RetroSimba

Top 10 facts about 1987 National League champion Cardinals

January 20, 2012 by retrosimba

(Updated June 9, 2024)

One of the most remarkable teams in St. Louis history was the 1987 Cardinals.

Managed by Whitey Herzog, the 1987 Cardinals overcame adversity and several back-to-the-wall predicaments to finish 95-67 (three games ahead of the favored Mets in the National League East). The Cardinals then won the pennant by beating the Giants in the League Championship Series and got to Game 7 of the World Series before losing to the champion Twins.

In his book “Mookie,” Mets center fielder Mookie Wilson said, “I loved the Cardinals’ style of play. They were so aggressive, always running on the bases until there was no place else to go … It was an exciting brand of baseball. I always believed that I could have fit in well with that club because I liked running when there were no rules or boundaries.”

The Cardinals started the season with an injury to their top starting pitcher, John Tudor, who suffered a broken kneecap in the dugout when Mets catcher Barry Lyons crashed into him while chasing a pop fly Boxscore, and ended the season without their top slugger, first baseman Jack Clark, who was limited to one postseason at-bat after tearing a tendon in his ankle in a game at Montreal Sept. 9. Boxscore

Two nights after the injury to Clark, the Cardinals were at Shea Stadium to open a three-game series against the second-place Mets, who had moved to within 1.5 games of St. Louis in the NL East standings.

In the ninth, the Mets led 4-1 and were within a strike of getting within a half-game of St. Louis, but Willie McGee delivered a two-out, two-strike RBI-single and Terry Pendleton followed with a two-run home run off Roger McDowell, tying the score. The Cardinals scored twice in the 10th to win, 6-4, stunning the Mets and building their lead to 2.5 games. Boxscore

After clinching the division title Oct. 1 with an 8-2 victory over the Expos at St. Louis, Herzog told the Associated Press, “We could’ve folded when we lost Jack, but we didn’t. The Mets talk about adversity, but we really had it.” Boxscore

In the best-of-seven NL Championship Series, the Giants won three of the first five (on the strength of four Jeffrey Leonard home runs) before the Cardinals won Game 6, 1-0, behind Tudor and two relievers Boxscore and Game 7, 6-0, on a Danny Cox masterpiece. Boxscore

The Cardinals won three of the first five in the World Series against the Twins and held leads in Game 6 (5-2 in the fifth inning) and in Game 7 (2-1 after four) before losing both at Minnesota.

“I look back on that as the biggest miracle year _ the 1987 team,” Herzog said to Cardinals Magazine. “No one even gave us a chance … That was the first year of the juiced-up baseball _ and I didn’t have much juice on that team.”

In honor of this resilient team, here are 10 top facts about the 1987 Cardinals:

1. Shortstop Ozzie Smith led the team in hitting, with a .303 batting average _ the only time he hit .300 or better in a season during his 19-year major-league career.

2. Clark had 57 fewer hits than McGee (120 to 177), but finished with one more RBI (106 to 105).

3. Clark drew 136 walks in 131 games. Mark McGwire (with 162 in 155 games in 1998) is the only Cardinal with more walks in a season.

4. Left fielder Vince Coleman was first in the NL in steals (109), second in runs (121) and second in singles (153).

5. With 35, Clark was the only Cardinal to hit more than 12 home runs.

6. Cardinals hitters were remarkably consistent. They batted .264 at home and .263 on the road.

7. Four Cardinals pitchers posted double-digit win totals, but none won more than 11: Cox (11-9), Greg Mathews (11-11), Bob Forsch (11-7) and Tudor (10-2).

8. Pendleton produced 96 RBI, the most in his seven years with the Cardinals and 22 more than his next-best total for St. Louis.

9. McGee had 37 doubles, 11 triples, 11 home runs and 105 RBI, but also grounded into a league-leading 24 double plays.

10. Catcher Tony Pena, who hit .214 in the regular season, hit .381 (8-for-21) in the NL Championship Series and .409 (9-for-22) in the World Series.

