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Jim Donohue: Cardinals prospect found home in AL

September 27, 2017 by retrosimba

Delivering pitches with a motion that resembled someone cracking a whip, Jim Donohue was a top prospect in the Cardinals’ system.

In 1960, Donohue, a St. Louis native and graduate of Christian Brothers College High School, made a strong bid for a spot on the Cardinals’ Opening Day roster, but fell short of achieving the goal.

Instead, two months later, the Cardinals traded him.

Though he never pitched for the Cardinals in the regular season, Donohue did play two years in the major leagues with three American League teams.

Career choice

Donohue, son of a policeman, was a teammate of Mike Shannon, future Cardinals player and broadcaster, at Christian Brothers.

In June 1956, Donohue graduated from high school and signed with the Cardinals for $4,000.

Asked years later by reporter Jack Herman about the decision to pursue a baseball career rather than follow his father into law enforcement, Donohue replied, “I’d rather pitch than get shot at.”

Donohue, 17, made his professional debut with the 1960 Gainesville (Fla.) G-Men, a Class D club in the Cardinals’ system.

His breakout season _ the one that put him in the top tier of prospects _ occurred two years later, 1958, with the York (Pa.) White Roses, a Class A club managed by Joe Schultz.

Donohue was 7-0 with a 1.48 ERA for York.

Moving up

Impressed, the Cardinals promoted Donohue to their Class AA team, the Houston Buffaloes, in June 1958. In his Houston debut, Donohue pitched a two-hitter in a 4-0 shutout win over the Dallas Rangers. He struck out 11.

In October 1958, Donohue was invited to join other top Cardinals prospects in the Florida Instructional League. Donohue and Gordon Richardson were cited by The Sporting News as “fledgling Cards pitchers from whom much is expected.”

Donohue opened the 1959 season with the Rochester Red Wings, but soon after was sent to St. Louis’ other Class AAA club, the Omaha Cardinals, where he was reunited with manager Joe Schultz. Donohue joined a staff that included other elite pitching prospects such as Bob Gibson and Ray Sadecki.

In July 1959, Donohue pitched a two-hitter for Omaha in a 4-0 triumph over the Minneapolis Millers. Donohue retired 18 consecutive batters until Chuck Tanner singled.

“Manager Joe Schultz’s faith in young Jim Donohue is reaping rich rewards for Omaha,” The Sporting News wrote.

Said Schultz: “He’s got quite a future.”

Donohue had a 2.39 ERA in 28 appearances for Omaha. After the season, St. Louis placed Donohue on its big-league winter roster.

The Whip

During that off-season, Donohue participated in workouts at the St. Louis University gym with fellow area residents Stan Musial, Ken Boyer and Joe Cunningham of the Cardinals.

Donohue reported to 1960 spring training at St. Petersburg, Fla., determined to earn a spot on the big-league pitching staff.

At 6 feet 4 and 175 pounds, Donohue had a “buggy whip” delivery that reminded many of another right-hander, Ewell Blackwell, who had been an all-star with the Reds in the 1940s.

“Jim is rough on right-handed swingers,” Sadecki said. “He throws everything downstairs. They call him The Whip and I guess he is the closest thing to Blackwell in both physique and delivery to come along in several years.”

Sal Maglie, who ended his pitching career with the 1958 Cardinals and stayed with the organization as a scout and instructor in 1959, worked with Donohue to develop a slider to use against left-handed batters.

After Donohue had several effective outings early in 1960 spring training, Cardinals general manager Bing Devine called him the “sleeper” of training camp.

However, in April, just before the Cardinals opened the season, Donohue was sent to Rochester.

“I thought I was going to make it with the Cardinals,” Donohue said.

Big time

Donohue was 4-2 with a 4.03 ERA for Rochester. On June 15, 1960, 30 minutes before the trade deadline, the Cardinals dealt Donohue and outfielder Duke Carmel to the Dodgers for outfielder John Glenn.

In reporting the trade, the Post-Dispatch described Donohue as a “highly regarded pitching prospect who almost stuck with the varsity in the spring” and “rated among the top Cardinals farmhands.”

