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St. Louis loomed large in career of J.W. Porter

October 27, 2020 by retrosimba

J.W. Porter began his major-league career with the St. Louis Browns and ended it with the St. Louis Cardinals.

He was a highly regarded prospect who experienced personal tragedy soon after he got to the majors.

Primarily a catcher, Porter spent six seasons in the big leagues and played for the Browns (1952), Tigers (1955-57), Indians (1958), Senators (1959) and Cardinals (1959).

Prime prospect

When Porter was born in Shawnee, Okla., in 1933, his father wanted to name him James William and his mother preferred initials, so they settled on J.W., according to the Society for American Baseball Research.

The family moved to California when Porter was 10 and he became a standout youth baseball player in Oakland. One of his American Legion teammates was Frank Robinson, who was two years younger than Porter. “Frank always could hit hard,” Porter told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “We all knew he would become a great ballplayer.”

Pro scouts expected the same from Porter. He was a strong-armed catcher and a right-handed batter who hit for power. With red hair, freckles and green eyes, Porter resembled Red Schoendienst or Huckleberry Finn, the Post-Dispatch noted.

White Sox scout Hollis Thurston told the Saturday Evening Post, “I’m so sold on him that I’m willing to say without reservation that if he doesn’t make stardom then I see no point in the whole scouting system. Porter is just one of those naturals.”

Before the 1951 baseball season, Porter signed with the White Sox for $65,000, but he never would play a game for them in the majors.

Brought to Browns

In 1952, Porter was with the White Sox’s farm club in Colorado Springs and learning to play outfield. The manager was Don Gutteridge, former infielder for the Cardinals and Browns. Gutteridge told the Post-Dispatch, “I have one outfielder who can’t miss. He’s certain to be playing big-league ball. His name is J.W. Porter.”

On July 28, 1952, Porter, batting .340 for Colorado Springs, was traded by the White Sox to the Browns with Ray Coleman for Jim Rivera and Darrell Johnson.

Two days later, on July 30, 1952, at St. Louis, Porter made his big-league debut. Pinch-hitting against the Senators’ Bob Porterfield, Porter was called out on strikes. Boxscore

After the game, Porter, 19, spoke by phone with his wife of seven months, Patricia, 18, who had stayed in Colorado Springs after Porter got traded. Patricia’s father, Walter Singleton, had joined her, and together they planned to drive home to Oakland while Porter played out the season. According to the Post-Dispatch, Patricia was pregnant.

Devastating deaths

The next day, July 31, 1952, Patricia and her father were beginning their journey to Oakland when they were killed in a head-on car crash near Gunnison, Colo. Porter learned of the deaths from Browns owner Bill Veeck.

Devastated, Porter, accompanied by Browns assistant trainer Bob Spackman, returned home to Oakland, The Sporting News reported.

“I hope the boy will be able to shake off the terrible shock,” Veeck said to the Post-Dispatch. “He’s at liberty to take all the time he wants to take care of his affairs at home.”

After the funerals, Porter rejoined the Browns. He was a pinch-hitter against the Indians on Aug. 9, and started in left field versus the White Sox on Aug. 12.

“Porter may make it, but he’s too young to be counted right now as anything but a good prospect,” Browns manager Marty Marion told the Post-Dispatch.

“I’ve hit Porter a lot of fungoes during the brief spell he’s been with the club and I can’t say he’s a good outfielder, but he has the physical requirements,” Marion said. “He can run well, he has a strong arm and practice should develop his defensive play. As a hitter, he looks great. He has a fine, natural swing, good power and apparently sharp eyes.”

Porter made 24 starts in center field for the 1952 Browns and hit .250 for them. He had a four-hit game against the Senators on Aug. 19. Boxscore

After the season, it was learned Porter would be drafted into the Army. Soon after, on Dec. 4, 1952, the Browns traded Porter, Bob Nieman and Owen Friend to the Tigers for Virgil Trucks, Johnny Groth and Hal White.

“I hate to lose title to Porter, who is a fine prospect,” Veeck told the Post-Dispatch, “but he’s 19 years old and headed for two years in the armed services and the Browns can’t wait for him to be available again.”

Reserve role

Porter was inducted into the Army in February 1953 and he remarried in 1954. After a two-year Army hitch, Porter reported to Tigers spring training in 1955. When Ferris Fain got hurt, Porter became the Opening Day first baseman for the 1955 Tigers. Boxscore

Mostly, though, Porter filled a utility role for the rest of his career.

