RetroSimba

Bobby Shantz: First Cardinals pitcher to win Gold Glove

November 19, 2012 by retrosimba

(Updated April 17, 2022)

Four Cardinals pitchers have won a Gold Glove Award for fielding. Bobby Shantz, the first pitcher to earn a Gold Glove in each league, won two while with the Cardinals. Shantz was the first Cardinals pitcher to earn the award.

Shantz, who stood 5 feet 6 and weighed less than 140 pounds, was Jim Kaat’s favorite boyhood player. After Kaat reached the majors, he won the Gold Glove Award 16 times while with the Twins, White Sox and Phillies.

In his book “Still Pitching,” Kaat said as a boy he imitated the pitching motion of Shantz.

“If there was a game on the radio and Shantz was pitching, I would listen intently as the announcers described his delivery _ finishing square to the plate on the balls of his feet and taking a small hop toward home after delivering so as to be in perfect position to field a ball hit back to the mound,” Kaat recalled. “The next day, I would be outside … trying to finish in the same position as Bobby Shantz. Shantz was probably the greatest fielding pitcher of all time, quick as a cat and always on balance when he finished his delivery.”

The Gold Glove Award first was given in 1957. One Gold Glove was awarded at each of the nine positions in the major leagues that year. Shantz, then with the Yankees, won his first of eight in a row in 1957. The next year, a Gold Glove was given at each position in each league. Shantz earned four in the American League (with the Yankees) and one with the National League Pirates.

The Cardinals coveted Shantz for a long time and nearly traded Bob Gibson to the Senators for him in December 1960.

In 1962, Shantz, 36, began the season with the National League expansion Houston Colt .45s. On May 6, Houston traded him to the Cardinals for outfielder Carl Warwick and pitcher John Anderson.

Shantz bolstered the Cardinals’ bullpen and lived up to his reputation as a fielder. Reporting on a May 21, 1962, game in which Shantz earned his first St. Louis save, The Sporting News wrote, “After Bobby Shantz made a brilliant stab of a hot liner and flipped perfectly to third for a rally-stopping double play, manager Johnny Keane called the little guy the best-fielding pitcher in the league.”

“With Bob Gibson, I feel we have the two best-fielding pitchers in the league,” Keane said.

Shantz and Cardinals first baseman Bill White each won a Gold Glove in 1962. In those years, big-league players voted for the Gold Glove winners. Players could vote for anyone in their league except teammates. Shantz received 89 votes. Harvey Haddix of the Pirates was second at 70 and Gibson was third with 23. Shantz made one error in 22 chances for St. Louis that year and, including his errorless stint with Houston, had an overall .972 fielding percentage in 1962. Shantz also had a 5-3 record, four saves and a 2.18 ERA for St. Louis.

In 1963, Shantz was one of four Cardinals who earned Gold Glove honors. Joining White, third baseman Ken Boyer and outfielder Curt Flood, Shantz received votes from 113 players. Gibson placed second with 23 again. Shantz commited one error in 32 chances for the 1963 Cardinals. His record was 6-4 with 11 saves and a 2.61 ERA in 55 games.

Shantz became a largely forgotten part of one of the most famous trades in baseball history in 1964. Fielding flawlessly and sporting a 1-3 record with a 3.12 ERA in 16 games, Shantz was packaged with starter Ernie Broglio and outfielder Doug Clemens in the deal that brought outfielder Lou Brock and pitchers Jack Spring and Paul Toth to the Cardinals from the Cubs on June 15, 1964.

Two months later, the Cubs sent Shantz to the Phillies, who were in first place. With a significant boost from Brock, the Cardinals overtook the Phillies in September, won the pennant and beat the Yankees in the World Series.

Shantz won the last of his Gold Glove awards in 1964. He got 111 votes from the players. Gibson again was second, with 30. Shantz had one error in 35 fielding chances with the Cardinals, Cubs and Phillies that year.

The next year, Gibson won the first of his nine consecutive Gold Glove awards (1964-73) with the Cardinals. Since then, Cardinals pitchers to earn a Gold Glove are Joaquin Andujar (1984) and Adam Wainwright (2009 and 2013).

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Selfless teamwork by Kyle McClellan paid off for Cards

November 16, 2012 by retrosimba

Kyle McClellan should be remembered as one of the key contributors in the Cardinals’ remarkable run to the World Series title in 2011.