The Dodgers assigned Donohue to their Class AAA club, the St. Paul Saints, and he spent the rest of the 1960 season there.

In December 1960, the Tigers took Donohue in the minor-league draft. He pitched well at training camp and opened the 1961 season on the Tigers’ Opening Day roster.

Donohue made his big-league debut in the Tigers’ season opener on April 11, 1961. He pitched two scoreless innings of relief against the Indians. Boxscore

On April 23, the Tigers and Angels played a doubleheader at Detroit. Donohue got his first big-league save in the opener and his first big-league win in the second game.

In the ninth inning of the first game, the Angels had the bases loaded, one out, when Tigers manager Bob Scheffing turned to Donohue to protect a 3-1 lead. Donohue retired pinch-hitters Ken Hunt and Leo Burke on pop-outs. Boxscore

In Game 2, Donohue relieved Jim Bunning in the 11th, pitched a scoreless inning and got the win when the Tigers scored in the bottom half of the inning. Boxscore

“Donohue looked good in Florida near the end (of camp),” Scheffing said. “We had a feeling he would be a big help.”

Baseball man

Donohue was 1-1 with one save and a 3.54 ERA when the Tigers traded him to the Angels in June 1961. He got into 38 games with the 1961 Angels and was 4-6 with five saves and a 4.31 ERA.

In 1962, his last season in the majors, Donohue pitched for the Angels and Twins. His combined record for those teams was 1-1 with one save and a 4.67 ERA in 18 appearances.

Fifty-five years later, Donohue’s obituary in the Post-Dispatch noted, “His love for baseball continued throughout his lifetime.”

Previously: Clyde King mentored young Cardinals of 1960s

Posted in Games, Pitchers, Prospects | 2 Comments »

Why Expos thought Al Hrabosky went head hunting

September 24, 2017 by retrosimba

Consistently confrontational, Al Hrabosky was involved in controversy right down to his very last homestand as a Cardinals pitcher.

In 1977, Hrabosky, the so-called “Mad Hungarian,” was involved in a series of incidents, including feuding publicly with manager Vern Rapp, getting suspended by the club for refusing to meet with the manager and incurring the wrath of team owner Gussie Busch by defying a ban on facial hair.

Hrabosky also sparked an on-field brawl in May that year when he hit Cesar Cedeno of the Astros with a pitch.

On Sept. 26, 1977, Hrabosky capped his tumultuous season by throwing a pitch at the head of Warren Cromartie of the Expos in the opening game of the Cardinals’ final homestand.

An Expos pitcher, Wayne Twitchell, peeved by what he perceived to be an intentional assault of his teammate, waited outside the Cardinals’ clubhouse to confront Hrabosky after the game.

Tough ninth

The Expos and Cardinals entered the ninth inning of the Monday night game at St. Louis with the score tied at 5-5. Among the highlights to that point were Garry Templeton’s two-run inside-the-park home run against Twitchell in the sixth and Gary Carter’s three-run home run for the Expos in the seventh against Eric Rasmussen.

Rawly Eastwick yielded singles to the first four Expos batters in the ninth. The last of those consecutive hits, by Ellis Valentine, drove in a run and put the Expos ahead, 6-5.

With the bases loaded and none out, Hrabosky relieved Eastwick.

The first batter he faced, Carter, pulled a curveball to left for a single, scoring two and giving the Expos an 8-5 lead.

“The count was 2-and-2 and he had just blown one by me,” Carter said to the Associated Press. “I consider myself a fastball hitter and I was surprised to get the curve. He got it up some and I waited for it.”

Danger zone

Next up was Cromartie. Hrabosky threw a fastball that sailed directly toward Cromartie’s head. Cromartie raised his arm to protect his face and the ball struck his right wrist.

“If he hadn’t got his hand up, it would have hit him right here,” Expos manager Dick Williams, pointing to his temple, said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Valentine tried to charge from the dugout to the mound to get at Hrabosky, but he was restrained by teammates. Players from both clubs gathered on the field but no fights erupted and no one was ejected.

“He threw at him,” Valentine said. “Everybody on the ball club knew it.”

