RetroSimba

Cards find Jupiter fine fit as St. Petersburg replacement

February 27, 2013 by retrosimba

Today, Jupiter, Fla., is as familiar as a spring training home to the Cardinals and their fans as the bird on bat is as a logo. In 1998, though, when the Cardinals left St. Petersburg for Jupiter, it was like landing on another planet.

The Cardinals had trained in St. Petersburg, on Florida’s serene west coast, from 1938 through 1997 (with the exception of three years when travel was restricted during World War II).

Jupiter is on Florida’s east coast, in glitzy and congested Palm Beach County.

The move 200 miles southeast was prompted by several factors, including the chance to train in larger and more modern facilities and because the American League expansion team, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, arrived in 1998 and made St. Petersburg their base.

Sharing the Jupiter complex with the Cardinals in 1998 were the Montreal Expos. Today, the Miami Marlins are the Cardinals’ spring-training neighbors.

Bob Broeg, longtime St. Louis baseball reporter, wrote in the February 1998 St. Louis Post-Dispatch he was looking forward to seeing the Cardinals’ new spring training site, “although it’s sad to see them leaving St. Petersburg, the ballclub’s home since Pepper Martin slid down a hotel’s emergency rope fire escape.”

Broeg described the scene at St. Petersburg in 1946, when players returned in droves from military service in World War II, and a pair of glamour teams, the Cardinals and Yankees, trained there:

“This was the last year of rickety old Waterfront Park in St. Pete.

“The memories of many of that spring … included a favorite watering trough – the crowded Sundown Club of lightly publicized St. Petersburg Beach. The beach would have superstars Joe DiMaggio and Stan Musial having a drink, back to back.

“As Red Schoendienst recalls, if a young ballplayer or young reporter would have had $2,500 to spend then, he could have acquired enough sand dune-seaweed waterfront real estate to make a small fortune.”

Schoendienst’s first spring in St. Petersburg was in the 1940s.

“I’ll miss St. Pete,” Schoendienst said to Mike Eisenbath of the Post-Dispatch in February 1998. “When we left St. Louis every year to go there, it was like going from your home to another home.”

Said Cardinals instructor George Kissell, who resided year-round in St. Petersburg: “It’s like being evicted from home. I’ve lived in St. Pete for 42 years, and for 42 years everybody came to me. But it made sense to move. This (Jupiter) will be a great place. You can’t judge it today. Wait until a year from today.”

Cardinals broadcaster Mike Shannon, who enjoyed St. Petersburg, quickly became a Jupiter booster because of the quality of the baseball facilities.

“St. Pete is a great city and has fantastic memories for the Cardinals,” Shannon said to the Post-Dispatch. “But comparing the facilities in St. Petersburg to the ones here, it was like having a minor-league outfit for a major-league team there. This is the big leagues here.”

In a preview of spring training 1998, Dan O’Neill of the Post-Dispatch wrote:

“For a number of Cardinals fans, the spring migration to the soft breezes and lazy life of St. Petersburg, Fla., was a given – like barbecuing in the summer and tree-shopping in December.

“In Palm Beach County, life, as well as traffic, moves more briskly.”

Adding to the excitement of the Cardinals’ first spring at Jupiter was the arrival of slugging first baseman Mark McGwire. He had been acquired by St. Louis in July 1997. He arrived early for his initial spring training at Jupiter.

“I love it,” McGwire said to Rick Hummel of the Post-Dispatch.

Said manager Tony La Russa: “When key guys get there early, it sends the right message.”

McGwire went on to hit a record 70 home runs that season.

The Cardinals won two World Series titles (2006 and 2011) since they started training at Jupiter. Playing at 6,800-seat Roger Dean Stadium, they had spring training game attendance averages in the years after those championships of 6,600 in 2007 and 6,700 in 2012, according to the Palm Beach Post.

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Gregg Jefferies deal was good gamble for Cardinals

February 15, 2013 by retrosimba

Cardinals general manager Dal Maxvill dealt for Gregg Jefferies, believing the error-prone third baseman could transform into a first baseman and provide consistent hitting.

