RetroSimba

Roy Halladay gems were not rare versus Cardinals

November 13, 2017 by retrosimba

(Updated Jan. 22, 2019)

Besides being a principal player in a Cardinals classic, Roy Halladay also factored prominently in other games versus St. Louis.

Halladay was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Jan. 22, 2019, 14 months after he died at age 40 in a plane crash on Nov. 7, 2017. He will be best remembered by Cardinals fans as the Phillies pitcher who dueled St. Louis’ Chris Carpenter in the decisive Game 5 of the 2011 National League Division Series.

Carpenter and the Cardinals won that game, 1-0, on Oct. 7, 2011, extending a postseason run that led to a World Series championship.

Halladay, who shut out the Cardinals for seven innings after yielding a run in the first, was the hard-luck loser in that drama. He and Carpenter had been teammates on the Blue Jays from 1998-2002.

Usually, though, when Halladay pitched a gem against the Cardinals, he won.

Halladay made seven regular-season starts and two postseason starts against the Cardinals. His regular-season career record versus St. Louis: 4-2 with a 2.68 ERA. In the postseason, Halladay was 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA against the Cardinals.

Here is a look at the games in which Halladay got decisions when facing St. Louis:

Swinging at sinkers

Halladay faced the Cardinals for the first time on June 13, 2005, at Toronto. He pitched a complete game in a 4-1 Blue Jays victory.

Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch described Halladay’s effort as “a dominant performance worthy of his resume.”

The Cardinals got five hits _ two apiece by David Eckstein and John Mabry, and one by designated hitter Scott Seabol. Mabry got the Cardinals’ lone extra-base hit _ a home run in the fourth inning.

“He’s out there throwing the ball 94 (mph) with a lot of sink,” Mabry said. “He’s using both sides of the plate, sinking and cutting it. His curveball is awesome. He makes it tough. You just try to stay on top of it.” Boxscore

Simply the best

Five years later, Halladay next faced the Cardinals as a member of the Phillies. On May 6, 2010, Halladay pitched seven innings, yielding one earned run, and got the win in a 7-2 Phillies triumph at Philadelphia.

Skip Schumaker, who had two hits for the Cardinals, called Halladay “probably the best pitcher I’ve ever faced.” Boxscore

A breakthrough

On Sept. 19, 2011, Halladay lost to the Cardinals for the first time.

Playing at Philadelphia, Rafael Furcal hit Halladay’s first pitch for a double. Furcal moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a groundout by Nick Punto. One out later, Lance Berkman followed with a home run, giving St. Louis a 2-0 lead.

The Cardinals won, 4-3, and advanced to within 2.5 games of the Braves for the wild-card spot in the playoffs. Halladay gave up eight hits and walked four in eight innings. Boxscore

Don’t get me mad

Two weeks later, on Oct. 1, 2011, the Cardinals and Phillies played Game 1 of the best-of-five NL Division Series at Philadelphia.

In the first inning, Furcal singled and Albert Pujols walked. With one out, Halladay threw Berkman a two-seam fastball intended to sink away from the left-handed batter. Instead, the pitch was “thigh-high and center cut. About as bad as you can put it,” Halladay told the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Berkman connected for a three-run home run.

Halladay “got mad after he gave up the homer,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. “That ticked him off and he got going.”

After Schumaker led off the second with a single, Halladay retired the next 21 batters in a row. In eight innings, he gave up three hits and three runs, getting the win in an 11-6 Phillies victory. Boxscore

Dog fight

In his column about Game 5 of the 2011 NL Division Series, Bernie Miklasz of the Post-Dispatch wrote, “Carpenter and Halladay, two alpha dogs, could have burned the hitters’ bats with the intensity of their glares.”

After scoring in the first, the Cardinals were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position against Halladay. Fortunately for the Cardinals, Carpenter was better than Halladay, holding the Phillies scoreless for nine innings.

“You hate to lose in a one-run game,” Halladay said, “but you have to hand it to him (Carpenter). He was unbelievable.”

