RetroSimba

While nation mourned RFK, Cardinals reluctantly played

June 3, 2013 by retrosimba

In 1968, the Cardinals, and all major league teams, were faced with a decision of whether to play games on the day of slain Sen. Robert F. Kennedy’s burial and on the national day of mourning declared in his honor.

Cardinals players said publicly they didn’t want to play on either day, but, facing the prospect of forfeiting if the Reds didn’t join them in sitting out, the Cardinals played three games in less than 24 hours over both days.

Other teams and players acted more defiantly, displaying the leadership and clarity baseball commissioner William Eckert lacked.

Kennedy, the New York senator and candidate for the 1968 Democratic presidential nomination, was shot in the predawn morning of June 5, hours after he won the California primary. He died on June 6 at age 42.

The funeral for Kennedy was scheduled for Saturday, June 8, at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York. Burial was planned for about 5 p.m. at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington. A train would transport Kennedy’s body from New York to Washington.

President Lyndon Johnson declared Sunday, June 9, a national day of mourning in tribute to Kennedy.

Eckert ordered no big-league game on June 8 would start until after the burial.

The Yankees, Senators and Cubs called off their afternoon home games scheduled for June 8. The Astros called off one of their doubleheader games against the Pirates and said the other game would be held after the burial.

At San Francisco, Mets players refused to play the Giants that Saturday. Mets management supported the players’ decision. The Giants front office, expecting a large crowd at Candlestick Park, was miffed, but agreed to call off the game when Mets officials refused to change their stance.

Other afternoon games, including Cardinals at Reds, were moved to night starts. The Cardinals-Reds game was rescheduled for 7 p.m.

However, when the train carrying Kennedy’s body was delayed by large crowds along the route from New York to Washington, the burial was pushed back several hours.

Cardinals and Reds players held separate pre-game meetings, took the field for warmups, and returned to the clubhouses again when they learned the burial wouldn’t be held before the 7 p.m. game time, the Associated Press reported.

Cardinals players wanted to call off the game, The Sporting News reported, but because they were the visitors they left the decision to the Reds.

Reds manager Dave Bristol urged his team to play. Pitcher Milt Pappas, the Reds’ player representative, disagreed. Pappas told Bristol most Reds players preferred not to play the game, the Associated Press reported. Bristol responded that if he could find nine players to take the field the Reds would play.

“If we go out (on the field to play), we all go out,” Pappas replied. “If we do go out, find yourself a new player representative.”

Pappas took a vote of Reds players on whether to play. The outcome was 12-12, with one abstaining, The Sporting News reported. A second vote was held and the result was 13-12 in favor of playing.

“Pappas lost a power struggle within the club when several players heeded the urgings of manager Dave Bristol to play the game,” The Sporting News reported.

Pappas, telling the Associated Press his “days with the club are numbered,” resigned as player representative.

The June 8 game began at 7:45 p.m. and the Cardinals won, 7-2, before 13,368. Boxscore

“Our position was that we had scheduled this game in good faith at a time about an hour and a half after the burial was scheduled,” Reds general manager Bob Howsam said. “We would have waited if the delay had been a short one.”

Pappas and catcher Tim McCarver, the Cardinals’ player representative, said both clubs voted not to play the doubleheader scheduled for Sunday, June 9, the national day of mourning for Kennedy.

Eckert declared that management of each home club would decide whether to play games that Sunday.

(Two months earlier, Eckert had called off all big-league spring training exhibition games on April 7, the national day of mourning for slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Also, in respect for King’s funeral on April 9, all of the major-league regular-season openers scheduled for April 8 and April 9 were moved to April 10.)

The Orioles called off their June 9 doubleheader with the Athletics and the Red Sox called off their game with the White Sox. All other home teams, including the Reds, decided to play that Sunday.

The Reds scheduled a memorial service for Kennedy before the first game of the doubleheader. The Cardinals won the opener, 10-8, on Lou Brock’s three-run home run. Boxscore The Reds won the second game, 7-6, on shortstop Leo Cardenas’ RBI-double in the 12th off reliever Steve Carlton, the Game 1 starter. Boxscore Attendance was 28,141.

