organization,” The Sporting News reported.

Assigned to the Billings, Mont., team in the Cardinals’ farm system, Choate had a breakout season in 1957, posting a 19-8 record. At 19, he pitched 20 complete games and 240 innings. On successive days, Aug. 30-31, Choate pitched shutouts against Salt Lake City. He pitched a one-hitter in a 5-0 victory cut to five innings because of rain, and came back the next night with a three-hitter in another 5-0 triumph in the seven-inning opener of a doubleheader.

Choate pitched in spring training exhibition games for the Cardinals in 1958 and was touted by The Sporting News as an “impressive” prospect. He split the 1958 season between Cardinals farm clubs in Omaha and Houston. When Choate retired 19 consecutive batters in a game against Denver, The Sporting News reported he “scintillated on the mound.”

After producing a combined record of 12-11 in 34 games for Omaha and Houston in 1958, Choate played winter ball for the Licey team in the Dominican Republic. He won his first six decisions and had a 1.54 ERA. Choate “has developed into the Dominican loop’s leading hurler,” The Sporting News reported. Cardinals assistant farm director George Silvey said Choate “is sneaky fast and his curve has been improving. He’s a pitcher, not a thrower. A definite big-league prospect.”

Cardinals manager Solly Hemus and farm director Walter Shannon went to the Dominican Republic to see the top players. Hemus filed a favorable report on Choate. As the Cardinals prepared for spring training in 1959, Choate seemed a likely candidate to earn a spot on the big-league team.

While in the Dominican Republic, Hemus and Shannon also saw Bill White, who was in the Giants’ organization, and were impressed by his power, run production and versatility at first base and in the outfield. Eddie Stanky, a Cardinals scout who managed White in the minor leagues, also recommended him.

On March 25, 1959, the Cardinals traded Choate and a starting pitcher, Sam Jones, to the Giants for White and utility player Ray Jablonski. Most analysts said the deal favored the Giants. Bob Broeg of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch predicted Choate “eventually might make the grade” as a major-league pitcher.

“There’s no doubt in my mind we’ve improved our pennant chances tremendously with Jones coming to our team,” Giants manager Bill Rigney told United Press International. Rigney added, “It was the most important pitching deal we’ve made since I’ve been manager.”

Said Bing Devine, who replaced Lane as Cardinals general manager, “We believe White will solve our outfield problem and give us the added power at the plate we have been looking for.”

White became one of the Cardinals’ best players and a premier first baseman in the National League.

Choate was assigned to the Giants’ farm club at Phoenix in 1959 and was 4-7 in 22 appearances.

In 1960, after posting a 10-15 record for Tacoma, Choate was called up to the Giants in September. He made four relief appearances, including a one-inning scoreless stint against the Cardinals at St. Louis on Sept. 17, and had a 0-0 record and 2.25 ERA.

Choate pitched one more season, 1961, with Tacoma, hurt his arm and was finished as a pro player at 23. He had a second career as a firefighter.

Posted in Pitchers, Prospects, Trades | 6 Comments »

Guy Bush, Dizzy Dean engaged in intense duels

February 12, 2018 by retrosimba

During his prime years with the Cubs, pitcher Guy Bush was an archrival of Cardinals ace Dizzy Dean. Later, within a span of two months, Bush joined the Cardinals and Dean went to the Cubs.

On Feb. 5, 1938, Bush was acquired by the Cardinals from the Braves in a cash transaction. Two months later, in April 1938, the Cardinals dealt Dean to the Cubs.

Bush, nicknamed the Mississippi Mudcat, was among the best pitchers in the National League in the 1930s. For 10 consecutive years (1926-1935), he achieved double-digit win totals each season. His peak years with the Cubs were 1932 (19-11, 3.21 ERA) and 1933 (20-12, 2.75 ERA).

Dean, the Cardinals’ brash future Hall of Famer, and Bush were matched in intense duels during their primes. In 1933, Bush challenged Dean to a fight during a game, according to the Society for American Baseball Research. “I get more satisfaction out of beating that guy once than I do winning from anyone else twice,” Bush said.

When Bush joined the Cardinals, he was on the back end of his career. Bush, 36, was 8-15 for the 1937 Braves. Dean, 28, also was in decline, losing the zip on his fastball after getting injured in the 1937 All-Star Game.

As spring training approached in 1938, the Cardinals were looking for a reliever who could make spot starts. They acquired Bush “for protection around the edges of our pitching staff,” Cardinals executive Branch Rickey told The Sporting News.

Dean and Bush pitched in the Cardinals’ second spring training exhibition game, a 8-1 victory over the Yankees. The Sporting News wrote of Bush, “He hasn’t the stuff that once made him one of the stars of the Cubs, but he knows the hitters in the league and has developed a fairly effective slow ball.”

Once the regular season began, the Cardinals soured on Bush. He made six relief appearances, posting an 0-1 record and 4.50 ERA, before he was released on May 7. Seven years later, with rosters depleted by calls to military service during World War II, Bush, 43, surfaced again in the major leagues for a stint with the Reds.

