RetroSimba

Buddy Bell almost joined Ozzie Smith in Cardinals’ infield

February 29, 2012 by retrosimba

(Updated: Oct. 21, 2018)

Even in the immediate afterglow of their first World Series title in 15 years, the Cardinals and manager Whitey Herzog were willing to trade significant and popular starters in order to secure another all-star for the left side of the infield.

Less than two months after winning the 1982 World Series championship, the Cardinals came close to acquiring third baseman Buddy Bell from the Rangers.

Bell would have paired with Ozzie Smith to give the Cardinals a premier third base/shortstop combination.

To acquire Bell, Herzog was willing to trade right fielder George Hendrick, third baseman Ken Oberkfell and possibly pitcher Bob Forsch.

When trade negotiations collapsed in December 1982, Herzog expressed great disappointment.

In the Dec. 20, 1982, edition of The Sporting News, St. Louis writer Rick Hummel reported the Cardinals made “a strong pitch” for Bell, “but withdrew their offer after several days of negotiating.”

Texas writer Jim Reeves confirmed the Rangers “seriously considered” trading Bell and “were close with St. Louis and Baltimore.”

Hummel reported the Cardinals offered Hendrick, Oberkfell and pitcher Steve Mura for Bell. The Cardinals also were in serious negotiations with free-agent pitcher Floyd Bannister. Hummel reported the Cardinals would have substituted Forsch for Mura if they signed Bannister.

(Bannister spurned a $4.5 million, five-year offer from the Cardinals and signed a similar contract with the White Sox. A major reason he chose the White Sox was because Dave Duncan, Bannister’s pitching coach with the Mariners, had joined the White Sox to become pitching coach for manager Tony La Russa).

In offering Hendrick, Oberkfell and Mura or Forsch for Bell, the Cardinals were offering a lot to the Rangers:

_ Hendrick led the 1982 Cardinals in home runs (19), RBI (104) and slugging percentage (.450). He hit .321 in the 1982 World Series and drove in the go-ahead run in Game 7.

_ Oberkfell batted .289 for the 1982 Cardinals and ranked third among National League third basemen in assists.

_ Forsch had 15 wins in 1982, his sixth consecutive season of double-digit victories for the Cardinals. Mura posted 12 wins in 1982.

Herzog, who perhaps valued defense above all other skills, saw an opportunity to give the Cardinals a pair of Gold Glove winners on the same side of the infield.

Bell, 31, was in his prime. At that time, he had won four Gold Glove awards (Ozzie Smith had just won his third) and Bell had been a four-time American League all-star. Bell also batted .296 with an on-base percentage of .376 in 1982.

Bell had caught the attention of Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson, who told columnist Peter Gammons that winter, “It’s only recently that I’ve come to appreciate him. I never realized how much range he has or the plays he makes.”

Herzog seemed stunned Rangers general manager Joe Klein rejected his offer for Bell.

“It’s amazing that a team can lose 100 games (Texas lost 98 in 1982) and won’t make a deal,” Herzog told The Sporting News. “I feel sorry for people in baseball who have a million-dollar investment and don’t know what to do.”

In its Dec. 6, 1982, edition, Klein had told The Sporting News, “I won’t say I wouldn’t trade Bell, but I’d have to receive an offer that would knock my socks off.”

Texas reportedly had rejected offers from the Yankees (who refused to part with pitcher Dave Righetti), Reds (who may have offered a package that included pitcher Bruce Berenyi and infielder Ron Oester) and White Sox (who offered pitcher Britt Burns after they had signed Bannister).

Three years later, July 19, 1985, the Rangers traded Bell to the Reds for outfielder Duane Walker and pitcher Jeff Russell. By then, Terry Pendleton had replaced Oberkfell at third base and the Cardinals were headed to their second pennant-winning season under Herzog.

Buddy Bell never did play for the Cardinals, but his son did. David Bell was a Cardinals infielder from 1995-98 and in 2014 he became their assistant hitting coach. On Nov. 3, 2014, the Cardinals promoted David from assistant hitting coach to bench coach. After the 2017 season, he left the Cardinals for a front office position, vice president of player development, with the Giants. On Oct. 21, 2018, David Bell was chosen to be manager of the Reds.