Furcal led off the game with a triple to center.

“He tried to come inside with a cutter,” Furcal said. “I got a good swing on it and the ball jumped off my bat.” Video

Said Halladay: “The ball was up.”

Schumaker followed with a run-scoring double to right on a curve after fouling off six pitches, including five with two strikes. Video

“I don’t think it was a terrible curveball,” Halladay said. “It was a very good at-bat.” Boxscore

It hurts

The next time Halladay faced the Cardinals was May 27, 2012, at St. Louis. Yadier Molina hit a grand slam in the first and Halladay departed after the second because of a sore shoulder. The Cardinals won, 8-3. Boxscore

Asked about Halladay’s ailment, Manuel said, “Worried? Yeah, definitely I’m concerned.”

Wily veteran

Soon after, Halladay went on the disabled list. When he returned, he made the adjustments needed to be effective again.

On Aug. 10, 2012, Halladay held the Cardinals to two hits in eight innings and got the win in a 3-1 Phillies victory at Philadelphia. A home run by Carlos Beltran accounted for the St. Louis run. Boxscore

“I don’t try to do what I used to do,” Halladay said. “I try to do what I need to do to be successful.”

Science of pitching

Halladay beat the Cardinals for the final time on April 19, 2013, at Philadelphia. He limited them to two hits _ home runs by Beltran and Matt Holliday _ over seven innings in an 8-2 Phillies victory. Boxscore

Halladay retired 14 batters in a row. “When I stay within myself and execute the mechanics the way it should be done, I feel good,” he said.

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

Why Cardinals wanted Jeff Brantley as their closer

November 10, 2017 by retrosimba

(Updated Oct. 30, 2022)

The Cardinals took a chance on Jeff Brantley and lost.

Needing a closer, the Cardinals traded a prime prospect, Dmitri Young, to the Reds for Brantley, even though the pitcher had spent most of the previous season on the disabled list.

Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty made the deal on Nov. 10, 1997, when he got assurances Brantley had recovered fully from surgery to repair injuries to his right shoulder and rotator cuff.

The Cardinals, though, should have been as skeptical as columnist Bernie Miklasz, who, at the time of the trade, wrote in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “The Jeff Brantley trade makes me nervous; a 34-year-old pitcher coming off shoulder surgery?”

Brantley flopped with the 1998 Cardinals. Claiming his arm hurt, Brantley pitched poorly, clashed with pitching coach Dave Duncan, was removed from the closer’s role and got traded after the season.

The Cardinals’ misjudgment of Brantley set back the organization in significant ways. The Cardinals had to continue to scramble to find a closer and they had to do so without one of their strongest trade chips. Young, a productive hitter, was given away to a division rival without St. Louis getting full value in return.

Price is right

When closer Dennis Eckerlsey opted for free agency after the 1997 season, the Cardinals went in search of a replacement.

Wanting to avoid getting involved in bidding for free agents, Jocketty looked to make a trade. He was willing to part with Young, a first baseman and outfielder, because the Cardinals had talent at those positions. Mark McGwire was the first baseman and Ron Gant, Ray Lankford and Brian Jordan were the outfielders.

Though Brantley, 34, had not pitched since May 19, 1997, the Cardinals thought he could pitch again like he did when he earned 44 saves for the 1996 Reds.

“We knew we had to act quickly because other clubs were interested in him,” Jocketty said to Rick Hummel of the Post-Dispatch.

Given orders by ownership to cut player payroll, Reds general manager Jim Bowden was eager to deal Brantley, who was under contract for salaries of $2.8 million over each of the next two years.

The Reds had another capable closer, Jeff Shaw, on their roster and he was paid less than Brantley.

The $5.6 million owed Brantley over 1998 and 1999 didn’t dissuade the Cardinals from pursuing a deal for him. “Guys who might be available in free agency would have cost twice as much,” Jocketty said.

Special hitter

When Jocketty offered Young, 24, to the Reds, Bowden accepted.