His first major-league home run was hit in June 1957 against the Yankees’ Don Larsen. Boxscore

In May 1958, when he was with the Indians, Porter batted for Roger Maris and hit a home run versus the Orioles. Boxscore.

Cards come calling

Porter began the 1959 season as the backup catcher for the Senators. On July 25, 1959, the Cardinals acquired him on waivers to be the backup to starting catcher Hal Smith.

Porter, 26, played in 23 games for the 1959 Cardinals and hit .212. He made nine starts at catcher. In two of those starts, rookie Bob Gibson was the Cardinals’ starting pitcher.

On Aug. 8, 1959, with Gibson pitching and Porter catching, Porter hit a home run against the Phillies’ Taylor Phillips. The ball landed “far up in the left-center field bleachers” at Busch Stadium, the Post-Dispatch reported. Boxscore

Two months after acquiring Porter, the Cardinals called up a catching prospect, 17-year-old Tim McCarver. The Cardinals ticketed Porter for the minors in 1960. The Braves acquired him and he played in their farm system from 1960-66.

In 1969 and 1970, Porter managed Expos farm teams in West Palm Beach and settled in the area. When the Cardinals opened a spring training facility in nearby Jupiter, Fla., in 1998, Porter became a stadium usher at their exhibition games.

Posted in Games, Hitters, Trades | 4 Comments »

Why manager Eddie Dyer said goodbye to Cardinals

October 24, 2020 by retrosimba

Eddie Dyer knew when he wasn’t wanted, so he took the high road out of St. Louis.

On Oct. 16, 1950, after five seasons as Cardinals manager, Dyer, 51, resigned rather than wait for club owner Fred Saigh to make a change.

Though Dyer led the Cardinals to a World Series championship in 1946, his first year as their manager, and produced second-place finishes in each of the next three seasons, he fell out of favor with Saigh after the Cardinals dropped to fifth place in 1950.

Dyer spent 28 years with the Cardinals as a player, manager and administrator, and his resignation saved Saigh from the unpleasantness of firing an accomplished employee.

Big influence

A left-handed pitcher, Dyer played six seasons (1922-27) for the Cardinals. In 1928, club executive Branch Rickey gave him the chance to manage in the farm system, and Dyer excelled, building a reputation for grooming talent and producing winning teams.

New York Daily News columnist Jimmy Powers noted most of the Cardinals’ Gashouse Gang players in the 1930s “learned the skills of their trade from Eddie. Dyer deserves most of the credit for developing most of the great Gashousers.”

According to Powers, Dyer also “personally polished and readied the core” of the Cardinals’ teams that won four National League pennants and three World Series championships during a five-year span in the 1940s.

When Rickey left for the Dodgers after the 1942 season, Dyer, who earned a college degree at Rice, became the Cardinals’ farm system director. In 1944, he left the club to tend to his multiple and lucrative business interests in oil, insurance, real estate and beverage bottling in Houston.

When Cardinals manager Billy Southworth departed after the 1945 season for a better financial offer to manage the Braves, Dyer replaced him.

Style vs. substance

In Dyer’s first four seasons as Cardinals manager, the club had records of 98-58, 89-65, 85-69 and 96-58. Though successful, Dyer wasn’t beloved by the Cardinals’ fan base.

A St. Louis Globe-Democrat editorial noted, “Cardinals fans were accustomed to the dashing play of the old Gashouse Gang, and Eddie by no stretch of the imagination was a fire-eater manager. The fans recognized this fact and, even with a winning team, Eddie was frequently criticized.”

Dyer also got criticism from the Cardinals’ popular broadcaster, Harry Caray, and his on-air partner, Gabby Street, the former Cardinals manager.

In 1950, the heat intensified. The Cardinals ended June tied with the Phillies for first place, but faded, posting records of 12-16 in August and 13-17 in September.

“Dyer just ran out of farm products,” Jimmy Powers offered. “His Cards were milked dry.”

The 1950 Cardinals finished at 78-75. It was the first time since 1938 they had failed to finish among the top four teams in the National League standings.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Gabby Street said at a speaking engagement in Joplin, Mo., “Dyer didn’t always manage the Cardinals to suit me this past season. The Cardinals just didn’t have the hustle. They just didn’t look like any Cardinals ballclub I ever knew.”

Gentleman’s agreement

Saigh had become sole owner of the Cardinals in January 1949, and he wanted to make his mark. After the 1950 season, he did little to squelch speculation of a managerial change. Dyer’s departure “figured in the changes Saigh contemplated,” The Sporting News reported.

Saigh scheduled a meeting with Dyer on Oct. 16, 1950, in St. Louis and said a decision on the manager’s fate would be made then.