Hrabosky stayed in the game and completed the inning. The Expos added a run on a sacrifice fly by pitcher Don Stanhouse. The Cardinals failed to score in their half of the ninth and the Expos won, 9-5. Boxscore

Face to face

Hrabosky exited the dugout through a hallway to the clubhouse. As he approached the clubhouse door, he was surprised to see Twitchell there.

Twitchell, 6 feet 6, 215 pounds, pointedly told Hrabosky, 5 feet 11, 185 pounds, that hitting Cromartie with a pitch right after yielding a two-run single to Carter “was very poor timing.”

“I asked what the hell he thought he was doing,” Twitchell said. “He said it was unintentional.”

Several Cardinals had gathered in the hallway on their way to the clubhouse. “I was drastically outnumbered,” Twitchell said.

Asked whether he was seeking a fight, Twitchell said, “If that’s what it came to, but he wouldn’t swing.”

Twitchell departed and went to the Expos clubhouse.

“He hung a pitch and Carter gets a hit,” Twitchell said of Hrabosky. “Now he’s going to take it out on the next hitter? If you are going to brush back a hitter, there’s no worse place you can put the ball.”

Hrabosky declined to comment to reporters.

Said Cardinals manager Vern Rapp: “There was no intent. What does a guy want to hit him for with two men on and nobody out?”

Hrabosky pitched in three more games for the Cardinals. After the season, he was traded to the Royals.

Previously: Bake McBride was a menace against Wayne Twitchell

Previously: Gary Carter and his two 5-RBI games against Cardinals

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

How Cardinals won 2 June games by combined 34-0 score

September 21, 2017 by retrosimba

(Updated Nov. 27, 2021)

Facing a collection of arms ranging from a 15-year-old making his big-league debut to a 36-year-old batting practice pitcher, the 1944 Cardinals became the first team in the majors to achieve two shutout wins by margins of 16 runs or more in the same month.

On June 10, 1944, the Cardinals beat the Reds, 18-0. Two weeks later, on June 24, the Cardinals beat the Pirates, 16-0.

Both of the lopsided June shutout victories by the 1944 Cardinals occurred on Saturday afternoons and in road games _ at Cincinnati and at Pittsburgh.

The Cardinals had a total of 43 hits _ one home run _ in the two games.

Stan Musial contributed seven hits in nine at-bats with four walks.

Mort Cooper pitched the shutouts: a five-hitter and a three-hitter.

Reaching base

The Cardinals’ game against the Reds took place at Crosley Field four days after the Allies launched the D-Day invasion in France. The game attracted 3,510 cash customers, 318 servicemen and 1,641 youths from the Knothole baseball program.

Though the Cardinals had 21 hits and received 14 walks, the game was completed in a relatively brisk 2:23.

Musial had three singles, three walks, three RBI and scored four times.

The Cardinals had 19 singles and two extra-base hits. Eighth-place batter George Fallon and leadoff man Johnny Hopp each doubled.

St. Louis stranded 18 base runners, tying a major-league record.

The 18-0 score was the most lopsided shutout win in the National League since 1906 when the Cubs beat the Giants, 19-0, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Hey, Joe

With the Cardinals ahead, 13-0, Reds manager Bill McKechnie had Joe Nuxhall, 15, make his major-league debut in the ninth inning.

With their pitching staff depleted because of military service, the Reds had signed Nuxhall that year. His parents agreed to let him join the club for home games. Because he wasn’t old enough to drive, Nuxhall took a 30-minute bus ride from his home in Hamilton, Ohio, to Crosley Field for the games, according to the Washington Post.

Nuxhall, in the dugout while the Reds prepared to bat in their half of the eighth inning, heard McKechnie call out, “Joe!”

“I said to myself, ‘He can’t be talking to me,’ ” Nuxhall told Cincinnati TV station WCET in 2005. “We had a couple of Joes on the ball club. And he says ‘Joe!’ a little louder. I looked and he said, ‘Go warm up.’ ”

Nuxhall, wearing borrowed cleats, grabbed a glove and started up the dugout steps to head to the bullpen.

