RetroSimba

Boo Ferriss had role in Cardinals World Series controversy

December 2, 2016 by retrosimba

A decision by Red Sox manager Joe Cronin to bypass his ace, Boo Ferriss, in Game 6 of the 1946 World Series against the Cardinals created controversy and second guessing.

boo_ferriss After the Red Sox won Game 5, giving them three wins in the best-of-seven Series, Cronin indicated he’d start Ferriss in Game 6. Ferriss had shut out the Cardinals in Game 3 and he had led the Red Sox in wins during the regular season, with 25.

At the last minute, however, Cronin changed his mind and started Mickey Harris in Game 6. The Cardinals beat Harris, evening the Series. Ferriss started the decisive Game 7, but the Cardinals won that, too, earning their third World Series crown in five years.

Cronin was criticized for not starting his best pitcher when the Red Sox had the opportunity to claim the championship with a Game 6 triumph. Few pitchers in 1946 had better credentials than Dave “Boo” Ferriss.

Big winner

Ferriss got his nickname when, as a child, he tried to say the word “brother” and it came out “boo,” according to a biography by the Society for American Baseball Research.

He debuted in the major leagues with the Red Sox in 1945 and posted a 21-10 record.

In 1946, Ferriss was even better. The right-hander won his first 10 decisions and finished the regular season at 25-6, including a 13-0 mark at home.

After the Red Sox and Cardinals split the first two games of the 1946 World Series at St. Louis, Ferriss got the start in Game 3 on Oct. 9 at Boston. Throwing a sinker from a three-quarters sidearm delivery, Ferriss held the Cardinals scoreless for nine innings, limiting them to six hits and a walk in a 4-0 Red Sox triumph.

Stan Musial tried to spark the Cardinals in the first inning when he walked with two outs and stole second base. Noticing Musial taking a big lead off second, Ferriss turned and caught him flat-footed. Holding the ball, Ferriss moved toward Musial, who broke for third. Ferriss threw to third baseman Pinky Higgins, who applied the tag.

In the ninth, Musial tripled with two outs, but Ferriss preserved the shutout by striking out Enos Slaughter. Boxscore

Chance to clinch

The Cardinals evened the Series with a win in Game 4 and Boston went ahead with a win in Game 5. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the St. Louis Star-Times reported Ferriss would start Game 6 on Oct. 13 at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis.

According to the Post-Dispatch, Cronin said, “Don’t worry about any seventh game. There won’t be any.”

Cronin “thinks Ferriss will turn back the Redbirds and clinch the world title in the sixth game. Ferriss is a real hurdle for the Birds,” Post-Dispatch columnist John Wray wrote.

Retired Cardinals ace Dizzy Dean told the Post-Dispatch on the eve of Game 6, “I reckon it’ll be Ferriss for the Sox tomorrow.”

Change of plans

Ferriss, though, would have been pitching on three days’ rest, instead of the usual four, if he had started Game 6. He also would have been matched against Harry Brecheen, who had shut out the Red Sox in Game 2 and was chosen the Cardinals’ Game 6 starter by manager Eddie Dyer.

“Ferriss was set to start,” reported the Detroit Free Press, “but at the last hour” Cronin reconsidered and opted to start Harris.

A left-hander, Harris had started and lost Game 2, but he pitched well, yielding one earned run in seven innings. Harris had a 17-9 record during the regular season.

“Cronin gambled on (Harris) because Sportsman’s Park usually has been a paradise for southpaws,” United Press reported.

However, Harris gave up three runs in 2.2 innings and the Cardinals won Game 6, 4-1. Boxscore

Cardinals clout

After a scheduled off day on Oct. 14, Game 7 was played on Oct. 15 at St. Louis. Described by the Post-Dispatch as “a master of variable speed and control,” Ferriss, starting on five days’ rest, was opposed by Murry Dickson.

In the fifth inning, with the score tied at 1-1, Dickson doubled, scoring Harry Walker from second. Red Schoendienst followed with a single, scoring Dickson and giving the Cardinals a 3-1 lead. After Terry Moore singled, Cronin replaced Ferriss with Joe Dobson.

Ferriss’ line: 4.1 innings, 7 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts.

The Red Sox tied the score with two runs in the eighth, but the Cardinals went ahead in the bottom half when Slaughter made a mad dash from first and scored on a Walker hit off Bob Klinger. Brecheen, who had relieved Dickson, shut down the Red Sox in the ninth, giving the Cardinals a 4-3 triumph and the championship. Boxscore

Decisions, decisions

Cronin caught heat for his decision-making:

_ Sid Keener, St. Louis Star-Times: “Why didn’t Cronin pitch Ferriss in the sixth game and then, if the Red Sox lost that number, Joe Dobson was the top ace up the sleeve?”

