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How Jim O’Toole performed escape act versus Cardinals

January 16, 2016 by retrosimba

Of the many duels the Reds’ Jim O’Toole had with the Cardinals, the most bizarre was his performance in the first game of a 1963 doubleheader. Even without his nemesis, Ken Boyer, in the lineup, O’Toole was pummeled by the Cardinals, but still won.

jim_otooleA left-hander, O’Toole posted double-digit wins for the Reds in five consecutive seasons (1960-64) and was an All-Star Game starter in 1963. In nine years with Cincinnati, O’Toole was 10-14 with a 4.17 ERA in 38 appearances against the Cardinals.

His best game versus St. Louis was on May 6, 1960, when he pitched a four-hitter in a 1-0 Reds triumph. Boxscore

His worst game against St. Louis was on June 7, 1962, when he was rocked for six runs and 10 hits in 4.1 innings in an 8-2 Cardinals victory. Boxscore

Perhaps the most memorable was the escape act he performed on May 5, 1963, at Cincinnati.

Grim work

Though he yielded 12 hits, walked two, had two batters reach base on errors and threw a wild pitch before he was lifted with two on and none out in the seventh, O’Toole got his major league-leading sixth win of the season in a 5-4 Reds victory.

The Cardinals had two runners thrown out at home, two runners caught attempting to steal second, grounded into a double play and stranded nine.

In addition, “several Redbird smashes were kept in the ballpark by a treacherous wind,” The Sporting News reported.

“There’ll be games like that all season because the league is so well balanced,” said Cardinals general manager Bing Devine.

The Reds never trailed. Or, as the Associated Press noted, “The Reds scored three runs in the opening inning and held on grimly.”

O’Toole did the bulk of that grim work.

Unconventional script

Among the twists and turns:

_ O’Toole retired the first four batters he faced.

_ In the second inning, with the Reds ahead, 3-1, the Cardinals had Leo Burke on second and Gene Oliver on first with one out. Julian Javier grounded to shortstop Leo Cardenas, who booted the ball. Javier reached first safely on the error. Burke rounded third and headed for home. Cardenas recovered in time and threw to catcher Johnny Edwards, who tagged out Burke.

_ With two outs in the fourth and the Reds ahead, 4-2, the Cardinals had Javier on third and Ray Sadecki on first. O’Toole uncorked a wild pitch, enabling Sadecki to reach second. Dick Groat singled, scoring Javier but left fielder Frank Robinson’s throw to Edwards nailed Sadecki at the plate for the third out.

_ In the seventh, Curt Flood doubled and Groat followed with a RBI-single, knocking O’Toole from the game and cutting the Reds’ lead to 5-4. Al Worthington relieved and yielded a single to Bill White, moving Groat to third. The rally unraveled when George Altman struck out, White was caught attempting to steal and Charlie James flied out. Boxscore

Perhaps the outcome would have been different if Boyer had played.

O’Toole tormentor

Two nights earlier, in the series opener, Boyer was injured when Edwards spiked him while sliding into third. Boyer needed 13 stiches to close two wounds. He wouldn’t return to the lineup until after the Cardinals left Cincinnati.

Boyer had the most career hits (36) against O’Toole of any batter. He hit .468 (36-for-77) with five doubles, four home runs, 10 walks and 22 RBI versus O’Toole. Boyer’s career on-base percentage against him was .529.

In O’Toole’s first three full seasons with the Reds, Boyer haunted him, hitting .636 (7-for-11) in 1959, .462 (6-for-13) in 1960 and .750 (6-for-8) in 1961, according to Baseball-Reference.com.

O’Toole was the starting pitcher in the 1963 All-Star Game at Cleveland when the National League started an all-Cardinals infield of White at first, Javier at second, Groat at shortstop and Boyer at third.

In the second inning of that game, the American League had Leon Wagner on second, Zolio Versalles on first, two outs and pitcher Ken McBride at the plate.

