RetroSimba

How Keith McDonald gained spot in Cards record book

July 6, 2012 by retrosimba

(Updated April 20, 2019)

When Keith McDonald was promoted from Class AAA Memphis to replace injured catcher Eli Marrero and serve as the backup to Mike Matheny, he was shocked by the Cardinals’ decision.

McDonald was hitting .246 with one home run and 17 RBI for Memphis when the Cardinals called him to the majors in July 2000.

What happened next was magical.

McDonald hit home runs in his first two big-league at-bats, becoming the second major-league player to accomplish the feat. His first three Cardinals hits were home runs. Those would be his only hits in the major leagues.

Surprise promotion

When Marrero tore ligaments in his left thumb, some speculated the Cardinals might make a trade for a catcher, but they opted instead to bring up McDonald, 27, on July 2, 2000.

McDonald, who spent seven seasons in the minor leagues after being selected by the Cardinals in the 24th round of the 1994 amateur draft, was “shocked” by the promotion, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Two days later, before a July 4 crowd of 46,022 at St. Louis, McDonald made his major-league debut, pinch-hitting for shortstop Edgar Renteria in the eighth inning with the Cardinals holding a 13-3 lead over the Reds. McDonald responded with a solo home run against reliever Andy Larkin. Video

“I just kept running, hoping I’d touch every base so I wouldn’t get called out,” McDonald told the Post-Dispatch. “I was running with my head down, so I didn’t see it go out.”

Said Matheny: “I told him before he went up there that when you get your first shot you should take advantage of it.”

The crowd urged a curtain call, but manager Tony La Russa, not wanting to show up the Reds in such a lopsided game, convinced McDonald to stay in the dugout, according to the Associated Press. Boxscore

Encore

In his next appearance, on July 6, McDonald was given the start at catcher against the Reds. Batting in the No. 8 spot, McDonald led off the second inning with a home run against Osvaldo Fernandez, tying the score 3-3. Video

“You got to be kidding me,” Cardinals broadcaster Mike Shannon said on the telecast.

Said broadcast partner Joe Buck: “Is it that easy?”

With a nod to McDonald’s teammate Mark McGwire, a headline in the Post-Dispatch declared, “There’s a new Mac in town.”

“I’m the most surprised of anyone,” McDonald said. “The fans are probably going to expect it every time, but it may be a long time before I hit the next one.”

Teammates Renteria and Jim Edmonds prodded McDonald to wave to the crowd from the dugout steps. “I didn’t want to go,” said McDonald. “I have never done that, but it felt great.”

McDonald became the second big-league player to hit home runs in each of his first two at-bats, tying the mark first achieved by Browns left fielder Bob Nieman on Sept. 14, 1951, at Boston’s Fenway Park.

“It would have been a lot better if we’d have won,” McDonald said after the Reds won, 12-6. Boxscore

McDonald’s final hit in the big leagues came in another blowout, a 15-7 White Sox victory over the Cardinals on July 15, 2000, at Chicago. Pinch-hitting for Matheny, McDonald, in his sixth big-league at-bat, hit a two-run home run against Jesus Pena with two outs in the top of the ninth. Video and Boxscore

Back to minors

After two weeks with the Cardinals, McDonald was returned to Memphis and was replaced by Rick Wilkins, 33, a big-league journeyman. In six games with St. Louis, McDonald had three hits in seven at-bats, with five RBI and three runs scored.

At Memphis, McDonald completed his minor-league season with a .263 batting average and five home runs. He helped Memphis advance to the Class AAA World Series, where he batted .412.

In 2001, McDonald appeared in two games (both in late September) for the Cardinals, going hitless in two at-bats. He left the Cardinals organization after the 2002 season and spent the next four years in the minor-league systems of the Cubs, Pirates, Rangers and Yankees.

In 13 years in the minors, he slugged 78 home runs in 984 at-bats, but it’s those three big-league home runs that make McDonald a permanent part of Cardinals lore.

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How 2012 All-Star Game brought Tony La Russa full circle

July 4, 2012 by retrosimba

(Updated Oct. 29, 2020)

Kansas City was a fitting site for Tony La Russa’s appearance as a manager in the All-Star Game.