On Feb. 22, 1993, the Cardinals acquired Jefferies and outfielder Ed Gerald from the Royals for outfielder Felix Jose and infielder Craig Wilson.

Jefferies, who made 26 errors at third base for the 1992 Royals and never played first base in the major leagues, was tabbed to replace departed free agent Andres Galarraga.

Seeking contact

The deal was made because the Cardinals were looking to cut down on the number of runners stranded in scoring position. Jose, who usually batted third or fourth, too often stranded a runner at third base with less than two outs because of his inability to make contact consistently. “That killed us more than anything last year,” Cardinals manager Joe Torre said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Jefferies struck out a mere 29 times in 604 at-bats for the 1992 Royals and said he took pride in driving in runners from third by making contact.

“Having somebody with thunder in the lineup is going to help,” said Cardinals pitcher Bob Tewksbury. “It’s not thunder like Jack Clark, but (Jefferies) is going to hit the ball hard a lot.”

Said Torre: “Jefferies is a legitimate good hitter. Felix probably scared people more, but he would swing and miss too often.”

Jefferies never balked at learning to play first base and said, “I take as much pride in my defense as I do in my offense … It will be nice taking throws from (shortstop) Ozzie Smith. I can get used to that.”

Though Jefferies was 5 feet 10, short by most first baseman standards, Maxvill noted Steve Garvey, an all-star first baseman with the Dodgers and Padres, was the same height. “I don’t think that’s a factor,” Maxvill told the New York Times. “Most throws from infielders are in the dirt rather than high.”

Maxvill and Royals general manager Herk Robinson discussed a Jefferies-for-Jose deal at the 1992 winter meetings, but it wasn’t until Maxvill agreed to include Wilson that the deal was made shortly before the start of spring training.

“We feel he’s a more consistent and more disciplined hitter (than Jose),” Maxvill said of Jefferies. “… We think he can win a batting championship.”

Big numbers

The move paid off spectacularly.

Jefferies, 26, had a career year for the 1993 Cardinals, hitting .342 with 16 home runs, 83 RBI and 46 stolen bases. He committed only nine errors.

Jefferies placed third in the 1993 National League batting race, behind the Rockies’ Galarraga (.370) and the Padres’ Tony Gwynn (.358). Jefferies struck out 32 times in 612 plate appearances.

After hitting .325 for the Cardinals in strike-shortened 1994, Jefferies became a free agent and signed with the Phillies. In two years with the Cardinals, Jefferies had a .335 batting average and a .401 on-base percentage.

Posted in Hitters, Trades | 6 Comments »

Cardinals debut helped ease doubts about Chris Carpenter

February 8, 2013 by retrosimba

(Updated Oct. 26, 2024)

To appreciate how far pitcher Chris Carpenter had to come to develop into an ace, it’s helpful to go back to the beginning of his Cardinals career.

As Carpenter prepared for his first regular-season start with the Cardinals in 2004, there were genuine doubts about whether he could be an effective member of the rotation. Carpenter hadn’t pitched in a regular-season big-league game in 18 months and he had endured two shoulder surgeries since then.

In 2004, Carpenter began to show he was recovered from his shoulder ailments when he started the Cardinals’ fifth game of the season, April 9, at Phoenix, against the Diamondbacks.

Carpenter had made his previous regular-season start on Aug. 13, 2002, for the Blue Jays, against the Athletics. After signing with the Cardinals in December 2002, Carpenter didn’t pitch in the big leagues in 2003.

He got cuffed around in spring training games in 2004. Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote: “Carpenter confronted bouts of doubt late in spring training. He experimented with pitching from the opposite corner of the rubber, began leaving pitches up and was hit hard in his final two Grapefruit League appearances. The almost-daily winter workouts with teammate Matt Morris couldn’t eliminate the apprehension of appearing in a (regular-season) game for the first time in nearly 20 months.”

Step forward

Carpenter arranged for his wife, children and in-laws to travel from New Hampshire to Arizona to witness his Cardinals’ regular-season debut, according to the Post-Dispatch.