Dyer recognized he didn’t have the owner’s support. With his businesses booming in Houston, Dyer didn’t need a baseball job for income, and if he was destined to leave the franchise he had served so long and well, he wanted to do it on his terms.

“He apparently felt he had worn out his welcome in St. Louis and it was time to move on,” the Associated Press reported.

Dyer arrived at the meeting with a resignation letter. Saigh accepted the resignation and agreed to let Dyer announce the news to reporters who had gathered outside Saigh’s Sportsman’s Park office.

Harry Caray was told to stay out of the room when Dyer made his announcement because Saigh feared “an incident,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Dyer said Caray’s frequent on-air criticism was “vicious,” The Sporting News noted.

In his book “RedBirds: A Century of Cardinals Baseball,” Bob Broeg said Dyer would have had “a no-hold-barred exit with Saigh” in front of the media if Caray had been allowed to attend Dyer’s session with reporters.

When Caray stayed away, “Eddie agreed to resign gracefully, which was what Fred Saigh wanted,” Broeg observed.

Addressing reporters while perched on the arm of a chair, Dyer said he wasn’t “a candidate” to be Cardinals manager in 1951, thanked several people for their efforts and blamed player injuries for the team’s record in 1950. “I do not believe any club in the National League could have suffered as many and costly injuries as we did and still finish in the first division,” Dyer said.

Given a push

After Dyer read his statement, Saigh told the Globe-Democrat, “This comes as a shock to me.”

Regarding Saigh’s reaction, J. Roy Stockton of the Post-Dispatch wrote, “Even if there was a little salami, what of it? It was a gracious way of bidding a manager goodbye. Dyer’s long service with the club certainly made him entitled to the graceful exit.”

Others noted Dyer’s departure wasn’t solely his decision.

In an editorial, The Sporting News declared Saigh handed Dyer “his pink slip” and gave him “his dismissal notice.”

Bob Burnes of the Globe-Democrat wrote, “You can call it being fired, you can call it resigning or anything you wish.”

John Wray of the Post-Dispatch cited “widespread hostile fan comment” as part of the reason Saigh wanted a different manager.

Burnes called Dyer “one of baseball’s finest gentleman” and added, “Probably many Cardinals fans will be happy at the news Dyer is out. That has been something that always has puzzled us.”

The Sporting News noted Dyer was “strangely lacking in local popularity despite personal charm.”

Cardinals minor-league manager Johnny Keane was considered a leading candidate to replace Dyer, but Saigh instead hired popular shortstop Marty Marion. Marion lasted one season as player-manager and was replaced by Eddie Stanky.

Not until 1964, 18 years after Dyer’s 1946 team, did the Cardinals win another World Series title, and when it happened, Keane was the manager.

Posted in Managers | 6 Comments »

How Sparky Anderson went to bat for Pat Corrales

October 21, 2020 by retrosimba

A kind gesture by Reds manager Sparky Anderson turned a disappointing ending into an uplifting moment.

On Oct. 15, 1970, the Reds were one out away from being eliminated in the decisive game of the World Series against the Orioles. At a time when some managers might be feeling despair, Anderson was feeling compassion.

The Reds’ Pat Corrales, a loyal, seldom-used backup catcher who had experienced personal tragedy, never had played in a World Series game. Realizing Corrales might never get another chance, and knowing how meaningful it would be to him, Anderson sent him to bat for one of the Reds’ hottest hitters, Hal McRae.

In his brief plate appearance, Corrales made the last out of the 1970 World Series, but the result didn’t matter. Unlike Hall of Famers such as George Sisler and Ernie Banks, Corrales had gotten to play in a World Series, and Anderson, in his first season as a big-league manager, had enhanced his growing reputation by being a considerate leader.

Three years earlier, Anderson and Corrales were in the Cardinals’ system _ Anderson as a manager looking to move up in rank, and Corrales as a catcher looking to show he could hit.

Cardinals connections

Anderson joined the Cardinals as a minor-league manager in March 1965. Corrales was acquired by the Cardinals in a trade with the Phillies in October 1965. Cardinals general manager Bob Howsam dealt Bill White, Dick Groat and Bob Uecker to the Phillies for Alex Johnson, Art Mahaffey and Corrales.

After managing St. Petersburg to a 91-45 record in 1966, Anderson was looking to manage the Cardinals’ top farm club, Tulsa, in 1967, but Stan Musial, who’d replaced Howsam as general manager, gave the job to Warren Spahn. Anderson was assigned to manage Modesto. After the 1967 season, Howsam, who had become general manager of the Reds, hired Anderson to manage in the Cincinnati farm system. Two years later, he became manager of the Reds.