Previously: How the Cardinals’ trade for Ozzie Smith almost collapsed

Posted in Hitters, Trades | Leave a Comment »

The story of how Ted Simmons became a Cardinal

February 26, 2012 by retrosimba

(Updated Feb. 21, 2022)

Big-league scouts touted catcher Ted Simmons as a can’t-miss prospect. The Cardinals chose him in the first round of the 1967 amateur draft and were rewarded. In 13 seasons with the Cardinals, Simmons hit .298, compiled 2,626 total bases and had an on-base percentage of .366.

In June 1967, Simmons, 17, was a highly regarded athlete at Southfield High School in Michigan. According to Sport magazine, Simmons, a fullback, was offered football scholarships to schools such as Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Purdue.

“The pressure my senior year was intense,” Simmons told Sport. “Everyone around me was always speculating about my prospects and options as if I were a hot stock. They were all whispering in my ear and trying to pull me this way and that.”

In an article for The Sporting News, writer Jack Lang polled major-league scouts for their choices on the nation’s top 12 baseball draft prospects and Simmons ranked ninth.

Simmons told Sport, “I knew what was happening to me by around 14, 15 years old. By that time, I was already working out with the Tigers and hitting balls into the upper deck at Tiger Stadium.”

With the 10th overall choice in the first round, the Cardinals caught a break when two teams selecting ahead of them took catchers but bypassed Simmons.

The Senators, with the fifth overall selection, took Johnny Jones, a high school catcher from Tennessee. The Angels, just ahead of the Cardinals with the ninth overall pick, seemed certain to choose Simmons, but instead took Mike Nunn, a high school catcher from North Carolina.

Simmons, two months shy of his 18th birthday, had hoped to be chosen by his home state Tigers, who had the 14th pick of the first round.

After the Cardinals chose him, Simmons said, “The contract will have to be big enough to make it worthwhile for me to pass up college. I’d have to say I’d want about $50,000, although some people have told me it should be $75,000 and some say $100,000.”

Simmons ended up with the best of both. The Cardinals scout who recommended him, Mo Mozzali, signed Simmons for $50,000 and Simmons enrolled at the University of Michigan as a physical education and speech major, beginning classes in the fall of 1967.

In a 2013 interview with Cardinals Gameday Magazine, Simmons recalled, “I got first-round money, which was a ton of money then, and got my school paid for. I bought a Dodge Charger, brand-spanking new. For a poor kid from Detroit, (the money) was huge _ I mean huge _ for me and my family.”

After signing, Simmons reported to the Cardinals’ Gulf Coast League team, managed by George Kissell, in Sarasota, Fla.

On Simmons’ first day there, Kissell met with a group of players and diagrammed a relay play on a chalkboard. According to Cardinals Gameday Magazine, Kissell asked, “Does anyone know what to do or where to go here?”

When no one responded, Kissell said, “I bet Mr. Simmons knows. Mr. Simmons, why don’t you come up here and diagram the play for all of us?”

Simmons looked at the chalkboard and said, “I don’t know.”

“OK, Mr. Simmons, you can sit back down then,” Kissell said. “I’ll tell everyone where to go.”

Years later, Simmons told Cardinals Gameday Magazine, “Yes, I was the No. 1 pick, everyone knew that and I got more money, but I didn’t know anything more than anyone else in that group and George thought it was important to point that out to everyone, especially to me.”

In his debut game as a professional on July 1, 1967, Simmons, playing the outfield, hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning, lifting Sarasota to a 4-2 victory. The Sporting News reported the feat in a story headlined, “Simmons Sock Star In Opener Of Gulf Coast.”

In six games for Sarasota, Simmons batted .350 (7-for-20) with two home runs and eight RBI. That earned him a promotion to Cedar Rapids, where he hit .269 (46-for-171) before reporting to the University of Michigan.

In the book “The Ted Simmons Story,” author Jim Brosnan said a report Cedar Rapids manager Jack Krol sent to the Cardinals on Simmons suggested “wherever he plays, he’ll hit. He’s a natural. From both sides of the plate.”