It began ominously. When Steve Finley and Roberto Alomar each singled and Luis Gonzalez followed with a double, Carpenter had yielded a run before recording an out. Arizona scored three in the first.

Fortunately for Carpenter, Cardinals batters teed off against Diamondbacks starter Casey Daigle, making his major-league debut.

After the Cardinals built a 4-3 lead in the second, Carpenter, with Mike Matheny catching, retired 12 of the next 15 batters. Meanwhile, the Cardinals hit five home runs _ two by Reggie Sanders and one each by Albert Pujols, Ray Lankford and Scott Rolen _ in the first three innings against Daigle.

When Carpenter departed after six innings, the Cardinals led, 9-5. They went on to a 13-6 victory. Carpenter earned the win, his first since July 24, 2002, against the Orioles, and the first by a Cardinals starter in 2004. Boxscore

Carpenter’s fastball reached 92 mph, a sign his shoulder was solid. He credited team orthopedic surgeon Dr. George Paletta and his staff and trainers Barry Weinberg and Mark O’Neal for his recovery.

“Physically, I felt great,” Carpenter told the Post-Dispatch. “I knew my stuff was there … Now I can tell myself no matter how hard I throw, or what I did, if I make quality pitches I’ll get hitters out at this level.”

Good guidance

Carpenter had an inconsistent April. In his second start, an 11-1 Astros victory over the Cardinals, he gave up a three-run home run to Lance Berkman. After five starts, Carpenter was 2-1 with a 5.28 ERA.

Pitching coach Dave Duncan helped find a key to turning Carpenter into a consistent winner. Rick Hummel of the Post-Dispatch reported Duncan “has been working with Carpenter on getting on top in his delivery by shortening his stride and consequently keeping the ball down more.”

Years later, Carpenter told Stan McNeal of Cardinals Magazine, “Duncan really understood how to get the best out of each pitcher he worked with. For me, that required a major change in the stuff I threw. Before I got to St. Louis, I relied on a four-seam fastball, sinker, curveball and a little on a changeup. In my first meeting with Duncan, he made it clear that would not be the mix moving forward.

“It wasn’t like he told me to never throw my four-seamer, but he wanted me to focus on my sinker. The other big thing: he wanted me to establish my cutter more. It was about keeping the ball down.”

Carpenter finished the season 15-5 with a 3.46 ERA and helped the Cardinals win their first National League pennant in 17 years.

In nine seasons with St. Louis, Carpenter had a regular-season record of 95-44 and a postseason mark of 10-4, including 3-0 in World Series games.

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Fred Whitfield was a phenom with 1962 Cardinals

February 6, 2013 by retrosimba

As a Cardinals rookie in 1962, first baseman Fred Whitfield was one of the best power-hitting prospects the franchise had produced in years.

“He has a quicker bat than anyone on the Cardinals and he can reach the roof at Busch Stadium,” coach Vern Benson told The Sporting News.

Said Phillies manager Gene Mauch after watching Whitfield pound Philadelphia pitching: “Fred Whitfield is the greatest hitter I’ve ever seen _ for the number of times I’ve seen him bat against us.”

The Sporting News hailed Whitfield as the Cardinals’ “biggest surprise of 1962” and Whitfield was selected by big-league managers, coaches and players as the first baseman on the 1962 Topps all-star rookie team.

Signed by Cardinals scout Mercer Harris, Whitfield was a standout in the minor leagues. He hit .309 with 23 home runs for Keokuk in 1958; .285 with 28 homers for Winston-Salem and Tulsa in 1959; .310 with 22 homers for Tulsa in 1960; and .301 with 18 homers for Charleston in 1961.

Whitfield, 24, went to the big-league spring training camp in 1962, but was sent to the Cardinals’ farm club in Atlanta before the season began. Atlanta manager Joe Schultz said Whitfield “could hit 30 home runs in our park.”

He was batting .323 and leading the International League in home runs (eight) and RBI (28) when he was promoted to the Cardinals on May 26, 1962.

The Cardinals were seeking a right-handed batter to replace injured outfielder Minnie Minoso. Because of a weak throwing arm after he hurt his shoulder as an American Legion pitcher, Whitfield only could play first base. Unlike Minoso, he batted left-handed.

