RetroSimba

The 1970s was a decade when the Cardinals dealt a significant number of quality starting pitchers, most notably Steve Carlton, Jerry Reuss, Mike Torrez and Jim Bibby.

A 6-foot-5, 235-pound right-hander, Bibby possessed a fastball Whitey Herzog compared with Nolan Ryan’s.

Bibby, traded by the Cardinals to the Rangers on June 6, 1973, pitched a no-hitter for Texas against the Athletics on July 30, 1973. Boxscore

Herzog, manager of the 1973 Rangers, knew Bibby could be special. Bibby pitched in the Mets’ minor-league system when Herzog was their farm director. It was Herzog who encouraged the Rangers to acquire Bibby from St. Louis.

Career challenges

Bibby, 20, signed with the Mets as an amateur free agent in July 1965. The Mets assigned him to their rookie league club at Marion, Va. One of his teammates was another hard-throwing prospect, 18-year-old Nolan Ryan.

After the season, Bibby was drafted into the Army and his baseball career was put on hold. He spent 1966 and 1967 in the military, including a hitch in Vietnam.

When Bibby resumed his baseball career in 1968, Herzog was in his second year overseeing the Mets’ farm system as their director of player development. Over the next two years, Bibby progressed through that system. The Royals tried to trade for him in December 1969, but the Mets declined.

Bibby’s career hit a roadblock when he needed back surgery in 1970. The procedure required removing bone from his hip and attaching it to his spine to strengthen vertebrae. Bibby sat out the 1970 season, the third year in the last five he couldn’t play baseball.

“There were times during that recuperation period when I wondered if it was worth it,” Bibby told The Sporting News. “I thought maybe it just wasn’t meant for me to play baseball, that maybe I should quit and get into something else.”

Bibby persevered and returned in 1971. Herzog assigned him to Class AAA Tidewater and when Bibby’s record reached 14-2 at the end of July he awaited a promotion to the big leagues. “I wonder what more the Mets want me to do or show,” Bibby said. “I feel I’ve proved myself down here.”

Bibby finished 15-6 with a 4.04 ERA in 27 games for Tidewater. He struck out 150 in 176 innings but issued 109 walks.

Terrific at Tulsa

On Oct. 18, 1971, the Mets traded Bibby, pitchers Rich Folkers and Charlie Hudson and outfielder Art Shamsky to the Cardinals for pitchers Chuck Taylor and Harry Parker, outfielder Jim Beauchamp and infielder Chip Coulter.

The Sporting News reported it “came as no surprise” the Mets gave up on Bibby and added, “The big guy throws hard, but that’s about all.”

Bibby, 27, went to spring training in 1972 as a candidate for the No. 5 spot in the Cardinals’ rotation. The role instead went to Al Santorini and Bibby was sent to Class AAA Tulsa.

With his path to the big leagues stalled again, Bibby was becoming best known as the older brother of Henry Bibby, a starting guard for three national championship basketball teams under UCLA coach John Wooden.

At Tulsa, Jim Bibby started well, pitching a four-hit shutout on Opening Day.

In July, Bibby struck out 16 in each of two consecutive starts.

In 27 starts for Tulsa, Bibby was 13-9 with a 3.09 ERA, striking out 208 in 195 innings. He pitched 13 complete games and showed improved control, walking 76.

Winning debut

Bibby was promoted to the Cardinals in September 1972. He made his big-league debut on Labor Day, Sept. 4, getting the start and the win in the second game of a doubleheader against the Expos at St. Louis. Bibby gave up three runs in the first, including a two-run triple to former Cardinal Tim McCarver, followed by five consecutive scoreless innings before yielding another run in the sixth.

The Cardinals won, 8-7. Bibby’s line: 6.1 innings, 7 hits, 4 runs, 5 walks, 5 strikeouts. Boxscore

In six starts for the 1972 Cardinals, Bibby was 1-3 with a 3.35 ERA.

Command issues

At spring training in 1973, Bibby competed with Alan Foster, Mike Nagy and Santorini for the No. 5 spot in the rotation.

In the exhibition opener, a 4-0 Cardinals triumph over the Mets, Bibby displayed a “powder-river fastball,” The Sporting News reported.