Three years later, on Memorial Day weekend in 1970, Simmons took over for Joe Torre as the Cardinals’ everyday catcher. Simmons stayed in that starting role for the next decade.

Posted in Hitters, Prospects | Leave a Comment »

Stint with Boston farm helped Mike Shannon join Cards

February 23, 2012 by retrosimba

(Updated Oct. 25, 2022)

Mike Shannon almost got traded to the Red Sox before he played a game for the Cardinals.

Shannon was loaned by the Cardinals to the Red Sox organization during the summer of 1962. For a while, the Red Sox were interested in acquiring him and the Cardinals were interested in doing a deal.

Shannon began the 1962 season with the Cardinals’ Class AAA Atlanta farm club in the International League. After 31 games with Atlanta, Shannon was among the top 10 in the league in batting at .321. He also had four home runs and 15 RBI.

After that, Shannon’s production dropped. He played a total of 66 games with Atlanta and hit .260 with six homers and 28 RBI.

During the 1962 season, the Cardinals loaned Shannon to the Red Sox, who assigned him to their Class AAA Seattle farm club, managed by Johnny Pesky, in the Pacific Coast League. The move revived Shannon, who hit .311 with seven home runs and 47 RBI in 76 games for Seattle.

“The Red Sox showed some interest in him,” Cardinals manager Johnny Keane told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “We would have dealt him if we could have got what we wanted, but then the Red Sox lost interest in him.”

Overall, Shannon’s combined season statistics for Atlanta and Seattle were solid: .288 batting average, 13 home runs, 75 RBI in 142 games.

At age 23, he finally got the call to St. Louis.

In his first big-league game, on Sept. 11, 1962, at St. Louis against the Reds, Shannon, batting seventh and playing right field, went 1-for-4 in the Reds’ 6-2 victory. Shannon’s hit was one of only three the Cardinals managed against Cincinnati ace Bob Purkey.

After grounding out to second baseman Don Blasingame in the second inning, Shannon led off the fourth with a single to left. Dal Maxvill bunted Shannon to second before Purkey struck out Bob Gibson and Julian Javier. Boxscore

That was Shannon’s lone Cardinals highlight that month. After getting that first big-league hit, Shannon went 0-for-12 the rest of September before singling to left in his last at-bat of the season against Billy Pierce in the eighth inning of a 6-3 Giants victory on Sept. 26 at San Francisco. Boxscore

In 10 games for the 1962 Cardinals, Shannon hit .133 (2-for-15) with a walk and three strikeouts.

Shannon also opened the 1963 season in the minor leagues, but by mid-season in 1964 he became the Cardinals’ right fielder and played an important role in sparking them to a World Series title that year.

Converted to a third baseman for the 1967 season, Shannon was a starter for two more Cardinals pennant winners and another World Series championship team. He joined their broadcast team in 1972.

Posted in Games, Hitters | Leave a Comment »

Gary Carter and his two 5-RBI games against Cardinals

February 20, 2012 by retrosimba

Gary Carter’s most dramatic game against the Cardinals was his first with the Mets. On April 9, 1985, Carter hit a 10th-inning walkoff home run against Neil Allen, lifting the Mets to a 6-5 victory on Opening Day at New York. Boxscore

The Hall of Fame catcher played well against the Cardinals in a big-league career from 1974-92. Carter produced 30 home runs, 127 RBI and a .423 slugging percentage versus the Cardinals.

His two most outstanding games against the Cardinals were at St. Louis while he was with the Expos.

On Sept. 26, 1977, Carter went 3-for-4 with five RBI, scored twice, walked and stole a base in the Expos’ 9-5 victory. It marked the first time Carter, 23, had driven in five runs in a big-league game.

The big blow was Carter’s two-out, three-run home run in the seventh inning off starter Eric Rasmussen, snapping a 2-2 tie. In the ninth, after St. Louis had rallied to tie the score 5-5, Carter hit a two-run single to left off Al Hrabosky and scored on a sacrifice fly, keying a four-run Expos uprising. Boxscore

Three years later, May 31, 1980, Carter delivered another five-RBI performance at St. Louis. He was 4-for-4 with two home runs (including an inside-the-park homer) with three runs scored, but the Cardinals won, 8-6.

