With the Kansas City Royals missing another postseason, fans wonder when the team will make the playoffs, even with the expanded Wild Card. How about a playoff format where every team in the Majors is in a playoff tournament for a chance at the World Series? Think it sounds crazy? Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones doesn’t think so.

In a October 5 article in USA Today, the future Hall of Famer said, “Quite honestly, I think if we’re going to continue to let teams in year after year, we might as well just say, screw it; let’s have everybody in. Let’s play 162 games to seed yourselves and then we’ll let the Astros (55-107) have a shot at it and whoever else wants a shot at it, six or seven game winning streak and you’re the world champions.

“We’ll just have a 32-team, single-elimination March Madness tournament. That’s the way I think we ought to do it.”

Ok, Chipper isn’t being serious, but I think he’s overlooking the genius of a “October Madness” type baseball playoff. And someone needs to remind him there’s 30 teams in the Major Leagues, not 32.

With the Astros moving to the American League next year, making each league 15 teams, a 30 team playoff is possible.

Major League Baseball would eliminate the divisions and have a 15 team American and National League. The schedule would be balanced and have Interleague play. All the rounds to the World Series would be a single game elimination tournament, the brackets split between the American and National League. The bracket for each league would be seven first round games, four second round games, two third round games and one fourth round game, the winner of which would claim the league pennant. Then have a traditional seven game World Series.

The A.L. and N.L. team with the best record gets a first round bye and home field advantage through the tournament. The remaining 14 teams would be seeded in the tournament by their record, from 1-14, with the higher seed being the home team. I would seed the teams like this: 7-14, 6-13, 5-12, 4-11, 3-10, 2-9, 1-8, with the winner of the 7-14 game facing the top league bye team in the second round. This makes the teams more evenly matched and “easier” for the top league bye team to advance.

The logistics and travel would be difficult, but it’s possible. Have a day or two off between rounds and the tournament could be done in seven to ten days. Then play the World Series over nine days.

So what are the advantages of this type of playoff format? Well, every team is in the playoffs, which keeps fans and players interested through the season. If you’re Houston, your season isn’t over by Memorial Day. Heck, this even gives the Cubs a chance to make the World Series. Maybe.

What makes NCAA Basketball March Madness so exciting? It’s the Cinderella teams having a shot of knocking out the top seeded teams and playing deep into the tournament. A single game elimination tournament to get in the World Series gives the low revenue teams like the Royals a chance. Yes, a mediocre team could get hot and win four in a row, making it to the World Series. But they still have to win four out of seven games to be champions. And like most tournaments, the best teams are usually in the final rounds anyway.

Think about the story lines and drama of a single game elimination tournament with 30 teams. The pressure of teams deciding who starts their games. Where every move is scrutinized by the fans and media if the team loses, or wins. A one game playoff between the Cardinals and Cubs or Royals and Yankees to make it to the World Series. As a fan of those teams, that has to make you excited if you win and crushed if you lose.

I’m sure there’s some baseball purists out there who believe a single game elimination tournament might ruin the integrity of the game or some other nonsense. They might say, “Won’t it make the 162 game season meaningless?” Let’s be honest. If your team doesn’t win the World Series, isn’t the season technically meaningless anyway? If baseball can survive the Black Sox Scandal, Pete Rose betting on baseball, the designated hitter, interleague play and the expanded Wild Card, it will survive a tournament where every team is in the playoffs.

There is a danger some teams might aim for mediocrity and figure, “hey, we have as good a shot as anyone else to win the World Series, why invest in top players?” That sounds like something Royals owner David Glass might do. Major League Baseball could have a salary floor to force each team to spend X amount of dollars on team payroll so teams wouldn’t stock their roster with lousy, low cost players. Instead, they would have stock their roster with better quality players. Or in the case of recent Royals history, stock the team with lousy, high cost players.

Of course what I’m suggesting is unlikely to happen. No major sport or league has every team in their playoffs and it would be hard to have ownership, the players union and the Commissioner’s office to agree on a radical playoff format like this. But when your team misses the playoffs year after year and you see the team across the state in the playoffs again, the tongue in cheek thoughts of Chipper Jones start making a lot of sense.