La Russa, who left the Cardinals after leading them to the 2011 World Series title, came back and managed the National League to an 8-0 victory in the All-Star Game on July 10, 2012, at Kansas City. Boxscore

Kansas City was where La Russa scored his first big-league run, and had his first big-league at-bat and first big-league hit, when he was a rookie infielder for the Athletics in 1963.

Prime prospect

La Russa was a 17-year-old shortstop for Jefferson High School in Tampa, Fla., when he was signed by the Athletics to a package worth $100,000 on June 7, 1962, the same night he received his high school diploma. He batted .479 his senior season.

La Russa was signed by Athletics scout Charlie Gassaway and supervisor of scouts Joe Bowman. Because Major League Baseball didn’t have a draft at that time, any team could bid for a prospect. According to The Sporting News, 17 scouts representing 14 teams approached La Russa. The Yankees and Indians joined the Athletics as top bidders.

“We think he is one of the outstanding infielders in the country,” Bowman said. “He is the highest-priced infielder Kansas City ever signed.”

Athletics owner Charlie Finley met with La Russa to seal the deal, which included $8,000 toward a college education, plus a new car. La Russa chose a white Pontiac Bonneville with black leather interior, according to the book “Tony La Russa, Man on a Mission.”

Rushed to majors

After a summer of minor-league baseball in 1962, La Russa returned home to Tampa. While playing in a softball game, he injured his throwing arm, according to the “Man on a Mission” book. With his right arm in a sling, La Russa was unable to play in spring training for the Athletics in 1963.

La Russa, 18, made his major-league debut on May 10, 1963, as a pinch-runner for Chuck Essegian in the eighth inning of the Athletics’ game against the Twins at Minnesota. Boxscore

Utilized primarily as a pinch-runner by manager Eddie Lopat, La Russa appeared in his first 14 big-league games without an at-bat. He scored his first big-league run on July 13, 1963, in the second game of a doubleheader against the Indians at Kansas City.

Running for Gino Cimoli, La Russa scored from second on a bases-loaded double by Jerry Lumpe in the fifth inning. The game is noteworthy, not for La Russa’s run, but because Indians pitcher Early Wynn earned his 300th and last major-league win. Boxscore

A month later, La Russa got his first at-bat. It occurred on a Thursday afternoon, Aug. 15, 1963, at Kansas City. After replacing Lumpe at second base in the fifth inning, La Russa faced Tigers starter Hank Aguirre in the sixth and flied out to center fielder Bill Bruton. Boxscore

La Russa’s first major-league hit came two days later at Kansas City. Pinch-hitting in the sixth for pitcher Bill Fischer, La Russa hit a two-out triple to right off Orioles starter Steve Barber, a 20-game winner that year. Boxscore

According to the “Man on a Mission” book, La Russa, near the end of the season, told a Kansas City reporter, “I know I’ll be sent down next season and I’m looking forward to it. I’ve learned a lot from our players and also by watching such fine shortstops as (Wayne) Causey, Luis Aparicio, Zoilo Versailles and others. I’ve had plenty of help from everyone on the club, especially catcher Charlie Lau, who detected a hitch in my swing at the plate.”

It would be five years before La Russa would return to the major leagues. By then, the Athletics had moved from Kansas City to Oakland.

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No one hit more triples, as many HRs as Stan Musial

June 27, 2012 by retrosimba

(Updated July 30, 2024)

One measure of the exceptional baseball skills of Stan Musial is the number of triples he hit.

Today, most baseball fans associate a prolific triples hitter with a speedster. Musial was a slugger (475 home runs, 1,951 RBI) who also had the bat control, hitting eye and speed to collect a high number of doubles (725) and triples (177).

Asked about Musial’s baserunning style, Fred Hutchinson, who managed the Cardinals, told Roger Kahn of Sport magazine, “It’s like a wounded turkey. Ever see a turkey run after he’s been wounded by a shotgun? He’s leaning all off to one side, going like hell. That’s what Stan’s running makes me think of.”

Musial led the National League in triples four times _ 20 in 1943, 20 in 1946, 18 in 1948 and 13 in 1949 _ before he turned 29. (He shared the NL lead with teammate Enos Slaughter in 1949.) Musial also was the NL co-leader in triples (with 12) in 1951, becoming the first player to lead the league in that category five times.

