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How Cardinals fan Dennis Higgins became their pitcher

November 26, 2023 by retrosimba

When Dennis Higgins first got to pitch for the Cardinals, it seemed like a dream come true. They’d been his favorite team when he was a youth in his hometown of Jefferson City, Mo.

Recalling boyhood summers pitching in amateur leagues in central Missouri, Huggins told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “I’d have signed with the Cardinals and played for nothing.”

By the time Higgins became a Cardinal in 1971, he was near the end of his pro playing career, a journey that began 14 years earlier in the White Sox system.

His stint with the Cardinals was no fairytale. He had ups and downs, got sent to the minors, returned and got traded, a move that prompted him to quit the game.

A tall (6-foot-3), lanky, right-handed reliever, Higgins had a record of 22-23 with 46 saves in seven seasons with the White Sox (1966-67), Senators (1968-69), Indians (1970) and Cardinals (1971-72).

Perseverance pays

Jefferson City, about midway between St. Louis and Kansas City, is the capital of Missouri. The town was laid out by Daniel Morgan Boone, son of the famous frontiersman, and was named for President Thomas Jefferson. In the 1950s, Omar Higgins, a Jefferson City police captain, took his son to Cardinals games in St. Louis “to watch Stan Musial and Enos Slaughter every chance he could,” Dennis Higgins told the Post-Dispatch.

According to the Jefferson City Daily Capital News, Higgins, 18, signed with the White Sox in the fall of 1957. He spent eight years in the minors before he earned a spot with the 1966 White Sox. He made his big-league debut on April 12, Opening Day, pitching 2.2 scoreless innings against the Angels in Chicago. Boxscore

The White Sox won that Tuesday afternoon game in 14 innings. After it ended, Higgins rushed to O’Hare Airport for a flight to Jefferson City, where he was married the following afternoon, April 13, to Ruth Ann Schnieders, whose brother, Paul, pitched in the Cubs system for eight years. The next afternoon, Higgins was back in uniform for the White Sox’s April 14 game at Chicago.

Relying on a sinking fastball, Higgins pitched in 42 games for the 1966 White Sox and was 1-0 with five saves and a 2.52 ERA. Batters hit a mere .202 against him.

An eye for an eye

At White Sox spring training in 1967, Higgins’ left eye bothered him. He consulted a doctor, but kept pitching, The Sporting News reported.

In May, during a game at Kansas City against the Athletics, Catfish Hunter threw a pitch close to White Sox batter Don Buford, who hit the dirt to get out of the way. In the bottom half of the inning, Higgins relieved starter Tommy John. The first pitch Higgins threw hit Danny Cater in the top of the batting helmet. His next pitch sailed over the head of Dick Green. Umpire crew chief Hank Soar warned Higgins he’d be ejected if he threw another one too close to a batter. Higgins walked Green on three more pitches.

Sal Bando came up next. Higgins’ first pitch hit him in the hip, and home plate umpire Jim Odom ejected Higgins and manager Eddie Stanky. “I wasn’t throwing at anybody,” Higgins told The Sporting News. Umpire Ed Runge said, “All we know is that Higgins faced three men, hit two and knocked the other down.”

(Years later, Higgins recalled that Stanky ordered him to hit the three batters in succession, the Post-Dispatch reported.) Boxscore

Two weeks after the incident, Higgins learned he had a detached retina in his left eye. He underwent surgery a week later and missed the remainder of the season.

Another capital city

In February 1968, Higgins was traded to the Senators and became their closer, leading the club in saves (13) and appearances (59). “The hitters are just plain stupid,” Higgins told the Daily Capital News. “Less than 30 percent of them are long ball hitters, yet they all go up there swinging for the fence.”

Ted Williams replaced Jim Lemon as Senators manager in 1969. When the Senators went to Boston for the first time with Williams as manager, the return of the Red Sox icon created a hullaballoo. The Senators won and Higgins got the save with three scoreless innings. “I wish we had more like him,” Williams told The Sporting News. Boxscore

Williams called on Higgins often. He used him in 11 games in April and 11 in May, twice pitching him in both games of doubleheaders. “I overworked him early in the year because I had to,” Williams told the Akron Beacon Journal.

Higgins had 10 wins for the 1969 Senators and led them in saves (16) and appearances (55). He also threw 15 wild pitches. In his book, “Kiss it Goodbye,” Senators broadcaster Shelby Whitfield noted, “Ted’s critics said he ruined the arm of Dennis Higgins by pitching him too frequently in 1969.”

Paul Lindblad, who pitched for Williams in 1971 and 1972, told The Sporting News, “Ted ruined pitchers his first year out. He burned out Higgins and wore out (Darold) Knowles to next to nothing.”

Traded to the Cleveland Indians, Higgins was their team leader in saves (11) and appearances (58) in 1970. Unhappy with the contract offer he got for 1971, he held out for more and was shipped to Wichita at the end of spring training. In July, Higgins got sent to the Athletics, who then flipped him to the Cardinals for infielder Gaylen Pitts.

Opportunity knocks

Assigned to Tulsa, Higgins pitched in 17 games for the Cardinals’ affiliate. His combined record for Wichita and Tulsa was 2-11, so when he got called up to the Cardinals in September 1971, “Higgins said he found it hard to believe,” the Daily Capital News reported.