Batting in the cleanup spot for the first time that season, Carter blooped a ball into left-center field against Bob Forsch in the sixth. As left fielder Dane Iorg and center fielder Tony Scott chased after it, “Iorg threw a cross block on Scott that would have done any football linebacker proud,” the Montreal Gazette reported. “Scott went down in a heap and stayed there. Iorg recovered, but it was shortstop Garry Templeton who eventually tracked the ball down on the warning track as Carter circled the bases.”

It was the second and last inside-the-park home run of Carter’s big-league career.

“We were both looking at the ball,” Iorg said. “I certainly didn’t see Tony and I’m sure he didn’t see me.”

A two-run homer off Pete Vuckovich in the seventh capped Carter’s outstanding evening. Boxscore

Previously: Cardinals were victims of historic homers by Gil Hodges

Posted in Games, Opponents | 1 Comment »

Hank Aaron and the home run that wasn’t vs. Cardinals

February 17, 2012 by retrosimba

(Updated Feb. 20, 2023)

Hank Aaron could have added to his home run total if not for an unusual call in a game against the Cardinals.

Aaron, who would break Babe Ruth’s career home run record of 714 in 1974 and finish with 755, hit a home run against the Cardinals in 1965 that didn’t count toward his total.

On Aug. 18, 1965, at St. Louis, Aaron came to bat for the Braves against Cardinals starter Curt Simmons with the score tied 3-3 in the eighth.

In his autobiography, “I Had a Hammer,” Aaron said, “I always had difficulty with Curt Simmons because he would put the ball behind his back and then pound his leg with his glove. You never knew where the ball was coming from. Simmons used to drive me crazy with his herky-jerky delivery and his floating change of pace.”

In the 1965 game, Simmons teased Aaron with a changeup so high and so slow it seemed much like a blooper pitch. “I double-hitched my swing,” Aaron said in his book, “and took a big step up to meet the ball.”

Aaron lifted a high fly ball onto the pavilion roof in right for an apparent go-ahead home run.

Instead, Aaron was called out by plate umpire Chris Pelekoudas for being out of the batter’s box when he connected with the ball, nullifying the home run. Pelekoudas, in his sixth season as a National League umpire, ruled Aaron’s left foot was in front of the batter’s box.

“It’s the worst call I’ve ever seen,” Aaron said to the Associated Press. “I did the same thing the time before and popped up, and he (Pelekoudas) didn’t say a word. I always hit Simmons that way.”

Braves manager Bobby Bragan argued with the umpire and was ejected.

“It was either a grudge call, or he wanted to get his name in the paper,” Bragan said. “I’ve never seen such a call.”

Said Pelekoudas: “Bragan’s protest was strictly on judgment. His only argument was about a grudge _ and that is stupid. I didn’t hesitate in making the call.”

Cardinals catcher Tim McCarver said Aaron stepped out of the box and, “I expected (Pelekoudas) to call it.”

Cardinals coach Joe Schultz told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “You’ve got to give the umpire credit for having the nerve to call it.”

Aaron said in his book, ‘I won’t swear to you that I didn’t step over the line of the batter’s box, but it was nothing that I or other hitters hadn’t done before.”

Cardinals backup catcher Bob Uecker wasn’t in the game, but years later, in July 1973, he claimed to the Boston Globe and the Associated Press that he “pointed out Aaron’s cleat marks” to Pelekoudas. “It was one of the few occasions I’ve seen Aaron blow his stack,” Uecker said to the Associated Press.

In his 1982 book “Catcher in the Wry,” Uecker told another version. “I had to tell Henry the truth. It wasn’t me,” Uecker said. “Tim McCarver was the catcher who took the homer away from him, but it was the sort of thing I would have been proud to do.”

In the ninth, with Ray Washburn pitching in relief of Simmons, the Braves sent Don Dillard to pinch-hit with a runner on base and two outs. Dillard delivered a home run _ the last of his big-league career.