Pappas pitched in relief in both games, yielding a run in eight total innings, and was booed by fans. (Two days later, Pappas was traded to the Braves.)

At Houston that Sunday, Astros third baseman Bob Aspromonte and first baseman Rusty Staub, and Pirates third baseman Maury Wills, refused to play, protesting the decision to hold the game on the national day of mourning. All were fined by their teams.

Pirates outfielder Roberto Clemente decided to join Wills in sitting out the game, but changed his mind after a meeting with manager Larry Shepard, The Sporting News reported. “I preferred not to play,” Clemente said. “The disturbing thing to me was the indifferent attitudes of some of our players.”

Frank Mankiewicz, press secretary for Robert Kennedy, sent telegrams to Pappas, Aspromonte, Staub, Wills and Mets manager Gil Hodges (on behalf of the entire team), thanking them for the stances they took. “Please accept my personal admiration for your actions,” Mankiewicz wrote in the telegrams.

He said Kennedy’s widow, Ethel, would write personal letters to those who received telegrams, the Associated Press reported.

Wrote Bob August of the Cleveland Press, “Baseball’s observance of Senator Kennedy’s death was disorganized, illogical and thoroughly shabby.”

Under the headline, “The Aftermath _ Baseball Takes A Beating,” The Sporting News reported, “Baseball wallowed in a morass of confusion and acrimony in trying to decide what to do about paying respect to Sen. Robert F. Kennedy … For the most part, there was no concrete plan on how mourning for (Kennedy) would be handled.”

Previously: Bob Gibson put aside grief to pitch while mourning MLK

Posted in Executives, Games, Opponents | 2 Comments »

Stan Musial and his magical month of May

May 31, 2013 by retrosimba

In 1963, his final season as a player, Stan Musial went on a tear in May that began with a bases-loaded double and ended with one of the most bizarre RBI in his distinguished Cardinals career.

Musial, 42, had 23 RBI in 26 games in May 1963. Those were the most RBI he produced in a month since he had 27 in June 1957. He also hit seven home runs in May 1963. That represented his best output in a month since he clubbed seven in August 1957.

On May 2, his first game played in the month, Musial hit a two-out, three-run double off Cubs reliever Don Elston in the seventh, increasing the St. Louis lead from 1-0 to 4-0 in a game the Cardinals won, 4-3. Boxscore

In late May, Cardinals manager Johnny Keane moved Musial into the cleanup spot. In seven games from May 22 through May 31, Musial had nine RBI and hit .400 (12-for-30) while batting fourth.

On May 31, Musial was credited with an unusual game-winning RBI against the Giants at St. Louis.

In the bottom of the ninth, with the score 5-5, the Cardinals loaded the bases with none out. Giants manager Al Dark brought in left-hander Billy Pierce to face Musial.

With the infield playing in for a play at the plate, Musial hit a pop fly to the right of the second base bag.

“Rookie second baseman Cap Peterson looked about as Willie Mays charged in from his shallow center field spot and speedy Felipe Alou raced in from right field,” The Sporting News reported. “The ball fell among the befuddled trio. The play was ruled an infield fly. Thus, Musial was out, but Curt Flood, who had been on third base, roared home when the ball hit the ground and (Musial) was credited with the strangest of his 1,921 big-league RBI at that point.

“Mays came closest to getting the ball. He tried to scoop it up for a throw home, but the ball bounced away from him. Then in disgust Willie kicked his glove about 30 feet.”

With the 6-5 victory, Boxscore the Cardinals climbed into second place in the National League, two games behind the defending champion Giants. Boxscore

“In May, reinstated in the cleanup spot, (Musial) helped pull the Cards up by their bootstraps,” The Sporting News concluded.

Musial began June the same way he started May. He drove in three runs on June 1 in the Cardinals’ 7-4 victory over the Giants. Boxscore The three RBI gave Musial 1,924 for his career, moving him ahead of Jimmie Foxx for No. 3 on the all-time list. Babe Ruth then was first at 2,200 and Lou Gehrig second at 1,992.

Limited to 17 games in June because of a leg injury, Musial hit .311 for the month but had no home runs in 45 at-bats and drove in six runs.