McBride hit a grounder to Boyer’s left. He dived for the ball, but it deflected off his glove and into left field for a RBI-single, tying the score. Boxscore

Previously: 1963 NL all-stars started all-Cardinals infield

Previously: Why John Tsitouris forever will be linked to Cardinals

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

Jamie Moyer: Short stay with Cardinals in long career

January 13, 2016 by retrosimba

(Updated March 12, 2022)

When the Cardinals acquired Jamie Moyer, he was projected to pitch in their farm system. Moyer persevered and earned a spot in the Cardinals’ starting rotation, but instead of becoming a feel-good story, he went winless in seven starts. At 28, his big-league pitching career appeared near an end.

jamie_moyer3Who could have envisioned Moyer would recover to pitch in the majors until he was 49 and become one of the top 10 left-handers in career wins?

On Jan. 9, 1991, the Cardinals reached agreement with Moyer on a minor-league contract and invited him to their big-league spring training camp as a non-roster player.

“He’s young enough that we might want to take a look at him,” Cardinals general manager Dal Maxvill told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Underwhelmed, Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz reacted with two words and a punctuation mark: “Jamie Moyer?”

Moyer, who debuted with the Cubs in 1986, had a 2-6 record and 4.66 ERA in 33 appearances for the 1990 Rangers and was released after the season.

Two teams _ Cardinals and Expos _ made offers to Moyer.

“The people at Texas gave indication that he was throwing decently,” Maxvill said.

Moyer said he chose the Cardinals because “it seems like they have a lot of young arms who are not quite ready. I thought I could fit into the Cardinals’ plans before one of their younger guys comes up.”

“All I’m looking for is an opportunity … I’ve got to prove to people that I can pitch.” Moyer said.

Opportunity knocks

The 1991 Cardinals entered spring training with a projected rotation of Joe Magrane, Jose DeLeon, Bryn Smith, Bob Tewksbury and Ken Hill. However, on March 1, the Cardinals revealed Magrane had left elbow damage and would sit out the 1991 season.

Manager Joe Torre declared rookie Omar Olivares and Moyer as the top candidates to take Magrane’s spot in the rotation.

Moyer won the competition, producing a 1.63 ERA in spring training exhibition games compared with a 7.08 ERA for Olivares.

Torre said Moyer is “a changeup pitcher. He’s not going to impress you with his stuff. You have to go on the results.”

Not good enough

Moyer made his Cardinals debut on April 12, 1991, in a start against the Phillies and took the loss, giving up five runs and seven hits in two innings. Lenny Dykstra hit a two-run home run.

“I had no location at all … I pitched horribly,” said Moyer. “It’s a humbling game.” Boxscore

He earned a measure of redemption in each of his next two starts, pitching well enough to win but getting a loss and a no-decision instead.

Moyer held the Expos to one run in seven innings on April 17 and lost, 1-0. Boxscore He gave up two runs in six innings versus the Cubs on April 22 but reliever Juan Agosto got the win. Boxscore

Cardinals pitching coach Joe Coleman convinced Moyer to try a new approach by starting his delivery with his left foot on the third base side of the pitching rubber instead of the first base side, according to the Post-Dispatch.

After a loss to the Reds on May 14 _ “They didn’t hit a ball hard off him,” Torre said _ Moyer had an 0-4 record and 5.02 ERA. Boxscore

Moyer’s next start, on May 21 against the Pirates, would be the last game he’d pitch for the Cardinals. Barry Bonds hit two home runs off Moyer, who was lifted after yielding four runs in 2.2 innings. The Pirates won, 5-3, dropping Moyer’s record to 0-5 with a 5.74 ERA. Boxscore

“Moyer didn’t have it at all,” Torre said. “His location was bad.”

Two days later, the Cardinals sent Moyer to Class AAA Louisville and moved Olivares into the rotation.

“I’ve pitched well at times and I’ve pitched horribly at times,” Moyer said. “They gave me the opportunity in spring training and that’s all I could have asked for.”

Moyer spent the remainder of the 1991 season with Louisville, posting a 5-10 record and 3.80 ERA in 20 starts before the Cardinals released him in October.

Top 10 winner

After pitching for the Toledo Mud Hens in 1992, Moyer returned to the majors with the 1993 Orioles and established himself as a consistent and durable winner.