“I was scared to death,” Nuxhall recalled in a 1994 interview with the Associated Press. “I got all shook up and tripped over the top step and fell flat on my face in the dirt. It was embarrassing.”

After the Reds batted in the eighth, Nuxhall took the mound to pitch the ninth, becoming the youngest player to appear in a major-league game.

“I was kind of in awe of these guys, the way they were hitting line drives,” Nuxhall said of the Cardinals.

Cardinals shortstop Marty Marion told journalist Bob Fulton, “We didn’t know he was 15 years old. Didn’t hear it mentioned even.”

Wild thing

Nuxhall threw wildly but was managing his way through the inning. Of the first four batters he faced, Nuxhall walked two and retired two on infield outs.

Runners were on first and second when Musial stepped to the plate.

“Probably two weeks prior to that, I was pitching against seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders, kids 13 and 14 years old,” Nuxhall said. “All of a sudden, I look up and there’s Stan Musial … It was a very scary situation.

“By that time, I was all over the place (with my pitches). It wasn’t two inches outside. It was high and inside, high and outside, bouncing pitches. When (Musial) walked up there, I guess he thought I was a needle threader. My first pitch, he just lined to right. Hit it hard.”

Musial’s single loaded the bases.

Unnerved, Nuxhall walked the next three batters, leading to three runs, and yielded a two-run single to Emil Verban.

McKechnie went to the mound _ “I believe he said, ‘Joe, that’s enough,’ ” Nuxhall recalled _ and took him out of the game after he yielded five runs in the inning. Boxscore

“What the cash customers saw in the ninth didn’t exactly meet with their hearty approval,” the Cincinnati Enquirer wrote of Nuxhall’s debut.

Said Nuxhall: “Those people that were at Crosley Field that afternoon probably said, ‘Well, that’s the last we’ll see of that kid.’ ”

After his debut, Nuxhall wouldn’t pitch in the big leagues again until 1952 at age 23. He went on to play 16 seasons in the majors, earning 135 wins, and later became a beloved broadcaster for the Reds.

Hit parade

Two weeks after their trouncing of the Reds, the Cardinals were at Forbes Field against the Pirates, and Ray Sanders led the attack with a single, double, home run and two walks. He drove in three and scored twice.

Musial had four hits _ three singles and a double _ and a walk. He scored twice and had a RBI.

The Cardinals used 22 hits and seven walks for their 16 runs. They stranded 14. The game was completed in a snappy 2:02 before 4,899 paying spectators. Cooper limited the Pirates to three singles.

Xavier Rescigno, who relieved Pirates starter Fritz Ostermueller with none out in the second, gave up 17 hits and 10 runs in seven innings.

With the score 15-0, “it finally reached such a stage that (Pirates) manager Frankie Frisch sent Joe Vitelli, his batting practice pitcher, to the mound to hurl the ninth,” the Post-Dispatch reported.

Vitelli, 36, yielded back-to-back doubles to pinch-hitter Pepper Martin, 40, and Sanders for the final run. Boxscore

Previously: How Giants beat John Tudor, Cardinals, 21-2

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Tony La Russa, 1997 Cards: Many moves, meager results

September 18, 2017 by retrosimba

In a microcosm of their dismal 1997 season, the Cardinals used a record number of pinch-hitters in a game and none produced a hit.

On Sept. 25, 1997, the Cardinals tied a National League record with nine pinch-hitters in a game against the Reds at St. Louis.

Six of the St. Louis pinch-hitters made outs, two delivered sacrifices and one was hit by a pitch.

The Reds won, 4-3, in 14 innings. One of their pinch-hitters, Lenny Harris, singled and scored the winning run.

It was that kind of season for the 1997 Cardinals, who finished 73-89 and whose pinch-hitters had more strikeouts (67) than hits (49).

Making moves

The Cardinals, aiming to snap a five-game losing streak, trailed the Reds, 3-2, when manager Tony La Russa used his first pinch-hitter, Willie McGee, in the seventh. With a runner on first and none out, McGee, batting for Mike Difelice, flied out.