After a subpar July and August, Musial finished strong in September, batting .299 for the month, with three home runs and 12 RBI.

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Silvio Martinez was special picher for Cardinals

May 29, 2013 by retrosimba

In 1978, Silvio Martinez pitched a one-hitter for the Cardinals against the Mets, four days after he pitched a no-hitter in the minor leagues.

Martinez pitched two one-hitters and a pair of two-hitters for the 1978 Cardinals.

Martinez debuted in the major leagues with the 1977 White Sox, pitching 10 games in relief. After the season, the White Sox sent Martinez to St. Louis, completing an August trade of reliever Clay Carroll to Chicago for players to be named. (The Cardinals also got outfielder Nyls Nyman and pitcher Dave Hamilton.)

Martinez, 22, opened the 1978 season in the rotation of the Cardinals’ Class AAA club at Springfield, Ill. On April 24, he pitched a three-hitter against Iowa. Six days later, he combined with George Frazier on a two-hitter against Evansville.

On May 26, Martinez flirted with a perfect game against Omaha. He retired 23 in a row before an Omaha batter reached base on a error by third baseman John Scott with two outs in the eighth.

In the ninth, Martinez got a break when left fielder Jim Lentine made a diving catch of Jim Gaudet’s drive for the first out. After issuing a walk, Martinez completed the no-hitter in the 4-0 Springfield victory.

“I was throwing hard, but I wasn’t thinking about the no-hitter,” Martinez said to The Sporting News.

The Cardinals promoted Martinez and put him into their rotation. He made his first start in the major leagues on May 30 at New York’s Shea Stadium. Matched against Jerry Koosman, Martinez held New York hitless for six innings. In the seventh, Steve Henderson led off and hit the first pitch from Martinez over the left-field fence for a home run.

“I cried the minute I let it go,” Martinez said to the Associated Press.

Said Cardinals catcher Ted Simmons: “I couldn’t believe how calm (Martinez) was after his no-hit bid was wrecked. I told him to forget about it … He told me, ‘It’s not important. Don’t worry.’ ”

In the ninth, the Mets scored without a hit when Henderson walked, advanced on a wild pitch, moved to third on a ground out and scored on another wild pitch.

The Cardinals won, 8-2. Martinez walked six, hit a batter and struck out two. Boxscore

“He did a heck of a job of concentrating,” said Cardinals manager Ken Boyer. “He is real fast and just wild enough to keep the hitters off stride. I pitched him out of sheer need. He had thrown about 100 pitches Friday night (in the no-hitter). Tonight, he threw 121 times, so that’s not too bad.”

Said Mets manager Joe Torre: “He has a great fastball.”

Martinez pitched another one-hitter against the Pirates at St. Louis on July 8. He pitched a two-hitter against the Giants at Candlestick Park on July 26 and another two-hitter against the Mets on Sept. 25 at Shea Stadium.

In 22 starts, Martinez was 9-8 with a 3.64 ERA for the 1978 Cardinals. He yielded 114 hits in 138.1 innings but had more walks (71) than strikeouts (45).

Plagued by injuries and illness, Martinez never developed into a consistent winner. His record in four years (1978-81) with St. Louis was 31-31 with a 3.81 ERA. In November 1981, the Cardinals dealt him to the Indians for outfielder Lonnie Smith.

Previously: Jim Kaat revived both his career and the Cardinals

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Cot Deal: Cards prospect hurled 20-inning complete game

May 27, 2013 by retrosimba

Cot Deal spent 11 years in the Cardinals organization as a player, coach and manager. As a Cardinals pitcher, he yielded three consecutive home runs to the Reds in the ninth inning _ and won. In the minor leagues, he managed Bob Gibson.

His most memorable feat occurred in his first year in the Cardinals system with Columbus (Ohio) of the Class AAA American Association. In what The Sporting News described as “one of the greatest exhibitions of mound stamina in minor league history,” Deal pitched a 20-inning complete game.

Though his 50 years in pro baseball sent him across the country, Deal always returned to his native Oklahoma. He was born Jan. 23, 1923, in Arapaho, population about 400, in Custer County. His given name was Ellis Deal, but he was called Cot as a boy because of his cotton-top hair color.