“This deal was made for financial reasons,” Bowden said to the Associated Press, “and is consistent with our commitment to get younger and cheaper.”

Asked by Jeff Horrigan of The Cincinnati Post about Young, Reds manager Jack McKeon replied, “He has a great attitude and a great upside … We might have something special here.”

Young, a switch hitter, was the top pick of the Cardinals in the 1991 amateur draft. He led the Class AAA American Association in batting average (.333) in 1996, producing 153 hits in 122 games.

Young debuted with the Cardinals in August 1996 and hit a key triple for them that fall in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series against the Braves. In 1997, Young hit .258 in 110 games for St. Louis.

Projecting Young to be best-suited as a designated hitter, Jocketty said, “Dmitri is going to be a very good hitter. He’d be a good American League player.”

Regarding Young’s potential role with the 1998 Cardinals, manager Tony La Russa said, “There was a way to wedge him onto the team, but it was not a good fit.”

The acquisition of McGwire by St. Louis in July 1997 “kind of put a damper” on the Cardinals’ plans for him, Young told Mike Bass of The Cincinnati Post. “I didn’t have a clue what the Cardinals were going to do with me,” Young admitted.

Not the same

Before the deal became official, the Cardinals sent Brantley to Birmingham, Ala., for an examination by Dr. James Andrews. With Cardinals trainer Barry Weinberg witnessing the exam, Andrews declared Brantley physically fit to pitch.

“I didn’t have any doubts that it wouldn’t be a problem,” Brantley told the Post-Dispatch. “I’ve been throwing for over two months.”

Brantley told The Cincinnati Post that Andrews “gave me a 100 percent clean bill of health.”

Brantley was effective at the start of the 1998 season for the Cardinals. On May 11, he had six saves and a 1.93 ERA.

Then danger signs developed.

On May 12, St. Louis led the Brewers, 5-3, in the ninth when Brantley entered and gave up a two-run home run to Jeff Cirillo. Boxscore

On May 22, with the Cardinals ahead of the Giants, 3-1, in the ninth, Brantley yielded a two-run homer to Bill Mueller. Boxscore

Brantley remained the closer _ and it proved costly to the Cardinals.

On the morning of May 30, the Cardinals had a 28-24 record. St. Louis lost nine of its next 10 and 12 of 17. Included in that stretch:

_ May 30, Padres 3, Cardinals 2: Brantley entered in the ninth with the score 2-2. Quilvio Veras beat him with a one-out RBI-single. Boxscore

_ June 4, Dodgers 3, Cardinals 2: Different game, same outcome. Brantley entered in the ninth with the score 2-2. Charles Johnson beat him with a one-out RBI-single. Boxscore

_ June 13, Diamondbacks 7, Cardinals 4: St. Louis led 4-3 with two outs in the eighth when Brantley entered with a runner on third. After Jay Bell walked, Travis Lee slammed a three-run home run and Matt Williams followed with a solo shot. Boxscore

_ June 17, Astros 6, Cardinals 5: After Brantley was handed a 5-2 ninth-inning lead, Craig Biggio was hit by a pitch, Bill Spiers reached on a bunt single, Biggio scored on a sacrifice fly and Jeff Bagwell belted a two-run home run, tying the score. When Carl Everett singled, Brantley was lifted for Curtis King. After a walk, Brad Ausmus’ single scored Everett. Boxscore

Brantley eventually was replaced as closer by Rich Croushore and then by Juan Acevedo. Brantley recorded one save after July 10 and finished the 1998 season with an 0-5 record, 4.44 ERA and 14 saves in 48 appearances. Booed by Cardinals fans, Brantley was especially bad in home games: a 6.38 ERA in 24 appearances at Busch Stadium.

After the season, Brantley was traded to the Phillies in a deal that brought the Cardinals another erratic closer _ Ricky Bottalico.