Bibby and Nagy became the finalists for the last pitching spot on the Opening Day roster. Both had run out of minor-league options. The Cardinals chose Bibby, trading Nagy to the Rangers “because Bibby throws harder than Nagy,” The Sporting News reported.

Used sparingly, Bibby struggled with his command, walking 17 in 16 innings. In six appearances, including three starts, Bibby was 0-2 with a 9.56 ERA for the 1973 Cardinals.

Whitey’s wisdom

On June 6, 1973, the Cardinals dealt Bibby to the Rangers for Nagy and catcher John Wockenfuss. In two seasons with St. Louis, Bibby was a combined 1-5 with a 5.11 ERA.

Explaining the deal, Cardinals general manager Bing Devine said of Bibby, “There’s his age (28) and Whitey Herzog knows about him. Whitey said Bibby has a better arm than half his pitchers.”

Said Herzog: “What interested us about Bibby was the fastball. I’d say only Nolan Ryan throws consistently harder in this league. Since this is a breaking-ball league, we felt that if Bibby could get the ball over the plate, he might be successful.”

Herzog instructed Bibby to reduce his assortment of pitches, saying, “With your speed and your slider, you don’t need a curveball … Smoke. That’s your strength. Smoke! Use it.”

Following Herzog’s advice and getting the work he craved, Bibby pitched effectively. Red Sox slugger Carl Yastrzemski said of Bibby, “He’s faster than Vida Blue.”

Bibby at his best

On July 30, 1973, Bibby pitched his masterpiece, a no-hitter in a 6-0 Rangers victory at Oakland. Bibby struck out 13 and walked six.

In the ninth, Bibby issued a leadoff walk to Sal Bando, who swiped second. The next batter, Reggie Jackson, worked the count full. Bibby unleashed a fastball Jackson said he never saw for strike three.

“That last one was the best pitch I ever saw,” said Jackson. “Well, really, I didn’t see it. I heard it.”

Bibby retired Deron Johnson on a groundout and got Gene Tenace to pop out, completing the first Rangers no-hitter.

The next year, Bibby earned 19 wins for the 1974 Rangers.

In 12 years with the Cardinals, Rangers, Indians and Pirates, Bibby had a record of 111-101 with a 3.76 ERA. He made two starts for the Pirates in the 1979 World Series, including Game 7, and posted a 2.61 ERA. In 1980, he had 19 wins for the Pirates and was named an all-star.

In 1984, Bibby, 39, was in his second stint with the Rangers. They released him on June 1 and, eight days later, the Cardinals, managed by Herzog, gave him another chance.

The Cardinals assigned Bibby to Class AAA Louisville, which was managed by his former Rangers and Pirates teammate, Jim Fregosi.

Bibby made two relief appearances for Louisville and didn’t allow a run in five innings, though he walked six and gave up five hits. On July 1, the Cardinals released him. Nearly 20 years after he signed with the Mets, Bibby’s pitching career was done.

Previously: Cardinals, Texas deals: Jim Bibby to Fernando Tatis

For pitchers Jack Spring and Paul Toth, being part of one of the Cardinals’ best trades did little for their careers other than making them answers to a trivia question.

Who were the players the Cardinals acquired with outfielder Lou Brock from the Cubs on June 15, 1964, for pitchers Ernie Broglio and Bobby Shantz and outfielder Doug Clemens?

Spring and Toth.

Because of the impact of the deal on Brock and the Cardinals, few recall St. Louis got anyone else in the trade.

Brock sparked the Cardinals to the 1964 National League pennant and World Series championship and built a Hall of Fame career in St. Louis.

For Spring, the Cardinals became a brief stop during a year in which he played for three big-league teams before finishing the season in the minors.

For Toth, the trade was a reunion, returning him to the organization he started with but doing nothing to get him back to the major leagues.

Aloha, Jack

Spring, a left-hander, debuted in the major leagues with the 1955 Phillies. He also pitched for the 1957 Red Sox and 1958 Senators before joining the expansion Angels in 1961. In four years with the Angels, Spring was 11-2 with eight saves.