La Russa sent two more pinch-hitters to bat in the seventh. Tom Lampkin, batting for David Bell, grounded into a force out. Scott Livingstone batted for pitcher Rigo Beltran and flied out.

The Cardinals’ fourth pinch-hitter, Ron Gant, batted for Luis Ordaz in the eighth and struck out.

Rookie delivers

In the ninth, La Russa again used three pinch-hitters in an inning. This time, it produced a run.

With runners on first and third, one out, Lampkin was due to bat against left-hander Mike Remlinger. La Russa wanted a right-handed batter to face Remlinger in that situation. He sent Tom Pagnozzi to bat for Lampkin, a left-handed batter.

Reds manager Jack McKeon countered by replacing Remlinger with Stan Belinda, a right-hander.

Before Pagnozzi could see a pitch, La Russa removed him and put in John Mabry. A left-handed batter, Mabry hadn’t been in a game since breaking his jaw in mid-August.

Belinda drilled Mabry in the right knee with a pitch, loading the bases.

With pitcher Jose Bautista due to bat next, La Russa called on his seventh pinch-hitter of the game, Eli Marrero. A rookie, Marrero was making his first pinch-hit appearance in the big leagues.

Marrero drove a pitch from Belinda to the warning track in left, driving in the runner from third with the sacrifice fly and tying the score at 3-3.

Pitcher in a pinch

In the 11th, with two outs and none on, pitcher Lance Painter was scheduled to bat for the Cardinals. Painter had batted once in 1997 and struck out.

La Russa sent another pitcher, Todd Stottlemyre, to bat for Painter. It was the first and only pinch-hit appearance by Stottlemyre in a 14-year major-league career.

“My heart was racing,” Stottlemyre said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Stottlemyre, who hit .236 for the 1997 Cardinals, struck out.

Falling short

The Reds went ahead in the 14th. A single by Ed Taubensee against Mark Petkovsek scored Harris from second.

In the Cardinals’ half of the inning, McGee led off with a single against Gabe White. Batting for Petkovsek, the Cardinals’ ninth pinch-hitter, Jeff Berblinger, advanced McGee to second with a sacrifice bunt.

Marrero grounded out, with McGee holding second.

Down to the last out, Delino DeShields kept alive the Cardinals’ hopes with an infield single, moving McGee to third. DeShields, swiped second, giving the Cardinals two runners in scoring position.

The drama ended, though, when White struck out Royce Clayton. Boxscore

“We’ve been beaten too many times,” La Russa said. “Our confidence is not very good.”

Previously: Grant Dunlap: From Cardinals pinch-hitter to novelist

Posted in Games, Hitters | Leave a Comment »

Todd Zeile capped inning for the ages for Cardinals

September 15, 2017 by retrosimba

(Updated Sept. 8, 2022)

Looking to regain a role as a reliable run generator for the Cardinals, Todd Zeile took a step in the right direction with a key hit in an unusual game.

On Sept. 24, 1992, Zeile gave the Cardinals a walkoff 4-3 win over the Mets with a RBI-single in the 14th inning at St. Louis.

The game had been scoreless for 13 innings. All seven runs came in the 14th. The Mets scored three in the top of the inning and the Cardinals responded with four in their half.

Missed opportunities

Zeile, the Cardinals’ third baseman, was having a subpar 1992 season.

After producing 81 RBI and batting .304 with runners in scoring position in 1991, Zeile would finish with 48 RBI and bat .214 with runners in scoring position in 1992.

Entering the Cardinals’ game against the Mets, Zeile hadn’t driven in a run in more than a week.

Batting in the cleanup spot, Zeile stranded a runner in the first inning. In the 13th, he batted with runners at second and third, one out, and struck out.

“It was a weird game,” Zeile said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “It seemed like it would never end.”

Action inning

In the 14th, Mets rookie Jeff Kent hit a three-run home run against Bryn Smith with two outs, giving New York a 3-0 lead.

Bernard Gilkey led off the bottom half of the inning with a single against Mark Dewey. Luis Alicea struck out and Rich Gedman singled, moving Gilkey to second.