In 25 big-league seasons with eight teams _ Cubs, Rangers, Cardinals, Orioles, Red Sox, Mariners, Phillies and Rockies _ Moyer produced a 269-209 record. In April 2012, Moyer, six months shy of his 50th birthday, became the oldest pitcher to win a major-league game, going seven innings in a 5-3 Rockies victory over the Padres.

Moyer’s career record against the Cardinals: 5-1 with a 2.30 ERA in 13 appearances.

The top 10 left-handers in career big-league wins are:

_ Warren Spahn, 363

_ Steve Carlton, 329

_ Eddie Plank, 326

_ Tom Glavine, 305

_ Randy Johnson, 303

_ Lefty Grove, 300

_ Tommy John, 288

_ Jim Kaat, 283

_ Jamie Moyer, 269

_ Eppa Rixey, 266

All except John and Moyer have been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Posted in Games, Pitchers | 2 Comments »

Sunday night pioneer: How Hal Brown baffled Cardinals

January 10, 2016 by retrosimba

Sunday night baseball, a standard feature on today’s major-league schedule, was a radical idea, born of necessity, when the Cardinals first experienced it in 1963.

hal_brownAt that time, the Houston Colt .45s, in their second National League season, played their home games at an outdoor ballpark. In the summer, the oppressive Texas heat and humidity made day baseball uncomfortable, if not impractical, for fans and players.

“Rivals agreed that it’s too hot to play on Sunday afternoons,” United Press International reported.

The 1963 Colt .45s became the first big-league club to schedule Sunday night home games. The first was against the Giants on June 9. The second was played against the Cardinals on June 30. The winning pitcher in both was a 38-year-old knuckleball specialist, Hal Brown, a World War II combat veteran who had served as a gunner on U.S. Army Air Force bombers.

Need to be stingy

Brown, winding down his career with the weakest-hitting team in the National League, knew his best chance to win was to pitch a shutout for the Colt .45s.

The 1963 Colt .45s would rank last in the 10-team NL in runs (464), RBI (420) and home runs (62).

Brown earned five wins for the 1963 Colt .45s. He pitched complete-game shutouts _ two versus the Cardinals, including the Sunday night game, and one against the Phillies _ for three of those wins. In the other two, he pitched 6.1 innings of scoreless relief versus the Giants and held the Mets to three runs in a rain-shortened seven-inning start.

Thus, in his wins for the 1963 Colt .45s, Brown had an ERA of 0.66, yielding three runs in 49.1 innings.

Overall, Brown was 5-11 with a 3.31 ERA in 26 games, including 20 starts, for the 1963 Colt .45s. Brown yielded three runs or fewer in seven of his losses, with the Colt .45s scoring a total of five runs in those defeats.

Richards connection

Brown debuted in the major leagues with the 1951 White Sox. He also pitched for the Red Sox and Orioles before joining the Yankees in September 1962.

On April 21, 1963, the Yankees sent Brown to the Colt .45s for $25,000. Paul Richards, general manager of the Colt .45s, had been Brown’s manager with the White Sox and for most of his time with the Orioles. It was Richards who encouraged Brown to use the knuckleball.

“I don’t want a big knuckler,” Brown said to The Sporting News. “I want it to look just good enough to swing at. When you’re 38, you would rather get them out on one pitch than strike them out on three.”

Night moves

In the inaugural big-league Sunday night game, Brown relieved injured starter Turk Farrell with two outs in the third inning. Brown pitched the rest of the way, yielding one hit _ a Willie Mays single _ and retiring the last 17 Giants batters in a row for his first NL win in a 3-0 Colt .45s victory. Boxscore

Outside the ballpark, protesters opposed Sunday night baseball, according to the book “Colt .45s: A Six-Gun Salute.”

“It’s just plain wrong and ought not to be,” Baptist minister O.A. Taylor said of Sunday night games. “If they get by with this, they’ll start scheduling games on Sunday morning.”

Three weeks later, Brown got the start against the Cardinals in the second Sunday night game.

Brown pitched a complete-game seven hitter in a 1-0 Colt .45s victory. Houston scored in the fourth off starter Lew Burdette on John Bateman’s RBI-single.