(Tigers outfielder Sam Crawford led the American League in triples five times. Crawford, who played for the Reds and Tigers from 1899-1917, is the big-league career leader in triples, with 309.)

In the first three seasons Musial led the NL in triples, he also was the batting champion and winner of the Most Valuable Player Award in each of those years (1943, 1946 and 1948).

When Musial received his first MVP Award, he told The Sporting News he got a bigger thrill from leading the league in triples.

“I guess it’s because I get a chance to run when I hit for three,” Musial said. “Sure, a home run is good for one more base, but I like that contest with the running outfielder and I get a big thrill out of sliding safely to third base.”

No player in the history of big-league baseball hit more triples and as many home runs as Musial. Among the outstanding hitters with fewer career triples than Musial are Rogers Hornsby (169), Roberto Clemente (166), Lou Gehrig (163), Willie Mays (140), Babe Ruth (136), Joe DiMaggio (131), Jimmie Foxx (125), Hank Aaron (98), Barry Bonds (77), Mickey Mantle (72), Mel Ott (72), Frank Robinson (72), Ted Williams (71), Reggie Jackson (49), Willie McCovey (46), Ken Griffey Jr. (38), Alex Rodriguez (31) and Albert Pujols (16).

“To hit a home run, all you need is some strength and quick wrists,” Aaron told Baseball Digest in 1999. “To be able to hit a triple, you need speed, power to the gaps and you need to be a smart baserunner.”

Throughout his big-league career (1941-63), Musial most often was compared with his AL counterpart, Red Sox outfielder Ted Williams. In October 1946, the only time Musial and Williams competed against one another in a World Series, Dodgers manager Leo Durocher rated Musial the best.

“Musial is a two-to-one better hitter,” Durocher told The Sporting News. “You can pitch to Williams, crowd him and keep the ball on the handle. Williams can hit to only one field. Musial can hit to all fields and you can’t fool him. Williams has only one advantage. He has more power _ and power worries you. You are afraid to make one mistake. But I’ll take Musial any day _ and what is more, I’m not comparing dispositions.”

From 1942-60, no one hit more triples than Musial.

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How Mort Cooper pitched 2 straight 1-hitters for Cards

June 22, 2012 by retrosimba

Early in the 1943 season, a report circulated that Mort Cooper, ace of the Cardinals’ rotation, had a sore arm. A few weeks later, The Sporting News claimed “warm weather brought the (arm) around.”

Whatever the explanation, Cooper recovered and became the only Cardinal to pitch one-hitters in consecutive complete-game starts.

Cooper’s back-to-back one-hitters occurred five years after the Reds’ Johnny Vander Meer became the only big-league pitcher to toss consecutive no-hitters.

On Memorial Day, May 31, 1943, Cooper held the Dodgers to one hit in the Cardinals’ 7-0 victory in the opener of a doubleheader at St. Louis.

Billy Herman got the lone Dodgers hit. Herman’s double to start the fifth inning was “a high, twisting two-bagger just inside the foul line,” United Press reported, and it fell beyond the reach of right fielder Stan Musial.

Herman, who also walked, and Augie Galan, who walked twice, were the only Dodgers baserunners. Cooper struck out two and improved his record to 5-3. His brother, catcher Walker Cooper, and Musial drove in two runs apiece. Boxscore

“If Cooper still has a sore arm,” wrote Hugh Fullerton Jr. of the Associated Press, “manager Billy Southworth probably wishes that all his other pitchers would go out and get one just like it.”

Four nights later, June 4, 1943, at St. Louis, Cooper held the Phillies hitless for seven innings and settled for a one-hitter in the Cardinals’ 5-0 victory.

Jimmy Wasdell of the Phillies opened the eighth by lining a single to left. Pinky May, who reached on an error by Cooper and was erased on a double play, was the only other Phillies baserunner. Cooper struck out five in a game that took 1:42 to complete. Boxscore

Jack Cuddy of United Press described why Cooper was so effective:

“Mort can provide the pitch that’s needed at a proper time _ fastball, screwball, forkball or curve. His fastball is the most effective pitch. This is blurred lightning, with a hop at the end. But to southpaw batsmen, he feeds screwballs, keeping them on the outside so that they can’t be pulled to right field.