He got into three games for the 1971 Cardinals and was 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA. The win came in the Cardinals’ home finale when he pitched 3.2 scoreless innings against the Expos. Boxscore

The Cardinals put Higgins, 32, on their 40-man winter roster. Manager Red Schoendienst “was reasonably impressed enough to want to see more of Higgins in the spring,” Cardinals general manager Bing Devine told the Daily Capital News.

At 1972 spring training, Higgins pitched well and beat out another veteran, Stan Williams, for a spot on the Opening Day roster, the Post-Dispatch reported.

It was a different story after the season began. Higgins had a 6.75 ERA in April and 4.05 in May. He was 0-2 with 14 walks in 13 innings when the Cardinals demoted him to Tulsa in May 1972. “He has a good arm, a good fastball and a good curve,” Schoendienst told the Post-Dispatch. “All he has to do is throw strikes and challenge the hitters.”

Higgins considered quitting, then changed his mind. “The pay is the same, and that’s the only reason I’m going to Tulsa,” he said to the Post-Dispatch.

Tulsa manager Jack Krol put Higgins in the starting rotation and he thrived. He was 7-2 with a 1.89 ERA in 11 starts. Two of the wins were shutouts. Higgins figured that was enough to earn a midseason return to the Cardinals. When they didn’t call, he went home to Jefferson City.

“Bing Devine called and asked me what my intentions were,” Higgins explained to the Jefferson City Sunday News and Tribune. “I told him I wasn’t going to pitch in the minors with a record like mine. He said they would see what they could do.”

On July 26, 1972, the Cardinals released pitcher Tony Cloninger and replaced him with Higgins. Given a start against the Cubs on July 30, he was lifted in the third inning. Boxscore

Moved to the bullpen, Higgins made five August relief appearances for the 1972 Cardinals and was 1-0 with a save and a 1.35 ERA. The win came in a scoreless stint against the Mets. Boxscore

In late August, Higgins felt pain in his right elbow and received a cortisone shot, the Post-Dispatch reported. On Aug. 31, his contract was sold to the Padres, “a move regarded as a forerunner of further activity with the Cardinals, who have interest in Padres shortstop Enzo Hernandez,” The Sporting News reported.

Higgins, 33, had other ideas. “I was home on an off day when Devine called to tell me I had been traded to San Diego,” Higgins recalled to the Jefferson City Sunday newspaper. “I wasn’t going, and that was the end of my career.”

He returned to Jefferson City and went into the sporting goods business.

Posted in Games, Pitchers, Trades | 12 Comments »

An interview with author of book on 1982 Cardinals

November 20, 2023 by retrosimba

The 1982 Cardinals had no player hit 20 home runs. One of their best relievers was 43 and had been in the majors since the 1950s. Only one of their pitchers struck out as many as 90 batters.

Yet, the 1982 Cardinals may be the franchise’s greatest team since baseball went to a divisional alignment. Since 1969, the only Cardinals club to finish a regular season with the best record in the National League and win a World Series title was the 1982 team.

A new book, “Runnin’ Redbirds: The World Champion 1982 St. Louis Cardinals,” provides insights into why that team was so special.

Written by Eric Vickrey, a member of the Society for American Baseball Research, the book is available on Amazon and direct through the publisher, McFarland Books. Until Nov. 27, there is a 40 percent discount (the discount code is HOLIDAY23) for those who order direct from McFarland.

Here is an email interview I did with the author in November 2023:

Q: Hi, Eric. What prompted you to do a book on the 1982 Cardinals?

A: “Growing up in Alton, Illinois, during the 1980s, I fell in love with baseball watching the Cardinals sprint around the bases and play amazing defense. Ozzie Smith, Willie McGee, Vince Coleman and Tommy Herr were my heroes as a kid. Fast-forward to 2020. During the early days of the pandemic, when I was stuck inside and there was no baseball to watch, I started writing player bios for the Society for American Baseball Research. I enjoyed the research and writing process as well as the nostalgia of revisiting the roots of my baseball fandom. I miss the Cardinals’ style of play in the 1980s, which was so different than the game today. I thought it would be interesting to really dig into one season as a longer narrative project. I chose 1982 because it included the arc of Whitey Herzog’s rebuild and the pinnacle of a championship.”

Q: What makes your book different from other books, such as those from Whitey Herzog or Keith Hernandez, about the 1982 Cardinals?

A: “Herzog’s memoir, White Rat, was incredibly insightful, particularly in regard to his roster reconstruction in 1980 and 1981. In typical Whitey fashion, he pulled no punches. Ozzie, Hernandez, Bob Forsch and Darrell Porter also authored books that touched on their experiences in 1982. But there had not been a book that focused primarily on the Cardinals’ 1982 season. In addition to delving into the on-field highlights of that year, Runnin’ Redbirds examines the team in the context of baseball history with some modern analytics sprinkled in. It is also very much a human-interest story. The Cardinals were an eclectic group, and I tell a bit of each player’s story.”

Q: Could you provide an example or anecdote about a 1982 Cardinal who was the most fun or enjoyable for you to interview?

A: “I interviewed Dane Iorg, who was one of the stars of the World Series for St. Louis. In his 17 at-bats against Milwaukee, he recorded nine hits, five of which went for extra bases. If there is such a thing as a clutch player, he was it. I’m sure he has been asked about the 1982 World Series a million times, but to hear the pure joy in his voice while describing the thrill of a championship more than 40 years ago was really cool.”

Q: Since baseball went to a divisional format in 1969, 1982 is the only year in which the Cardinals finished with the best record in the National League and won the World Series title. Do you think then the case can be made that the 1982 group is the last great Cardinals team? 