_ Herbert Goren, New York Sun: “Cronin’s pitching strategy was questioned in the last two games. How judicious was it to save Ferriss for the seventh game when he was ready for the sixth?”

_ The Sporting News: “Some surprise was expressed over Cronin’s decision to start Harris. Many thought he would lead with Ferriss in the hope of winding up the Series.”

Keener reported Cronin “originally had Ferriss primed and ready” for Game 6, but had “a change of heart” after learning Brecheen was starting.

In defense of Cronin, Ed McAuley of the Cleveland News wrote, “Ferriss’ performance in the (seventh) game confirmed the manager’s suspicion that (Ferriss) needed more than three days’ rest.”

The 1946 season was the pinnacle of Ferriss’ pitching career. He pitched six seasons, all with the Red Sox, and had a 65-30 record.

Previously: The story of Joe DiFabio, original No. 1 pick of Cards

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Ralph Branca was at his best in rivalry with Cardinals

November 30, 2016 by retrosimba

(Updated Jan. 4, 2025)

Ralph Branca came close to pitching two no-hitters against the Cardinals within a month. He earned a one-hit shutout in one of those games and he had another one-hitter when he departed with two outs in the ninth inning of the other game.

ralph_branca On July 18, 1947, Branca delivered the best performance of his career, retiring the first 21 Cardinals batters in a row and finishing with a one-hitter in the Dodgers’ 7-0 victory at Brooklyn.

A month later, on Aug. 20, 1947, Branca again held the Cardinals to one hit before he was lifted after pitching 8.2 innings. The Cardinals rallied against Hugh Casey, tying the score in the ninth and winning with a run in the 12th at Brooklyn.

Best known for yielding the ninth-inning home run to Bobby Thomson that gave the Giants a pennant-clinching victory over the Dodgers in 1951, Branca was a key figure in the National League rivalry between the Dodgers and Cardinals in the 1940s.

Pennant race

As a youth in Mount Vernon, N.Y., near the Bronx, Branca became a Giants fan, going to their games with his brothers Ed and Jules. In the book, “We Would Have Played For Nothing,” by former baseball commissioner Fay Vincent, Branca said, “My heroes were Mel Ott and Carl Hubbell and Hal Schumacher … I remember sitting in the bleachers in the Polo Grounds and watching (Hubbell’s) screwball … and marveling at it.”

At 17, Branca signed with the Dodgers in 1943 (the Giants didn’t make an offer) and reached the majors with them the next year. The first team he faced was the Giants. Among the batters he retired that day was Mel Ott. Boxscore

On his first Dodgers road trip, Branca, 18, roomed with Paul Waner, 41. Branca recalled to Fay Vincent, “In the morning, he reaches under the bed. He takes out a bottle. They had these round tumblers and he filled it about that high and said, ‘This is my orange juice.’ ”

Branca, 20, started for the Dodgers in pivotal games against the Cardinals during the 1946 pennant stretch.

On Sept, 14, 1946, Branca pitched a three-hit shutout in a 5-0 victory against the Cardinals at Brooklyn, moving the Dodgers within a half game of first place. Boxscore

Branca’s performance in that game was a surprise because the Dodgers weren’t expecting him to last the first inning.

Branca told Fay Vincent, “Leo Durocher, our manager, announces to me I’m to pitch to one man and then he’s going to bring in Vic Lombardi because the Cardinals will load up their team with left-handers. And, of course, I warmed up, and I was going, ‘Sacrificial lamb, my butt.’ I get them out in the first inning on five pitches. I walked off and Leo said, ‘Hey, kid, keep throwing like that. I’m keeping you in.’ ”

Three weeks later, on Oct. 1, 1946, after the Dodgers and Cardinals ended the regular season tied for first place, Branca started the opener of a best-of-three series to determine the NL champion. He gave up three runs in 2.2 innings and took the loss in a 4-2 Cardinals victory at St. Louis. Boxscore The Cardinals won the next game, clinching the pennant, and then four of seven against the Red Sox in the World Series.

A year later, the Dodgers and Cardinals were battling for the 1947 pennant.

Nearly perfect

Branca lost each of his first three decisions against the Cardinals in 1947, but had a 14-7 record entering his July 18 start against them at Ebbets Field.

The game matched Branca against Red Munger. While Branca handcuffed the Cardinals, the Dodgers scored five runs off Munger in the first four innings.

After pitching seven perfect innings, Branca faced Enos Slaughter leading off the eighth. Slaughter hit Branca’s first pitch for a single to right field.