Posted in Hitters, Pitchers, Trades | 2 Comments »

Bob O’Farrell: One and done as Cardinals manager

November 7, 2017 by retrosimba

Club owner Sam Breadon wasn’t satisfied with Bob O’Farrell managing the Cardinals to a 92-win season. Breadon wanted O’Farrell to perform at the level of a most valuable player, too.

On Nov. 7, 1927, Breadon changed managers, replacing O’Farrell with coach Bill McKechnie, even though in his first season as player-manager, O’Farrell, a catcher, led the 1927 Cardinals to a 92-61 record and second place in the National League, 1.5 games behind the Pirates.

The 1927 club was the franchise’s first to achieve more than 90 wins in a season since the Cardinals joined the National League in 1892.

The year before, the 1926 Cardinals, with Rogers Hornsby as player-manager, finished in first place with 89 wins and defeated the Yankees in a seven-game World Series. O’Farrell’s play was significant in the success of the 1926 Cardinals. Solid on defense, he worked well with the pitching staff and batted .293 with 30 doubles and 68 RBI. O’Farrell was named winner of the 1926 NL Most Valuable Player Award.

In 1927, O’Farrell batted .264 with 10 doubles and 18 RBI. Though O’Farrell was slowed by injuries, Breadon concluded the catcher’s play was impacted negatively by the responsibilities of managing. With McKechnie, the former Pirates manager who led Pittsburgh to the 1925 NL pennant, on the coaching staff, Breadon opted to return O’Farrell to the status of fulltime player and promote McKechnie.

Who’s boss?

O’Farrell had done Breadon a big favor by agreeing to become player-manager in 1927.

After the Cardinals won their first World Series title in 1926, Hornsby demanded a three-year contract. Breadon offered a one-year deal. Unable to reach agreement, Breadon traded Hornsby to the Giants for Frankie Frisch, sparking a public outcry.

Attempting to quell the backlash, Breadon turned to O’Farrell, who was popular with the fan base.

Breadon wanted McKechnie, fired by the Pirates, to manage the 1927 Cardinals, but that wasn’t likely to appease the critics. Breadon got the next-best arrangement when McKechnie agreed to be a coach and serve as O’Farrell’s assistant.

“O’Farrell never was considered an outstanding candidate for a managerial job,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch declared, “and he was named as Hornsby’s successor chiefly because of his having been honored as the league’s most valuable player.”

At 1927 spring training, O’Farrell injured his right shoulder in an exhibition game. “The injury handicapped him most of the year,” the Post-Dispatch reported. Late in the season, O’Farrell also dislocated a thumb.

O’Farrell was limited to playing in 61 games and making 51 starts at catcher. He split playing time with Frank Snyder (55 starts) and Johnny Schulte (46 starts).

According to a biography of McKechnie by the Society for American Baseball Research, O’Farrell didn’t want to be manager and “he leaned heavily on McKechnie, occasionally calling time in mid-inning to go to the bench and consult his assistant.”

The Post-Dispatch suggested fans were aware McKechnie was calling the shots “under the disguise of a coach.”

James Gould, columnist for the St. Louis Star-Times, credited McKechnie with having “a quiet, suave handling, and a calm, collected policy.”

The Cardinals were in the 1927 pennant race until the end. They would have repeated as league champions if they’d done better against the Pirates. The Cardinals were 8-14 against Pittsburgh and 84-47 versus the rest of the National League.

Assessing value

Breadon and his top baseball executive, Branch Rickey, were impressed by McKechnie, especially with how he related to prospects.

Breadon met with O’Farrell after the 1927 season and informed him of his intention to make McKechnie the manager. O’Farrell “seemed to be willing and ready to slip out from under the tasks of a manager and devote all his time to playing,” The Sporting News claimed.

In the Star-Times, Gould surmised, “We cannot picture Bob O’Farrell as terribly unhappy over the change in his status.”

To lessen the sting of the demotion _ and perhaps to soothe his own conscious _ Breadon increased O’Farrell’s pay by $5,000, giving him a salary in excess of $20,000 and making him the highest-paid catcher in baseball, according to the Post-Dispatch.