A: “I think that depends on how you define greatness. I’d consider the 1985, 2004 and 2005 Cardinals great teams even though they fell short of a championship. Anything can happen once you get to the postseason and sometimes a bit of luck swings things in favor of one team. The 1982 Cardinals, for example, benefitted from a rainout in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series when they were trailing the Braves in the fifth inning. Then there was Game 6 of the 1985 World Series, but let’s not go there.”

Q: Who do you think is the most under-appreciated member of the 1982 Cardinals, and why so?

A: “That’s a really tough question because the Cards received contributions from so many players during the course of the season. Unheralded guys like Mike Ramsey, Doug Bair, Ken Oberkfell and Glenn Brummer all made key contributions. But perhaps the most under-appreciated player, relative to his production, is Lonnie Smith. He led the league in runs scored and led the Cardinals in hits, extra-base hits, stolen bases and Wins Above Replacement _ an MVP-level season.”

Q: Could you provide an example of something surprising you learned about the 1982 Cardinals in doing your research and interviewing?

A: “The 1982 Cardinals are most remembered for their speed and defense, and rightly so. But until I dug into the numbers, I never realized how historically dominant the Cardinals’ pitching staff was during the playoff push. They had a stretch in September in which they allowed two earned runs or less in 11 straight games. Only three pitching staffs in the live-ball era have longer streaks, and two of those occurred during the pitching-dominant season of 1968.”

Q: In the postseason, the 1982 team came face to face with prominent Cardinals of the past. In the National League Championship Series, the Braves were managed by Joe Torre and coached by Bob Gibson and Dal Maxvill. In the World Series, the Brewers had players Ted Simmons and Pete Vuckovich. Did that create any drama?

A: “It certainly made things more intriguing. Torre and Gibson were still beloved in St. Louis and got enormous ovations at the start of the NLCS, but Cardinal fans wanted to see them lose. Gibson, on the other hand, said before the series he wanted the Braves to ‘beat the blazes’ out of the Cards. Simmons was another St. Louis icon, and there were many fans who wished he could have been a part of the 1982 team. Now if Garry Templeton had been in the opposing dugout, that may have created some drama.”

Q: Thanks, Eric. To wrap it up, I’m going to list five names from the 1982 Cardinals and ask you to respond, in a sentence or two, with the first thing that comes to mind for you on each. First up: Lonnie Smith?

A: “Lonnie could not seem to crack the Phillies lineup, but Herzog shrewdly traded for him before the 1982 season and what a steal that was. The guy was a winner. He played in five World Series.”

Q: Joaquin Andujar?

A: “Andujar is probably more remembered for his off-the-wall quotes and blowup in the 1985 World Series, but the 1982 team probably doesn’t win it all without him. He was nearly unhittable down the stretch.”

Q: George Hendrick?

A: “Silent George was a solid all-around player and accounted for nearly a third of the Cardinals’ home runs in 1982. One of my favorite anecdotes from Game 7 is that after the last out, Hendrick headed straight for his car and listened to the postgame celebration on his drive home.”

Q: Jim Kaat?

A: “Kitty pitched to Ted Williams during the Eisenhower administration and to Ryne Sandberg during the Reagan administration. He kept reinventing himself and was the quintessential crafty lefty.”

Q: Whitey Herzog?

A: “Pure baseball genius who was not afraid to take risks. An excellent communicator. Every player I talked to who played for him raved about the way he communicated with his players.”

Posted in Bloggers, Hitters, Managers, Pitchers | 22 Comments »

Cardinals got early look at tower of power Frank Howard

November 15, 2023 by retrosimba

The first time Frank Howard came to the plate against the Cardinals he did what came naturally to him. He hit a home run. Not just any home run. A tape-measure clout, befitting a giant who stood 6-foot-7 and weighed more than 250 pounds.

As Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times noted, “He’s Gulliver in a baseball suit.”

A right-handed batter capable of launching balls into distant places, Howard ht 382 home runs in 16 years with the Dodgers (1958-64), Senators (1965-71), Rangers (1972) and Tigers (1972-73). He spent another 20 years as a big-league coach and managed the Padres (1981) and Mets (1983).

Hoops hot shot

In Columbus, Ohio, Frank Howard was “kind of a scrawny-looking, mangy-looking kid,” he told the Green Bay Press-Gazette. A son of a railroad machinist, he did construction work during high school and college summers. “I ran a jackhammer on asphalt crews,” Howard told the Press-Gazette, “and I was a hod carrier’s helper (carrying supplies to bricklayers). You work like that, and you’re going to have a strong body.”

When he enrolled at Ohio State, he was 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds. Basketball and baseball were the sports he played. “A lot of people thought I was better at basketball,” Howard said to the Press-Gazette.

In 1955-56, his first varsity basketball season as a sophomore, Howard averaged 15.1 points per game and led the Big Ten Conference in rebounding (12.9).

As a junior in 1956-57, Howard averaged 20.1 points and again was the Big Ten’s top rebounder (15.3). He snared 32 rebounds in a game against Brigham Young at New York’s Madison Square Garden. In Ohio State’s 74-54 home win versus the St. Louis University Billikens, Howard contributed 22 points and 11 rebounds.