Though he lacked the star power and big-game swagger of colleagues such as Chris Carpenter and Jason Motte, McClellan gave the 2011 Cardinals a significant early-season boost to their starting rotation and also contributed wins in relief down the stretch as St. Louis successfully made a frantic push to overtake the Braves for the National League wild-card spot.

The wear McClellan put on his right arm that year as he converted from reliever to starter in the spring and back to reliever in late July may have shortened his Cardinals career. Plagued by a damaged right shoulder, McClellan, 28, was sidelined for most of the 2012 season and was released by the Cardinals Nov. 13, 2012.

When starter Adam Wainwright suffered a season-ending arm injury at the start of spring training in 2011, McClellan moved into the rotation to replace him, even though McClellan had been used exclusively as a reliever since his rookie season of 2008.

Joining a rotation of Chris Carpenter, Jaime Garcia, Kyle Lohse and Jake Westbrook, McClellan’s selfless teamwork paid big early-season dividends for the Cardinals.

On April 11, 2011, McClellan earned his first win as a starter, limiting the Diamondbacks to a run in six innings and collecting his first two RBI in an 8-2 Cardinals triumph. “He did it all,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Boxscore

McClellan won his first five decisions of 2011. On May 8, after he held the Brewers to a run and four hits in eight innings in a 3-1 Cardinals victory on Mother’s Day, McClellan had a 5-0 record and 3.30 ERA and St. Louis was in first place in the National League Central. McClellan’s mother and his wife, who was pregnant, attended the game. Afterward, Wainwright told St. Louis reporter Derrick Goold that McClellan’s record “is not surprising any of us.” Boxscore

Soon thereafter, McClellan fell into a funk. After earning a win on May 19, McClellan went more than two months before recording another. On July 25, in the last of his 17 starts for the 2011 Cardinals, McClellan held the Astros to a run in seven innings and got the win in the Cardinals’ 10-5 victory. “There’s been games where I’ve let the big inning kill me,” McClellan said to the Post-Dispatch. “Today, I felt like I was able to keep control of the game.” Boxscore

Two days later, the Cardinals acquired starting pitcher Edwin Jackson from the Blue Jays. McClellan quickly agreed to move to the bullpen to open a spot for Jackson in the rotation. La Russa told St. Louis reporter Rick Hummel that McClellan “showed a lot of character” in accepting the move. “He could have been bitter,” La Russa said.

Explained McClellan: “I felt like the time I was in the rotation, I did a good job. I don’t feel that I pitched my way out of a job.”

On Sept. 16, McClellan earned a big win in relief, pitching a scoreless 10th inning in the Cardinals’ 4-2 victory in 11 over the Phillies. McClellan retired Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino and Chase Utley in order, helping the Cardinals get within 3.5 games of the Braves in the wild-card chase. Boxscore

Joe Strauss of the Post-Dispatch wrote that the victory transformed the Cardinals’ postseason chances “from improbable to, dare it be said, believable.”

St. Louis did catch the Braves, swept through the National League postseason series and won the World Series championship in seven games.

The Cardinals couldn’t have qualified for the postseason without the contributions of McClellan. The right-hander was 12-7 overall _ 6-6 as a starter and 6-1 in relief _ in 43 apperances.

Previously: 2011: a year of titles, turnarounds, turmoil for Cardinals

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Why Walt Weiss rejected bid to be Cardinals shortstop

November 12, 2012 by retrosimba

The Cardinals wanted free agent Walt Weiss to be their shortstop for the 1996 season, but Weiss declined St. Louis’ offer because he was concerned how fans would react to him replacing Ozzie Smith.

St. Louis instead acquired shortstop Royce Clayton from the Giants. Weiss re-signed with the Rockies.

As Weiss anticipated, the transition of Smith from St. Louis starter to part-time player was marred by controversy. Smith felt he deserved to remain the everyday shortstop and he clashed with Tony La Russa when the manager chose Clayton as the starter in 1996. Meanwhile, Weiss quietly extended a four-year stretch as the Rockies’ regular shortstop.

Weiss started his major-league career in 1987 with the Athletics and played six seasons in Oakland for La Russa. During that time, Weiss won the American League Rookie of the Year Award and helped the Athletics win three pennants and a World Series title.

Traded by Oakland to the Marlins after the 1992 season, Weiss spent a year in Florida and then two with the Rockies. In November 1995, he declared for free agency.