While acknowledging the injuries O’Farrell suffered in 1927 _ “Had he escaped injuries, I believe we would have won the pennant,” Breadon said _ the owner insisted the manager job largely was responsible for the drop in the catcher’s performance.

“I believe that, with O’Farrell free to devote all his time to catching, his arm will come back and he once more will be the outstanding catcher in baseball,” Breadon said. “… I believe O’Farrell will be of more value to us as a catcher without the worries of management.”

Sent packing

McKechnie said he consulted with O’Farrell before agreeing to replace him. “I never would have accepted the managership of the Cardinals had not Bob O’Farrell decided it best for himself to step out and confine his efforts to catching in 1928,” McKechnie said.

McKechnie had a splendid season in 1928; O’Farrell did not.

The Cardinals finished in first place at 95-59, two games ahead of the Giants.

O’Farrell hit .212 in 16 games before he was traded to the Giants on May 10, 1928, for outfielder George Harper.

Jimmie Wilson, acquired from the Phillies, replaced O’Farrell as Cardinals catcher.

O’Farrell, who began his major-league career in 1915, played until 1935, including stints with the Cardinals in 1933 and 1935. He was player-manager of the Reds for part of the 1934 season.

After the Cardinals were swept by the Yankees in the 1928 World Series, Breadon demoted McKechnie to a position in the minor leagues and replaced him with Billy Southworth. When Southworth proved unprepared for the job, Breadon brought back McKechnie during the 1929 season.

Breadon asked McKechnie to stay as manager in 1930, but McKechnie instead accepted an offer to manage the Braves. He later became Reds manager and led them to two pennants and a World Series title.

McKechnie, who won pennants as manager of the Pirates, Cardinals and Reds, was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Posted in Executives, Managers | Leave a Comment »

Cardinals helped Mike Maddux get foothold in majors

November 4, 2017 by retrosimba

Needing an effective performance to show he belonged in the major leagues, Phillies rookie Mike Maddux broke through with an impressive effort against the 1986 Cardinals.

Maddux, 25, limited the Cardinals to one earned run in 6.1 innings and got the win in a 4-3 Phillies victory on Sept. 18, 1986, at Philadelphia.

That performance helped Maddux establish himself as a big-leaguer. He went on to pitch for 15 seasons (1986-2000) in the majors. After his playing days, he built a second career as a big-league pitching coach.

On Oct. 26, 2017, the Cardinals hired Maddux to be their pitching coach, replacing Derek Lilliquist.

Throwing darts

Chosen by the Phillies in the fifth round of the 1982 amateur draft, Maddux rose through the farm system until he was promoted to the big-league club in June 1986.

Placed in the Phillies’ starting rotation, Maddux struggled. After 13 starts, his record was 2-6 with a 6.05 ERA.

To some, he seemed to be regressing. On Sept. 8, Maddux yielded five runs in three innings against the Cubs. Five days later, he gave up three runs in the first and was lifted before recording an out against the Mets.

Maddux was trying to be perfect with his pitches and was aiming the ball. “He wasn’t a pitcher; he was a dart-thrower,” wrote Bill Conlin of the Philadelphia Daily News.

Maddux’s ERA for the first inning of his 13 starts was 15.00.

“Something had to be done,” Maddux said to Jayson Stark of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Maddux sought the advice of Phillies manager John Felske and pitching coach Claude Osteen. “I absorbed everything they said like a sponge,” Maddux said.

(Osteen had been Cardinals pitching coach from 1977-80.)

Wrote Stark: “They told him to think more about winning than about surviving the first inning.”

Different guy

In his next start, Maddux was matched against Greg Mathews of the Cardinals.

From the first pitch, when he made Vince Coleman skip away from a low delivery, Maddux was in command.

In the second inning, his confidence grew when he lined a RBI-single to right against Mathews. It was the first hit and first RBI in the big leagues for Maddux.

Maddux held the Cardinals to one hit _ a Terry Pendleton single _ over six innings.