In a fitting twist, the Cardinals argued the ball hit by Dillard didn’t clear the wall and shouldn’t have been ruled a home run, but the Cardinals lost that argument and the game, 5-3. Boxscore

Umpire Bill Jackowski said the ball hit the top of the wall, caromed off a fan in the stands and bounced back onto the field.

The Post-Dispatch reported the ball Dillard hit “came straight down and hit the outfield wall padding before bouncing onto the field.”

“I came very close to catching the ball,” Cardinals center fielder Curt Flood said to the Post-Dispatch. “I thought it was a big can of corn. There was no way for the ball to come down the way it did if a fan had touched the ball.”

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers | 25 Comments »

How Topps finally got Stan Musial on its baseball cards

February 14, 2012 by retrosimba

(Updated May 7, 2025)

So you think showing a squirrel on a Skip Schumaker Topps baseball card is controversial? How about printing baseball cards for seven years from 1951-57 and never offering a Stan Musial baseball card?

In the first series of its 2012 baseball card set, Topps printed two cards of St. Louis utilityman Skip Schumaker. The common card shows an image of Schumaker sliding. The other card, which has been released in limited supply (driving up demand and price), shows only Schumaker’s shoe as the so-called “rally squirrel” dashes across home plate.

Critics call the squirrel card dumb. Supporters find it fun. For Topps, the card has created publicity.

It may be the most controversy associated with Topps and the Cardinals since its seven-year absence without Musial.

Topps began printing baseball cards in 1951 when Musial was 30 and near the peak of his Hall of Fame career. Musial had a contract to appear on baseball cards produced by a rival company, Bowman.

Bowman produced Stan Musial cards in 1952 and 1953.

For the next four years (1954-57), Musial didn’t appear on any baseball card, even though he may have been the most popular player in the game.

In a 2001 interview with USA Today on the 50th anniversary of Topps baseball cards, Topps executive Sy Berger said Musial “just didn’t want to sign (a contract) for cards.”

The breakthrough came in time for Topps’ 1958 set. Berger said Cardinals owner Gussie Busch was raising money for charity. Berger said Topps offered to donate $1,500 to the non-profit of Busch’s choice if Musial would agree to sign a Topps contract to appear on a 1958 baseball card. Musial did.

(In the book “Musial: From Stash to Stan the Man,” author James N. Giglio claims “insufficient compensation” was the reason Musial didn’t sign with Topps until 1958.)

“Every year after that, Musial told us that he didn’t want the license fee, but would sign a contract in exchange for us making a similar donation to a charity of his choice,” Berger told Cardinals Yearbook in 2001. “That was how Musial ended up on Topps cards.”

Musial continues to be featured on Topps baseball cards today.

When Topps issued its first baseball cards in 1951, the look and feel were more like a deck of playing cards, or game cards for a baseball board game.

The 1951 cards came in two styles: with red backs and with blue backs. The front of the cards featured a player’s face bordered by a baseball diamond. The backs of the cards were colored either red or blue and offered no statistical information.

The red backs and blue backs were issued at the same time.

Two Cardinals _ pitcher Howie Pollet and outfielder Tommy Glaviano _ were part of the red backs. Six Cardinals _ pitchers Gerry Staley, Red Munger and Harry Breechen; second baseman Red Schoendienst; outfielder Enos Slaughter; and third baseman Billy Johnson _ were part of the blue backs.

The series had 52 red back and 52 blue back cards. There also were special-feature team cards and all-star cards. These included a Cardinals team card and an all-star card of retired Cardinals pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander.

In 1952, Topps issued a 407-card set that is the prototype for the traditional baseball card, with statistics on the back and designed images of players on the front.

The first Cardinal to appear in the 1952 set was catcher Johnny Bucha (card No. 19). Bucha played in a total of 24 games for the Cardinals over two seasons (1948 and 1950) but didn’t play in any games for St. Louis in 1952.

Previously: The story behind Stan Musial’s $100,000 contract

Posted in Hitters, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

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