Power and speed.  Two basic elements that the best of professional athletes posses.

When it comes to baseball, the epitome of power and speed manifest themselves in the players that achieve milestones when they can hit home runs and steal bases in the same season.  The man that can steal 30 bases and hit 30 home runs gets recognized as an all-around player.  Over time, a select few have pushed that limit to 40-40.  Matt Kemp has boldly proclaimed that he wants to be 50-50.

Through all of that, however, the two i70 teams have missed out.  Niether the Kansas City Royals nor the St. Louis Cardinals have ever had a player hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in the same season.  Oh, some have come close, but they have narrowly missed.

In the early stages of 2012, the Cardinals have a player, a former Royal no less, that is on pace for a 30-30 season.  No one would have predicted a 30-30 season for Carlos Beltran in 2012, but he grabbed the interest of this writer and caused me to dig a little deeper.

There are 38 members of the 30-30 club in Major League Baseball, twelve of which exist in the American League with the balance of 26 in the National League.  Funny enough, if you dig through the numbers, two players achieved the feat on five separate occasions.  The two most prolific of the group?  Father and son, Bobby and Barry Bonds.

To examine the two i70 teams, we have to take a step back and look at players that have finished with 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases, a feat much more common in baseball though elusive with our favorite clubs.

For as long as the Cardinals have existed, it took quite a while before they found someone that could blend speed and power together.  It was 1967 when future Hall Of Famer Lou Brock would first reach the measurements of balance, clubbing 21 home runs and stealing 52 bases.  Known much more for his speed, it would be the only time his power numbers would be great enough to include him in such a list.

It was the Western Missouri team that would reach our list the next two times as the Cardinals would not find themselves back in this discussion until 1992.  In 1978, however, the Royals Amos Otis would put the boys in blue in the discussion with a 22 home run and 32 stolen base season.

From there we fast forward to the one Royal that many would expect to be on this list, though he will make one appearance.  In 1988, one of the best all around athletes to ever grace the powder blue of the Kansas City Royals, Bo Jackson would hit 25 home runs and 27 stolen bases.  Bo was a fan favorite for many years in Kansas City, and 1988 might have been the reason why for many fans.

The year 1992 would put another Redbird on our 20/20 board, and the most prolific Cardinal to achieve the feat.  Ray Lankford would reach the board, stealing 42 bases and hitting exactly 20 home runs.  Lankford would prove to be impressive at reaching 20/20 and narrowly missing 30/30 throughout his career.  Lankford would reach our chart in 1995 (25HR/24SB), 1996 (21HR/35SB), 1997 (31HR/21SB), and 1998 (31HR/26SB).  His 1998 season, obviously overshadowed by teammate Mark McGwire, would be the closest any Cardinal has ever come to reaching the 30/30 plateau.

The 1995 season would see another first and only for our two teams as Brain Jordan would put together arguably his best campaign as a Cardinal, hitting 22 home runs and stealing 24 bases.  If you are paying close attention as you read this article, you will realize that this impressive season for Jordan matched up with a solid one for Ray Lankford, giving the Cardinals two players in the same season to reach the 20/20 board.  The only time in the history of either club that two players would reach the board for the same team.

It might have been the only time that two players from one team made it, but 1999 would be the first season that a player from each team would achieve the marks we are tracking here today.  Possibly the one name that surprises the most on the Cardinal side of things, Fernando Tatis would hit 34 home runs and steal 21 bases to put himself on this list.  On the other side of the state, the Royals most prolific player would make his first appearance on the list.  Current Cardinal Carlos Beltran would hit 22 home runs and swipe 27 bags in his first of four 20/20 seasons for the Kansas City Royals, making 1999 the only year that a player from Kansas City and a player from St. Louis would make our board.

Beltran would go on to prove that his 1999 season was no fluke, reaching the milestone in 2001 (24HR/34SB), 2002 (29HR/35SB) and 2003 (26HR/41SB).  His 2002 season would be the closest anyone would come while wearing a Royals uniform.  We will revisit Beltran’s numbers in a minute.