Maddux struck out seven before he was relieved with one out in the seventh. Boxscore

“He went out tonight totally prepared to pitch,” Felske said. “He was a different guy out there. He was confident. He was determined to do well. He really threw some outstanding breaking balls.”

Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “I can see why they’re putting him out there.”

Herzog compared Maddux to the Cardinals’ Tim Conroy, “who has struggled but is considered to have a major-league arm,” wrote Rick Hummel of the Post-Dispatch.

Cardinals outfielder Andy Van Slyke, however, compared Maddux with Aaron Herr, 4-year-old son of St. Louis second baseman Tommy Herr.

Noting that the Cardinals weren’t swinging the bats well, Van Slyke said, “They could have put Aaron Herr out there and he could have held us to one hit for five innings.”

Lengthy career

Maddux, whose younger brother, Greg, became a Hall of Fame pitcher, played for nine clubs: Phillies, Dodgers, Padres, Mets, Pirates, Red Sox, Mariners, Expos and Astros.

Converted to a relief pitcher after he left the Phillies, Maddux has a career record of 39-37 with 20 saves and a 4.05 ERA in the big leagues.

His career record versus the Cardinals is 3-3 with a 5.24 ERA in 25 appearances. (On Aug. 11, 1988, Maddux started and pitched eight scoreless innings against the Cardinals, but got no decision. The Phillies won, 1-0, with a run in the ninth.)

Maddux was pitching coach for the Brewers (2003-08), Rangers (2009-15) and Nationals (2016-17) before joining the Cardinals.

He was the Rangers’ pitching coach in 2011 when Texas played the Cardinals in the World Series.

Previously: Cardinals tried making Greg Maddux a teammate

Posted in Games, Opponents, Pitchers | 2 Comments »

Why Ozzie Smith chose Cards after becoming free agent

November 1, 2017 by retrosimba

In his first venture into free agency, Ozzie Smith had two options: stay with the Cardinals or go with the Astros.

Curious to learn what he would get on the open market, Smith became a free agent for the first time on Nov. 2, 1992.

Over the next month, the shortstop met with the Astros and Royals, heightening concerns among Cardinals fans about his future with the club.

Though the Astros offered him the contract he wanted, Smith secured his legacy as a Cardinal by remaining with St. Louis and finishing his Hall of Fame playing career there.

Test market

Acquired from the Padres after the 1981 season, Smith was a central figure in the Cardinals’ rise to prominence in the 1980s. He helped them to three National League pennants (1982, 1985 and 1987) and a World Series championship (1982), hit an iconic home run to win Game 5 of the 1985 NL Championship Series and earned a Gold Glove Award every year during that decade.

In 1992, Smith still was an elite player. He batted .295 for the Cardinals that season and won the last of his 13 Gold Glove honors.

With his 38th birthday approaching in December 1992, Smith was looking for one last lucrative contract. He decided becoming a free agent gave him his best leverage.

“Ozzie is going to talk to anybody and everybody that wants to talk to him, but we’re still talking to the Cardinals,” Debbie Ehlmann, Smith’s agent, said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

(At the time, Ehlmann was one of two women certified as an agent by the Major League Baseball Players Association.)

Smith wanted a two-year contract at a guaranteed salary. The Cardinals offered him a one-year deal with a club option for a second year, according to columnist Bernie Miklasz.

Aggressive Astros

One of the first clubs to contact Smith was the Astros, who were seeking an upgrade at shortstop after Andujar Cedeno batted .173 in 1992.

The Astros offered Smith a two-year contract with a guaranteed salary totaling $5.5 million.

Saying Smith would bring a “winning presence,” Astros general manager Bill Wood told the Houston Chronicle, “He’s not making any compromises with Father Time. He didn’t give anything away on the field last year. From what we saw, he played the game like a young man. If you say you’re going to go out and get a shortstop, he’d be the place to start.”