Previously: Sweep of Dodgers gives Cardinals a link to 1987

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers | 3 Comments »

An interview with former Cardinals pitcher Al Jackson

January 16, 2012 by retrosimba

Al Jackson, acquired in the trade that sent Ken Boyer to the Mets, had a positive impact on the Cardinals. In his two seasons with them, Jackson, a left-handed pitcher, helped the Cardinals to a World Series title, ranked among the National League’s elite in earned run average, pitched a one-hitter and posted an overall record of 22-19 with a 2.97 ERA.

On the afternoon of Jan. 13, 2012, I interviewed Jackson, 76, at the New York Mets’ spring training facility in Port St. Lucie, Fla. He was gracious with his time and thoughtful with his answers.

That tape-recorded interview is presented here:

Q: In 1964, the Cardinals went into the final three-game series of the season against the Mets, looking to clinch the pennant. In Game 1, the Cardinals started Bob Gibson and you started for the Mets. You beat Gibson and the Cardinals, 1-0, on a five-hitter, delaying the Cardinals’ clinching until the final day of the season. What do you recall about that game? Boxscore

Al Jackson: I was supposed to pitch the night before that in Milwaukee. And Casey (manager Casey Stengel) came to me and said, “They think we’re going to lie down in St. Louis. Why don’t you pitch the Friday night in St. Louis instead of Thursday in Milwaukee.” I said, “No problem.”

Q: Did you leave the Cardinals and their fans a little shaken by your performance?

Al Jackson: We were about 59 games out of first place. But no baseball game is a pushover. When we came into St. Louis, there were banners all over the town saying, “We’re going to the championship.” With us being so far out and such a poor club, they thought it would be a little easier than it was.

Q: In October 1965, the Mets trade you and third baseman Charlie Smith to the Cardinals for Ken Boyer. Many Cardinals fans were upset Boyer was traded. What was your reaction to the deal?

Al Jackson: The Mets were a losing ballclub. The Cardinals were a better ballclub. I loved New York, but I had been with a losing ballclub for four years. So I thought going over there (to St. Louis) would be the greatest thing _ which it was, because it ended up that the next year we won the World Series.

Q: Last month, Ron Santo was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by a veterans committee. Boyer again was a candidate but wasn’t elected. Does Boyer deserve election to the Hall of Fame?

Al Jackson: No doubt about it. He should have been elected the first time around on that (writers) ballot.

Q: In 1966, your first season with the Cardinals, you won 13 and had an ERA of 2.51. Your ERA was sixth-best in the National League. The five ahead of you: Sandy Koufax, Mike Cuellar, Juan Marichal, Jim Bunning and Bob Gibson. Was it your best season in the big leagues?

Al Jackson: Yes. I was really consistent all year, even though I didn’t start the first month.

Q: Was your ability to throw the sinker a difference-maker that year?

Al Jackson: That was my main pitch. I wasn’t a strikeout pitcher. I was a groundball pitcher. It took me a long time to get there, for the simple reason that I didn’t know how. I was told when I got to the Mets (in 1962), “You have to get the ball down.” But they didn’t tell me how. Through trial and error, I found out.

Q: In May 1966, the Cardinals traded Ray Sadecki to the Giants, opening a spot in the rotation for you. In your first start for the Cardinals, May 13 at St. Louis, you pitched a six-hit shutout, beating the Braves, 8-0. You also had a two-run double and a sacrifice fly for a career-high 3 RBI. Which was more satisfying: pitching the shutout or getting the 3 RBI? Boxscore

Al Jackson: Red (manager Red Schoendienst) talked all the time about how I stayed in shape. So even though I didn’t have a chance to start a game during the first month of the season, I was ready.

I was taught all the time that I wasn’t just a pitcher. I was a ballplayer. If you’re a ballplayer, you’re going to do more than just one thing. I was a pretty decent hitter. I could run. And I took pride in it.

Gibson and I had a bet. Before the season, we bet which one of us would have the most home runs, best batting average and most stolen bases. In June, he led in home runs. I led in batting average. We were in Atlanta, and I got on base. Gibson and I were tied in stolen bases. And he’s hollering from the dugout, “He’ll steal. He’ll steal.” The first baseman (Joe Torre) was standing behind me, not holding me on. Gibson yells louder, “He’ll steal.” I stole the base and Gibson went off, “I told you he would steal.” Boxscore

Q: Tell us more about Gibson …

Al Jackson: Great competitor. In all the years we played against one another, he didn’t fraternize. Neither did I. When I was with the Mets, before games he would run down the right-field line and I would run down the left-field line and our paths would cross in the outfield, but we never did speak to one another. We didn’t speak to each other until I came to the Cardinals. That was the mindset guys had then.