Signed by the Pirates while in high school, Deal was a third baseman and outfielder for three years in the Pittsburgh system before he entered military service. After three years as a training instructor for the Army Air Corps, Deal was discharged, acquired by the Athletics and sent to Class AAA Toronto, where he was converted to a pitcher.

In 1947, the Red Sox acquired Deal and he spent parts of the 1947 and 1948 seasons with Boston, posting a 1-1 record and 7.02 ERA.

Deal, 26, opened the 1949 season with Louisville, a Class AAA affiliate of the Red Sox. In May, he was traded to the Cardinals for a minor-league infielder and assigned to Columbus.

Four months later, Sept. 3, 1949, Deal started against Louisville, pitched 20 innings and got the win in Columbus’ 4-3 victory. Deal also contributed four hits.

Columbus likely would have won in the 10th if not for a loose shoe. With the score 1-1 and Les Fusselman on first base, Deal doubled to right. As Fusselman rounded third, he lost a shoe, hesitated and hobbled on one shoe to the plate, where he was tagged out.

Each team scored twice in the 12th. Columbus snapped the 3-3 tie in the bottom of the 20th on an RBI-single by Roy Broome off Gordon Mueller, who pitched nine innings in relief of starter Jack Griffore.

During the Louisville-Columbus game the next afternoon, “Deal was applauded and cheered every time he stuck his head out of the dugout,” The Sporting News reported.

In 1950, Deal pitched in three games for the Cardinals, but spent most of the season at Columbus. A switch-hitter, Deal went back to being an outfielder for Columbus in 1951 and hit 18 home runs, but returned to pitching the following year. Sent to Class AAA Rochester, Deal was 14-9 in 1952 and 16-9 in 1953.

Deal opened the 1954 season with the Cardinals and was part of the bullpen that posted the worst ERA (5.46) in Cardinals history. He appeared in 33 games and had a 2-3 record and 6.28 ERA.

Deal’s first win for the Cardinals came on July 10, 1954, at St. Louis against the Cubs. He pitched two scoreless innings in relief of starter Vic Raschi and earned the win when Joe Frazier, pinch-hitting for Deal in the ninth, hit a two-run walkoff home run against Bob Rush for a 2-1 Cardinals triumph. Boxscore

Deal’s second and final win for the Cardinals occurred in a wild Sunday afternoon game at Cincinnati. Entering in the third inning, Deal held the Reds scoreless for five innings and St. Louis went into the ninth with a 14-8 lead.

After retiring the first batter in the ninth, Deal yielded consecutive home runs to Gus Bell, Ted Kluszewski and Jim Greengrass. Deal was lifted but got the win when the Cardinals held on for a 14-12 victory. Boxscore

In 1956, Deal was a player-coach for Rochester manager Dixie Walker. He replaced Walker as manager in 1957. In 1958, Bob Gibson was promoted from the Cardinals’ Omaha farm club to Rochester in June and thrived under Deal. Gibson, 3-4 at Omaha, was 5-5 with a 2.45 ERA in 20 games for Rochester.

On Aug. 3, 1958, Deal lifted starter Lynn Lovenguth after one inning and brought in Gibson, who pitched eight innings, holding Miami to three hits and earning his first win for Rochester.

In his book ‘Stranger to the Game,” Gibson said, “Just like that, I was in the rotation. With regrets to Lovenguth, it was a good situation for me. Deal was actually a terrific guy, and black players were nothing new or objectionable to either Rochester or the International League.”

Deal returned to Rochester for a third season as manager in 1959. On Aug. 1, he resigned after Rochester lost 20 of 25 and was replaced by Reds pitching coach Clyde King. Reds manager Fred Hutchinson then hired Deal to be Cincinnati’s pitching coach.

Deal coached for 15 years in the big leagues, including serving as pitching coach for manager Johnny Keane with the 1965 Yankees.