The following season in 2004 would see Reggie Sanders, while wearing the Birds On The Bat, join the club hitting 22 home runs and stealing 21 bases.  Sanders is the most recent Cardinal on our list.

Finding the most recent Royal does not require a long journey into the vault.  The player affectionately known as “Frenchy”, Jeff Franceour joins our group just last season.  In 2011, Frenchy barely did well enough to be a part of our discussion, hitting 20 home runs and stealing 22 bases.

In all truth, the Royals had the best opportunity to break the 30/30 barrier with the guy that inspired the discussion in the first place, Carlos Beltran.  You see, Carlos holds a unique distinction in MLB history when talking about the 30/30 club.  He is the only player in the history of the game to have a 30/30 season in a year in which he played in both leagues.  He is one of only two players, Bobby Bonds being the other, to be traded during his 30/30 season.

The 2004 season would see the Royals trade their budding superstar to the Houston Astros in a three team deal that would gain the Royals John Buck and cash from the Astros as well as Mark Teahen and Mike Wood from the Oakland Athletics.  During that season, Beltran would hit 15 home runs and steal 14 bases for the Royals prior to the June 24th trade.  After the trade, Beltran would compile 23 home runs and 28 stolen bases for the Houston Astros.  His combined numbers of 38 home runs and 42 stolen bases not only put him on the 30/30 list, but would put him extremely close to joining the 40/40 list.

This season, Beltran finds himself healthy for the first time in a while and back on top of his game.  On pace to rejoin the 30/30 club and become the first of the i70 players to do so, Beltran will have to continue to remain healthy and play as well as he has in April.

20 Home Run and 20 Stolen Bases, Royals and Cardinals
Player/Year	HR	SB	Player/Year	HR	SB
Lou Brock/1967	21	52	Amos Otis/1978	22	32
Ray Lankford/1992	20	42	Bo Jackson/1988	25	27
Ray Lankford/1995	25	24	Carlos Beltran/1999	22	27
Brian Jordan/1995	22	24	Carlos Beltran/2001	24	31
Ray Lankford/1996	21	35	Carlos Beltran/2002	29	35
Ray Lankford/1997	31	21	Carlos Beltran/2003	26	41
Ray Lankford/1998	31	26	Jeff Francoeur/2011	20	22
Fernando Tatis/1999	34	21
Reggie Sanders/2004	22	21

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.
Follow him on Twitter here.

2013 is Bud Norris’ first year of being eligible for arbitration. I sincerely hope you’re grinning to yourself right now, after that sentence. C’mon, though, don’t act like that thought hadn’t crossed your mind too, after yesterday’s announcement. In 2013 the Houston Astros will defect from the National League Central division, and join the American League West. This could be particularly good new for the Cardinals and their fans when it comes to Bud (“Chuck”) Norris.

“Go West, young man. No, seriously, get out of our division.”

To be experienced, or not to be experienced, that was one of the many questions facing the St. Louis Cardinals’ upper-management over the past couple of weeks as they whittled down their list of candidates looking to fill the huge managerial vacancy left by future Hall of Famer, Tony La Russa. Frankly, there would have been some unrest within the Cardinals’ fan base no matter who the team went with, but I find the “Mike Matheny is inexperienced” argument completely irrelevant. He’s inexperienced? At what? Sure he hasn’t managed a single professional baseball game in his life, but that’s not a prerequisite for “experience” in my book. First, let’s take a hard look at what a major league manager truly does and then see if Matheny is qualified or not.

Major League Managing 101 -

1) Leadership – This is hands down the most important quality a Major League manager must have. He’s leading a group of men for seven months through Spring Training and then a 162 game regular season. Guys can lose focus and get burnt out pretty easily under those conditions. The manager needs to be a guy who’s been through the same thing and knows how to keep that focus throughout the long summer months.

2) Knowledge of the Game – We’re not just talking about hitting the ball and running counterclockwise around the bases, here… we’re talkin’ what pitch to throw to the cleanup hitter when you’re behind in the count and the bases are loaded. We’re talkin’ knowing when to pull your pitcher… and who can come in and get the next series of critical outs. We’re talking tie game, bottom of the 9^th, runners at 2^nd and 3^rd with one out… do you load the bases to set up an inning ending double play or bring the infield in and trust your pitcher to get the out?