“Right-handed hitters get the fastball and the forkball. The latter approaches the plate in drunken fashion, like a knuckler’s butterfly pitch. It’s almost impossible to smack the ‘fork’ solidly. In addition, Mort has unusual control. With a 3-and-2 count on the batsman, he can produce a feint or an actual in the strike zone that forces (1) a waiting called strike or (2) a whiff.”

In his start after the second one-hitter, Cooper pitched another complete game and earned the win in the Cardinals’ 4-3 victory over the Pirates on June 9, 1943, at St. Louis. The Pirates got seven hits, two apiece by Vince DiMaggio and pitcher Rip Sewell. Boxscore

Helping the Cardinals win their second consecutive pennant, Cooper, 30, finished 1943 with a 21-8 record and 2.30 ERA. He had six shutouts and 24 complete games among his 32 starts.

His back-to-back gems in 1943 were the only one-hitters of his major-league career.

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Michigan mentor: Bill Freehan prepared Mike Matheny

June 19, 2012 by retrosimba

(Updated April 22, 2026)

When Mike Matheny played baseball for the University of Michigan, his coach the final two seasons was Bill Freehan, who had been an all-star catcher for the Detroit Tigers.

Freehan foresaw Matheny as a big-league ballplayer and manager. He mentored Matheny with those goals in mind and instilled confidence in the college catcher.

“It was very interesting that he saw that,” Matheny told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com in February 2012. “It wasn’t just some random guy. It was a guy with great credibility.”

Freehan, an 11-time American League all-star and five-time Gold Glove Award winner who played 15 years (1961-76) for the Tigers, encouraged Matheny to take Spanish courses so he could communicate fully with Hispanic players.

“He (Freehan) called me into his office one day and said, ‘If you’re going to be in this game for a long time, even after your playing days, you need to change all your electives to learning Spanish,’ ” Matheny said to Chris Girandola of MLB.com.

Matheny earned his degree in sports management and communication, with a minor in Spanish. He managed the Cardinals from 2012-2018 and led them to a National League pennant in 2013.

A native of the Columbus suburb of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, Matheny was recruited to Michigan by baseball coach Bud Middaugh. After the 1989 season, Matheny’s first with the Michigan varsity, Middaugh resigned amid allegations he had diverted money to baseball players from the sale of football game programs.

Michigan athletic director Bo Schembechler turned to Freehan, who had been an all-America catcher at Michigan in 1961.

“Coach Freehan gave me a master’s course in catching,” Matheny told Steve Kornacki of MGoBlue.com, “and not just with the mechanics, but more so the mentality. He gave me the opportunity to learn how to run a pitching staff. Bud (Middaugh) called every pitch from the dugout my freshman year, like a lot of coaches do, but in our first intrasquad game (in 1990), Bill (Freehan) stopped practice and flat-out screamed at me when I looked into the dugout for his call. He said, ‘You’re the catcher! You’re in charge. You can see what’s going on. You have a brain, you can think. Call this game.’ ”

According to MGoBlue.com, Freehan got his former Tigers teammate, Hall of Famer Al Kaline, to help Matheny with his hitting.

“I’m swinging in the (batting) cages to get loose and I see this gentleman walking toward me,” Matheny recalled. “I just about fell over. It’s Al Kaline. I couldn’t believe it. I wish I could tell you that I wrote down every word in a notebook, but I was so in awe that I had trouble focusing. I’m thinking, ‘How does a superstar player take this much time to come down and work with a no-name, half-talented college guy?’ He stood out as such a top-shelf individual.”

In six seasons (1990-95), Freehan coached Michigan to a 166-167-1 record, including 76-89 in the Big Ten. In 1991, Freehan named Matheny co-captain. A three-year letter winner (1989-91) and academic all-Big Ten (1990), Matheny was named Michigan’s most valuable player in 1991. He also met his wife, Kristin, a varsity field hockey player for Michigan.