Corrales, 25, spent the 1966 season as backup to Cardinals catcher Tim McCarver, but got into a mere 28 games and hit .181. “I’m probably the only guy in the league who has thrown out more runners than he has hits,” Corrales told The Sporting News.

Actually, it was a tie. Corrales finished the 1966 season with 13 hits and threw out 13 runners attempting to steal.

Afterward, Corrales reported to the Cardinals’ Florida Instructional League team to work on his hitting. The manager was George Kissell and Sparky Anderson was his assistant. When Corrales injured a knee, the Cardinals acquired Johnny Romano from the White Sox to be McCarver’s backup. Corrales played the 1967 season at Tulsa for Spahn, and hit .274 in 130 games.

Howsam and the Reds knew their top prospect, Johnny Bench, would be the starting catcher in 1968, replacing Johnny Edwards, and viewed Corrales as a potential backup. On Feb. 8, 1968, Howsam acquired Corrales for the second time, trading Edwards to the Cardinals for him and Jimy Williams. 

Devastating death

Corrales began the 1968 season with the Reds’ farm team at Indianapolis, managed by Don Zimmer, and hit .273 in 77 games. He got called up to the Reds in July to provide relief for Bench, who started 81 games in a row. On July 29, 1968, Corrales was the catcher when the Reds’ George Culver pitched a no-hitter against the Phillies.

Corrales impressed Reds management and was popular with teammates. Asked about Corrales, Pete Rose told The Sporting News, “There’s a man who can do it all. He knows what’s going on out there every minute. Corrales makes a pitcher think on the mound.”

Corrales stuck with the Reds in 1969.

On July 22, 1969, Corrales’ wife, Sharon, 27, gave birth to a son at 5:02 a.m. at Cincinnati’s Christ Hospital. It was the couple’s fourth child. They had three daughters, the oldest, 5, and twins, 3.

Ten hours later, Sharon died in the hospital. The cause was pulmonary embolism, a blood clot in the lungs, the Dayton Daily News reported.

Corrales returned to the Reds a week after Sharon’s funeral. Several teams raised money for an education fund for Corrales’ children, Newsday reported. Among the fund-raisers were the Orioles. According to The Sporting News, Orioles players donated money from fines collected by their clubhouse kangaroo court. Orioles wives raised funds with a bake sale and paper flower sale.

After the 1969 season, the Reds changed managers, replacing Dave Bristol with Sparky Anderson. At spring training in 1970, Anderson said, “In Corrales, I’ve got the best backup catcher in baseball.”

People skills

Corrales hit .236 in 43 games for the 1970 Reds, who finished first in the West Division. Against the Cardinals, he hit .417 (5-for-12).

In the National League Championship Series, the Reds swept the Pirates, and Corrales didn’t play. In the World Series, the Orioles won three of the first four games, and again Corrales didn’t play.

In Game 5 at Baltimore, the Orioles led, 9-3, entering the ninth. Sparky Anderson called to the bullpen, where Corrales had been catching throws from Reds relievers, and told him to come to the dugout.

According to the Dayton Daily News, Anderson approached Hal McRae, who hit .455 in the World Series, and told him, “Unless somebody gets on base before you, I’m going to have Pat hit for you. It’s not a reflection on you. I want him to have a chance to get his name in a World Series box score.”

McRae told Anderson he understood.

After starter Mike Cuellar retired the first two batters, Bench and Lee May, Anderson sent Corrales to the plate. Anderson, who played one season in the majors and 10 in the minors, appreciated a role player such as Corrales, who lived in Bench’s shadow.

“Anyone who plays his heart out for you all year deserves a chance to play in a World Series,” Anderson told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “Corrales has done that for us and I wasn’t going to let this chance get away.”

To the Dayton Daily News, Anderson said, “I wasn’t being sentimental. I was being honest. I’d have let him down by not letting him bat.”

Corrales hit Cuellar’s first pitch to third. Brooks Robinson fielded it and threw to first for the final out, clinching the championship for the Orioles. Boxscore

Explaining why he swung away, Corrales told the Cincinnati Enquirer, “I wasn’t going to take nothing when I went up there. I wanted to hit.”

Regarding the move by Anderson, Corrales told Newsday, “I appreciate he thought of giving me the chance.”

Ritter Collett of the Dayton Journal Herald called Anderson’s action “a considerate gesture, like a coach getting his seniors into the final game.”