“I couldn’t help but know I was pitching a no-hitter the way they went down, one, two, three, in every inning,” Branca said to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. “Naturally, I was disappointed when Slaughter got hold of that one in the eighth. It was my fault. I was pressing a little, being too careful. I didn’t get that high fastball … inside quite far enough.”

In its account of the game, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch opined, “The Cardinals looked at the best pitching they’ve seen all season.” Boxscore

Walks haunt

The Cardinals returned to Brooklyn in August for a four-game series with the league leaders. The Dodgers won two of the first three, opening a 5.5-game lead over second-place St. Louis.

Branca started the finale and responded with another gem, holding the Cardinals hitless again for seven innings.

Like Slaughter a month earlier, Whitey Kurowski ended the no-hit bid with a leadoff single in the eighth.

Branca entered the ninth with a 2-0 lead. Though he issued a walk to the first batter, Red Schoendienst, Branca retired Terry Moore and Stan Musial on groundouts, with Schoendienst advancing to third.

Slaughter was up next.

Branca got ahead in the count, 1-and-2. Needing a strike to complete another one-hit shutout, Branca walked Slaughter.

After Branca’s first two pitches to the next batter, Ron Northey, missed the strike zone, manager Burt Shotton yanked his ace and replaced him with Hugh Casey.

Northey greeted Casey with a single, scoring Schoendienst, moving Slaughter to third and cutting the Dodgers’ lead to 2-1.

Kurowski followed with a grounder to Spider Jorgensen. The third baseman booted the ball for an error as Slaughter streaked to the plate with the tying run.

Spike ball

In the 11th, the game took another controversial twist.

Slaughter hit a ground ball to first baseman Jackie Robinson, who that season had broken baseball’s color barrier.

Robinson fielded the ball and raced to the bag. As Slaughter arrived _ “head down in a dash for first,” according to the Post-Dispatch _ he stepped on Robinson’s right foot, spiking him.

Robinson “limped and dropped to the ground,” the Post-Dispatch reported, “but apparently, because of the thickness of his shoe and the mud on Slaughter’s spikes, Robinson suffered no cut.”

To the Dodgers and the Brooklyn crowd, it appeared Slaughter intentionally tried to injure Robinson.

“No one can read Slaughter’s North Carolina mind, but the crowd unanimously decided to believe that he was curious to see how Robinson would look with one leg,” wrote Tommy Holmes of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.

Robinson told The Sporting News, “All I know is I had my foot on the inside of the bag. I gave Slaughter plenty of room.”

Said Slaughter: “I’ve never deliberately spiked anyone in my life.”

Comeback complete

More drama unfolded in the 12th.

Kurowski hit Casey’s first pitch of the inning into the left-field seats for a home run, giving the Cardinals a 3-2 lead.

In the bottom half of the inning, Robinson led off with a single against Howie Pollet and moved to second on Pete Reiser’s sacrifice bunt.

Cardinals manager Eddie Dyer lifted Pollet, who was working his fifth inning of relief, and replaced him with Red Munger.

Before delivering a pitch, Munger whirled and snapped a throw to shortstop Marty Marion, who tagged a startled Robinson for the second out.

The next batter, Arky Vaughan, grounded out, ending the saga. Boxscore

Despite the setback, the Dodgers went on to win the 1947 pennant, finishing five games ahead of the Cardinals. Branca posted a 21-12 record and 2.67 ERA.

For his 12-year career in the big leagues, Branca had an 88-68 record, including 8-10 against the Cardinals.

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Kip Wells failed to click with Cardinals, Dave Duncan

November 25, 2016 by retrosimba

After pitching coach Dave Duncan transformed Jeff Weaver from a consistent loser into a postseason ace with the 2006 Cardinals, the club wanted him to work similar magic with Kip Wells in 2007. Duncan and Wells were willing. The results, though, were far from the same.

kip_wells Desperate for starting pitching a month after winning the 2006 World Series championship, the Cardinals, with Duncan’s endorsement, signed Wells, a free agent, on Nov. 28, 2006.

Wells, 29, agreed to a one-year contract for $4 million. The Cardinals projected him in their 2007 rotation, even though he produced one winning season among his last seven in the majors.

A significant factor in their investment was their faith in Duncan, who had a reputation for bringing out the best in pitchers who had struggled or underperformed.

Pitching mentor

Since joining the Cardinals in 1996, Duncan, a former catcher, had helped rejuvenate the careers of several starting pitchers, most notably right-handers, including Andy Benes, Kent Bottenfield, Garrett Stephenson, Darryl Kile, Woody Williams, Jeff Suppan, Chris Carpenter and Weaver.