3) Knowledge of the Team’s Talent – Does the manager know his guys’ strengths and weaknesses, and can he utilize them accordingly.

Ok, so those are some of the basics. Now ask yourself the question: Is Mike Matheny “experienced” in any of those areas? Well, let’s take a look:

1) Leadership – Matheny was a manager on the field during his major league career, which spanned over 13 seasons with 4 different teams, including 5 years with the Cardinals. During those years, he gained trust and respect from his pitching staff (including Chris Carpenter), his other teammates (including Albert Pujols), and his coaches (including Dave Duncan). And he certainly knows what it’s like to go through the 162-game grind, doing it himself for more than a decade.

2) Knowledge of the Game – Mike Matheny won four gold gloves as a catcher. Translation: in addition to calling every single pitch selection of the game, he was also focused and talented enough to make all the physical plays necessary to be considered the best in the game at his position. He had an understanding of what opposing hitters strengths and weaknesses were, and helped his pitchers get them out.

3) Knowledge of the Team’s Talent – We already mentioned Mike Matheny has played with Pujols and caught for Chris Carpenter. He has also had a role in coaching and developing talent in the Cardinals’ minor league system, so he’s familiar with guys like Fernando Salas, Eduardo Sanchez, Daniel Descalso, Tony Cruz, Allen Craig, Jon Jay, and others. In addition to that, he’s also served time as an analyst for Fox Sports Midwest, dissecting the players and games through a critical eye.

Obviously, there’s a lot more to managing a Major League Baseball team than what we’ve discussed thus far, but of the three areas we’ve hit on, Matheny does have the upper hand on all the other candidates with the exception of Jose Oquendo. I can only assume that “intangibles” put Matheny ahead of Jose in the club’s decision. How would the soft-spoken Oquendo handle the umpires? That’s something Matheny, as a catcher, was able to master over his 13 year career… lobbying his way over balls and strikes probably every single game he caught. How would Oquendo handle the media? That’s something Matheny had a big more experience at as well, playing in the media-crazed 21^st century version of MLB and working himself as an on-air analyst.

All things considered, I think Mike Matheny is the right choice for the job as Cardinals manager. Is he “deserving” of the role, who’s really to say? He played minor league ball, worked his way up to the majors, and helped out with the minor league system over the past couple years. Clearly he hasn’t paid as many dues as Jose Oquendo has, but why should that matter? This is professional baseball… the best of the best work and play here. Ryan Franklin paid the most dues and had the most “experience” of any of the guys in the bullpen to start the 2011 season… and all of you, I repeat, ALL of you, were calling for him to be removed from the closer role by the 3^rd week of the season. The Cardinals eventually obliged.

Sometimes, you have to go with your gut. General Manager John Mozeliak’s gut told him: respected by the players and coaches, knows the game, knows the players, knows how to work with the pitchers, knows how to prepare for and call a game. The gut feeling might work out for Mozeliak and the Cardinals, it might not… but out of the finalists for this particular job, the Cardinals chose the right guy.

As Chris Carpenter prepares to take the mound to start the 2011 season, I thought it would be interesting to take a look back at some of the pitchers who took the mound in opening day. The Bob Gibson era (1959-1975) seemed to be as good a place as any to start. It may surprise you to learn that Gibby didn’t get the opening day call until 1965. In fact, early in the Solly Hemus era (1959-61), the future Hall of Fame pitcher would be moved between the bullpen, the rotation and the minor leagues, in spite of consistently demonstrating his enormous talent. It wasn’t until the arrival of Johnny Keane that Gibson got a chance to show what he was capable of – and National League hitters were never the same.

If Gibson wasn’t the opening day starter, who was and how did they do?