Wells Twombly wrote in The Sporting News, “It was a charming gesture, full of good, rich schmaltz. The lovely thing about Sparky is he dares to be corny in a violently cynical age.”

Said Anderson, “The World Series still is the biggest sporting event in America. That’s why I wanted to make sure Pat had a chance to get his name in a box score. It means a lot to a guy.”

Corrales never played in another World Series. He did coach in five World Series (1991, 1992, 1995, 1996 and 1999) for the Braves on the staff of manager Bobby Cox.

Posted in Games, Hitters, Managers | 6 Comments »

Joe Morgan vs. Cards: Different uniform, familiar result

October 18, 2020 by retrosimba

In his last hurrah as a National League player, Joe Morgan helped the Phillies dethrone the Cardinals.

A second baseman who began his big-league career with the Houston Colt .45s, Morgan spent his prime years as an integral member of championship Reds teams in the 1970s.

A two-time recipient of the National League Most Valuable Player Award as well as a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, Morgan was 5 feet 7 but hit like a giant. He produced 2,517 hits and 1,133 RBI in 22 seasons in the majors. He also won five Gold Glove awards for fielding.

Morgan, a left-handed batter who flapped his left elbow as a distinctive timing mechanism before unleashing his swing, consistently clobbered the Cardinals.

A career .271 hitter, he batted .293 versus the Cardinals. His on-base percentage against them was .408. In 203 games versus the Cardinals, Morgan had 216 hits and 147 walks. He hit .313 against Bob Gibson and struck out a mere three times in 83 career at-bats versus the Cardinals’ ace.

In 1976, when Morgan was at his peak, he hit .452 versus the Cardinals, and his on-base percentage against them was an astounding .578. In 45 plate appearances against the 1976 Cardinals, Morgan had 14 hits and 12 walks.

Seven years later, with the 1983 Phillies, Morgan’s numbers against the Cardinals weren’t as great, but his performance remained devastating.

Power surge

In December 1982, after two seasons with the Giants, Morgan, 39, was traded to the Phillies, and was reunited with a prominent pair of former Big Red Machine teammates, Pete Rose and Tony Perez.

Playing in the same National League East Division as the Cardinals, who won the World Series championship in 1982, the 1983 Phillies were assembling a group of baseball royalty in the hope of overtaking the Cardinals. In addition to Morgan, Rose and Perez, the Phillies had Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton.

Early on, the Phillies fizzled. They were 9-13 in May and lost their first four games in June.

On June 9, 1983, the Phillies went into their home game against the Cardinals with a record of 22-25. Morgan was batting .193.

Before the game, Morgan worked with coaches Deron Johnson and Bobby Wine to correct a flaw in his swing. Johnson noticed Morgan was committing too soon to pitches, and suggested Morgan rely more on his hands for timing. “As soon as I did, I felt good,” Morgan told the Philadelphia Inquirer.

In the bottom of the first inning, Morgan led off with a home run against Joaquin Andujar. The Cardinals came back and led, 5-1, heading to the bottom of the eighth, but Andujar unraveled. A double and two singles produced a run, making the score 5-2, and brought Morgan to the plate with two on and none out.

With the count 1-and-0, Andujar threw a fastball and Morgan walloped it over the wall in right for his second home run of the game, tying the score at 5-5.

“I wanted to go up and get a pitch I could pull and maybe hit out of the ballpark,” Morgan said. “I knew the situation, and I knew what I’m here for. I’m here to add some power. I could go up there and try to slap a ball to right, but they brought me here to do a job.”

It was the first time Morgan hit two home runs in a game since 1977. When Andujar gave up the second home run, he threw his hands up in disgust. “I feel like I want to kill myself,” Andujar told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The Phillies got a run against Cardinals relievers in the 11th and won, 6-5. Boxscore

Repeat performance

Morgan said he thought the comeback victory would propel the Phillies into a winning streak, but it didn’t happen. Instead, the Phillies experienced a dismal July. Manager Pat Corrales was fired and replaced by Paul Owens. Morgan suffered a hamstring pull and batted .060 for July.

On Aug. 5, 1983, the Phillies were in St. Louis to play the Cardinals, and both Morgan and the club remained in a funk. The Phillies were 53-50 and trailed the first-place Pirates. Morgan was batting .192 for the season.

In the second inning, with the Phillies ahead, 2-0, Morgan faced John Stuper with two on and two outs. With the count 3-and-0, Morgan got a fat pitch and hit it over the wall in right for a three-run home run. In the seventh, Morgan hit a solo home run versus Dave Von Ohlen, giving him his second two-homer game of the season against the Cardinals. The Phillies won, 10-7. Boxscore

“I’m really glad for Joe,” Owens said. “It’s good to see him finally relax a little.”