Q: Steve Carlton was on that ’66 Cardinals club, too. What was he like as a 22-year-old rookie?

Al Jackson: He had great stuff and he caught on fast, because he was kind of rushed to the big leagues.

Q: You began the 1967 season in the Cardinals’ rotation and in April pitched a one-hit shutout, beating the Astros, 4-0, in Houston. Bob Aspromonte broke up the no-hitter with a leadoff single in the eighth. Do you recall what happened? Boxscore

Al Jackson: Yes, I do _ big-time. It wasn’t so much the no-hitter. I just wanted to maintain the stuff that I had that night, the control that I had. I wasn’t throwing as good as I was earlier in the game but I also knew that when I got a little tired, I was a better pitcher because I could keep the ball down. Against Aspromonte, I got the groundball I wanted. The pitch may have been down the middle because it was hit in the hole between short and third. If I had thrown it a little further away, the ball may have gone to the shortstop. I wasn’t worried about losing the game. I just wanted to stay on top of mine.

I also had pitched a one-hitter with the Mets against Houston. Joe Amalfitano got the hit. Boxscore Later, I was asked to speak at a dinner in New York. I began by saying I disliked Italians. The room was full of Italians and they looked at me like I was crazy. Then I had to explain: the two guys who broke up my no-hitters are named Amalfitano and Aspromonte. It got a laugh.

Q: After two months of the ’67 season, the Cardinals moved you from the rotation to the bullpen. Why?

Al Jackson: I got into a bad funk. I wasn’t getting people out as a starter. Everyone else was pitching well. I had pitched a little out of the bullpen the year before. And they needed another left-hander in the bullpen. I didn’t know how it was going to work out, but it did.

Q: You were 9-4 that year for the National League champions …

Al Jackson: I thought I really helped that club. That was an enjoyment for me.

Q: Why didn’t you get an opportunity to pitch in the World Series against the Red Sox?

Al Jackson: I never did ask Red (Schoendienst) about it. I found out earlier that in the middle of the season I already was traded back to the Mets when the Cardinals got Jack Lamabe for a player to be named later. The Mets told the Cardinals they could keep me until the end of the season. That was the deal that they had.

Q: And, sure enough, when the World Series ended, you were sent to the Mets. What was your reaction?

Al Jackson: I always thought when a man has a job at home it’s the best job he could have. I lived in New York. I hated to leave the Cardinals, but I was going home.

Q: I’m going to mention four names and ask you to give your immediate reaction to each. Lou Brock …

Al Jackson: Lou turned out to be one heck of a player. I saw him earlier, with the Cubs, and he wasn’t that good. I know the talent was there, but it wasn’t until he got to the Cardinals that things started to happen for him. And then he mastered the thing.

Q: Orlando Cepeda …

Al Jackson: What a clutch player. When he got base hits, when he drove in runs, they were big. He was really the catalyst of our ballclub.

Q: Roger Maris …

Al Jackson: Roger was a pro. When he came to the Cardinals, he just made that lineup so good. He just fit right in. I think we were really missing that left-handed bat.

Q: Curt Flood …

Al Jackson: Great defensive player. He was a great hitter, too. Here was a man who got 200 hits every year. But asking about Flood reminds me of when I was still pitching for the Mets and we were playing the Cardinals in the Polo Grounds. I had a one-run lead in the ninth inning. There were two outs (and a runner on first base) and here comes Stan Musial to pinch-hit.