In 2006, Weaver joined the Cardinals in July after posting a 3-10 record and 6.29 ERA that season with the Angels. Working with Duncan, Weaver gradually improved. He earned three wins for the Cardinals in the 2006 postseason, including the Game 5 World Series championship clincher.

After the season, Weaver and two other Cardinals starting pitchers, Suppan and Jason Marquis, became free agents. Another starter, Mark Mulder, was injured. That left Carpenter and Anthony Reyes as the Cardinals’ only experienced big-league starters.

The Cardinals planned to replenish the rotation by signing free agents. Wells was an immediate target.

Signs of brilliance

Because of a blocked artery in his right shoulder and a foot injury that required surgery, Wells was limited to nine big-league starts in 2006. He was 1-5 with a 6.69 ERA in seven starts for the Pirates before he was traded to the Rangers for pitcher Jesse Chavez on July 31, 2006. Wells made two starts for the Rangers and was 1-0 with a 5.62 ERA.

The Cardinals were familiar with Wells. With the Pirates from 2002-2006 after starting his career with the White Sox, Wells was 2-6 against the Cardinals.

Duncan saw enough skill in Wells as an opponent to determine the right-hander could be a reliable St. Louis starter.

“I always felt like he had great ability and was a very interesting guy to watch,” Duncan said to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “There were signs of brilliance and sometimes mistakes that were made that weren’t understandable.”

Said Wells: “I definitely relish the opportunity to get some insight, some wisdom (from Duncan) and further my career and my ability.”

All aboard

Reaction to the Cardinals’ signing of Wells largely was positive:

_ Bernie Miklasz, Post-Dispatch columnist: “He looks like another low-risk Dave Duncan specialty: a groundball machine, finally healthy and in need of a mid-career tuneup.”

_ Chris Carpenter, Cardinals pitcher: “Getting Kip Wells is a first step. That was a nice first step.”

_ Walt Jocketty, Cardinals general manager: “We got a guy everyone agrees will be very good if he stays healthy.”

_ Randy Hendricks, Wells’ agent: “If Kip does what we and the Cardinals hope, he will be worth a lot more after 2007. So we are betting on each other and the future.”

The Cardinals made aggressive bids for other free-agent starting pitchers, including Jason Schmidt, Miguel Batista and Vincente Padilla (they offered Schmidt, for instance, a three-year contract for $42 million, the Post-Dispatch reported), but were rejected.

So they planned to convert relievers Braden Looper and Adam Wainwright into starters to join Carpenter, Reyes and Wells in the 2007 rotation.

Hard to watch

Wells had a terrible beginning to his 2007 season, losing eight of his first nine decisions. He was 1-8 with a 6.75 ERA after an excruciating performance against the Dodgers on May 16. In that start, Wells threw 125 pitches in five innings. Boxscore

“The Cardinals’ night in the dentist’s chair ended with a root canal gone awry,” Joe Strauss of the Post-Dispatch noted.

Wells finished with a 7-17 record and 5.70 ERA in 34 appearances, including 26 starts, for the 2007 Cardinals. He yielded 186 hits in 162.2 innings. Wells also gave up the most runs (116) and most walks (78) of any pitcher on the staff.

By midseason, Duncan “had become frustrated by Wells’ ponderous pace, heavy pitch counts and inability to avoid huge innings,” the Post-Dispatch reported. “Wells complained the coaching staff failed to help him improve his mechanics.”

Bat man

Wells turned out to be a better hitter than he was a pitcher for the Cardinals. He batted .321 (17-for-53). He was used once as a pinch-hitter, producing a RBI-single off Astros reliever Dan Wheeler in the ninth inning of a Cardinals victory on June 1 at Houston. Boxscore

After the season, Wells became a free agent and signed with the Rockies. He was their starting pitcher in the 2008 season opener against the Cardinals at St. Louis.

Though he didn’t get a decision, Wells pitched effectively, holding the Cardinals to one run (a Yadier Molina home run) in 5.1 innings. The Rockies won, 2-1, scoring their runs in the eighth inning off reliever Ryan Franklin. Boxscore

Wells played his final big-league season in 2012 with the Padres. His career major-league record: 69-103 with a 4.71 ERA.

Previously: Why Jeff Weaver rates among clutch Cards clinchers

Previously: Why Cards took a chance on Jeff Weaver

Posted in Games, Pitchers | Leave a Comment »

Why Andres Galarraga was a bust with Cardinals

November 21, 2016 by retrosimba

(Updated Oct. 20, 2025)

Seeking a first baseman, the Cardinals gambled on Andres Galarraga, hoping a nurturing environment and a stretch of good health would benefit him.

andres_galarraga On Nov. 25, 1991, the Cardinals traded pitcher Ken Hill to the Expos for Galarraga.