Posted in Managers, Pitchers, Trades | 2 Comments »

How Cards’ mystery man nearly derailed Phils’ 1980 title run

May 24, 2013 by retrosimba

On their way to a World Series championship, the 1980 Phillies got sidetracked by a Cardinals rookie pitcher whom Dallas Green, Philadelphia’s tough, savvy manager, called “the mystery man.”

Al Olmsted, a left-hander and St. Louis native, baffled the Phillies with his screwball during a pair of September starts.

Another rookie left-hander, John Martin, who pitched for three minor league teams in 1980, joined Olmsted in the Cardinals’ starting rotation in September and impressed general manager Whitey Herzog as a pitcher “just wild enough to be good.”

With John Gast and Tyler Lyons, the 2013 Cardinals became the first St. Louis team to use two rookie left-handed starting pitchers in the same season since Olmsted and Martin in 1980.

Olmsted was chosen by the Cardinals in the 13th round of the 1975 amateur draft out of Hazelwood East High School in suburban St. Louis.

After a muscle tear in his left arm decreased his velocity, Olmsted developed a screwball. In 1980, he was 13-9 with a 2.93 ERA in 25 regular-season games combined for Class AA Arkansas and Class AAA Springfield (Ill.). Olmsted also earned two wins in Springfield’s four-game sweep of Denver in the American Association championship series.

The Cardinals rewarded him with a promotion to the big leagues that September.

On Sept. 12, 1980, Olmsted, 23, made his major-league debut, starting against the Phillies in the second game of a doubleheader at Philadelphia. Facing a lineup that included Pete Rose, Mike Schmidt, Greg Luzinski and Lonnie Smith, Olmsted held the Phillies scoreless for 9.1 innings before he was relieved by Jim Kaat.

The Cardinals scored five runs in the 11th and won, 5-0. Boxscore Olmsted didn’t get the decision but proved he belonged in the majors.

“I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I’d be,” Olmsted said to United Press International. “I just wanted to go out there and throw strikes and not embarrass myself. I wasn’t really awed by anybody. My job was to make good pitches and have them hit the ball at somebody.”

Eleven days later, Sept. 23, Olmsted started against the Phillies again, this time at St. Louis. He was pitching on two days’ rest as a substitute for Bob Forsch, who left the team to attend the funeral of his mother.

Olmsted shut out the Phillies for the first six innings, extending his scoreless streak against them to 15.1 innings. He went 8.1 innings, yielding three runs and earning the win in the Cardinals’ 6-3 victory. Boxscore

The loss was a crusher for the Phillies, who fell a half-game behind the Expos in the National League East. The Phillies were 82-68 with 12 to play. Two of their last four losses in a 10-game stretch were in games started by Olmsted.

“(Olmsted) doesn’t throw that many strikes, but he gets us out,” Green said. “He’s a mystery man. But you’ve got to give him credit. He’s figured out how to do it and 82 other pitchers haven’t.”

Said Pete Rose: “(Olmsted) knows what he’s doing. He knows he’s not going to blow a fastball by anybody. Pitchers with slow stuff like that usually give us a lot of trouble.”

Red Schoendienst, the Cardinals’ interim manager, compared Olmsted with Fred Norman, the former Cardinal who went on to become a fixture in the Reds’ rotation, and said Olmsted “gets the ball where he wants it.”

Said Olmsted: “I hope I’m not a mystery man forever.”

Olmsted made five starts for the 1980 Cardinals and posted a record of 1-1 with a 2.86 ERA.

Like Olmsted, Martin spent most of the 1980 season in the minor leagues. A 27th-round choice of the Tigers out of Eastern Michigan in the 1978 draft, Martin was pitching for Class AAA Evansville when Detroit traded him and outfielder Al Greene to the Cardinals for outfielder Jim Lentine on June 2, 1980.

The Cardinals assigned Martin to Springfield and he broke his foot. After he healed, he was sent to Arkansas. He had a 3-3 record and 4.15 ERA in 25 games combined for Evansville, Springfield and Arkansas when he received a surprise promotion to the Cardinals.

Martin’s big-league debut with St. Louis was as unexpected as his call-up. On Aug. 27, in a game against the Astros at St. Louis, Cardinals starter John Fulgham was lifted after one inning when his shoulder stiffened. Martin relieved, limited the Astros to a run in seven innings and earned the win in a 10-2 Cardinals victory.