When the Rockies offered him a two-year contract at $2 million per year, the Cardinals were prepared to counter with a two-year deal plus an option year at $2 million per year, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Cardinals were seeking a shortstop because of their concern about whether Smith, who hit .199 in 1995 and who was about to turn 41, could handle the everyday shortstop role in 1996.

On Nov. 20, 1995, St. Louis reporter Rick Hummel wrote: “Free-agent shortstop Walt Weiss apparently has whittled his list to two teams _ Colorado, for whom he played the last two seasons, and the Cardinals.”

A day later, the Rockies announced Weiss had accepted a $4.1 million two-year contract with a player option for 1998 to remain with Colorado.

“Going to St. Louis, I wouldn’t have had the fan support I have (in Denver), especially coming in behind Ozzie,” Weiss said to the Rocky Mountain News.

Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz wrote that Weiss rejected the Cardinals “in part because he didn’t want to be the co-star in an Ozzie soap opera.”

Miklasz, writing with foresight, added, “La Russa should have the freedom to choose the lineup. If the Cardinals are serious about winning, then any Ozzie-related PR repercussions should be irrelevant … It’s too bad that this mutually beneficial relationship seems destined to end in so much rancor and bitterness.”

A .258 career hitter in 14 major-league seasons, Weiss was a terror against the Cardinals. The switch-hitter batted .333 (79-for-237) in 76 regular-season games against St. Louis. He had more hits versus the Cardinals than he did against any other team in his big-league career. Weiss batted .357 (41-for-115) in 35 regular-season games at Busch Memorial Stadium.

Perhaps Weiss’ most memorable game against the Cardinals came in Game 1 of the 2000 National League Division Series, when St. Louis starter Rick Ankiel experienced his infamous meltdown.

Playing for the Braves in his final big-league game, Weiss started at shortstop in Game 1. In the third inning, Weiss delivered the two-run single that knocked Ankiel from the game after the left-hander had thrown five wild pitches and walked four that inning. It would be Weiss’ last hit of his big-league career. Boxscore

“Walt Weiss had a superb day afield and at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two RBI and making a great catch on Andres Galarraga’s errant throw to second base in the third.” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. “With runners on first and second, Galarraga made a fine stop on Fernando Vina’s smash, but threw wildly to second. Weiss, fully extended, reached far and low to his right to catch the ball, then searched with his right foot before touching the bag for the force.”

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Hitting shouldn’t disqualify Marty Marion for Hall election

November 9, 2012 by retrosimba

(Updated Dec. 27, 2015)

If Marty Marion is elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, it will be because he was perhaps the finest-fielding shortstop of the 1940s, a starter on Cardinals teams that won four pennants and three World Series titles and a winner of the 1944 National League Most Valuable Player Award.

Marion wasn’t known for his hitting _ he usually batted in the seventh and eighth spots in the order during a 13-year big-league career _ but much like another Cardinals standout shortstop, Ozzie Smith, Marion worked to enhance his value at the plate.

Marion, a Cardinals shortstop from 1940-50, twice has been one of 10 candidates on the Pre-Integration Era ballot being considered for election to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. The ballot is for players, managers, umpires and executives whose most significant achievements came before 1946.

To be elected, a candidate must receive votes from at least 12 of the 16 voters. Marion didn’t receive enough support when voting was done in 2012 and again in 2015.

With a .263 career batting average and 1,448 hits in 11 seasons with the Cardinals and two with the Browns, offensive numbers alone won’t qualify Marion for the Hall of Fame, but his batting shouldn’t disqualify him either.

In 1942, his third season with the Cardinals, Marion, a right-handed batter, initially struggled at the plate so badly that some wondered whether he could remain in the big leagues. Though he was the everyday shortstop, he was hitting .188 on May 31 that season.

Years later, Marion explained to St. Louis writer Bob Broeg how he improved as a hitter. “I began studying hitting on my own, changing my batting stance, observing the pitchers, laying off bad pitches and hitting more to right field,” Marion said.

Marion finished the 1942 season with a .276 batting mark and helped the Cardinals win the pennant and the World Series championship that year.

Perhaps Marion’s most productive game for the Cardinals occurred on June 3, 1945, in the opener of a doubleheader against the Giants at St. Louis. Marion had a career-high six RBI with a triple, double and two flyouts in an 11-3 Cardinals victory. Boxscore

Five years later, in 1950, Marion’s last season as a Cardinals player before becoming their manager in 1951, the shortstop hit a home run in each of four consecutive games he started. Those were his only homers of the season and his last of 34 as a Cardinal.