According to The Sporting News, it was Cardinals business manager Art Routzong who convinced general manager Bing Devine and manager Johnny Keane to promote Whitfield.

Routzong asked, “Why not bring up the best hitter in our farm system, Fred Whitfield?”

Replied Keane: “Maybe you’ve got something there.”

In his first five pinch-hit appearances for the Cardinals, Whitfield produced three hits and a walk.

On June 10, 1962, in the second game of a doubleheader at St. Louis against the Giants, Cardinals first baseman Bill White pulled a thigh muscle and Whitfield replaced him. In the sixth inning, Billy Pierce twice brushed back Whitfield. On the next pitch, Whitfield hit a three-run home run. “The ball disappeared over the roof in right-center and sailed across Grand Boulevard,” The Sporting News reported. Boxscore

Whitfield went on a tear, with 10 RBI in four games. On June 12, 1962, his two-run homer in the eighth inning off Paul Brown erased a one-run deficit and lifted the Cardinals to a 3-2 victory over the Phillies. Boxscore

“In the five years I’ve been with the Cardinals,” said Routzong, “we have never brought up anyone who has come through with so many clutch hits in so few opportunities as Whitfield.”

Among Whitfield’s other big hits for St. Louis:

_ A three-run pinch-hit home run against the Braves’ Claude Raymond on July 3, 1962. Boxscore

_ A 10th-inning pinch-hit home run off Pirates closer Roy Face on July 15, 1962. Boxscore

_ A pinch-hit three-run home run against Jay Hook of the Mets on July 28, 1962. Boxscore

_ A grand slam off Phillies left-hander Bill Smith on Aug. 12, 1962. Boxscore

Whitfield finished the 1962 season with a .266 batting average, eight home runs and 34 RBI in 158 at-bats for the Cardinals. He hit .333 as a pinch-hitter and .412 with two outs and runners in scoring position. He was especially effective versus the Phillies, batting .313 with 13 RBI in 12 games.

“Fred did an exceptionally good job, especially as a pinch-hitter and part-time player, jobs usually handled by older, experienced men,” Devine said.

However, Whitfield became expendable because White, who batted left-handed, was entrenched at first base, and the Cardinals needed pitching.

On Dec. 15, 1962, the Cardinals dealt Whitfield to the Indians for pitcher Ron Taylor and infielder Jack Kubiszyn.

“If eyebrows were raised over the price Devine had to pay … it was understandable,” The Sporting News reported. “The Cardinals had not come up with a genuine longball threat for years until Fred Whitfield exploded on the scene early last summer.”

Whitfield hit 20 or more home runs three times for the Indians (21 in 1963, 26 in 1965 and 27 in 1966). In a nine-year major-league career (1962-70), he played for the Cardinals, Indians, Reds and Expos, batting .253 with 108 home runs.

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Why Cardinals dealt Ricky Horton for Jose DeLeon

February 4, 2013 by retrosimba

On Feb. 9, 1988, the Cardinals acquired a starter to complete what they hoped would be the premier pitching staff in the National League.

The Cardinals got pitcher Jose DeLeon from the White Sox for pitcher Ricky Horton, outfielder Lance Johnson and $100,000. DeLeon, 27, was thought to be on the verge of transforming from underachiever to big winner. He long had been coveted by Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog.

With a starting rotation of DeLeon, John Tudor, Joe Magrane, Danny Cox and Greg Mathews, plus a bullpen of Todd Worrell, Ken Dayley, Bob Forsch, Scott Terry and Steve Peters, Herzog told Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch “this has got a chance to be the best pitching staff I’ve ever had … Every day we go out there, we’ve got a chance to win.”

According to columnist Peter Pascarelli in The Sporting News, “Their pitching is now as deep as that of any club in the National League East.”

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, it didn’t turn out that way.

Cox (elbow) and Mathews (shoulder) had injuries and each was limited to 13 starts in 1988. Magrane spent two months on the disabled list that year because of a torn muscle in his right side. Tudor was dealt to the Dodgers in August 1988. National League champions the year before, the Cardinals finished 76-86 in 1988.