Brown held the Cardinals to six singles and a triple, striking out six and walking one. He escaped several jams, including:

_ In the first inning, the Cardinals loaded the bases with two outs before Brown retired George Altman.

_ In the second, Curt Flood reached second with none out, but was caught attempting to steal third.

_ Altman tripled leading off the seventh. He was unable to advance on groundouts by Flood and Tim McCarver. Carl Sawatski flied out, ending the inning and stranding Altman at third.

_ In the eighth, the Cardinals had runners on first and third with one out. Brown retired Charlie James and Ken Boyer without allowing the runner from third to score.

“It was a weird but wonderful triumph,” wrote Mickey Herskowitz in The Sporting News.

Said Brown: “It’s a pretty good feeling to know you have to pitch a shutout to win and then to do it.” Boxscore

Brown shut out the Cardinals for the second time on Aug. 24, 1963, a Saturday night in Houston. He limited the Cardinals to four singles _ three by Flood and one by Altman _ in a 4-0 Colt .45s victory.

Stan Musial, making his final visit to Houston as a player and honored in ceremonies before the game, was 0-for-3 against Brown that night. Boxscore

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

Previously: Reds-Cardinals: Easter night to remember

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

A stormy relationship between Walker Cooper, Cardinals

January 7, 2016 by retrosimba

Fed up with contract hassles and uneasy with the prospect of playing for manager Eddie Dyer, Walker Cooper, the best catcher in the National League, wanted out of St. Louis. Seeing a surplus of suitors causing Cooper’s market value to skyrocket, Cardinals owner Sam Breadon was willing to accommodate him.

walker_cooper2On Jan. 5, 1946, the Cardinals sent Cooper to the Giants for $175,000.

The cash amount was the third-largest paid by a club to acquire a player, according to media reports at that time.

(In 1934, the Red Sox sent $250,000 and shortstop Lyn Lary to the Senators for shortstop Joe Cronin. In 1938, the Cubs gave $185,000, plus pitchers Curt Davis and Clyde Shoun and outfielder Tuck Stainback, to the Cardinals for pitcher Dizzy Dean.)

“I decided Cooper wasn’t satisfied here and would do better elsewhere,” Breadon said. “But get me right: Walker was a great player here and I consider him the greatest catcher in the majors since Bill Dickey of the Yankees was a young man.”

In the short term, the trade didn’t hurt the Cardinals. Without Cooper, they won the 1946 World Series championship.

In the long run, losing Cooper was a factor in the erosion of the Cardinals, who went 18 years before winning another World Series crown.

3-time all-star

Along with his brother Mort, a starting pitcher, Walker Cooper was a key player on Cardinals clubs that won three consecutive NL pennants and two World Series titles from 1942-44.

He was named an all-star catcher in each of those three seasons. His numbers:

_ 1942: Batted .281 with 32 doubles and 65 RBI. Ranked second among NL catchers in assists (62) and runners caught attempting to steal (58 percent). Batted .286 in the World Series.

_ 1943: Batted .318 with 30 doubles and 81 RBI. Caught 48 percent of runners attempting to steal. Batted .294 in the World Series.

_ 1944: Batted .317 with 25 doubles and 72 RBI. Caught 43 percent of runners attempting to steal. Batted .318 in the World Series.

Cooper also was touted for game-calling skills. “He’s the best fellow handling young pitchers I have ever seen,” said Coaker Triplett, a Cardinals outfielder from 1941-43.

Feuding with front office

The relationship between Cooper and the Cardinals soured in 1945.

In spring training, Mort Cooper demanded a $15,000 contract. Breadon refused. In protest, Mort Cooper and Walker Cooper left camp and threatened to boycott the Cardinals’ opening series against the Cubs.

The brothers gave in and were with the club on Opening Day. Soon after, Walker Cooper was inducted into the Navy after playing four April games for the 1945 Cardinals. A month later, Mort Cooper was traded to the Braves.

While serving his Navy stint in 1945, Walker Cooper remained miffed at Cardinals management for the contract dispute and for dealing his brother.

Trade me

In October 1945, Walker Cooper called Breadon and requested a trade, the Cardinals owner told The Sporting News.

Cooper confirmed to the Associated Press he had asked to be traded.