Bush achieved a big-league career record of 176-136, including 19-23 versus the Cardinals.

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Oscar Gamble: Prominent Padres production vs. Cardinals

February 8, 2018 by retrosimba

Oscar Gamble twice teamed with a future member of the 1982 World Series champions to help the Padres beat the Cardinals.

Gamble was an outfielder in the major leagues for 17 seasons (1969-1985), including five years in the National League with the Cubs (1969), Phillies (1970-1972) and Padres (1978).

He was the Opening Day left fielder on a Padres team that included future Cardinals Ozzie Smith at shortstop, George Hendrick in center field and Gene Tenace at catcher. Smith, Hendrick and Tenace went on to play for the 1982 World Series champion Cardinals. In 1978, Smith and Tenace paired with Gamble in providing prominent production in wins over the Cardinals.

The first of those games was May 5, 1978, at St. Louis. The Padres won, 2-1, and Gamble and Smith played key roles versus starter John Urrea. Smith had two triples, a single and a stolen base. Gamble drove in the winning run with a triple. The game was the sixth for Ken Boyer as Cardinals manager.

Cardinals second baseman Mike Tyson deprived Gamble of a second RBI in the eighth inning when he dived for Gamble’s hard smash, snared the ball, leaped to his feet and threw out Smith, who was attempting to advance from third base to home.

Two months later, on July 28, 1978, at San Diego, Gamble and Tenace were culprits in defeating the Cardinals. Gamble had a RBI-double against starter John Denny and a two-run single off Buddy Schultz. Tenace drove in five runs and scored twice. He produced a RBI-single and solo home run against Denny and a three-run homer off Aurelio Lopez.

It was the 10th time in a row the Cardinals lost to the Padres at San Diego.

For his career, Gamble batted .254 (30-for-118) against the Cardinals.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Moose Stubing missed with Cards, flourished as coach

February 4, 2018 by retrosimba

A candidate to replace Bill White as Cardinals first baseman, Moose Stubing had his path blocked by Orlando Cepeda for the second time in his career.

Stubing went on to have a long career as a coach and manager.

Nicknamed “Moose” because of his size, Larry Stubing was a Bronx, N.Y., native and a standout high school athlete. He rejected a football scholarship to Penn State and signed a professional baseball contract with the Pirates. Stubing stood 6 feet 3 and weighed 220 pounds.

After one season (1956) in the Pirates’ system, Stubing was sent to the Giants. He played eight seasons (1957-1964) in the Giants’ minor-league organization. The Giants had two future Hall of Famers, Cepeda and Willie McCovey, who were naturals at first base and there was no room at the big-league level for Stubing, a left-handed batter with power.

In April 1965, the Giants dealt Stubing, 27, to the Cardinals for George Williams, a minor-league third baseman. White was the Cardinals’ first baseman then and he was coming off a successful 1964 season, batting .303 with 102 RBI for the World Series champions. Cardinals general manager Bob Howsam, however, was looking for potential successors to White, making Stubing a candidate.

The Cardinals assigned Stubing to the Jacksonville Suns, their Class AAA affiliate in the International League and made him the starting first baseman. Stubing, however, flopped, batting .209 with 13 home runs in 132 games. He was surpassed by another prospect, George Kernek, as the likely successor to White.

After the 1965 season, White was traded to the Phillies and Kernek was picked to replace him. Stubing was demoted to the Arkansas Travelers, the Cardinals’ Class AA club in the Texas League.

After a slow start in 1966, Stubing began hitting with consistent power and production for Arkansas. In a 51-game stretch in June and July, he hit .381. Of his first 19 home runs, 18 came in games won by Arkansas. By then, however, Cepeda was the Cardinals’ first baseman. He was acquired in May and Kernek was sent back to Class AAA.

Stubing finished the 1966 season with a .274 batting average and 25 home runs for an Arkansas team, managed by Vern Rapp, that won the pennant in its first season in the Texas League. A team photo in the Sept. 17, 1966, edition of The Sporting News showed Stubing standing between future Cardinals pitchers Wayne Granger and Mike Torrez.

Though Stubing did well at Arkansas, he no longer fit in the Cardinals’ plans. Howsam departed for the Reds and Stan Musial replaced him as general manager. Before the start of the 1967 season, the Cardinals sent Stubing to the Angels.

Joining the Angels was a break for Stubing. He made his major-league debut with them in 1967, but went hitless, with four strikeouts, in five at-bats. Stubing stayed in the Angels’ organization and eventually became a minor-league manager for them for many years.

From 1985-1990, Stubing was back in the major leagues as an Angels hitting coach. In 1988, when the Angels fired manager Cookie Rojas near the end of the season, Stubing filled in with eight games remaining, but the Angels lost all eight.

Posted in Hitters, Trades | 1 Comment »

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