In Howard’s senior year, Ohio State came to St. Louis’ Kiel Auditorium and he dazzled with 27 points and 10 rebounds, but the Billikens won, 88-77. Howard averaged 16.9 points as a senior and scouts for the NBA St. Louis Hawks “rated him as an outstanding pro basketball prospect,” The Sporting News reported.

New home

Howard played varsity baseball his sophomore and junior seasons at Ohio State and was “coveted by all 16 major-league clubs” because of his extraordinary power, the Los Angeles Times reported. According to The Sporting News, Dodgers scouts rated Howard higher than Dave Nicholson, the teenage slugger from St. Louis who signed with the Orioles for more than $100,000.

On March 5, 1958, the Dodgers signed Howard for $108,000. When he stepped into the batting cage for the first time at the Dodgers’ training camp in Vero Beach, Fla., Howard “was scared to death” and “actually was shaking,” according to the Los Angeles Times. On his third swing, he hit the ball 400 feet.

Teammates watched in wonder one morning when Howard consumed eight eggs, 24 strips of bacon, two bowls of cereal with sliced bananas, four glasses of orange juice and 10 slices of toast, The Sporting News noted.

The next month, the Philadelphia Warriors took Howard in the third round of the 1958 NBA draft, but by then he was on his way to the Dodgers’ farm club in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Playing for manager Pete Reiser, the St. Louis native and former Dodgers outfielder, Howard hit 37 home runs. “He’s simply fabulous,” Reiser told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “He could do for baseball what Babe Ruth did. He hits many a ball completely out of sight in every park.”

Green Bay became important to Howard for reasons other than baseball. He met Carol Johanski, who worked in the circulation department of the Press-Gazette. She recalled to the newspaper, “We met in a pizza place in 1958. I was out with girlfriends and Frank and some fellows came over to our table and introduced themselves. We didn’t believe them when they said they were baseball players.”

Howard asked Carol for a date and they married a year later. Green Bay became Howard’s off-season residence. He spent several winters doing sales and promotional work for a Green Bay paper products company.

Big bopper

After his big season with Green Bay, Howard got called up to the Dodgers in September 1958. In his first game, he hit a home run against a future Hall of Famer, Robin Roberts of the Phillies. Howard’s blast landed atop the left field roof at Philadelphia’s Connie Mack Stadium. Boxscore

In the book “We Played the Game,” Dodgers reliever Johnny Klippstein recalled, “He was frightening looking and the strongest guy I ever saw in baseball, but he was mild and meek and called everybody Mister.”

Howard spent most of 1959 in the minors before a September promotion to the Dodgers, who were headed to becoming World Series champions.

The first time he faced the Cardinals was Sept. 22, 1959, at St. Louis. Batting for reliever Danny McDevitt, Howard drove a pitch from Lindy McDaniel 400 feet to left-center for a three-run home run. The Cardinals “couldn’t recall a ball that was hit as hard” as Howard’s line drive, the Post-Dispatch reported. Boxscore

Howard stuck with the Dodgers in 1960 after his recall from the minors in May, slugged 23 home runs and won the National League Rookie of the Year Award. On July 10, 1960, against the Cardinals at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Howard had his first 5-RBI game in the majors. Boxscore

In a five-year stretch (1960-64), Howard led the Dodgers in home runs four times. He slugged 31 for them in 1962 and 28 the next year when they became World Series champions.

Howard hit .354 versus the Cardinals in 1961 and .340 in 1964. His home run against Craig Anderson in the 11th inning at St. Louis on July 22, 1961, struck the scoreboard in left, more than 400 feet from home plate. Boxscore

All was not well, though, for Howard with the Dodgers. Manager Walter Alston platooned him in right field and wanted Howard to change his batting stance in order to reach curveballs low and away.

Howard threatened to retire in 1964 and made it known he’d welcome a trade. The Dodgers accommodated him, sending Howard, Ken McMullen, Phil Ortega, Pete Richert and Dick Nen to the Washington Senators for Claude Osteen and John Kennedy on Dec. 4, 1964.

Washington monument

As the Senators’ everyday left fielder, Howard became “the most frightening home run hitter in baseball,” the New York Times noted. On a last-place team in 1968, he led the American League in total bases (330), home runs (44), extra-base hits (75) and slugging percentage (.552).

Ted Williams became the Senators’ manager in 1969 and Howard again was the league leader in total bases (340).

“That son of a gun is the biggest and strongest hitter who ever played this game,” Williams told the New York Times, “and that includes Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Hank Greenberg _ all of them. Nobody ever hit the ball harder and further, nobody.

“There was only one thing I talked to him about this spring,” Williams said. “He always used to swing at the first pitch that was anywhere near the plate. That’s just like swinging as if you had two strikes on you every time up. Wait. Wait for the pitch you want to hit.”

Howard, who never had more than 60 walks in a season, had 102 walks and 175 hits in 1969 _ an on-base percentage of .402. He was even better in 1970 (.416 on-base mark with 132 walks and 160 hits) and led the league that season in home runs (44) and RBI (126) in addition to walks. Video

Asked about Williams’ influence, Howard said to the New York Times, “He convinced me. I used to be swinging from the time I left the bench. Now I’m not afraid to give them a strike to be more selective … He’s made me more aware of what I’m doing as a hitter, and it has helped.”

Staying busy

After ending his big-league playing career with the 1973 Tigers, Howard returned to baseball as manager of a Brewers farm club in 1976. The next year, Howard became a coach on the staff of Brewers manager Alex Grammas. When Grammas was fired after the 1977 season, general manager Harry Dalton replaced him with George Bamberger. Howard told the Press-Gazette he was disappointed he was bypassed for the job, but Bamberger retained him as a coach.