Glory days

Nicknamed Big Cat, Galarraga had size (6 feet 3, 235 pounds), quick reflexes and right-handed power. He fielded with the gracefulness of Keith Hernandez, drove in runs with a consistency reminiscent of Tony Perez and Orlando Cepeda, and was hailed by Whitey Herzog and Mike Schmidt as a potential Hall of Famer.

Playing youth baseball in his hometown of Caracas, Galarraga impressed a local scout, Francisco Rivero. In 1979, Rivero told Felipe Alou, managing in the Venezuelan winter league, that Galarraga, 17, could hit with power. Alou invited the teen to a team practice. “When the kid showed up,” Alou recalled to the Toronto Globe and Mail, “I was shocked. He was so incredibly fat.”

Then Alou got another surprise. “His swing was beautiful,” Alou said to the Globe and Mail. “His reactions and instincts were incredible, and his speed for his size was phenomenal. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I thought that if he could do what he did then with all that fat, there was no telling what he could do if he lost weight.”

On Alou’s recommendation, the Expos signed the player known in Spanish as Gato Grande and sent him to a farm team in the United States. “I didn’t speak one word of English,” Galarraga recalled to The Sporting News. “Not one. I was completely lost and very scared.”

Galarraga, 24, was in his seventh season in the minors when he got called up to the Expos in August 1985. A month later, he hit his first home run, a 445-foot drive into the center field bleachers at St. Louis against Kurt Kepshire.

The next year, Galarraga launched another rocket at Busch Memorial Stadium, a home run versus Ray Burris that hit the wall above the Stadium Club in left, some 75 feet above the field, and came within inches of landing in the upper deck, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

In 1987, Galarraga hit his first walkoff home run in the majors, beating Ken Dayley and the Cardinals in the 13th inning.

Galarraga pummeled Cardinals pitching for three consecutive seasons, hitting .354 against them in 1986, .406 in 1987 and .353 in 1988. “If he doesn’t get hurt, he could wind up in the Hall of Fame,” Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog said to the Washington Post. “He’s the best first baseman playing the game today.”

In 1988, when he managed the National League all-stars, Herzog insisted on Galarraga being on the team. “If he doesn’t go, then I’m not going to manage,” he told the Montreal Gazette.

Herzog called Galarraga “one of the best righthanded-hitting first basemen in this league since Gil Hodges,” according to the Post-Dispatch

Galarraga averaged 23 home runs and 88 RBI each year from 1988 to 1990 with the Expos. He also won Gold Glove awards for his fielding in 1989 and 1990.

In 1988, Galarraga led the National League in hits (184), doubles (42), total bases (329) and extra-base hits (79).

Phillies slugger Mike Schmidt told The Sporting News, “Galarraga is fabulous … Believe me: He might be in the Hall of Fame someday.” Expos executive Jim Fanning said to United Press International, “If there was a mold of (Orlando) Cepeda and (Tony) Perez, he’s cut from that same ilk. He already plays first base better than either of them did.”

For 11 consecutive years (1978-88), Keith Hernandez, with the Cardinals and Mets, won the National League Gold Glove Award at first base. The player who broke his string was Galarraga.

The biggest negative was he struck out too much. Galarraga struck out the most of any NL batter in each of three consecutive seasons: 1988 to 1990.

By 1991, his performance declined significantly. Plagued by a pulled groin muscle and coming off arthroscopic knee surgery, Galarraga batted .219 with nine home runs in 95 games for the 1991 Expos and was booed often by fans in Montreal.

“He got into the habit of trying to pull the ball too much,” Expos manager Buck Rodgers told The Sporting News. “When he’s hitting well, he hits the ball to center and right-center.”

Potential trouble

The Cardinals were in the market for a first baseman because Pedro Guerrero, who held the position in 1991, was 35, had a bum shoulder and didn’t field well.

Wally Joyner and Bobby Bonilla were available free agents, but Cardinals general manager Dal Maxvill told the Post-Dispatch, “We have decided we are not going to bid on any major free agents.”

Instead, the Cardinals pursued a trade for Galarraga. “We’ve been trying to make this deal for two months,” Maxvill said.

Maxvill was confident of a turnaround. “I don’t buy it that a guy can be over the hill at 30 years of age,” he said to The Sporting News.

Expos general manager Dan Duquette wanted Cardinals pitcher Rheal Cormier, a Canadian, for Galarraga, the Post-Dispatch reported. “We talked long and hard about Cormier,” Duquette said. “They told me they would not give up Cormier.”