The unexpected power supply began May 30, 1950, when Marion went 3-for-6, including a three-run home run off Vic Lombardi, in the Cardinals’ 17-13 victory over the Pirates in the opener of a Memorial Day doubleheader at Pittsburgh. Boxscore

After a pinch-hit appearance in the second game of the doubleheader, Marion made his next start June 1 against the Dodgers at St. Louis. Facing Preacher Roe, Marion hit a grand slam with two outs in the sixth inning, erasing a 2-0 Brooklyn lead and lifting the Cardinals into a first-place tie with the Dodgers with a 5-2 victory. Boxscore

The New York Times described Marion’s only career grand slam as “electrifying” for the Cardinals and the St. Louis crowd of 32,180.

“For 11 major-league years, Mr. Shortstop went quietly about his business,” wrote the Associated Press. “Never did he hit a home run with the bases loaded. Never, until last night.”

Wrote United Press: “Imagine Marty Marion, of all people, blasting a grand slam to beat the Brooklyn Dodgers and putting the rollicking Redbirds into a first-place tie with the Flatbush boys.”

With the grand slam, Marion had produced eight RBI in back-to-back games started. He didn’t stop there.

In his next game, June 2, Marion hit a solo home run off the Dodgers’ Don Newcombe. Marion followed that with another solo homer in his next game started against the Phillies’ Curt Simmons. The 10 RBI in four consecutive games started accounted for a quarter of Marion’s season total in 1950.

The Sporting News reported Marion’s four-game stretch as “the most memorable week of hitting in his major-league career.”

“Better timing, that’s all,” Marion explained. “But it’s quite a thrill and I hope it happens more often.”

Previously: How Marty Marion won MVP Award by one point

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Cardinals beat Pascual Perez on way to 1982 pennant

November 8, 2012 by retrosimba

Pascual Perez played a significant role in the 1982 Cardinals’ bid to win the National League pennant and reach the World Series.

Perez was the losing pitcher for the Braves against the Cardinals in Game 1 of the 1982 NL Championship Series and he pitched in long relief during Game 3 when St. Louis completed a sweep of the best-of-five playoff.

At the time, Perez, 25, was regarded as one of the most promising talents in the major leagues.

Perez was supposed to start Game 2 of the 1982 NL Championship Series. Braves knuckleball specialist Phil Niekro was matched against Joaquin Andujar in Game 1.

Niekro was protecting a 1-0 lead entering the bottom of the fifth inning during a light rain at St. Louis. After Niekro retired the leadoff batter and closed within two outs of completing the five innings needed to declare an official game, plate umpire Billy Williams halted play. More than two hours later, the game was postponed. Though most agreed the fifth inning likely could have been completed before the rain worsened, Braves manager Joe Torre supported the umpires’ decision, telling The Sporting News, “I don’t think a team should play 162 games and then lose a playoff game in five innings … We don’t want to come in here and steal a game.”

Niekro offered to pitch again in the rescheduled Game 1 on Oct. 7, but Torre instead chose Perez.

Traded by the Pirates to the Braves on June 30, 1982, Perez posted a 4-4 record in helping Atlanta win the NL West Division championship. He made unwanted headlines when he got lost on I-285 while driving to the Atlanta ballpark and missed a start.

Asked by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch how he could make certain Perez found his way to Busch Memorial Stadium for his postseason start against the Cardinals, Torre said, “We gave him a room at the hotel that faces the ballpark.”

For five innings in rescheduled Game 1, it appeared Torre had made the correct choice. Perez pitched effectively, but his counterpart, Bob Forsch, was better. The Cardinals led 1-0 entering the bottom of the sixth. Lonnie Smith started the inning by hitting a grounder to first baseman Chris Chambliss. Perez hustled off the mound to take the toss from Chambliss, but he fumbled the ball and Smith streaked across the bag, credited with an infield single.

“The ball was tailing away from me,” Perez said to the Atlanta Constitution. “I tried to catch it and tag Smith with the ball in the glove. He is a fast man.”