Matheny was selected by the Brewers in the eighth round of the 1991 major league draft, extending a tradition of Michigan baseball players who became professionals. Like Matheny, other Michigan standouts who would play for the Cardinals included infielders Dave Campbell, Chris Sabo and Ted Sizemore, and pitcher Lary Sorensen. Branch Rickey, who was Michigan’s baseball coach from 1910-13 while earning a law degree from the school, became manager and chief baseball executive of the Cardinals.

(Ted Simmons is a Michigan graduate. The physical education and speech major earned his degree in 1996, 29 years after enrolling. Simmons, a catcher, never played for Michigan’s baseball program. Instead, he signed with the Cardinals after graduating from high school in 1967.)

Matheny would go on to win four Gold Glove awards (with the Cardinals in 2000, 2003 and 2004, and with the 2005 Giants) and help St. Louis to four postseason appearances and a National League pennant.

Freehan won his Gold Glove awards in consecutive years (1965-69).

Previously: Bill Freehan, Lou Brock and a World Series controversy

Previously: Should Curt Flood have caught Jim Northrup’s drive?

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How Jack Buck became broadcaster for Cardinals

June 17, 2012 by retrosimba

In February 1954, Jack Buck was hired to join Harry Caray on the Cardinals broadcast team.

Caray was entering his 10th season as play-by-play voice of the Cardinals when Buck was chosen to join him after calling minor-league games for Rochester in 1953. Buck replaced former catcher Gus Mancuso as Caray’s broadcast partner.

Buck had been given a tryout in 1953, broadcasting a Cardinals-Giants regular-season game from New York. In his book, “That’s a Winner,” Buck said, “What stood out to me that day was how helpful some people were, like the Giants’ announcer, Russ Hodges. He gave me all the information I needed and offered a lot of encouragement.”

In April 1954, two months after Buck got the offer to join Caray on the broadcast team, Milo Hamilton, who had done television work in the St. Louis area for WTVI of Belleville, Ill., was hired “to handle commercials and color on road broadcasts,” meaning Buck’s work in the booth initially was limited to home games.

“(Hamilton) and I split time on the air,” Buck said. “Milo went on the road with Caray for the first half of the season. I did the scoring updates and commercials from the studio. We switched at the all-star break, and I went on the road, but didn’t have a lot to do because the broadcasts definitely were Harry’s. I did a couple of innings a game, and that was it.”

Caray didn’t get along with Buck and Hamilton. “It didn’t take me long to realize that Harry and I not only had different styles of announcing, we had different personalities and lifestyles,” Buck said. “Our relationship got off badly because he didn’t want me to get the job in the first place. He wanted the Cardinals to hire Chick Hearn, who at the time was a broadcaster in Peoria, Illinois (and eventually would become the voice of the NBA Lakers.)

“Harry didn’t get along with Milo any better than he got along with me at the time,” Buck said, “and we knew he wanted to get somebody else on the broadcast with whom he was more friendly. The man he wanted _ and got _ was Joe Garagiola.” (Hamilton was fired after the 1954 season and replaced by Garagiola.)

All three members of the Cardinals’ 1954 broadcast team would receive the Ford C. Frick Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame for their career achievements. (Buck won the award in 1987; Caray in 1989; and Hamilton, 1992.)

Buck’s first regular-season Cardinals broadcast as an official member of the team was the 1954 season opener on April 13 at St. Louis. The Cubs beat the Cardinals, 13-4, behind the hitting of Clyde McCullough (4-for-5, two RBI) and Randy Jackson (three RBI). Paul Minner earned a complete-game win for Chicago. Among the Cardinals’ few highlights were solo home runs by Wally Moon and Stan Musial. Boxscore

“The most memorable event of my first season in St. Louis came on a Sunday afternoon, May 2, 1954, in a rain-delayed doubleheader against the Giants,” said Buck. “Stan Musial hit five home runs, three in the first game, two in the second, and might have had another with the longest ball he hit all day, but it was to straightaway center and was caught by Willie Mays. Caray was on the air for all five homers, and it was just as well. It used to bother him when he wasn’t on the air when something really big happened.” Game 1 and Game 2

Posted in Broadcasters, Games, Pitchers | 4 Comments »

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