Howard spent the ensuing winters in Green Bay operating a tavern. He described “Frank Howard’s Lounge” to the Press-Gazette as “intimate, the Fenway Park of saloons.” Howard tended bar and made it a point to talk with customers. As the Press-Gazette noted on a visit, “There he was, pulling on the beer taps, measuring shots of brandy, trying to stab olives and pouring delicate glasses of wine.”

In 1980, Howard’s fourth season as Brewers coach, George Bamberger took a leave of absence because of a heart condition. Howard wanted the job, but Harry Dalton gave it to another coach, Buck Rodgers. “It is tough to live with when you know you can do the job and no one else seems to know it,” Howard told the Associated Press.

After coaching for the 1980 Brewers, Howard was hired to be manager of the Padres, inheriting a last-place team. Howard’s 1981 Padres had Ozzie Smith at shortstop and a former Cardinal, Terry Kennedy, at catcher but not much else. Howard was fired after one strike-shortened season.

George Bamberger, who had replaced Joe Torre as Mets manager, hired Howard for a coaching job in 1982. The next year, Bamberger resigned in June and Howard replaced him. General manager Frank Cashen told Howard the job was only for the remainder of the season.

“He didn’t want to do it under those conditions,” Cashen told the New York Times, “but he finally acceded for the good of the organization … Nobody symbolizes professionalism more than Frank Howard did.”

Howard took over a last-place club. His shortstop was Jose Oquendo and a couple of weeks later the Mets got Keith Hernandez from the Cardinals to play first base.

Davey Johnson became Mets manager in 1984 and Howard was on his coaching staff. Howard went on to coach for the Mariners, Yankees and Rays as well as the Brewers and Mets again.

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents | 12 Comments »

How Cardinals made a pitch to acquire Jerry Koosman

November 10, 2023 by retrosimba

After trading Steve Carlton and Jerry Reuss, the Cardinals went two seasons without a prominent left-hander in their starting rotation. General manager Bing Devine sought to help fill the void by trying to acquire Jerry Koosman.

In October 1973, Devine offered first baseman Joe Torre to the Mets for Koosman. A Brooklyn native who won a National League Most Valuable Player Award with the Cardinals, Torre appealed to the Mets, who in 1973 ranked last in the league in total bases and next-to-last in runs scored. Koosman, a left-hander who pitched in two World Series for the Mets, appealed to the Cardinals in their quest for depth and balance in the starting rotation.

Published reports indicated the proposed swap was a done deal, but when the Mets tried to substitute others for Koosman, the Cardinals lost interest.

Talent drain

In a period from December 1971 to April 1972, the Mets and Cardinals made three ill-fated trades. The Mets sent pitcher Nolan Ryan (and three others) to the Angels for infielder Jim Fregosi in December 1971. Soon after, the Cardinals’ petulant owner, Gussie Busch, got miffed with pitchers Steve Carlton (because of his salary request) and Jerry Reuss (because he grew a moustache) and ordered Bing Devine to trade both. Devine sent Carlton to the Phillies in February 1972 and Reuss to the Astros two months later.

Carlton (329 wins) and Ryan (324 wins) became Hall of Famers. Reuss won 220.

The Mets reached the World Series in 1973 because of a rotation that had Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman and Jon Matlack and because of a misconceived playoff format that rewarded mediocrity. The 79 losses of the 1973 Mets are the most ever for a pennant winner, just one more than the 78 of the 2006 Cardinals and 2023 Diamondbacks.

After trading Carlton and Reuss, the 1972 Cardinals (75-81) had all right-handers in their starting rotation _ Bob Gibson, Rick Wise, Reggie Cleveland, Al Santorini and Scipio Spinks. The only left-handers to make starts for the 1972 Cardinals were Lance Clemons and John Cumberland. Each made one.

It was a similar story the next year. The top five starters for the 1973 Cardinals (81-81) were right-handers Gibson, Wise, Cleveland, Alan Foster and Tom Murphy. The only left-hander to make a start was Rich Folkers, primarily a reliever.

Bing Devine, who once helped the Mets keep Jerry Koosman, now wanted to take him away from them.

Show me the money

In 1964, Koosman was in the Army at Fort Bliss, Texas, when Mets scout Red Murff (who also discovered Nolan Ryan) saw him pitch and recommended him. “I wanted a $20,000 signing bonus,” Koosman told the Philadelphia Daily News.

The Mets’ offer was for a fraction of that. Each time Koosman said no, the Mets offered less. According to Newsday, he finally said OK to $1,200. “The way things were going, I thought I’d better sign before I owed them money,” Koosman said to the Philadelphia newspaper.

Koosman signed in August 1964, about the time a panicky Gussie Busch fired the Cardinals’ general manager, Bing Devine. Two months later, Devine was hired by the Mets to be special assistant to team president George Weiss.

In 1965, his first season in the Mets’ farm system, Koosman was 5-13. At spring training in 1966, George Weiss wanted to release Koosman, Devine recalled in his book “The Memoirs of Bing Devine.”

According to Devine, he and minor-league executive Joe McDonald “thought it was a mistake to give up on Koosman.”

Devine said Koosman had borrowed about $500 from the Mets, and the parsimonious Weiss “really hated to get rid of players who owed the club money.” (Whitey Herzog, then a Mets coach, told the Philadelphia Daily News it was $50.)