A month later, Cardinals manager Billy Southworth resigned and joined the Braves. Breadon replaced Southworth with Dyer. Cooper again contacted the Cardinals and “said he would rather not play under Dyer,” Breadon said.

Cooper’s problem with Dyer occurred when both were with the Cardinals’ Houston farm club during spring training in 1939. Cooper apparently clashed with Dyer, who had replaced Ira Smith as manager. Cooper was shipped to the Cardinals’ Asheville, N.C., affiliate.

“(Dyer) said there had been differences with Cooper in Houston, but he believed they could be ironed out,” Breadon said. “He felt a player didn’t have to like him personally if he played good ball for his team.”

Said Dyer: “I have always been able to get along with any ballplayer and I could have gotten along with Cooper, whom I consider the best catcher in baseball.”

In his book “Stan Musial: The Man’s Own Story,” Musial said, “Breadon said Coop didn’t want to play for Dyer, but the boss gave (Dyer) no chance to talk to the catcher. The truth is, Mr. Breadon was annoyed at the Cooper boys for squabbling over salaries.”

Money talks

At the baseball winter meetings in December 1945, at least five clubs inquired about Cooper, with the Giants, Braves and Phillies making the most lucrative offers.

The Cardinals asked the Giants for $150,000 and three players. A few weeks later, the trade came together when the Giants offered to increase the cash amount to $175,000 if the Cardinals would drop their demand for players.

The transaction was announced three days before Cooper turned 31. It “kicked up more commotion among Polo Grounds customers than any deal since Frank Frisch was traded for Rogers Hornsby in 1926,” wrote The Sporting News.

Cooper was released from the Navy on April 2, 1946, and debuted with the Giants about two weeks later.

Looking back

His first season with New York was a dud. Cooper hit .268 with 46 RBI for a 1946 Giants team that finished in last place at 61-93. The 1946 Cardinals, using a platoon of Joe Garagiola and Del Rice at catcher, finished in first place at 98-58.

Cooper did better for the 1947 Giants, hitting .305 with 35 homers and 122 RBI.

After stints with the Reds, Braves, Pirates and Cubs, Cooper finished his career as a backup catcher for the 1956-57 Cardinals.

Neither Garagiola nor Rice performed at the level Cooper had for St. Louis.

In his book “Musial: From Stash to Stan the Man,” author James N. Giglio wrote, “Both Musial and (Enos) Slaughter rightly contended that the loss of Cooper cost the Redbirds several pennants.”

In choosing his all-time NL all-star team, Musial picked Dodgers catcher Roy Campanella “in a photo finish with Walker Cooper.”

Comparing the Cooper deal with the 1941 trade of St. Louis slugger Johnny Mize to the Giants, Musial said, “Big Coop’s sale by the Cardinals probably was even worse than the loss of Johnny Mize.”

Posted in Hitters, Opponents, Trades | 4 Comments »

How Bobby Dews helped Bob Forsch become a pitcher

January 4, 2016 by retrosimba

As a longtime player, coach and manager in the Cardinals’ system, perhaps the most important contribution Bobby Dews made was helping Bob Forsch take a successful step in transforming from a third baseman into a pitcher.

bobby_dewsDews was manager of the Cardinals’ 1971 Class A club at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Forsch, a 26th-round draft choice who had flopped as a third-base prospect, was in his first full season as a starting pitcher. At 21, his playing career was at a crossroads.

With Dews as his manager, Forsch had a successful year, posting an 11-7 record and 3.13 ERA in 23 starts for Cedar Rapids. He ranked second on the team in both innings pitched (158) and strikeouts (134). That performance convinced the Cardinals Forsch had potential as a pitcher.

Three years later, Forsch debuted with the Cardinals and went on to a productive career with them.

Bobby Dews helped him get there.

Dews was in the Cardinals’ organization from 1960 to 1974 before joining the Braves as a minor-league manager. He remained with the Braves in various roles, including big-league coach, until he retired in 2012.

Shortstop prospect

Dews was a varsity baseball and basketball player at Georgia Tech. He launched his professional baseball career when signed by the Cardinals in 1960.