Hill, 25, was a good consolation prize. He was 11-10 with a 3.57 ERA in 30 starts for the 1991 Cardinals and led the staff in strikeouts (121). He yielded only 147 hits in 181.1 innings, but also issued a team-high 67 walks.

“At times, Hill pitches like Don Drysdale and at other times he pitches like Don Knotts,” wrote Post-Dispatch columnist Dan O’Neill. “… Hill is still young but patience is wearing thin.”

Said Cardinals manager Joe Torre: “It’s tough to give up an arm like Kenny Hill, but he’s been inconsistent.”

Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz thought the Cardinals made a bad deal.

“The Cardinals are taking a risk, sending Hill’s live arm to Montreal for Galarraga’s dead bat,” Miklasz opined.

Tough break

Galarraga raised hopes for a comeback with a strong spring training in 1992, batting .314 with 12 RBI in exhibition games. However, in the second game of the regular season, he suffered a cracked right wrist when hit by a pitch from Mets reliever Wally Whitehurst.

Galarraga returned to the lineup May 22, but he pressed at the plate and went into a funk. He entered July with a .185 batting average and no home runs.

“I came back and tried to do too much,” Galarraga told the Post-Dispatch.

His poor production prompted catcalls in St. Louis. “Every time he left runners on base the last two homestands, he walked back to the dugout to a chorus of boos,” the Post-Dispatch reported in early July.

Galarraga said to The Sporting News, “I thought about going home, giving up. I was so down … I just started letting everything bother me. A fan would say something, instead of ignoring it, I took it to heart.”

Cardinals hitting coach Don Baylor came to the rescue. He got Galarraga to open his stance and hit to the middle of the field. The swing came back _ and so did the results. Galarraga hit .300 in July and had 17 RBI in August. On Aug. 15 at Montreal, he had five RBI, including a grand slam against John Wetteland, and “silenced the many who were booing him,” the Post-Dispatch reported.

In his final 146 at-bats with the Cardinals, Galarraga hit .301.

Overall, though, for the Cardinals, Galarraga totaled 10 home runs and 39 RBI in 95 games. He batted .191 with runners in scoring position.

Hill was 16-9 with a 2.68 ERA in 33 starts for the 1992 Expos, who finished in second place, four games ahead of the Cardinals, in the NL East Division.

Rockies revival

Rather than bring back Galarraga at a salary of $3 million in 1993, the Cardinals bought out the option year on his contract for $250,000, making him a free agent. Galarraga accepted a one-year deal at a base salary of $600,000 from the Rockies, an expansion team that hired Don Baylor to be their manager.

“The big thing is Baylor,” Galarraga said to the Post-Dispatch. “He helped me a lot in the second half last year. I’ll benefit from working with Baylor another year.”

With Baylor continuing to guide him, Galarraga was the 1993 National League batting champion, hitting .370 for the Rockies. He produced 22 home runs, 98 RBI and a .403 on-base percentage in 120 games.

During his five years in Colorado, Galarraga also led the league in home runs (47 in 1996) and RBI (150 in 1996 and 140 in 1997).

After joining the Braves in 1998 and hitting .305 with 44 home runs and 121 RBI, Galarraga, 38, sat out the 1999 season to receive chemotherapy and radiation treatment for a cancerous growth (non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma) in his lower back.

Given a medical green light to play in 2000, Galarraga was an inspiration, hitting .302 with 28 homers and 100 RBI for the Braves.

The cancer returned near a kidney in November 2003. Three months later, Galarraga, 42, had a stem cell transplant. He told the Palm Beach Post the procedure was “like they change the oil.”

In August 2004, seven months after the transplant, Galarraga signed with the Angels. He went to the minors to regain his form, then joined the Angels in September and played in seven games for them, closing out his career. He finished with 2,333 hits, 399 home runs and 1,425 RBI.

Galarraga hit 283 home runs after leaving the Cardinals. According to researcher Tom Orf, no one has hit more home runs after leaving the Cardinals. Albert Pujols hit 234 homers for the Angels and then 24 more in his second stint with St. Louis. Johnny Mize hit 201 after the Cardinals traded him.

Posted in Hitters, Trades | 2 Comments »

Larry Dierker and his unsatisfying stint with Cardinals

November 18, 2016 by retrosimba

(Updated Nov. 22, 2019)

Larry Dierker was a popular, personable and productive Astros pitcher, as smooth a fit for Houston as oil, aerospace and barbecue. His trade to the Cardinals caused shockwaves in Texas.

larry_dierker The Cardinals acquired Dierker and infielder Jerry DaVanon from the Astros for catcher Joe Ferguson and outfielder Bob Detherage on Nov. 23, 1976.