According to Devine, Joe McDonald proposed suggesting to Weiss that the Mets keep Koosman at least until the club could begin deducting the money owed them from his first couple of regular-season paychecks.

Koosman began the 1966 season with a farm club in Auburn (N.Y.) and pitched so well (1.38 ERA in 170 innings) that the Mets kept him.

The next year, with Devine having replaced Weiss, Koosman earned a spot on the 1967 Mets Opening Day roster. He made five relief appearances for them, got sent to the minors and returned to the Mets in September, making three starts.

With the Mets’ Florida Instructional League team, managed by Whitey Herzog in the fall of 1967, Koosman had a 1.64 ERA in 55 innings. Devine then left to replace Stan Musial as Cardinals general manager in 1968, but Koosman was on his way to establishing himself as a Mets starter.

No deal

With the foundation built by Bing Devine, the Mets became World Series champions in 1969. Koosman contributed 17 wins and a 2.28 ERA. He also won Games 2 and 5 of the World Series. Boxscore and Boxscore

In 1973, Koosman had 14 wins and a 2.84 ERA. He won Game 5 of the World Series, beating Vida Blue and the Athletics. Boxscore

During that World Series, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that a trade of Joe Torre for Jerry Koosman “already has been agreed to.”

According to Newsday, “There have been reports for the last several weeks that Torre would be traded to the Mets for Jerry Koosman.”

The trade seemed such a lock that when Torre attended the 1973 World Series in New York he said “he was being congratulated by many persons for being traded to the Mets,” The Sporting News reported.

The sure bet then hit a snag.

According to Tulsa World sports editor Bill Connors, “The Mets thought they were close to getting Torre at World Series time, but backed out when the Cardinals would not settle for less than Jerry Koosman.”

Dick Young of the New York Daily News reported it was Mets manager Yogi Berra who would not agree to let Koosman go. Berra told The Sporting News, “I could have made a deal for Joe Torre if I was willing to give the Cardinals Koosman or a center fielder. We won’t give up Koosman for Torre and we don’t have a center fielder to give them.”

Newsday noted that the Mets, stung by having dealt Nolan Ryan, were “reluctant to part with another front-line pitcher.”

Mets general manager Bob Scheffing told the New York Daily News, “We might be interested in trading Koosman if somebody comes along and knocks us over with a deal.” He said he wasn’t “knocked over” by the proposal of Torre for Koosman.

Timing is everything

The Mets made a counter-proposal, the St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported. According to The Sporting News, the Mets offered to swap pitchers George Stone (a left-hander) and Jim McAndrew, plus infielder Ted Martinez, for Torre.

Devine, however, would not lower his demand for Koosman.

Torre suggested to Jersey Journal correspondent Jack Lang that if the Mets would offer a proposal that included another left-hander, former Cardinal Ray Sadecki, Devine might reconsider.

“I know they (the Cardinals) want a starting pitcher,” Torre told Lang. “They’d also like Ray Sadecki, that I know. They think of Sadecki the same way the Mets do _ someone who can start, relieve and pitch middle innings. He can be used in so many ways and they like him. If they (the Mets) can put together a package, they might be able to get both (outfielder Luis) Melendez and myself.”

(Instead, the Cardinals acquired John Curtis from the Red Sox to be a left-handed starter in 1974.)

Like the Mets did with Koosman, the Cardinals kept Torre in 1974. He batted .282 and produced a .371 on-base percentage. Koosman won 15 for the 1974 Mets, but Torre hit .526 (10-for-19) against him.

After the season, Joe McDonald replaced Bob Scheffing as Mets general manager. McDonald’s first trade was to send Ray Sadecki and pitcher Tommy Moore to the Cardinals for Torre. “The Torre deal could not have been made without Sadecki’s inclusion,” McDonald told The Sporting News.

Three years later, on May 31, 1977, Torre became the Mets’ manager. In his first start with Torre as manager, Koosman beat the Expos, but his season unraveled after that. Boxscore

Pitching for last-place teams, Koosman was 8-20 in 1977 and 3-15 in 1978. Born and raised on a farm in Minnesota, he asked to be traded to the Twins. Joe McDonald granted his request, dealing Koosman to Minnesota in December 1978 for a pair of pitching prospects, Jesse Orosco and Greg Field.

“I still think he has a great arm,” McDonald told The Sporting News, “and, in spite of his (1978) record, he can still pitch.”

McDonald eventually joined the Cardinals and was their general manager when they became World Series champions in 1982.

Torre eventually became Cardinals manager, got fired, went to the Yankees, won four World Series titles and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

In 19 years in the majors with the Mets (1967-78), Twins (1979-81), White Sox (1981-83) and Phillies (1984-85), Koosman was 222-209. In 74 plate appearances versus Koosman, Torre had a .446 on-base percentage and a .388 batting average.

Posted in Games, Pitchers | 6 Comments »

How Spud Davis mashed National League pitching

November 6, 2023 by retrosimba

For a time, the battery of pitcher Dizzy Dean and catcher Spud Davis formed a dynamic duo for the Cardinals. Dizzy and Spud. Comic strip names. Gashouse Gang characters.

On Nov. 15, 1933, the Cardinals got Davis and infielder Eddie Delker from the Phillies for catcher Jimmie Wilson. The trade was a reverse of one made five years earlier when the Cardinals sent Davis to the Phillies for Wilson.

