RetroSimba

Heading into the final month of the season in pursuit of a second consecutive National League pennant, the Cardinals sought an upgrade to their infield defense. They took a chance on a light-hitting shortstop with a history of alcohol problems.

Rabbit Maranville fielded with flair. Pairing Maranville at shortstop with Frankie Frisch at second base gave the Cardinals a keystone combination of future Hall of Famers.

On Sept. 2, 1927, the Cardinals rescued Maranville from exile, acquiring him from the minor-league Rochester Tribe and inserting him at shortstop for the stretch run.

The move didn’t pay immediate dividends. Maranville was injured soon after he joined the Cardinals and was sidelined for three weeks. The defending champion Cardinals finished a close second to the 1927 pennant-winning Pirates. However, Maranville returned to the Cardinals in 1928 and helped them win their second NL championship.

Battle with bottle

Walter Maranville got the nickname “Rabbit” when he was in the minor leagues with the New Bedford Whalers. There are two versions regarding the nickname’s origin, according to a biography by the Society for American Baseball Research. One cites Maranville’s big ears. Another claims the nickname developed because of the way Maranville scurried about the field.

Maranville, 5 feet 5, 155 pounds, debuted in the major leagues with the 1912 Braves. He fielded well, had good range and was skilled at turning a double play. He was a key player for the 1914 NL champion Braves. Though he never batted .300 during a full season, his defensive abilities elevated him to elite status among big-league shortstops.

By 1926, though, Maranville, 34, appeared to be finished as a player. He admitted to having a drinking problem and he no longer performed at a top level on the field. In August 1926, the Dodgers released him and he went unclaimed.

Three months later, in November 1926, Maranville accepted an offer to join Rochester. The minor-league team was managed by George Stallings. He had been Maranville’s manager with the Braves from 1913-20.

Staying sober, Maranville, 35, excelled for Rochester in 1927. He batted .298 with 151 hits in 135 games and looked sharp again in the field.

On Sept. 1, 1927, the Cardinals went to Rochester to play an exhibition game against the minor-league team. Maranville played well. After the game, the Cardinals purchased his contract.

Maranville was returning to the big leagues.

Rabbit redux

The Cardinals’ starting shortstop, Tommy Thevenow, broke an ankle in June and he was projected to be sidelined until at least mid-September. A rookie, Heinie Schuble, replaced him.

Entering September in the thick of the pennant race _ 1.5 games behind the NL co-leading Pirates and Cubs _ the Cardinals determined they could enhance their bid for a championship by getting a veteran shortstop.

After seeing Maranville in the exhibition game, the Cardinals were convinced he would fulfill their need.

“He is one of the best fielders in the game,” declared the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

With Maranville at shortstop, Frisch “will no longer have to carry the men on his right and can now devote his entire attention to his own responsibilities,” wrote Post-Dispatch columnist John Wray.

On its editorial page, the Post-Dispatch gushed, “We expect great things of the Rabbit. At Frankie Frisch’s side, he adds another brilliant spot to the infield … When everything is said and done, the Rabbit will go home with his pockets full of World Series cash.”

That’s a winner

After the Sept. 1 exhibition game at Rochester, the Cardinals departed for Pittsburgh. Maranville took a later train and arrived in the Cardinals clubhouse in time for the Sept. 2 afternoon game against the Pirates. Manager Bob O’Farrell put Maranville in the lineup and batted him eighth in the order. Maranville handled nine chances (four putouts and five assists) and got a hit in three at-bats. Boxscore

“We were pretty well sold on the purchase of Maranville. We could see where he would fit nicely and be mighty helpful,” St. Louis Star and Times columnist James Gould opined.

Four days later, on Sept. 5, in the second game of a Labor Day doubleheader against the Cubs in Chicago, Maranville and center fielder Ernie Orsatti collided while pursuing a ball hit by Woody English. Maranville was injured. Boxscore

Sidelined for three weeks, Maranville returned to the lineup on Sept. 26, with the Cardinals two behind the front-running Pirates.

The Pirates finished in first at 94-60. The runner-up Cardinals were 1.5 games behind at 92-61. Maranville appeared in nine games, including eight starts at shortstop, and hit .241.