It appeared to be a masterful move by Cardinals general manager Bing Devine.

Dierker, 30, had produced nine seasons with double-digit win totals for the Astros, including 1969 when he became the first Houston pitcher to earn 20 and 1976 when he had a no-hitter versus the Expos among his 13 wins.

When he joined the Cardinals, Dierker ranked fifth among active National League pitchers in career NL wins, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The four ahead of him were future Hall of Famers Tom Seaver, Don Sutton, Steve Carlton and Phil Niekro.

“Every good pitching staff needs a stabilizer and I think he’ll help our staff,” Cardinals manager Vern Rapp said.

Dierker’s stay with the Cardinals, though, turned out to be short and unsatisfying.

Youth movements

Planning to enter the 1977 season with four starting pitchers 27 or younger _ Bob Forsch, John Denny, Eric Rasmussen and Pete Falcone _ the Cardinals sought a veteran to anchor the rotation.

The Astros, flush with young starting pitchers such as Joaquin Andujar and Floyd Bannister, needed a reliable catcher and a power hitter. Ferguson could be both.

Though Ferguson had been a bust with the Cardinals, batting .201 with four home runs in 71 games in 1976, he displayed power with the Dodgers, hitting 25 home runs in 1973 and 16 in 1974.

With other teams inquiring about Ferguson, the Astros offered Dierker to enhance their chances of making a deal.

“We feel he’s the best of all possible available acquisitions,” Astros general manager Tal Smith said to the Associated Press. “There were at least nine clubs in the market for a top-notch catcher and we feel fortunate to get him.”

Smith said he regretted having to deal Dierker, but told United Press International, “If we were going to fill a void, we had to satisfy the other club. In this case, the price was a real quality pitcher.”

Astros ace

Dierker made his big-league debut with Houston on Sept. 22, 1964, his 18th birthday. Facing the Giants, he struck out Willie Mays in the first inning.

In 13 years (1964-76) with Houston, Dierker had a 137-117 record and 3.28 ERA.

Dierker accepted his trade to the Cardinals, saying, “It seems kind of like a new beginning.”

“I’m still confident I can pitch and I’m not going to be afraid for my job until I know I can’t compete with the youngsters anymore,” Dierker said to The Sporting News. “… I like to feel the Cardinals are getting a pretty good pitcher.”

Injury woes

The high expectations for Dierker were set back on March 3, 1977, when he broke his left ankle while running wind sprints in the outfield at the Cardinals’ spring training camp. He opened the 1977 season on the disabled list.

On May 22, 1977, Dierker made his Cardinals debut with a start against the Giants at St. Louis. He worked five innings, yielded two runs and took the loss. Boxscore

In June, Dierker developed right shoulder problems.

The Cardinals asked Dierker to go to the minor leagues to work his arm into shape, but he turned down the request, according to The Sporting News.

After missing a start on July 12 at Philadelphia because of shoulder woes, Dierker was shelled in a start on July 16 at Montreal, yielding three runs and being lifted before completing the first inning. He didn’t appear in another game for the Cardinals until working an inning of relief on Oct. 1.

New careers

In an assessment of the 1977 Cardinals, The Sporting News declared Dierker “was useless most of the season.”

Rapp said Dierker was someone “you figured would win 15.”

Instead, Dierker had a 2-6 record and 4.58 ERA in 11 appearances for the 1977 Cardinals.

Dierker went to spring training with the 1978 Cardinals and said he “was feeling great,” but he struggled with command of his pitches. In 17 exhibition game innings, Dierker yielded 21 hits and eight walks and posted a 4.76 ERA.

At the end of spring training, the Cardinals released Dierker, “a development he expected and accepted with grace,” according to The Sporting News.

In February 1979, Dierker joined the Astros’ front office as director of community relations and ticket sales. He was an Astros broadcaster from 1979-96. In 1997, Dierker replaced Terry Collins as Astros manager and led the club to four division titles in five seasons.

Previously: From the start, Cards vs. Houston rivalry was special

Posted in Pitchers, Trades | 3 Comments »

Why Cardinals chose Delino DeShields over Ryne Sandberg

November 15, 2016 by retrosimba

After pursuing Ryne Sandberg to be their second baseman, the Cardinals chose Delino DeShields soon after it seemed the free agent had agreed to a deal with the Reds.

delino_deshields2 On Nov. 20, 1996, the Cardinal signed DeShields, 27, to a one-year contract with a club option for a second season.

DeShields, motivated to rebuild a career that had stalled during a three-year stint with the Dodgers, was a standout for a dismal 1997 Cardinals club, providing a spark at the top of the batting order.