Shortstop was Dews’ primary position, though he also played at second base and in the outfield.

His best season as a player in the Cardinals’ system was with Class AA Tulsa in 1964. Dews batted .277 that year with 30 stolen bases.

Dews was promoted to Class AAA Jacksonville in 1965, but his progress was slowed when he underwent surgery for a ruptured spleen on May 18, 1965.

For Dews, who had little power, the highlight of his 1965 season occurred when he hit home runs on consecutive nights (July 22-23) against Rochester.

The first of those home runs was hit against Darold Knowles, a future Cardinals reliever. “That was strictly a shot in the dark,” Dews told The Sporting News. “I didn’t know what he threw or where it was.”

The next night, Dews hit a home run against Bill Short, who had pitched for the 1960 American League champion Yankees. Said Dews: “Bill threw me a fastball and I think he thought I was going to take it. Instead, I hit it. Isn’t that real crazy?”

In 1966 with Class AA Arkansas, Dews played all nine positions in the Sept. 5 regular-season finale against Austin. Arkansas manager Vern Rapp pitched two hitless innings in the game.

Dews was a player-coach in the Cardinals’ system in 1967 and 1968.

Learning to manage

At 30, Dews was named manager of the Cardinals’ 1969 Class A club in Lewiston, Idaho. One of his players was Forsch, 19, who was in his second professional season as a third baseman. Forsch hit .203 in 26 games for Lewiston.

Dews was a coach for Tulsa manager Warren Spahn in 1970. After that, Dews was assigned to manage Cardinals farm clubs in each of the next four seasons: Cedar Rapids in 1971, Sarasota in 1972, Modesto in 1973 and Sarasota again in 1974.

Besides Forsch, two of the future big-leaguers Dews managed in the Cardinals’ system were outfielders Hector Cruz at Cedar Rapids and Mike Vail at Modesto.

Life after Cardinals

In 1975, Dews was named manager of the Braves’ Class A Greenwood team in the Western Carolinas League.

His most prominent roles with the Braves were as a big-league coach under manager Bobby Cox from 1979-81 and from 1997-2006.

In an interview with MLB.com, Cox said of Dews: “He was a special guy. He helped so much in getting this organization going.”

Dews also wrote books, the best-known of which was “Legends, Demons and Dreams,” a collection of short stories.

“My grandfather wanted me to be a lawyer and a writer,” Dews told Jim Wallace of WALB.com. “Of course, everybody else in town wanted me to be a baseball player. So I guess I tried to blend the two.”

Previously: The story of how Bob Forsch converted to pitching

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Ken Griffey Jr. and his memorable games vs. Cardinals

December 31, 2015 by retrosimba

(Updated Jan. 6, 2016)

Born in the same town and on the same day in November as Stan Musial, Ken Griffey Jr. entered this world with a powerful Cardinals connection. He strengthened that special bond by joining Musial as an outfielder in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

ken_griffey_jrGriffey, on the ballot for the first time, was elected to the Cooperstown, N.Y., shrine on Jan. 6, 2016. He got 99.3 percent of the votes from members of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Like Musial, Griffey was born in Donora, Pa., on Nov. 21. Musial’s birth year was 1920 and Griffey’s was 1969 _ the same year Musial was elected to the Hall of Fame with 93.2 percent of the vote in his first year of eligibility.

Musial and Griffey each batted left-handed and each played 22 years in the majors. Musial spent his entire career with the Cardinals from 1941 through 1963, with a year off in 1945 for military service. Griffey played for the Mariners, Reds and White Sox from 1989-2010.

Key career statistics for each:

Musial: 3,630 hits, 475 home runs, 1,951 RBI, 725 doubles, 6,134 total bases, .331 batting average and .417 on-base percentage.

Griffey: 2,781 hits, 630 home runs, 1,836 RBI, 524 doubles, 5,271 total bases, .284 batting average and .370 on-base percentage.

In 74 career games versus the Cardinals, all with the Reds, Griffey produced 74 hits, 22 home runs and 51 RBI.

He batted .289 with a .382 on-base percentage against St. Louis.