I always said, “My momma didn’t raise no fool.” Flood was due up after Musial. And as good a hitter as Flood was, I thought about how years back, (pitcher) Harvey Haddix had told me how dangerous this man Musial was in the clutch. And so I said to myself, “I got a one-run lead in the ninth inning. This man is not going to beat me.” I threw four pitches outside and he went on to first base. I got the next man, Flood, to ground out. Game over. Boxscore

Q: Musial was 4-for-5 in his career against you. He batted .800 against you. You were smart to put him on with the walk …

Al Jackson: I’m glad I had a place to put him. I was asked after the game, “Why would you walk him? He’s a left-handed hitter.” I said, “Why? That’s Musial.” Just look at his record. He’s known for beating teams. And here I am in that small ballpark _ just 250 feet down both lines. I know he can hit for power down both lines. And I never thought about striking him out. That wasn’t on my mind at all.

Previously: An interview with Bill White

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Dyar Miller showed loyalty to Cardinals

January 8, 2012 by retrosimba

(Updated April 17, 2022)

As both a pitcher and as a coach, Dyar Miller displayed patience and determination in achieving his goals.

Miller was a Cardinals minor-league coach or instructor for 19 seasons _ from 1985-86 and from 1995-2011.

After all those years of service, he got his first chance to be a Cardinals big-league coach in 2012.

When Derek Lilliquist was promoted from St. Louis bullpen coach to pitching coach Jan. 6, 2012, replacing Dave Duncan, who resigned to tend to his ailing wife, Miller was promoted from Cardinals minor-league pitching coordinator to St. Louis bullpen coach.

“It’s always nice to reward people, but this is not a gift,” farm director John Vuch told Cardinals Magazine. “Dyar has earned the opportunity. We’ve got a lot of people who have been in the organization for a long time, but you don’t put a guy in that role just because he’s been here for a long time. You do it because he’s the best fit and has something to offer.”

Miller’s final years as a professional player were with the Cardinals’ Class AAA Louisville team from 1982-84. Louisville’s manager in 1983 and 1984 was Jim Fregosi, who had managed Miller with the big-league Angels in 1978 and 1979.

After retiring as a player, Miller coached in the Cardinals’ system at Class AA Arkansas (1985) under manager Jim Riggleman and at Louisville (1986) under Fregosi.

“I always liked his mental and physical toughness,” Fregosi told Cardinals Magazine.

In June 1986, Fregosi left Louisville to replace Tony La Russa as manager of the White Sox. In 1987, Fregosi hired Miller as Chicago’s bullpen coach. Miller was bullpen coach for the White Sox again in 1988 and also served most of that season as the interim replacement for ailing pitching coach Don Rowe.

After Fregosi was fired following the 1988 season, Miller coached in the Tigers’ system (1989-90) and the Indians’ system (1991-94) before returning to the Cardinals’ organization as pitching coach at Louisville (1995-96) under manager Joe Pettini.

From 1997-2000, Miller was the Cardinals’ roving minor-league pitching instructor. He was pitching coach for the Cardinals’ Class AAA Memphis club from 2001-2007, then Cardinals minor-league pitching coordinator from 2008-2011.

He spent the 2012 season as bullpen coach of the big-league Cardinals under manager Mike Matheny and then was replaced by Blaise Ilsley.

Miller joined the Astros’ organization as a minor-league coach in 2013.

As a player, Miller persevered to reach the major leagues as much as he did as a coach.

A graduate of Utah State with a bachelor of science degree as a history major, Miller went unchosen in the amateur draft and signed with the Phillies as a catcher in July 1968. After four games and seven at-bats with Class A Huron, managed by Dallas Green, Miller was released by the Phillies.

Undaunted, he transformed himself into a pitcher and was signed by the Orioles in 1969. Miller, a right-hander, spent six seasons in the Orioles’ system, mostly as a starting pitcher.

In 1975, nearing his 29th birthday, Miller went to spring training with the Orioles, figuring it likely was his last chance to make the big-league roster. Rising to the challenge, Miller posted the best ERA among Orioles pitchers in spring exhibition games. So it was crushing when Baltimore manager Earl Weaver informed him he was being sent to Class AAA Rochester to open the 1975 season.

Weaver told Miller the Orioles had tried to trade him to a major-league club rather than return him to the minors, but there weren’t any takers.

“He had earned a chance to pitch in the big leagues, but we couldn’t find anybody who’d give him a shot,” Weaver told The Sporting News.