Courting a Cub

In 1996, though the Cardinals won the National League Central Division title, their primary second baseman, Luis Alicea, committed the most errors (24) at that position in the National League and batted .258.

After Alicea became a free agent in October 1996, the Cardinals initially focused on Sandberg, the longtime Cubs second baseman, who also had become a free agent. Sandberg, 37, produced 25 home runs and 92 RBI for the 1996 Cubs.

“It’s a very, very strong interest of Sandberg’s to engage in dialogue with the Cardinals,” Jim Turner, Sandberg’s agent, told Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in November 1996. “If they’re interested in talking, we are, too.”

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa told Barry Rozner of the Daily Herald of Arlington Heights, Ill., “Of course we’d be interested in Ryne Sandberg. I’m surprised he’s still available, but I’m sure we’ll talk to him.”

Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty said Sandberg is “an interesting name for us … That would be an interesting idea for our club.”

Seeking right fit

The Cardinals also were talking with the Pirates about a trade for Jeff King, who played second base as well as third and first. King produced 30 home runs and 111 RBI for the 1996 Pirates.

Eventually, the Cardinals ruled out both Sandberg and King. Sandberg wanted a guaranteed two-year contract, Hummel reported, and the Cardinals were leery of doing that deal for a player in his late 30s. The asking price for King was deemed too steep by the Cardinals.

(Sandberg re-signed with the Cubs and King was traded to the Royals.)

Instead of a power hitter, the Cardinals decided to pursue a second baseman who could bat leadoff and turned their attention to DeShields.

A free agent, DeShields struggled with the Dodgers after beginning his career impressively with the Expos. In four years (1990-93) with the Expos, DeShields hit .277 with an on-base percentage of .367. In three years (1994-96) with the Dodgers, DeShields hit .241 with an on-base percentage of .326.

In 1996, DeShields slumped to .224 and had almost as many strikeouts (124) as hits (130), but he did have 48 stolen bases. “He’s a talented player who just hasn’t played up to his potential,” Jocketty said.

Seeing red

The pursuit of DeShields took a twist on Nov. 14, 1996, when the Dayton Daily News and Los Angeles Times reported he had agreed to a two-year contract with the Reds. The newspapers said the Reds planned to trade second baseman Bret Boone to the Padres to open a spot for DeShields. The Associated Press picked up the reports and the story made national news.

Adam Katz, agent for DeShields, quickly refuted the stories.

“Cincinnati will not even be on our list to consider until Bret Boone is gone,” Katz told Bob Queenan of The Cincinnati Post. “We won’t talk to any club unless there is a job for Delino.”

Katz told Hummel, “Nothing fell apart. It was irresponsible journalism. There never was a deal with Cincinnati.”

The Reds wanted pitchers Scott Sanders and Dustin Hermanson from the Padres for Boone. Padres general manager Kevin Towers told The Cincinnati Post he would deal one, but not both, of the pitchers for Boone.

With the Reds and Padres unable to work a deal _ Boone would be traded by the Reds to the Braves in November 1998 _ the Cardinals again had a path to DeShields.

St. Louis success

DeShields agreed to a Cardinals contract that paid him $1.5 million in 1997. That was about half of what DeShields earned with the 1996 Dodgers.

A grateful DeShields said he chose the Cardinals because “there is a good group of guys on the team and it’s a good situation. I have a lot of respect for guys like (Tom) Pagnozzi, Ray (Lankford) and Brian (Jordan).”

Said Pagnozzi, the Cardinals’ catcher: “Getting out of L.A. is going to have a big impact on him … He’s a perfect fit for the Cardinals.”

Jocketty said some of DeShields’ problems in Los Angeles stemmed from his working relationship with Tommy Lasorda, who was Dodgers manager until replaced by Bill Russell in June 1996. DeShields, who said he played with a damaged hip in 1996, was benched for part of the season by Russell.

“He didn’t like the situation in L.A.,” Jocketty said. “He didn’t like Tommy. This will be a much better environment for him … Tony (La Russa) is very good at working with players like this and getting the most out of them.”

Igniting the offense

DeShields delivered for the Cardinals. He led the National League in triples (14) in 1997 and he was the Cardinals leader in hits (169), stolen bases (55) and multi-hit games (50). He batted .295 and had an on-base percentage of .357. His 71-point improvement in batting average was the greatest gain among National League players from 1996 to 1997.

The 1997 Cardinals, however, finished 73-89.

In 1998, DeShields hit .290 with 26 stolen bases and an on-base percentage of .371 in 117 games for the Cardinals. After that season, he became a free agent and signed with the Orioles. Joe McEwing was the Cardinals’ primary second baseman in 1999.

Previously: How Luis Alicea got encore with Cardinals

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