Thevenow opened the 1928 season as the Cardinals’ starting shortstop, with Maranville on the roster as a reserve. Thevenow struggled to hit, batting .202, and was replaced as the starter by Maranville on May 26.

Cardinals manager Bill McKechnie, who had been Maranville’s manager for three years with the Pirates, kept Maranville, 36, as the starter for the remainder of the 1928 season. The Cardinals won the pennant, with Maranville making 105 starts at shortstop. He batted .240 with 14 doubles and 10 triples. In the four-game World Series against the Yankees, he hit .308.

After the season, the Cardinals sold Maranville’s contract to the Braves.

Maranville, who played 23 years in the big leagues, including 15 seasons with the Braves, was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1954. Frisch was elected seven years earlier, in 1947.

Previously: Ozzie Smith tops NL shortstops for durability

Juan Encarnacion was where he was supposed to be, but it was the wrong place at the wrong time.

In the on-deck circle at Busch Stadium, waiting to enter the game as a pinch-hitter for pitcher Randy Flores, Encarnacion was struck in the left eye by a foul ball lined off the bat of Cardinals teammate Aaron Miles.

Encarnacion had no time to react. The ball hit him with full force, shattering his eye socket and injuring the eye.

“If he was looking elsewhere and not paying attention, he might have gotten killed,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The accident happened on Aug. 31, 2007, in a game between the Reds and Cardinals at St. Louis.

Encarnacion never would play baseball again.

Fear factor

Encarnacion entered the big leagues with the 1997 Tigers and went on to play for the Reds, Marlins and Dodgers. In January 2006, Encarnacion, a free agent, signed with the Cardinals. He became their starting right fielder and batted .278 with 19 home runs and 79 RBI for the 2006 World Series champions.

In 2007, Encarnacion hit .283 with nine home runs and 47 RBI. In August, the Cardinals called up Rick Ankiel from the minors and the former pitcher shared time with Encarnacion in right field.

Ankiel got the start in right for the Cardinals’ game versus the Reds on Aug. 31.

The Reds led, 4-3, when Miles led off the bottom half of the sixth. Batting from the right side, Miles swung at an outside pitch from left-hander Jon Coutlangus and lined it foul. The ball sliced over the first-base line and directly toward the on-deck circle.

When the ball struck Encarnacion, he collapsed onto the ground. La Russa was one of the first to reach him. “I’ve seen guys smoked in the dome (head), but not dead center,” La Russa told the Associated Press.

A stretcher was brought onto the field, but Encarnacion, who remained conscious, preferred to stand and was helped off the field by trainers and teammates.

“It’s about as bad as it gets as far as what you can see on a baseball field,” said Cardinals center fielder Jim Edmonds. “I think it’s everybody’s biggest fear.”

When the game resumed, Miles struck out. So Taguchi batted for Flores and the Reds replaced Coutlangus with Gary Majewski. Taguchi doubled, Brendan Ryan got an infield single and David Eckstein was hit by a pitch. Eddie Guardado relieved and the first batter he faced, Ankiel, hit a grand slam, giving the Cardinals a 7-4 lead. Boxscore

Thinking of others

Encarnacion was taken to a hospital. In addition to the shattered eye socket and eye injury _ it was thought damage had been done to the optic nerve _ Encarnacion suffered a concussion.

Said Dr. George Paletta, the Cardinals’ medical supervisor: “This is the worst trauma I’ve seen.”

After the game, several Cardinals players and personnel visited Encarnacion at the hospital. Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina, Joel Pineiro and Miles kept watch over Encarnacion that night.

“We’re all pulling for him,” Miles said. “Hoping for the best.”

Pujols told Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz that Encarnacion was alert and responsive. “He was trying to make us feel better,” Pujols said. “He was making jokes. He was worn out, but he talked and was in pretty good spirits. He didn’t want anyone to feel sad.”

The next day, members of Encarnacion’s family arrived at the hospital from the Dominican Republic.

The Cardinals moved the on-deck circle to a spot a few feet farther from the dugout.

On Sept. 4, Encarnacion was released from the hospital. Two weeks later, he was driven to Boston to see an eye specialist. Surgery was scheduled to repair the eye socket fractures. A month later, it was determined Encarnacion had 20/400 vision in his left eye.

At 31, his playing days were done.

Previously: Why Cardinals were impressed by Juan Encarnacion