A right-handed batter, Davis was a consistent .300 hitter. His return to the Cardinals helped them become World Series champions in 1934, a year when Dean became the last National League pitcher to achieve 30 wins in a season.

The hard-throwing Dean and the hard-hitting Davis seemed right for one another, but then their relationship splintered.

Tater time

Virgil Lawrence Davis was born and raised in Birmingham, Ala. He got the nickname Spud at an early age from a cousin who noted his fondness for potatoes, according to the Birmingham Post-Herald.

Sent to a military academy in Mississippi, Davis was a standout in baseball and football. According to the Post-Herald, he was offered college football scholarships, but opted for professional baseball, joining the Gulfport (Miss.) Tarpons of the Class D Cotton States League in 1926.

On the recommendation of their scout, Bob Gilks, the Yankees signed Davis in September 1926. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle rated him “the best-looking catcher in the minors.”

Placed on the big-league spring training roster, Davis was given a chance to make the leap from Class D to the 1927 Yankees. In a March 8 intrasquad game, he was the catcher on a team managed by Babe Ruth. The New York Daily News described Davis as “garrulous, a bundle of energy.”

Three weeks later, the Yankees sent Davis to a farm club, the Reading (Pa.) Keystones, managed by Fred Merkle, whose baserunning blunder prevented the 1908 Giants from winning the National League pennant.

Davis hit .308 for Reading in 1927. A rival manager, Burt Shotton of the Cardinals’ Syracuse club, was impressed. Afterward, when baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis declared Davis eligible for the minor-league draft, the Cardinals chose him on Shotton’s recommendation, the Post-Herald reported.

Contact hitter

Davis, 23, made the Opening Day roster of the 1928 Cardinals and played in two April games for them. In May, he was dealt as part of a package to the Phillies, who had hired Burt Shotton as their manager. The key player the Cardinals got in return was a shrewd, experienced catcher, Jimmie Wilson.

With Wilson as their catcher, the Cardinals won three National League pennants (1928, 1930, 1931) and a World Series title (1931).

Davis, meanwhile, developed into a fearsome hitter with the Phillies. He hit better than .300 for them in each of five consecutive seasons (1929-33). The Sporting News declared Davis “the best-hitting catcher in the National League.”

Davis ranked second in the league in both batting (.349) and on-base percentage (.395) in 1933. The league leader in both categories was his Phillies teammate Chuck Klein, who hit .368 and had a .422 on-base percentage.

Against the Cardinals in 1933, Davis hit .425 (31-for-73).

The Cardinals wanted to get Davis back because of his bat and because Jimmie Wilson was not getting along with Frankie Frisch, who had replaced Gabby Street as manager during the 1933 season, the St. Louis Star-Times reported.

So, the Wilson-for-Davis deal was made. Frisch got the catcher he wanted. The Phillies got both a catcher and a leader. Wilson became their player-manager, replacing Burt Shotton.

Time share

Davis began the 1934 season with a bang. He hit .395 in April. In consecutive games against the Reds in July, Davis totaled eight hits, seven RBI. Boxscore and Boxscore

The Cardinals’ pitching was led by the Dean brothers, Dizzy and Paul. Davis told the Post-Herald, “Paul was the fastest pitcher I ever caught. The difference between him and Diz was Dizzy had everything else _ a good curve, control, change of pace and lots of heart.”

(Davis also told the Birmingham newspaper that the Cardinals’ Bill Hallahan “was the best money pitcher I ever saw. If there was one game you needed, I’d take Hallahan.”)

As the 1934 season unfolded, backup catcher Bill DeLancey impressed when given chances to start. The Cardinals, in third place in the National League at the end of July, surged in August (19-11) and September (21-7) and won the pennant. DeLancey contributed, hitting .345 in August and .311 in September.

In the meantime, friction developed between Davis and Dizzy Dean. According to Dean biographer Robert Gregory in his book “Diz,” Dizzy was complaining in the clubhouse late in the season about how hard it was to keep winning without enough support from his teammates. “I ought to whip the whole bunch of you _ at the same time,” Dean ranted. Davis looked up and said, “Shut the fuck up.”

Davis hit .300 (.375 with runners in scoring position) and had an on-base percentage of .366 for the 1934 Cardinals, but Frankie Frisch decided to start DeLancey (.316 batting mark, .414 on-base percentage) at catcher in the World Series against the Tigers. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, when Frisch, who was fond of Davis, told him about the decision, Davis replied, “The hell with how I or anybody else may feel. Bill (DeLancey) has been hot. He’s winning for us. Keep him in there. The pitchers have confidence in him.”

DeLancey started all seven World Series games and the Cardinals prevailed. Davis made two pinch-hit appearances and singled both times, driving in a run. After his first hit, Davis was replaced by a pinch-runner, Dizzy Dean. On attempting to move from first to second on a grounder, Dean got conked in the right temple by a throw from shortstop Billy Rogell. “The first thing I knew, a thousand little stars and big stars was jumping around before my eyes, but I never did see no tigers,” Dean told the Post-Dispatch. Boxscore

Dissed by Dizzy

Davis and DeLancey split catching duties with the 1935 Cardinals. Davis hit .317 (.398 with runners in scoring position) and had a .386 on-base percentage. DeLancey hit .279 with an on-base mark of .369.