DeLeon had two good seasons for the Cardinals, then faded, losing more than twice as many as he won over his next three seasons with St. Louis.

When the trade was made, Herzog told Hummel that DeLeon is a “very good gamble for us. He gives us a right-handed pitcher who can scare some people.”

“With our ballpark, our defense and his maturity … if he’s ever going to blossom into an outstanding big-league pitcher, it should be now,” Herzog said.

Cardinals general manager Dal Maxvill said DeLeon is “a fine, young pitcher who … should be a starter for several years. There are not many pitchers out there who can throw 90 mph consistently.”

Maxvill and White Sox general manager Larry Himes had discussed a deal during the baseball winter meetings in December 1987. Himes wanted Horton, Johnson and catcher Tom Pagnozzi for DeLeon. “I didn’t want to make the deal with Pagnozzi in it,” Maxvill told Hummel.

When the White Sox settled instead for cash, the trade was made.

Johnson hit .333 with 42 stolen bases for Class AAA Louisville team in 1987, but the Cardinals already had a stellar center fielder, Willie McGee. If the Cardinals hadn’t signed free-agent first baseman Bob Horner to replace the departed Jack Clark, Johnson would have played center field for the 1988 Cardinals, with McGee moving to right field and Jim Lindeman shifting from right to first base, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Hummel wrote that Johnson didn’t fit as a backup outfielder because St. Louis already had Curt Ford and John Morris, both left-handed batters like Johnson.

Horton had been a versatile and effective starter and reliever for St. Louis. Herzog told Hummel, “I’m really sorry to trade Horton because Rick’s been a very good pitcher for us any way we used him.”

Said Horton (now a Cardinals broadcaster): “It would be a lot easier staying in St. Louis. I make my home here and I will continue to do so … but it might be the best thing for me to go to Chicago. The White Sox obviously are interested in my services and I feel I can do a job for them. Any time somebody wants you, it’s a positive thing.

“I have no bitterness toward the Cardinals … I hope Jose DeLeon wins 20 games for them and they go back to the World Series.”

Most observers thought the Cardinals made a good trade.

Columnist Moss Klein of The Sporting News: “DeLeon, loaded with ability, could become a consistent winner for the Cardinals if he improves his control.”

Pascarelli: “Jose DeLeon gives the Cardinals another starter capable of pitching 200 innings … It was a solid move by St. Louis.”

“All the people in the Cardinals organization have liked DeLeon for a number of years now,” Herzog said. “I know they think he’s got potential. I think he might be ready to come into his own.”

Said DeLeon to Hummel: “I’ve grown up as a man and everything is coming my way now.”

DeLeon was 13-10 for the 1988 Cardinals. His 208 strikeouts that season ranked third among National League pitchers.

In 1989, DeLeon had his best season with St. Louis. He was 16-12. He led the National League in strikeouts (201) and was second in games started (36) and third in innings pitched (244.7).

DeLeon was 29-22 in his first two seasons with the Cardinals; 14-35 in his last three years with them. He was 7-19 in 1990 (leading the league in losses), 5-9 in 1991 and 2-7 in 1992. The Cardinals released him Aug. 31, 1992, and he signed with the Phillies about a week later.

In five years with the Cardinals, DeLeon was 43-57 with a 3.59 ERA. He yielded just 778 hits in 917.2 innings, but wasn’t able to win consistently enough.

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Cardinals spring lineup had Stan Musial, Earl Weaver

January 30, 2013 by retrosimba

Stan Musial and Earl Weaver were Cardinals spring training teammates. Both were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame _ Musial for his accomplishments as a Cardinals player and Weaver for his success as an Orioles manager.

Musial, 92, and Weaver, 82, died on the same day, Jan. 19, 2013.

In March 1952, Musial, 31, was in his prime, having led the National League in batting average, triples and runs scored in 1951.

Weaver, 21, was in the Cardinals’ major-league camp for the first and only time. The 5-foot-7 second baseman was the youngest and shortest member of the Cardinals’ 40-man roster in March 1952, The Sporting News reported.