With concern growing that Smith might depart St. Louis, longtime journalist Bob Broeg wrote in the Post-Dispatch, “If the Cardinals let Ozzie Smith get away, it will be the worst case of materialistic injustice in the colorful century of the ball club.”

Creative offer

Feeling the pressure of public criticism, the Cardinals made Smith a counteroffer:

_ $3 million guaranteed contract in 1993.

_ $3 million for each year he plays after 1993, providing he gets 400 plate appearances in the preceding season and is declared physically fit by an independent doctor.

_ $200,000 a year for six years (a $1.2 million total) after his playing career to do public relations work for the Cardinals.

Calling the Cardinals’ proposal “a generous, creative offer,” Miklasz wrote, “Stan Musial, Bob Gibson and Lou Brock never received a sweetheart deal like this. Ozzie says he loves his fans here. Good. He has the chance to stay and seal the valentine, show that he’s more than a mercenary athlete.”

In the meantime, the Royals entered the picture. Smith met with them in Kansas City. Though no formal offer was made, the Royals discussed a two-year deal with a guaranteed salary. “They want Ozzie,” Ehlmann said.

Royals general manager Herk Robinson said of Smith, “If he decides he wants to play in Kansas City, we will try to accommodate.”

Who wants you?

On Dec. 1, the intrigue intensified when the Astros increased their offer to Smith with a guaranteed $6 million over two years.

Smith wouldn’t commit.

Three days later, after the Astros had invested in free-agent pitchers Doug Drabek and Greg Swindell, they withdrew their offer to Smith.

Meanwhile, the Royals still hadn’t submitted an offer.

With his negotiating leverage evaporating, Smith dropped his demand for a guaranteed salary in the second year and accepted the Cardinals’ offer.

In addition to the guaranteed $3 million in 1993 and the $1.2 million for public relations work after retirement, the Cardinals agreed to word the deal so that Smith would receive $3 million for each year he played after 1993, providing he got 400 plate appearances “or played in 95 games” in the preceding season and was ruled physically fit by an independent doctor.

Smith became the first Cardinals player to make $3 million a year.

“This is really where I belonged,” Smith said of St. Louis. “It’s where I should finish my career.”

Smith played four more years for the Cardinals before retiring after the 1996 season. He neither achieved 400 plate appearances nor played in 95 games in 1995 and 1996.

Previously: Ozzie Smith had bitter retirement announcement

Previously: Ozzie Smith had a classy Cardinals farewell

Posted in Hitters | Leave a Comment »

Why Branch Rickey left Cardinals for Dodgers

October 29, 2017 by retrosimba

Four weeks after experiencing one of his most satisfying feats _ a 1942 World Series title for a Cardinals team composed primarily of players developed within the minor-league system he created _ Branch Rickey left the organization.

Though he had played a major role in the Cardinals becoming one of baseball’s best franchises, Rickey’s relationship with club owner and president Sam Breadon had deteriorated beyond repair.

On Oct. 29, 1942, Rickey, the Cardinals’ vice president and general manager, resigned and signed a five-year contract to become president and general manager of the Dodgers.

He left the Cardinals in good shape.

Benefitting from the farm system, the Cardinals had a pipeline of talent despite departures of players into military service during World War II. In their first four seasons after Rickey left, the Cardinals won three National League pennants (1943, 1944 and 1946) and two World Series titles (1944 and 1946).

Rickey, meanwhile, upgraded the Dodgers’ farm system _ his moves positioned Brooklyn to win six NL pennants in a 10-year stretch (1947-56) while the Cardinals had none in that period _ and prepared to make his most important contribution: integrating the major leagues by bringing Jackie Robinson to the Dodgers in 1947.

Golden magic

In 1917, Breadon was part of a group of St. Louis investors who bought the Cardinals from Helene Britton. The new owners lured Rickey from the American League Browns and put him in charge of baseball operations. Breadon became the Cardinals’ principal owner in 1920.