To Dizzy Dean, though, the choice was clear: He wanted DeLancey to be his catcher. With Dizzy on the mound, Davis dropped a pop fly in Cincinnati and called for a pitch in Brooklyn that was drilled for a home run. Dean told the Cardinals he lost faith in Davis after that. “Having confidence in a catcher, no matter how good a pitcher a fellow is, means an awful lot,” Dean wrote in a letter to Cardinals executive Branch Rickey.

(In defending Davis, Frisch told the Post-Dispatch, “Diz didn’t know Spud wasn’t calling the pitches. I was.”

Dean went public with his criticism of Davis after the 1935 season.  According to his biographer, Dean said, “I ain’t pitching no more with him back there.”

Rickey wrote to Dean, “I was utterly amazed that you would think about Davis as you do about him.”

Frisch and the team captain, shortstop Leo Durocher, rallied around Davis. Frisch called Dean’s criticism of Davis “unfair and uncalled for” and described Davis as “a great catcher,” the Star-Times reported.

Durocher told the newspaper, “Spud Davis is probably the most popular man on our ballclub. He’s the smartest catcher in the big leagues today and Dizzy overlooks all those games that Spud won for him with his hitting. Davis can catch for my money every day in the week.”

J. Roy Stockton of the Post-Dispatch noted, “The men in the dugout know that Davis is valuable. They know his stout heart.”

When Dean got to spring training, he and Davis shook hands, and, in a statement prepared for him by Rickey, Dizzy said, “Give me a ball and glove and put Davis behind the plate.”

Davis hit .273 for the 1936 Cardinals, ending a streak of seven straight seasons of .300 or better. He was sent to the Reds after the season.

Davis caught more of Dean’s games (68) than any other catcher, according to baseball-reference.com. Dean’s ERA in games with Davis as catcher was 2.87 _ better than his overall career mark of 3.02.

Hitting the best

Frankie Frisch and Spud Davis stuck together. When Frisch managed the Pirates in the 1940s, Davis was his catcher and then a coach. Davis also was a coach on Frisch’s staff when he later managed the Cubs.

In his 16 seasons as a big-league player, Davis batted .308 and produced 1,312 hits. His on-base percentage was .369. In 459 career at-bats versus the Cardinals, Davis hit .305. He batted .333 (11-for-33) against Dizzy Dean and .406 (13-for-22) against another future Hall of Famer from the Cardinals, Jesse Haines.

Asked by the Post-Herald to name the best right-handed pitcher he played with or against, Davis chose Dizzy Dean. His pick for best left-hander was Carl Hubbell of the Giants.

Davis hit .301 (41-for-133) versus Hubbell, who told the Newspaper Enterprise Association, “He’s hard to outguess. I try to make each pitch something unexpected but somehow Spud anticipates a fair number of my offerings.”

Davis explained to the Post-Herald, “I could hit a low ball well and Hubbell’s best pitch (a screwball) was low.”

Posted in Games, Hitters, Trades | 9 Comments »

Both sides now: How Bob Knight took me for a walk

November 3, 2023 by retrosimba

An encounter with Bob Knight at an NCAA Tournament showed me a side of him I hadn’t expected.

Knight’s death at 83 on Nov. 1, 2023, prompted me to reflect on my experiences with him. We didn’t know one another, but as a sports reporter in Indiana in the late 1970s and early 1980s, I got to see him up close when I covered basketball games he coached for Indiana University and attended his press conferences. He was idolized in Indiana, but I detested how he bullied and belittled others.

In March 1983, the Evansville Press sent me to Knoxville, Tenn., to cover the NCAA Mideast Regional. The Indiana Hoosiers had a third-round game there against the Kentucky Wildcats.

On the day before the game, the Hoosiers conducted a public shooting practice at Stokely Athletics Center on the University of Tennessee campus. About 300 onlookers attended.

After the light workout, about eight spectators approached Knight near the court, seeking autographs. As Knight signed, the crowd around him swelled to about 25 people. Knight kept signing and more people came out of the stands. He signed for at least 75 people and chatted with them, too.

As the group finally thinned, a man approached with his 11-year-old son and asked Knight to pose for a photo with the boy. Knight obliged.

After signing his autograph for a few more stragglers, Knight remained on the court, talking with his former assistant, Tennessee head coach Don DeVoe, and others he knew.

As Knight reached for the sports coat and tie he had draped on a chair, I approached and introduced myself. Knight was 6-foot-4 and large, and up close he seemed even bigger. I am 6-foot-3, but he seemed imposing even to me.

I asked him why he had been so accommodating to all those people.

Knight extended his right arm, wrapped it tight around my shoulder and started walking down the court, taking me along with him. I struggled to get a grip on my pen and notepad as he kept a firm lock on my shoulder.

“I remember when I was a kid trying to do that,” he said, referring to the autograph seekers. “I wanted autographs from baseball players.”

Knight was born and raised in Ohio and he was a devoted Cleveland Indians fan.

“I’d go to Cleveland and wait for the players to come out of the stadium,” he said. “One of my favorites was Cleveland second baseman Bobby Avila. One day, I saw him and asked for an autograph. He blew me off. I never forgot the feeling, and I told myself that if I ever was in a position where anyone would want my autograph someday, I wouldn’t do that to them.”

I started to ask another question, but we had reached the end of the court. Knight removed his arm from my shoulder, turned and strode toward the tunnel to the locker room.

I stood there, scribbling in my notepad, trying to make sure I had a record of what he said.

I had my exclusive and, most important of all, some insights about Bob Knight that made me understand better about everyone having different sides to them.

Posted in Games | 11 Comments »

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