Larry Jackson (1959, 1960, 1962) 1-1 with 1 no decision

Larry Jackson

Larry Jackson was one of the best pitchers of his era but had the misfortune of playing his career on non-contending teams – sort of an anti-Jason Marquis. The first part of his career (1955-1962) was with the St. Louis Cardinals, who were rarely over .500. Unlike the his team, Jackson was consistently over .500, going 116-87 in those 8 seasons. He would earn 3 All Star Game invitations as a Cardinal plus one more with the Cubs in 1963. His 24-11 record with the Cubs in 1964 would earn him second place in the Cy Young voting. Unfortunately for Jackson, the award was only given to one pitcher, not one per league as it is done today. Jackson was clearly the best pitcher in the National League in 1964. Not only could Jackson pitch, but he could also field his position, earning him the reputation of being the best defensive pitcher of his generation. He would consistently lead the league in fielding percentage and at one time held the major league record for most consecutive chances without an error. By any measure, Larry Jackson was a bona fide ace.

Jackson would pitch well enough to win all three opening day starts, but would end up 1-1 with one no-decision. A blown save by Jim Brosnan in 1959 would cost him a win against the Giants. Some shaky Cardinals defense and a lack of hitting would hand Jackson a tough loss against the Giants in 1960. In his last opening day start for the Cardinals in 1962, the schedule makers gave Jackson the advantage as he would earn an easy win against the expansion New York Mets.

You may be asking why Jackson didn’t get the opening day start in 1961 ? During spring training, he was hit by a piece of Duke Snyder’s shattered bat and suffered a badly broken jaw. He would miss the remainder of spring training as well as the first two weeks of the regular season. Because his jaws were wired shut, the liquid diet did not give him adequate nutrition and he lost a lot of weight. As a result he struggled early in the season. By July 1, all of that was in the past and he would have a terrific second half, posting an 11-3 record with an ERA just over 3 runs per game.

As for home openers during Jackon’s era,Vinegar Bend Mizell and Lindy McDaniel would combine for a nice 5-2 win over the Cubs in 1960.

Before moving on, let’s close the book on Larry Jackson.

After a blowout season in 1964, Jackson ran into a bit of trouble in 1965, losing 21 games. He didn’t pitch poorly, in fact quite the opposite. It was more a reflection of the Cubs than anything Jackson had done. Early in the 1966 season he would be traded to the Phillies in their version of the Lou Brock for Ernie Broglio deal, with the Cubs receiving a young right hander named Ferguson Jenkins. After getting off to a slow start for the Cubs in 1966, Jenkins would go on to win 20 or more games for six consecutive seasons (67-72). He would start nearly 40 games a season, and average over 300 innings pitched during that stretch. He would win the Cy Young award in 1971 with his league leading 24 victories, and get a second place in 1967 and third place in 1970 and 1972. Yes, the Cubs got the better of that trade, perhaps to make up for the Lou Brock deal in June 1964.

While nowhere near as dazzling, Jackson had a fine end to his career in Philadelphia. Jackson was selected by the Montreal Expos in the 1969 expansion draft and rather than pitch for another losing team, he retired after the 1968 season.

Ernie Broglio (1961, 1963, 1964) 1-1 with 1 no decision

Ernie Broglio

Ernie Broglio would get the next few opening day starts – 1961, 1963 and 1964. Like Jackson, the fan favorite would go 1-1 with one no decision.

The 1961 opening day in Milwaukee against the Braves was a great game. If featured two of the best pitchers at the time, Broglio (who had gone 21-9 in 1960) and Warren Spahn (who was one of the greatest left handed pitchers ever, and had gone 21-10 in 1960). Few runs were scored, as expected, and Broglio left after 7 innings with the Cardinals down 1-0. A late run by the Cardinals tied the game and a home run off Spahn in the 10th inning gave reliever Lindy McDaniel the victory.

In 1963, Broglio would open the season in New York against the Mets. He would throw a complete game 2 hit shutout, striking out 8. Young Ray Washburn would follow that up with a 4 hit complete game shutout. And to complete the most amazing start to a season, veteran left hander Curt Simmons would throw a complete game shutout in the home opener against the Phillies. Three games, three shutouts. What a start to the 1963 season. If not for a certain left handed pitcher in Los Angeles, the Cardinals might have won the pennant in 1963.

Broglio would have the misfortune of hooking up against that same lefty, Sandy Koufax, in the last of his opening day starts for the Cardinals. The year would be 1964, and Broglio was about to be traded to the Cubs for a young unknown left fielder. The trade would be one of the most lopsided in baseball history – certainly one of the most unpopular. Broglio would develop arm trouble and his career would soon be over. We all know how the Lou Brock story ends – a trip to Cooperstown, NY.