Singles by Keith Hernandez (on a good sinker) and George Hendrick (on a hanging slider) followed, the latter scoring Smith and knocking Perez from the game. The Cardinals scored five times in the inning and went on to a 7-0 victory behind Forsch’s three-hitter. During the regular season, Forsch had yielded 19 hits and 10 runs in 10.2 innings pitched against the Braves. Video

“We misplayed Smith’s groundball and they got a broken-bat hit (by Hendrick) and I think that just kind of set them off,” Braves catcher Bruce Benedict said to the Associated Press. Boxscore

The Cardinals rallied to win Game 2 in St. Louis (Niekro started, but closer Gene Garber took the loss) and headed to Atlanta for Game 3. The Cardinals struck for four runs off starter Rick Camp. Perez relieved in the second, pitched 3.2 innings (yielding a run and three hits) but couldn’t stop St. Louis from sweeping into the World Series with a 6-2 victory. Boxscore

In an 11-year big-league career, including stints with the Pirates, Braves and Expos, Perez posted a 7-6 record and 2.33 ERA in 16 regular-season starts versus St. Louis.

Previously: September hot streak carried 1982 Cardinals to title

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George Hendrick influenced hitting style of John Mabry

November 5, 2012 by retrosimba

In 1997, during a 20-game hitting streak for the Cardinals in which he batted .418, John Mabry applied lessons taught to him by St. Louis hitting coach George Hendrick.

Mabry improved his batting average from .240 to .309 during the 20-game streak from May 19 through June 9 in 1997. The left-handed batter had 10 multi-hit games during that stretch. It was the longest hitting streak by a Cardinal since Willie McGee hit safely in 22 consecutive games in 1990.

Hendrick, cleanup batter for the 1982 World Series champion Cardinals, urged Mabry to be aggressive with first-pitch fastballs.

“I’ve tried to do that all the time,” Mabry said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in explaining the streak. “That’s the whole deal, to hit that fastball when they try to get ahead of you. That’s usually the best fastball to hit.”

Told of Mabry’s praise, Hendrick responded, “Credit his success to his understanding of work ethic. It’s got nothing to do with me.”

Mabry had several outstanding games during the hitting streak. The best was on June 3, 1997, when he had three hits and six RBI in the Cardinals’ 15-4 victory over the Rockies at St. Louis. Mabry cracked a three-run home run off Jeff McCurry in the fifth inning. Boxscore

After the game, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said Mabry is “seeing that ball like it’s huge.” Said Mabry: “It doesn’t look huge. It still looks like a mouse running across the floor at times.”

Mabry spent three stints as a Cardinals player: 1994-98, 2001 and 2004-05. He and Matheny were teammates in 2001 and 2004.

Mabry hit .281 overall with the Cardinals. That’s 18 points better than his career average in 14 big-league seasons with eight clubs.

As the everyday first baseman for the 1996 Cardinals, Mabry hit .297 with 161 hits in 151 games. He had 30 doubles, 13 home runs, 74 RBI and a .342 on-base percentage.

Mabry hit for the cycle on May 18, 1996, against the Rockies at Denver. He singled to center in the second, doubled to right in the fourth, tripled off the center-field wall in the fifth and homered 400 feet to right in the seventh.

Mabry became the first Cardinal to hit for the cycle since Ray Lankford in 1991.

Some of the joy from the accomplishment was diminshed by the game’s outcome. Handed an 8-4 lead to protect in the bottom of the ninth, Cardinals closer Dennis Eckerlsey surrendered five runs and Colorado won, 9-8. Boxscore

“This is a really strange feeling,” Mabry said. “You’ve got to win the game. That’s all I know.”

Two months later, July 6, 1996, Mabry was 5-for-5 in a 9-5 Cardinals victory over the Pirates at Pittsburgh. Boxscore

Asked to compare Mabry with other batters, La Russa said, “Guys who hit well into the threes (.300) take every at-bat like it’s their last. (Paul) Molitor, (Wade) Boggs, (Frank) Thomas. They use the whole field, they handle a bunch of different pitches and, most importantly, they don’t throw at-bats away. I don’t think I’ve seen (Mabry) throw one away since spring training.”

The 5-for-5 performace at Pittsburgh was one of 11 times Mabry had four hits in a game for St. Louis during his career.

Mabry hit one grand slam and it occurred for the Cardinals against the Royals’ Zack Greinke on May 20, 2005, at Kansas City. Boxscore

Previously: Braves fans’ behavior recalls Dodgers’ forfeit to Cardinals

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