A St. Louis native, Weaver signed with the Cardinals at 17 in February 1948, a month after he was graduated from Beaumont High School. He played for the Woltman Jewelers team that won the St. Louis Intermediate Municipal League championship three times and also for the Fred W. Stockham American Legion team that won Missouri state titles in 1945 and 1947, The Sporting News reported.

In his first four seasons (1948-51) in the Cardinals’ farm system, Weaver played on four teams that won league championships: West Frankfort (Illinois State) in 1948, St. Joseph (Western Association) in 1949, Winston-Salem (Carolina) in 1950 and Omaha (Western League) in 1951. Weaver’s manager at Winston-Salem and at Omaha was George Kissell.

When Winston-Salem clinched the 1950 Carolina League title with a 3-1 victory over Burlington in Game 5 of the best-of-seven series, pitcher Vinegar Bend Mizell hit a home run and Weaver drove in the deciding runs with a bases-loaded single in the sixth inning. “Scouts of the parent St. Louis Cardinals describe Weaver as a Solly Hemus type,” The Sporting News declared, comparing Weaver with the Cardinals’ feisty shortstop.

After being named to the 1951 Western League all-star team along with Omaha teammate Ken Boyer, Weaver entered 1952 determined to win a spot on the Cardinals’ Opening Day roster as a backup to second baseman Red Schoendienst.

The Sporting News, in its March 5, 1952, edition, reported, “In Earl Weaver, the smallest athlete in camp _ 5 feet 7 _ the Cardinals have a fine infield prospect, a smooth workman around second base and a fair hitter.”

When the Cardinals opened their 1952 spring training schedule on March 8 against the Yankees at St. Petersburg, Fla., the top three in their batting order were Weaver at second base, Hemus at shortstop and Musial in left field. Weaver had two hits and Musial had one in the Yankees’ 11-5 victory over the Cardinals.

The next day, March 9, 1952, Weaver again batted leadoff and started at second base and Musial was in left field, batting third. Weaver and Musial went hitless, but the Cardinals beat the Yankees, 3-1.

What made that game remarkable is 10 of the players _ three Cardinals and seven Yankees _ became major-league managers. They were Weaver, Hemus and catcher Del Rice of the Cardinals; catchers Yogi Berra and Ralph Houk, shortstops Jerry Coleman and Gene Mauch, second baseman Billy Martin, pitcher Eddie Lopat and right fielder Hank Bauer of the Yankees.

(When manager Bauer was fired by the Orioles in July 1968, he was replaced by his first-base coach, Weaver.)

Weaver played and started in many spring training games for the 1952 Cardinals. Among his highlights:

_ On March 10, batting leadoff and playing second base, Weaver was 2-for-4 with two RBI in the Cardinals’ 8-5 victory over the Braves at Bradenton, Fla. Musial had a double in two at-bats.

_ On March 13, Weaver was 2-for-4 with a stolen base and Musial was 1-for-4 in the Reds’ 2-1 victory over the Cardinals at St. Petersburg.

_ On March 14, Weaver had two hits, including a home run off Bob Porterfield, when the Cardinals and Senators played to a 6-6 tie in a game called in the sixth inning because of rain at St. Petersburg.

_ On March 19, Weaver contributed a pinch-hit single for the Cardinals in a game won by the Red Sox, 3-2, at St. Petersburg. The starting left fielders were Musial and Ted Williams. Musial was 2-for-3; Williams, 0-for-3.

Though he impressed the Cardinals, Weaver was returned to the minor leagues at the end of spring training.

Weaver played two more seasons in the Cardinals’ system before his contract was purchased by Denver, a minor-league affiliate of the Pirates, in September 1953.

Weaver played 14 seasons in the minor leagues without appearing in a major-league game.

He established himself as big-league caliber as Orioles manager by winning 1,480 regular-season games, six division titles, four American League pennants and a World Series championship in 17 seasons.

Few recalled, though, his professional baseball career began as a Cardinals prospect who joined Musial as a regular for one glorious month in spring training.

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