In chronological order, here are four of Griffey’s most memorable performances versus the Cardinals:

What a walkoff

On Aug. 20, 2001, Griffey hit an 11th-inning walkoff inside-the-park home run against reliever Andy Benes, breaking a 4-4 tie and carrying the Reds to a 5-4 victory at Cincinnati. The Cardinals had an 11-game winning streak snapped and the Reds ended an eight-game losing skid.

With one out and no one on in the 11th, Griffey hit a drive to left-center field. Outfielders Jim Edmonds and Kerry Robinson raced toward the ball. Edmonds leaped against the wall, but the ball eluded him, caromed off his foot and rolled along the warning track toward the left-field corner. Robinson gave chase.

Griffey circled the bases and scored. “It probably was one of the most bizarre games I’ve ever been in,” Griffey said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Boxscore and Video

Four-hit game

Three nights later, Griffey came close to hitting for the cycle against the Cardinals on Aug. 23, 2001, at Cincinnati.

Griffey was 4-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored in a 12-2 Reds victory. He had two doubles and a single versus Bud Smith and a home run against Benes.

In the fourth inning, Griffey nearly turned his second double into a triple.

According to The Cincinnati Post, Griffey’s drive “hit off the base of the wall in center and Griffey, gimpy hamstring and all, never hesitated coming around second.”

Edmonds threw to the relay man, second baseman Fernando Vina, who fired the ball to third baseman Albert Pujols.

“The relay throw to third got him by no more than a few inches, keeping Griffey from his cycle,” The Post reported.

In his postgame remarks to the Post-Dispatch, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said of Griffey, “We sure didn’t pitch him very tough.” Boxscore

Milestone home run

After a visit from Musial, Griffey hit his 500th career home run on June 20, 2004, Father’s Day, in St. Louis.

Musial, who played on the same high school baseball team in Donora with Buddy Griffey, grandfather of Ken Griffey Jr., met with the Reds outfielder near the clubhouse before the game.

Musial then went home to watch the game on television. Attending the game at the stadium were Griffey’s mother, Birdie, and father, Ken Griffey Sr., who was the right fielder for the Reds’ World Series championship clubs in 1975 and 1976.

Birdie had told her son this would be the day he would hit his milestone home run.

Leading off the sixth inning, Griffey launched a 2-and-2 pitch from Matt Morris over the right field wall, becoming the 20th player to achieve 500 home runs.

“I started smiling when I rounded second base,” Griffey told the Dayton Daily News. “I saw my dad sitting behind third base … He’s the person I wanted to be. He was my hero and he taught me everything.”

Recalling his mother’s prediction, Griffey said, “When I hit it, the first reaction was, ‘My mom is always right.’ ”

A delighted Musial told the Post-Dispatch, “I was rooting for him. It was great. The Griffeys are a nice family.” Boxscore and Video

The ball was caught by Mark Crummley, 19, a student at Southern Illinois University. Wearing a Pujols jersey, Crummley offered to give the ball to Griffey without compensation. He was taken to the Reds clubhouse, met Griffey and was given souvenirs, including the jersey Griffey wore at the end of the game.

Griffey was the second player to hit his 500th home run at Busch Memorial Stadium since the ballpark opened in 1966. The other was the Cardinals’ Mark McGwire off Andy Ashby of the Padres on Aug. 5, 1999.

New park, familiar result

On June 5, 2006, in his first game at the new Busch Stadium, Griffey lifted the Reds to an 8-7 comeback victory over the Cardinals.

Griffey was 3-for-5 with four RBI and two runs scored. He had a solo home run and a double off starter Jeff Suppan, but the most damaging hit came against closer Jason Isringhausen in the ninth.

With one out and the Cardinals ahead, 7-5, the Reds had runners on second and third. Though first base was open, Isringhausen worked to Griffey, with Adam Dunn on deck.

“It was a pretty good position to hit, knowing that I couldn’t hit into a double play,” Griffey said.

With the count full, Isringhausen grooved a fastball that Griffey hit for a three-run home run.

“I just settled down and got a pitch not in the zone he wanted,” Griffey said.

Said Isringhausen: “Bad night, bad location … I’ve never had this bad of command in my career.” Boxscore

 

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