Angered and hurt, Miller lashed out at Weaver. “I was burning,” he recalled to Cardinals Magazine. Weaver told The Sporting News he understood Miller’s response and didn’t hold it against him.

“It brought tears to my eyes. It really did,” Weaver said. “I felt sorry for the guy. To be honest with you, I didn’t know if he’d ever get another chance to do what he had done.”

Miller reported to Rochester and was converted to a reliever. Relying on a slider he learned while playing winter baseball in Mexico, he excelled in the role, posting a 5-0 record, 2.20 ERA and seven saves in 19 games. In June, he was called up to the Orioles. After taking the loss in his big-league debut against the Athletics (the Orioles’ catcher that night: Dave Duncan) Boxscore, Miller enjoyed a stellar rookie season for Baltimore, compiling a 6-3 record, 2.72 ERA and eight saves.

Miller pitched in the big leagues from 1975-81 for the Orioles, Angels, Blue Jays and Mets, finishing with a 23-17 record, 3.23 ERA and 22 saves in 251 games.

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Six switch-hitters equal zero runs for Cardinals

December 31, 2011 by retrosimba

(Updated March 22, 2026)

On July 8, 1988, at San Francisco, the Cardinals featured a batting order with six switch-hitters: first baseman Jose Oquendo, second baseman Luis Alicea, shortstop Ozzie Smith, third baseman Terry Pendleton, left fielder Vince Coleman and center fielder Willie McGee. Catcher Tony Pena, right fielder Tom Brunansky and pitcher Joe Magrane batted right-handed.

Stacking the batting order with switch-hitters didn’t work for manager Whitey Herzog that night, though. Giants right-hander Mike LaCoss pitched a four-hitter in San Francisco’s 1-0 victory. Boxscore

For LaCoss, it was his only shutout of the season and the last of his big-league career. Three of the Cardinals’ hits were singles by switch-hitters Alicea, McGee and Oquendo.

LaCoss “was getting his curveball in on the first pitch,” catcher Bob Melvin told the San Francisco Examiner. “When you are able to throw a strike on the first pitch with a breaking ball, that means you’ve got a lot of room to work from there with your other pitches.”

Mixing in fastballs, split-fingered pitches and changeups, LaCoss never topped 92 mph on the radar gun.

“I don’t think he threw a fastball right over the middle of the plate all night,” Melvin told the Peninsula Times Tribune. “He was hitting the corners with it and keeping the breaking ball down.”

With a cold wind blowing through Candlestick Park and a fog rolling in, it was a “perfect LaCoss night,” the Examiner noted.

“Clubs don’t like to come in and play under these conditions,” LaCoss said to the newspaper. “The wind blows in the hitters’ faces and their eyes start to water. If it’s windy and cool, I feel like I have an advantage. When you know what you’re doing and have some luck, you can make the ball move more.”

St. Louis’ switching-hitting infield that night was reminiscent of the 1965 Dodgers, who also started four switch-hitting infielders _ first baseman Wes Parker, second baseman Jim Lefebvre, shortstop Maury Wills and third baseman Jim Gilliam _ in the World Series against the Twins. Boxscore

In 1993, the Mets opened the season with six switch-hitters in their lineup: catcher Todd Hundley, first baseman Eddie Murray, shortstop Tony Fernandez, third baseman Howard Johnson, left fielder Vince Coleman and right fielder Bobby Bonilla. Boxscore

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Cardinals were victims of historic homers by Gil Hodges

December 26, 2011 by retrosimba

Gil Hodges hit two of the most important home runs of his career against the Cardinals.

Hodges, a first baseman, played 18 seasons in the big leagues with the Dodgers and Mets.

He was one of the greatest right-handed home run sluggers in the National League in the 1950s, and an outstanding defensive first baseman.

Hodges had more career RBI (190) against the Cardinals than he did against any other team. His 57 career home runs against the Cardinals rank only behind the 58 he hit against the Cubs.

In 1962, as a member of the expansion Mets, Hodges hit a pair of historic home runs against St. Louis.