With the pitcher due to bat next, Cardinals manager Joe Torre called on Felix Jose to pinch-hit. His single drove in Gilkey and made the score 3-1.

Mets manager Jeff Torborg lifted Dewey and brought in Wally Whitehurst. The first batter he faced, Chuck Carr, walked, loading the bases.

Ozzie Smith, 0-for-5 in the game, singled to center, driving in Gedman and Jose and tying the score at 3-3.

Another chance

Carr was on third and Smith on first, with Ray Lankford at the plate. With Carr representing the winning run, the Mets paid no attention to Smith. So he advanced to second uncontested.

With first base open, Whitehurst elected to issue an intentional walk to Lankford, loading the bases, and take his chances with Zeile.

“I was just happy to get another chance,” Zeile told the Post-Dispatch. “Real happy.”

Zeile lined a single to left, scoring Carr with the winning run. Boxscore

“I went from goat to hero,” Zeile said to the Associated Press. “That just goes to show how things can change in this game. I would have liked to have ended it an inning earlier.”

Regarding the Cardinals’ comeback, Torre said, “They don’t die. I love it.”

Zeile bounced back in 1993 and had a career-high 103 RBI for the Cardinals. He hit .270 with runners in scoring position, a mark more in line with his final career average of .267 in those situations.

Previously: The day Cardinals fired Joe Torre, traded Todd Zeile

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The night Todd Worrell played in right field

September 12, 2017 by retrosimba

In the thick of a pennant race, Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog put pitcher Todd Worrell in right field in the ninth inning of a one-run game.

The move worked.

Ken Dayley, brought in to relieve Worrell and pitch to one batter, got an out. Worrell then returned to the mound and retired the last two batters, earning a save and preserving a Cardinals victory over the Phillies at St. Louis.

Herzog’s unorthodox maneuvering displayed the creativity and courage that helped make him a championship manager with the Cardinals. It also showed the confidence Herzog had in his players.

Mix and match

On Sept. 22, 1987, the Cardinals were looking to build their lead in the National League East Division with two weeks remaining in the regular season. Cardinals starter Danny Cox was matched against Shane Rawley of the Phillies.

With the Cardinals ahead, 3-1, Worrell relieved Cox with two outs, one on, in the eighth and retired Chris James on a force play.

In the ninth, Mike Schmidt led off with a home run against Worrell, getting the Phillies within a run at 3-2.

With Von Hayes, a left-handed batter with extra-base potential, up next, Herzog brought in Dayley, a left-handed pitcher, to face him.

Herzog wanted to keep Worrell in the game because Rick Schu, a right-handed batter, followed Hayes in the order. Herzog removed right fielder Lance Johnson and replaced him with Worrell.

Stand and watch

“I think Todd’s my best right fielder,” Herzog said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “No kidding. He can play the … outfield.”

Said Cardinals second baseman Tommy Herr: “Todd is a good outfielder. He shags balls before the game and looks good. It’s not like he doesn’t have a clue out there.”

Still, Dayley didn’t want Hayes to pull a ball into right field. He threw pitches down and away. Hayes chased after those and struck out.

With that mission accomplished, Herzog lifted Dayley, put Worrell back to pitch and brought in outfielder John Morris off the bench to play right field.

“I didn’t get to use my blazing speed,” Worrell said of his uneventful stint in right.

Keep ’em guessing

It was the third time Herzog as Cardinals manager had sent a pitcher to the outfield, but the first time he brought that player back to the mound. In each of the other two times, the inning ended with the pitcher in the outfield.

“Just when you think you’ve seen it all, something else pops up,” Morris said.

When Dayley returned to the dugout, pitcher Bob Forsch asked him, “How does it feel to be replaced by the right fielder?”

Worrell got Schu to ground out for the second out of the inning. The next batter, Darren Daulton, lined out to shortstop Ozzie Smith.

The 3-2 victory gave the Cardinals four wins in a row and moved them 3.5 games ahead of the second-place Mets with 12 to play. Boxscore

Previously: Needing a strike for a save, Ken Dayley got hook instead

Posted in Games, Hitters, Pitchers | 2 Comments »

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