Cardinal Great Bob Forsch Passes

The news is still very young at this point, but Cardinal great Bob Forsch has apparently died of a heart attack at the age of 61.

You can read the official press release from the club, by clicking here to read a PDF file.

Forsch is best remember in St. Louis for his place in the pitching rotation through the successful “Whiteyball” years. A Cardinal from 1974 until an August trade in 1988 sent him to the Houston Astros for Denny Walling, Forsch was a staple in the starting rotation.

I-70’s resident historical writer, Bob Netherton, had some thoughts on Forsch:

I was saddened to hear the news of Bob Forsch’s passing. He was always a fan favorite, and for good reason. We know all about the two no-hitters, but the fact that he was the only player that Herzog kept from the 70s team to last through all three NL Pennants says far more about him as a player and person than those two magnificent games. Forsch was a mirror of the team he played for, never seeking the spotlight, probably wasn’t the best at his position, but he gave it everything he had each time he was called on. From the rotation, to the bullpen, back to the rotation – whatever the team needed, Forsch was there.

Forsch was a stingy pitcher who walked few but also did not strike out many. A pitch to contact hurler in a spacious Busch Stadium, Forsch was also a work horse that threw over 200 innings seven times in his 16 year career. He would also post double digit wins in all but five of his seasons on the mound, winning 20 games for the one and only time in 1977.

A steady pitcher that anchored many rotations, Forsch was never regarded as the ace of the staff. In fact, he led the league in one category one time in his career with a 1.4 walks per nine innings in 1980. He was also regarded as a very good hitter and would retain two Silver Slugger awards, 1980 and 1987, for his commitment at the plate.

More from Netherton:

My favorite Forsch moment came in Game Three of the 1987 National League Championship Series. The Cardinals were being bullied around by Will Clark and Jeffrey Leonard. Forsch came into the game and immediately took control but hitting Leonard with a pitch. It put a runner in scoring position, but Forsch never let that runner cross the plate. It started one of the greatest comebacks in Cardinals postseason history. What a competitor.

Forsch would throw two no hitters in his time with the Cardinals. His first would come on April 16, 1978 against the Philadelphia Phillies, the second on September 26, 1983 against the Montreal Expos. As impressive as it was for Forsch to throw two no hitters in his career, it was a game that he did not pitch that would etch his name into Major League Baseball’s record books. Almost one year to the day after Bob threw his first no hitter, his brother Ken would throw a no hitter for the Houston Astros on April 7, 1979 against the Atlanta Braves. They are the only brothers to every throw no hitters in Major League Baseball history.

Most recently, Forsch has been serving as the pitching coach for the Rookie League affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, the Billings Mustangs.

Netherton’s final thought: Bob Forsch was one of my favorite players, and he will be missed.

Bob Forsch’s career statistics:

Year	Age	Tm	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA+	WHIP	H/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB
1970	20	STL-min	2	3	.400	4.94	8	5				31.0	38	26	17	19			1.839	11.0	5.5			LEW,CDR · NORW,MIDW
1971	21	STL-min	11	7	.611	3.13	23	23				158.0	140	74	55	41	134		1.146	8.0	2.3	7.6	3.27	CDR · MIDW
1972	22	STL-min	8	10	.444	4.35	24	24		7	2	153.0	158	85	74	47	109		1.340	9.3	2.8	6.4	2.32	ARK · TL
1973	23	STL-min	12	12	.500	4.39	27	27				166.0	169	91	81	66			1.416	9.2	3.6			TUL · AA
1974	24	STL-min	8	5	.615	3.67	15	14		7	0	103.0	95	49	42	33	71		1.243	8.3	2.9	6.2	2.15	TUL · AA
1974	24	STL	7	4	.636	2.97	19	14	0	5	2	100.0	84	38	33	34	39	123	1.180	7.6	3.1	3.5	1.15
1975	25	STL	15	10	.600	2.86	34	34	0	7	4	230.0	213	89	73	70	108	134	1.230	8.3	2.7	4.2	1.54
1976	26	STL	8	10	.444	3.94	33	32	0	2	0	194.0	209	112	85	71	76	90	1.443	9.7	3.3	3.5	1.07
1977	27	STL	20	7	.741	3.48	35	35	0	8	2	217.1	210	97	84	69	95	112	1.284	8.7	2.9	3.9	1.38
1978	28	STL	11	17	.393	3.70	34	34	0	7	3	233.2	205	110	96	97	114	96	1.292	7.9	3.7	4.4	1.18
1979	29	STL	11	11	.500	3.83	33	32	0	7	1	218.2	215	102	93	52	92	100	1.221	8.8	2.1	3.8	1.77
1980	30	STL	11	10	.524	3.77	31	31	0	8	0	214.2	225	102	90	33	87	99	1.202	9.4	*1.4*	3.6	2.64
1981	31	STL	10	5	.667	3.18	20	20	0	1	0	124.1	106	47	44	29	41	112	1.086	7.7	2.1	3.0	1.41
1982	32	STL	15	9	.625	3.48	36	34	1	6	2	233.0	238	95	90	54	69	105	1.253	9.2	2.1	2.7	1.28
1983	33	STL	10	12	.455	4.28	34	30	3	6	2	187.0	190	104	89	54	56	85	1.305	9.1	2.6	2.7	1.04
1984	34	STL	2	5	.286	6.02	16	11	2	1	0	52.1	64	38	35	19	21	59	1.586	11.0	3.3	3.6	1.11
1985	35	STL	9	6	.600	3.90	34	19	4	3	1	136.0	132	63	59	47	48	92	1.316	8.7	3.1	3.2	1.02
1986	36	STL	14	10	.583	3.25	33	33	0	3	0	230.0	211	91	83	68	104	114	1.213	8.3	2.7	4.1	1.53
1987	37	STL	11	7	.611	4.32	33	30	1	2	1	179.0	189	90	86	45	89	97	1.307	9.5	2.3	4.5	1.98
1988	38	TOT	10	8	.556	4.29	36	18	3	1	1	136.1	153	73	65	44	54	81	1.445	10.1	2.9	3.6	1.23
1988	38	STL	9	4	.692	3.73	30	12	3	1	1	108.2	111	51	45	38	40	94	1.371	9.2	3.1	3.3	1.05
1988	38	HOU	1	4	.200	6.51	6	6	0	0	0	27.2	42	22	20	6	14	52	1.735	13.7	2.0	4.6	2.33
1989	39	HOU	4	5	.444	5.32	37	15	5	0	0	108.1	133	68	64	46	40	64	1.652	11.0	3.8	3.3	0.87
16 Seasons			168	136	.553	3.76	498	422	19	67	19	2794.2	2777	1319	1169	832	1133	98	1.291	8.9	2.7	3.6	1.36
162 Game Avg.			12	10	.553	3.76	37	31	1	5	1	207	205	97	86	61	84	98	1.291	8.9	2.7	3.6	1.36
			W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA+	WHIP	H/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB
STL (15 yrs)			163	127	.562	3.67	455	401	14	67	19	2658.2	2602	1229	1085	780	1079	101	1.272	8.8	2.6	3.7	1.38
HOU (2 yrs)			5	9	.357	5.56	43	21	5	0	0	136.0	175	90	84	52	54	61	1.669	11.6	3.4	3.6	1.04

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/4/2011.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.com.
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Editor’s Note: I feel compelled to include a few Tweets from around Cardinal Nation this morning:

I've always heard stories about Bob Forsch from his playing days. R.I.P. Sad news. #stlcards