Experience counts

Entering September, four teams were in contention for the National League East title. The Pirates (68-63) led, but the Phillies (67-64), Expos (66-64) and Cardinals (65-65) were close behind.

The Phillies took control, and Morgan played a prominent part. 

The Phillies were 22-7 in September, including 6-0 against the Cardinals, and finished atop the division at 90-72. The Cardinals were 12-18 in September and finished at 79-83.

Morgan hit .337 in September and had 18 RBI in 24 games. He had unusual numbers against the Cardinals for the season: a .181 batting average, but five doubles, four home runs and 13 RBI in 17 games.

The Phillies prevailed in the National League Championship Series versus the Dodgers and advanced to the World Series against the Orioles. Though the Orioles won four of five games, Morgan hit two home runs.

Released by the Phillies after the World Series, Morgan signed with the Athletics, who wanted him as their second baseman. After 21 seasons in the National League, Morgan, 40, completed his playing career in the American League with the 1984 Athletics.

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents | 4 Comments »

Ron Perranoski shut door on Cardinals championship bid

October 15, 2020 by retrosimba

If not for the effective relief pitching of Ron Perranoski, the Cardinals, not the Dodgers, might have won the 1963 National League pennant and given Stan Musial a chance to end his playing career in a World Series.

A left-hander, Perranoski played 13 years in the majors and coached another 17 years in the big leagues.

In 1963, the Dodgers held a one-game lead over the Cardinals heading into a three-game series at St. Louis. The Dodgers swept, with Perranoski earning a save and a win, and went on to clinch the pennant.

Cool and collected

Born and raised in New Jersey, Perranoski early on displayed poise and a calm disposition on the mound. “As a high school pitcher, mom and dad used to complain they couldn’t tell whether I’d won or lost by the way I looked when I came home,” Perranoski told the Los Angeles Times.

He enrolled at Michigan State and was a roommate and teammate of Dick Radatz, who, like Perranoski, would become a dominant reliever in the majors.

Perranoski signed with the Cubs in June 1958. After two years in their farm system, the Cubs traded Perranoski to the Dodgers for infielder Don Zimmer. Former Cubs manager Bob Scheffing, who considered Perranoski a top prospect, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “If I were still with Chicago, they’d have made that Perranoski trade over my dead body.”

After posting a 2.58 ERA in the minors in 1960, Perranoski pitched well at spring training in 1961 and earned a spot on the Dodgers’ Opening Day roster. His first big-league save came on April 18, 1961, against the Cardinals. In what the Los Angeles Times described as “a brilliant piece of relief pitching,” Perranoski retired Bill White with the bases loaded in the eighth, and set down the side in order in the ninth. Boxscore

A year later, in May 1962, Musial’s single off a curve from Perranoski gave Musial his 3,431st hit and moved him ahead of Honus Wagner for No. 1 on the National League career hit list.

Reliable relief

In 1963, there were no better relievers in the majors than the former Michigan State roommates, Perranoski and Radatz. Perranoski was 16-3 with 21 saves and a 1.67 ERA for the 1963 Dodgers. Radatz, a hulking right-hander nicknamed “The Monster,” was 15-6 with 23 saves and a 1.97 ERA for the 1963 Red Sox.

The Los Angeles Times described Perranoski as the “miracle man of the 1963 Dodgers. If the others can’t win them, he will.”

With Perranoski in the bullpen, and Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and Johnny Podres heading the starting rotation, the Dodgers had the best ERA in the National League in 1963, but the Cardinals kept pace with them.

Entering the Sept. 16-18 series at St. Louis, the Dodgers were 91-59 and the Cardinals were 91-61.

The Cardinals became sentimental favorites when Musial, their 42-year-old icon, revealed in August that 1963 would be his last year as a player. Musial had played in four World Series, but none since 1946, and many were pulling for the Cardinals to overtake the Dodgers and give Musial a storybook finish to his career.

Naturally, Perranoski and the Dodgers had other ideas.

Impressive pitching

Podres and Ernie Broglio were the starting pitchers for the opening game of the Dodgers-Cardinals series. The score was tied at 1-1 when the Dodgers struck for two runs in the top of the ninth against relievers Bobby Shantz and Ron Taylor.

Perranoski replaced Podres for the bottom of the ninth and got the save, retiring Dick Groat, Musial and Ken Boyer in order. Boxscore

“Podres still can make the big haul and Perranoski puts the cash in the bank,” the Post-Dispatch noted.