Martin made 109 pitches and retired 13 in a row during one stretch. Boxscore

“It caught me off guard,” Martin said to the Associated Press of being called into the game in the second inning. “It didn’t give me time to think about it.”

Said Cardinals catcher Terry Kennedy: “He never really gave them anything good to hit. I think he can compete here. I liked his aggressiveness.”

Martin, 24, made his first start on Sept. 6, in the second game of a doubleheader at Houston, yielded a grand slam to former Cardinals outfielder Jose Cruz and took the loss in the Astros’ 6-4 victory. Boxscore

In the season finale, Oct. 5 at St. Louis, Martin pitched his first complete game and got the win in the Cardinals’ 3-2 triumph over the Mets. Martin pitched a seven-hitter and retired the last 10 batters in a row. Boxscore

Herzog said of Martin, “He’s got a good arm. He’s just wild enough to be good.”

In nine games, including five starts, for the 1980 Cardinals, Martin was 2-3 with a 4.29 ERA.

After the 1980 season, the Cardinals traded Olmsted to the Padres in a package for pitchers Rollie Fingers and Bob Shirley and catcher Gene Tenace. After spending the 1981 season at Class AAA Hawaii, Olmsted came back to the Cardinals in the Ozzie Smith trade. He pitched his final season (1982) in the Cardinals’ farm system.

Martin was 17-14 in four seasons with the Cardinals before he was sent back to the Tigers in August 1983.

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How Ted Simmons got ejected after belting a home run

May 22, 2013 by retrosimba

(Updated May 26, 2019)

In the time it takes to circle the bases, Ted Simmons experienced the high of hitting an improbable home run and the low of being ejected.

The incident symbolized the frustrations of the 1978 Cardinals.

On May 27, 1978, the Cardinals, who’d lost 13 of their last 14 games, faced the first-place Cubs in St. Louis. Frustrated by the strike zone of Paul Runge, Simmons jawed with the plate umpire.

“(Simmons) seemed to be uptight through most of the game,” Runge said to the Associated Press. “Before the seventh inning, I was joking with him and telling him to relax. There was something working on him.”

In the ninth, the Cubs called in closer Bruce Sutter to protect a 2-1 lead. Simmons, who doubled and tripled in the game, was first to bat.

Sutter got ahead on the count 0-and-2. On his next pitch, “I tried to bounce it up there,” Sutter said to the Chicago Tribune, but the pitch was up in the strike zone. Batting left-handed, Simmons crushed it for a 400-foot home run, tying the score.

As he stepped on the plate after rounding the bases, Simmons tipped his batting helmet in Runge’s direction and, according to the ump, said, “Take that.”

Runge ejected Simmons.

“He definitely showed me up, but he didn’t cuss me,” Runge said. “It was a perfect opportunity for him and he took the opportunity.”

Simmons told the Tribune, “I didn’t say a word.”

Cubs manager Herman Franks said he was surprised Simmons got tossed. “I always thought as long as you didn’t swear you couldn’t get thrown out of a ballgame,” Franks said. “It ain’t so anymore.”

The Cubs scored in the 11th and won, 3-2, sending the Cardinals to their 14th loss in 15 games. The Cardinals filed a protest with the National League, arguing Simmons shouldn’t have been ejected.

“I think this has been happening, or brewing, over a long period of time, but unless you call an umpire a name, he (Simmons) shouldn’t be kicked out,” Cardinals manager Ken Boyer said. “We think very strongly that umpires ought to be fined, suspended or reprimanded, just like players.

“The only job (Runge) had was to see if (Simmons) touched the plate. I don’t think that the average fan knew they were having words before. Teddy never once turned around.” Boxscore

Three decades later, in an interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch said the ejection of Simmons remained memorable.

“Teddy was not in agreement with Paul Runge’s strike zone,” Hummel recalled. “They had a little debate about balls and strikes. Then Teddy hits a home run to tie the game and as Teddy steps on home plate he is ejected. That’s one of my favorites. Home run and gone.”

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents | 6 Comments »

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