In the 1964 opener, Broglio would be let down by his team’s defense and Ron Taylor could not keep the game close. Koufax was, well….. Koufax and he threw a nice complete game shutout. The Cardinals had their chances but could never break through against the lefty. Not many teams did.

Curt Simmons (1966) No decision

Curt Simmons

During the Ernie Broglio era, Curt Simmons would get the start in the home openers in 1961, 1963 and a rather late one in 1964. As he did so frequently in a Cardinals uniform, Simmons would pitch well and go 2-0 with one no-decision.

Curt Simmons would get the opening day start in 1966, the last of his Cardinals career. He would face the Phillies and their left handed ace, Chris Short. Short is at the high point in his career, winning 17 in 1964 and 18 more in 1965. He would go on to win 20 for the only time in his career in 1966. On this day, he was as good as any pitcher the Cardinals had faced. He would go 9 2/3 innings before being relieved by former Cardinal, Roger Craig. Simmons pitched well for the Cardinals, but the story was the bullpen. Nelson Briles, Joe Hoerner and Al Jackson had pitched 4 innings of shutout baseball. Dennis Aust, a short right hander would finish up the game with 2 strong innings. Unfortunately he would pitch three. In the twelfth inning, former Cardinal Bill White and future Cardinal Richie Allen would get to Aust and give him the only decision in his short career, an opening day loss.

Bob Gibson (1965, 1967-1975) 2-2 with 6 no decisions

Bob Gibson

The Gibson era would truly begin with a historic season opener in 1965 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. New manager Red Schoendienst was handed one of the finest rotations in Cardinals history, and at the top of it was Bob Gibson. Gibson would respond with the first of his five 20 win seasons (to go with two more 19 win seasons and an 18 win one). Facing Gibson was former Cardinal ace, Larry Jackson. Jackson wouldn’t make it out of the first inning as the Cardinals jumped out to a quick lead. Cubs errors (5 on the day) and the inability to find the strike zone doomed Jackson. Unfortunately Gibson was not all that much more effective and left after 3 1/3 innings. The bullpen did not fare any better as Ron Taylor, Tracy Stallard and Barney Schultz got roughed up by Cubs bats, although Stallard was the best of the three, going 4 1/3 innings and allowing only a single hit. It was that hit plus a walk that led to a Ron Santo three run homer in the bottom of the ninth off Barney Schultz which tied the game at 9.

What happens next makes this game historic. In the bottom of the tenth inning, a young left hander named Steve Carlton makes his major league debut. He faces one batter, and walks him. To make things even more historic, the game would end after 10 innings as a 10-10 tie. Yes, a tie in the Major Leagues. In 1965, there were no lights at Wrigley field and there was a late afternoon curfew that came into play.

The game would be made up on July 11 and the Cardinals would lose both games of the double header 6-0. Wrigley Field wasn’t being friendly to the Cards lefties on this day.

Gibson would return as the opening day starter in 1967 and throw a complete game shutout against the Giants, striking out 13 along the way. Not to be outdone, he would combine with Ray Washburn to throw a brilliant 3 hitter against the Braves in 1968. Washburn would collect the victory in relief. With a healthy Ray Washburn, the Cardinals run on their second consecutive National League pennant was all but assured. The only question would be who they would face in the fall classic.

Gibson would again take the mound in the 1969 opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates, but would be long gone by the time a decision was recorded. As they had been for several years, Bob Gibson and Joe Hoerner were brilliant. Gibson went 9 innings, striking out 10. Hoerner went another 4 innings without allowing a hit, facing the minimum number of hitters (12). Mel Nelson would take the mound in the 14th inning give up 4 runs in 2/3 of an inning. This was Nelson’s second time with the Cardinals and this would be his only decision in his final year in the majors.

In 1970, Gibson would open the season in Montreal and combine with Chuck Taylor for a nice 7-2 win. George Culver, obtained from Cincinnati for long time fan favorite Ray Washburn, got the home opener against the Mets and pitched a good game for the win.