Said Podres: “I knew Perranoski would be ready. He’s the best relief pitcher there is.”

When Koufax pitched a four-hit shutout against the Cardinals in Game 2, the Dodgers moved three ahead in the standings. Boxscore

The Cardinals needed to win the series finale to keep their pennant hopes from fading.

Great escape

The starting pitchers for Game 3 were the Cardinals’ Bob Gibson and the Dodgers’ Pete Richert. In the eighth, with the Cardinals ahead, 5-1, the Dodgers scored three times against Gibson and Shantz, getting within a run.

Dodgers manager Walter Alston picked Perranoski to pitch the bottom of the eighth and he retired the side in order. In the ninth, Dick Nen, in his debut game, hit a home run against Ron Taylor, tying the score at 5-5.

Perranoski again retired the Cardinals in order in the ninth, but he got into trouble in the 10th. Dick Groat led off and tripled. “I tried to jam Groat with a fastball, but I got it up,” Perranoski told the Post-Dispatch.

Alston went to the mound for a conference with Perranoski. Don Drysdale was throwing in the Dodgers’ bullpen, but Alston later said, “I was going all the way with Perranoski.”

Alston asked Perranoski whether he wanted to pitch to the next batter, Gary Kolb, or load the bases with intentional walks to set up a forceout at the plate. Perranoski opted to pitch to Kolb, a left-handed batter who entered the game in the seventh to run for Musial.

“I wasn’t too alarmed because I knew I had control and I felt if I got beat they’d have to beat me on my best pitch,” Perranoski told the Los Angeles Times.

Kolb struck out looking at an outside curve.

Perranoski gave intentional walks to Ken Boyer and Bill White, loading the bases for Curt Flood. “I knew Flood was a tough cookie to double up, but I had to get him to hit the ball on the ground,” Perranoski said.

After jamming Flood with an inside fastball, Perranoski got him to chase an outside curve. Flood hit a bouncer to shortstop Maury Wills, who threw to the plate to get the forceout on Groat.

With two outs and the bases loaded, Mike Shannon came up next. “I knew Shannon was a good fastball hitter,” Perranoski said.

Perranoski started him off with a sinker. Shannon hit a tapper to third. Jim Gilliam fielded the ball and threw to first in time to retire Shannon and end the threat.

Long career

The Cardinals didn’t get another good scoring opportunity against Perranoski. In the 13th, the Dodgers scored an unearned run against Lew Burdette. Perranoski retired the Cardinals in order in the bottom half of the inning, sealing the 6-5 Dodgers win and crushing the Cardinals’ pennant chances. Boxscore

With six innings of scoreless relief, Perranoski got his 16th win of the season. “This was the biggest game I ever pitched,” he said. “It’s got to be my biggest thrill.”

Cardinals manager Johnny Keane said, “I’ve never seen anyone get them out better than he does time after time.”

The Dodgers went on to clinch the pennant, finishing at 99-63. The Cardinals placed second at 93-69.

Perranoski pitched in three World Series for the Dodgers. He also pitched for the Twins, Tigers and Angels, leading the American League in saves in 1969 and 1970.

Perranoski was Dodgers pitching coach from 1981-94. Among the pitchers he helped develop were Orel Hershiser, Rick Sutcliffe and Fernando Valenzuela.

He also mentored reliever Tom Niedenfuer. According to the Los Angeles Times, Perranoski “sort of adopted him.”

“Possibly the greatest thing Perranoski did for Niedenfuer was tell him to throw with the same motion as Goose Gossage,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

In 1985, Niedenfuer led the Dodgers in saves, but in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series he gave up a walkoff home run to the Cardinals’ Ozzie Smith. In the next game, Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda ordered Perranoski to tell Niedenfuer to pitch to Jack Clark with two on, two outs and a base open, and Clark hit a home run, carrying the Cardinals to the pennant.

Posted in Games, Opponents, Pitchers | 6 Comments »

Cardinals gave Jay Johnstone a boost on comeback path

October 12, 2020 by retrosimba

With his playing career at a crossroads, Jay Johnstone took advantage of a chance to go to spring training with the Cardinals and show he still had the ability to perform in the majors.

An outfielder and left-handed batter, Johnstone played 20 seasons in the majors for eight teams.

Though he never played in the regular season for the Cardinals, his stint with them at spring training in 1974 was an important part of his career.

After flopping with the White Sox and Athletics, Johnstone’s future in the majors appeared bleak, but he regained his batting stroke in Cardinals’ spring training. Though they had no room for him on the Opening Day roster, the Cardinals liked Johnstone and spoke well of him to other clubs. The Phillies gave Johnstone a chance, and it worked out splendidly for him.