“Finding it impossible to compete in the open market for players, Rickey conceived the idea of finding prospects when they were young and planting them on minor-league clubs, or farms,” wrote J. Roy Stockton of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “Rival baseball operators laughed at the idea, but it worked with golden magic.”

From 1926-42, the partnership of Breadon and Rickey produced six NL pennants and four World Series titles.

For most of that time, Breadon and Rickey were an odd couple who worked well together.

“It was a strange partnership always, with each having a great respect for the ability of the other while their personalities, habits and views of extracurricular things were so diametrically opposed that there never was any strong bond of friendship between the partners,” Stockton wrote.

Ice formations

The relationship began to change in 1939 when the Cardinals got embroiled in a scandal.

Baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who disliked Rickey, launched an investigation into the farm system and determined the Cardinals had violated rules by colluding to control minor-league franchises and their players.

Embarrassed, Breadon concluded Rickey had betrayed his trust.

According to Murray Polner, author of “Branch Rickey: A Biography,” Breadon “insisted his reputation had been stained, his honesty questioned” because of Rickey’s actions.

“To have the stigma broadcast by Landis, whom he loathed, was simply too much for Breadon to bear,” Polner wrote.

Breadon also was miffed with Rickey’s role in a managerial turnover. Frankie Frisch, a Breadon favorite, feuded with Rickey. Fed up, Rickey threatened to join the Cubs unless the Cardinals changed managers. In September 1938, Breadon reluctantly fired Frisch. Rickey hired a friend, Ray Blades, to replace Frisch. When the Cardinals started poorly in 1940, Breadon fired Blades without consulting Rickey.

“Persons close to the club had noticed a coolness developing between president and general manager in recent years,” Stockton wrote.

Time to go

In spring 1941, the relationship reached a breaking point. Breadon informed Rickey he wouldn’t renew his contract at the present terms when the pact expired in December 1942. Rickey was getting a yearly salary of $50,000 and a percentage of the club profits.

(The Post-Dispatch estimated Rickey received more than $1 million in salary and bonuses during his time with the Cardinals.)

Looking ahead to when his contract would expire at the end of 1942, Rickey began to plot an exit.

The 1942 Cardinals won 106 games during the regular season and edged the Dodgers, who won 104, for the pennant. When the Cardinals won four of five against the Yankees to earn the World Series crown, Rickey said it was the happiest moment of his life “because it was a victory for his boys, young men who, with only a few exceptions, were products of the now far-flung chain store system Branch had fathered and developed,” the Post-Dispatch reported.

The Dodgers, seeking a team president to replace Larry MacPhail, who was commissioned into the Army as a lieutenant colonel, contacted Rickey, 60, after the World Series. Rickey’s son was head of the Dodgers’ farm system.

Rickey also was approached by the Browns, who made a surprisingly lucrative offer. “Under its terms, Rickey might have made stock arrangements that would have netted him as much as $100,000 in little more than a year,” The Sporting News reported.

Said Browns owner Donald Barnes: “We went the limit trying to keep Mr. Rickey in St. Louis … We probably went higher in our offer than present conditions would justify. We wanted him that badly.”

Tempted to remain in St. Louis, Rickey came “very, very close” to signing with the Browns, The Sporting News wrote.

However, because the Cardinals and Browns had their offices at Sportsman’s Park and played their games there, Rickey and Breadon would have had to work in close proximity to one another. “Sam and Branch could no longer live in the same ballpark,” The Sporting News concluded.

Rickey notified Breadon in a telegram that he was joining the Dodgers.

Saying he wished Rickey “all the luck in the world,” Breadon told the Post-Dispatch, “We hardly ever had a hard word … If we failed to agree on a policy, we would iron it out. We never had any hard feelings. There are none now.”

Because of federal wartime restrictions on income, Rickey agreed to a yearly salary with the Dodgers of $35,000, but he negotiated a bonus plan in which he “stands a good chance of drawing close to a quarter of a million dollars” over the length of the contract, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported.

Breadon decided to divide Rickey’s duties among various Cardinals personnel rather than hire a replacement.

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