On April 11, 1962, Hodges hit the first regular-season home run in Mets history. The solo shot leading off the fourth inning against Cardinals starter Larry Jackson was Hodges’ 362nd of his career and moved him ahead of Joe DiMaggio for 11th place on big-league baseball’s all-time list. The Cardinals won, 11-4, at St. Louis in the Mets’ first regular-season game. Boxscore

Almost three months later, July 6, 1962, Hodges hit the 370th and last home run of his big-league career. The solo blast off Ray Sadecki with one out in the second moved Hodges into 10th place on big-league baseball’s all-time list, ahead of Ralph Kiner, and solidified Hodges’ hold on the record (since broken) for most National League home runs by a right-handed batter. The Mets, who had lost nine of their previous 11, beat the Cardinals, 10-3, at New York. Boxscore

With the Dodgers, Hodges three times produced five RBI in a game against the Cardinals. The most important of those was the first.

On Sept. 22, 1949, the Cardinals clung to a 1.5-game lead over the second-place Dodgers heading into the finale of a three-game series with Brooklyn at St. Louis. Hodges delivered three singles, a walk and five RBI, carrying the Dodgers to a 19-6 victory and cutting the Cardinals’ lead to a half-game. Boxscore

Hodges had two-run singles off Ted Wilks in the fourth and fifth innings, and drew a bases-loaded walk against Ken Johnson in the sixth.

Brooklyn took over first place on Sept. 29 and went on to win the pennant, finishing a game ahead of the Cardinals, who had 96 wins.

In his book “Stan Musial: The Man’s Own Story,” Musial expressed his admiration for Hodges as a fielder as well as a slugger.

“Gil Hodges was a remarkable first baseman,” Musial said. “If Hodges had been left-handed, he might have been remembered as the most efficient first baseman ever … The quick-handed, good-natured big guy revolutionized bunt defense. Fact is, the Dodgers as a team popularized the pressure-charging defense that makes sacrificing difficult …

“For his blacksmith build, Gil was quick and had lightning-like hands … A gentle big guy who could really hit the long ball.”

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents | 3 Comments »

Ozzie Smith cheered Barry Larkin’s best personal feat

December 21, 2011 by retrosimba

(Updated Sept. 25, 2016)

Barry Larkin played shortstop with distinction for the Reds from 1986-2004, but for most of the first half of his career he was overshadowed by the Cardinals’ Ozzie Smith.

In a classy twist, Smith witnessed and cheered Larkin’s greatest individual feat on a baseball field.

Smith won the Gold Glove Award among National League shortstops in each of Larkin’s first seven seasons in the major leagues, including 1990, when Larkin helped lead Cincinnati to its most recent World Series championship.

Larkin didn’t win the first of his three Gold Glove awards until 1994, the year Smith turned 40. Smith, who won the Gold Glove Award 13 times, was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002.

In 2012, it was Larkin’s turn.

Larkin, 1995 winner of the NL MVP Award, had 2,340 hits and a .295 career batting average.

Larkin had several memorable performances against the Cardinals, including a pinch-hit grand slam off reliever Steve Kline in St. Louis’ 11-10 victory over the Reds on July 28, 2004, at Cincinnati. Boxscore

Larkin’s greatest moment against the Cardinals occurred in the first game of a Sunday afternoon doubleheader on Sept. 22, 1996, at Cincinnati.

In the fifth inning, with St. Louis ahead 3-1, Larkin launched a home run, his 30th of the season, over the left-field wall against starter Donovan Osborne. With that solo shot, Larkin became the first shortstop in major-league history to achieve 30 homers and 30 stolen bases in a season.

As he rounded first base, Larkin thrust both fists in the air in jubilation. Smith, positioned at shortstop for the Cardinals, hollered his congratulations as Larkin trotted past him.

Asked afterward to assess Larkin’s feat, Smith told the Associated Press, “It gives him his own spot in history. It’s a great accomplishment.”

Larkin became the 17th player in big-league history to achieve 30 homers and 30 steals in a season. Fifteen were outfielders and the other, Howard Johnson of the Mets, was a third baseman.

Larkin finished the 1996 season with 33 homers and 36 steals. He would achieve the steals standard again (with 30 in 1999, his fifth season of 30 or more steals), but he never came close to matching 30 homers.

Previously: Ken Boyer belongs in Hall of Fame

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Records | 2 Comments »

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