In 1964, Spring began the season with the Angels before being sent to the Cubs on May 15 in a cash transaction.

He made his Cardinals debut on the same day he was traded from the Cubs. In an inning of relief against the Colt .45s at Houston, Spring yielded four runs, one earned, on three hits and walk. In the eighth, Brock made his Cardinals debut, pinch-hitting for Spring. Boxscore

“When the trade was made, I was home in Chicago,” Spring told the Society for American Baseball Research. “My wife called out to me that they’re talking about it on the TV. Brock and I flew to Houston, where the game had already started. I went to the bullpen. They told me to warm up and go into the game. The catcher was Tim McCarver. I got to the mound, and he said, ‘Hi, Jack. I’m Tim. What do you throw?’ ”

Five days later, on June 20, Spring made his second and last Cardinals appearance. In two innings of relief against the Giants at St. Louis, Spring gave up five runs on five hits, including a three-run double by Hal Lanier and a two-run home run by Orlando Cepeda. All the runs were unearned. Boxscore.

Spring had yielded nine runs in three innings for St. Louis but had an ERA of 3.00 because only one of those runs was earned.

The Cardinals assigned Spring, 31, to their Class AAA club at Jacksonville, but he refused to report. If he was going to accept a demotion to the minors, Spring, a resident of Spokane, Wash., preferred to play in the Pacific Coast League.

On July 9, the Cardinals accommodated Spring, sending him to the Angels in a cash transaction. The Angels assigned him to their Pacific Coast League team in Hawaii. Bob Lemon, the Hall of Fame pitcher, was Hawaii’s manager. Spring thrived there, posting a 3-3 record and 2.11 ERA in 30 games.

Spring got his final big-league chance with the 1965 Indians, pitching in 14 games. He spent the remainder of his playing career in the Pacific Coast League, finishing with his hometown club, Spokane, in 1969.

Cardinals prospect

Unlike Spring, Toth was sent directly to the minor leagues after his trade to the Cardinals and never returned to the big leagues.

Toth, a right-hander, was signed by the Cardinals in 1955. He pitched in their system until 1958 before spending two years in military service.

When he resumed his playing career in 1961, the Cardinals sent Toth to Class AA Tulsa. He had his best season, posting an 18-7 record and 2.37 ERA.

That performance caught the attention of Cardinals manager Johnny Keane. At the 1962 spring training camp, Toth got to pitch in Cardinals exhibition games and did well. He held the Mets to a hit in three innings in the second spring exhibition and was cited by The Sporting News as the camp’s “sleeper” prospect.

Toth was one of 10 pitchers on the Cardinals’ 1962 Opening Day roster. He appeared in six games and was 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA. His highlight was a complete-game win in a start against the Colt .45s on Aug. 5 at St. Louis. Boxscore

“Paul showed a good assortment and plenty of poise,” said Cardinals pitching coach Howie Pollet.

Wrote The Sporting News: “Toth’s chief assets are a good slider and a reputation as a tough battler.”

Less than a month later, though, on Sept. 1, the Cardinals traded Toth to the Cubs for pitcher Harvey Branch.

Toth was 3-1 with a 4.24 ERA for the 1962 Cubs. He earned his first win for them on Sept. 18 against the Cardinals in a 4-3 victory at Wrigley Field. Toth pitched 8.2 innings, yielding a solo home run in the second to his former road roommate, catcher Carl Sawatski, and a two-run homer in the ninth to Stan Musial. Boxscore

“He figures in my plans for next year,” Cubs manager Charlie Metro said. “He’s the kind of guy you like to have on your club. A real bear-down guy. He knows how to pitch. He moves all of his pitches around and showed a real good change-up.”

Toth was 8-12 in three seasons with the Cubs. He was with their Salt Lake City farm club when he was traded back to the Cardinals in the Brock deal.

The Cardinals assigned Toth, 29, to Jacksonville. He was 4-6 with a 3.25 ERA. After the 1964 season, Toth was sent to the Yankees, managed by Keane, in a cash transaction.

Toth never pitched for the Yankees, finishing his playing career in the minor leagues in 1967.

Previously: Lou Brock hit the ground running in 1st start with Cardinals