Ups and downs

Johnstone was born in Connecticut and grew up in California. His father, Jack, signed with the Cardinals but entered the Army during World War II and never got a chance to play professional baseball, according to the Society for American Baseball Research.

Jay Johnstone was 17 when he signed with the Angels in 1963 and 20 when he made his debut in the majors with them in 1966.

After the 1970 season, the Angels traded Johnstone to the White Sox. Urged to hit for power, Johnstone delivered a career-high 16 home runs for the White Sox in 1971, but messed up his swing. After he hit .188 in 1972, the White Sox wanted to reduce his salary 20 percent. Johnstone, the club’s player union representative, refused to accept the pay cut, and was released in March 1973.

“He should have been fighting for a job instead of feeling he had one,” White Sox director of player personnel Roland Hemond said to the Chicago Tribune.

Johnstone told The Sporting News, “Chicago really tried to put it to me.”

The Athletics signed Johnstone and assigned him to their Tucson farm team. He hit .347 for Tucson, but it was a different story when he got called up to the Athletics. Johnstone hit .107 in 23 games for the 1973 Athletics and was 0-for-11 as a pinch-hitter.

Tryout with Cardinals

Cardinals director of player personnel Bob Kennedy saw Johnstone play at Tucson and gave a favorable report to general manager Bing Devine. Kennedy “told me he liked him a lot and felt he could help,” Devine told The Sporting News.

After the season, Johnstone played winter baseball in Puerto Rico and led the league in RBI. Impressed, the Cardinals purchased Johnstone’s contract from the Athletics on a conditional basis in January 1974 and placed him on their 40-man big-league roster. The conditional clause meant the Cardinals had until April 1 to decide whether to keep Johnstone or offer him back to the Athletics.

“He’s got a lot of talent and he just might be at the age when he can play up to his capacity,” Devine said.

Johnstone, 28, did well at Cardinals spring training camp. He hit .296 in exhibition games. “I hit the ball hard,” Johnstone told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The Cardinals “liked his style,” The Sporting News noted, but decided they had better alternatives. Tim McCarver, in his second stint with the Cardinals, was kept as the top pinch-hitter from the left side, and other left-handed batters, Jose Cruz and Jim Dwyer, were designated as backup outfielders.

Johnstone “thought he had the team made,” The Sporting News reported. “Instead, he was released outright.”

When the defending World Series champion Athletics showed no interest in taking back Johnstone, the Cardinals offered to help him.

“Bing Devine said he’d get on the phone right away and try to get me with another club,” Johnstone told the Post-Dispatch.

Back in the bigs

The Dodgers wanted Johnstone to join them as a pinch-hitter, but he turned down the opportunity.

“I would have been strictly a left-handed pinch-hitter there,” Johnstone told the Philadelphia Daily News. “At my age, it wasn’t what I wanted. It’s the toughest job in baseball. I thought I was capable of playing every day.”

Phillies coach Bobby Wine, Johnstone’s manager in Puerto Rico, recommended him. When Phillies director of player personnel Paul Owens offered Johnstone a chance to begin the season as an outfielder with their Toledo farm club, he accepted, hoping it would lead to a promotion to the big leagues.

Toledo manager Jim Bunning, the former pitcher, future Baseball Hall of Famer and future United States senator, clashed with Johnstone, who had a reputation for being a free spirit and practical joker. Johnstone was fined by Bunning for lack of hustle and for missing signs, but he also hit .316 for Toledo.

“I think he knows he has talent, but he really hasn’t looked at himself in the mirror,” Bunning said to the Philadelphia Inquirer. “He hasn’t asked himself, ‘Why was I in the minors? Why have five organizations said I can’t do it this way?’ “

Johnstone told the Philadelphia Daily News he and Bunning just didn’t connect: “I didn’t like him. He didn’t like me.”

In July 1974, Johnstone got called up to the Phillies, and he made the most of the chance. Johnstone hit .380 for the Phillies in July and finished the season at .295. He also hit .346 versus the 1974 Cardinals.

After five seasons with the Phillies, Johnstone went on to play for the Yankees, Padres, Dodgers and Cubs. He hit .282 against the Cardinals for his career.

Johnstone’s final big-league at-bat came as a pinch-hitter against the Cardinals’ Danny Cox in Game 3 of the 1985 National League Championship Series at St. Louis. Batting for Rick Honeycutt, Johnstone grounded out to Tommy Herr.

Posted in Hitters | 8 Comments »

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