The 1971 opening day game was one for the ages. It featured two of the best right handers in the game – Bob Gibson and Chicago’s Fergie Jenkins. The battle in Chicago did not disappoint anybody, although Cardinal fans didn’t like the outcome. Both men brought their “A” game, as they always did when facing each other. Jenkins went 10 innings, allowing only a single run on a home run by Joe Torre. Gibson went the distance as well, 9 1/3 innings. A one out home run by Billy Williams in the bottom of the 10th inning was the difference in the game as the Cubs won 2-1.

The home opener in 1971 was a sentimental one as the St. Louis native, lefty Jerry Reuss took the mound against the Giants. He lasted all of three innings and would take the loss. Reuss would never live up to his potential for the team he grew up watching. After a clash with Cardinals owner Gussie Busch over facial hair, Reuss would be sent to Houston following the season. He would go on to have a nice long career for Pittsburgh and Los Angeles, helping both teams get into post-season with regularity. He would end his 22 year career with an amazing 220 victories, which proves that if you are a lefty and can throw strikes, you can have a long career in the major leagues.

In 1972, Gibson would open the season at home against the Montreal Expos. Montreal would get off to a quick lead on a two run homer by future Cardinal Mike Jorgensen. Gibson would settle down and leave after 6 innings, down 2-0. The Cardinals would later tie the game at 2. In his second inning of relief, Al Santorini would give up a leadoff single to future Cardinal, Ron Hunt. Jose Cruz misplayed Hunt’s single, allowing him to advance to second. An infield ground out and a sacrifice fly and the Expos led 3-2, a lead they would make hold up. One hit and Santorini takes a hard luck loss.

Bob Gibson takes a 5-2 lead into the bottom of the 8th inning in the 1973 opener at Pittsburgh. With one out, the Pirates loaded the bases against Gibson and Red Schoendienst went to his bullpen, calling on Diego Segui. Segui would be lit up like a Christmas Tree and would take the loss as the Pirates scored 5 runs, three being charged to Gibson.

Bob Gibson would face former Cardinal Jerry Reuss in the home opener in 1974. It was a typical Reuss pitched game. The Cardinals always seemed to have runners in scoring position, and managed to plate 4 of them in his 7 innings. Gibson went 8, and while he looked much better than Reuss, the score was tied at 4. The Cardinals would light up former Cardinal relief specialist, Dave Guisti and Al Hrabosky would earn the first of his 8 victories, although it was not a spotless outing for the Mad Hungarian. Al Hrabosky put together two amazing seasons in 1974 and 1975, going a combined 21-4, all in relief. Many of those appearances were multiple innings. Nobody was any better than Hungo and he received quite a few Cy Young votes for his 13-3 1.66 ERA 1975 season.

In his last season in the majors, Bob Gibson took the ball on opening day against the Montreal Expos. This was a historic game as two of the best pitchers of their era were making their last opening day starts. Facing Gibson was former Baltimore Orioles ace, Dave McNally. Both hurlers would finish the season with 3 victories, McNally getting one of them in this game. A huge crowd turned out to cheer on these two legends, and both starters turned in a good game. Had Red gone to his bullpen after 7 innings like he should have, Gibson might have one more victory. Cardinal fans will still remember those 12 strikeouts, as if it was Gibson’s farewell gift to all those in attendance.

In the post-Gibson era, Lynn McGlothen would get the first opening day start in 1976. It was hoped that McGlothen would follow in Gibson’s footsteps, but alas that was not to be. John Denny and Bob Forsch would get the next opening day starts as the Cardinals searched for an ace to anchor the top of the rotation. That would eventually happen as Joaquin Andujar and John Tudor formed one of the best 1-2 starters in the 1980s.

Bob Netherton covers Cardinals history for i70baseball.com and writes at On the Outside Corner. You may follow Bob on Twitter here or on Facebook here.

Every baseball nerd worth his weight in Topps cards can vividly recall the events of July 24, 1983 at Yankee Stadium. Whether you were alive and in attendance or not, the film roll itself is replayed consistently for us to witness. Legendary Yankee hurler Goose Gossage was on the mound, Royal U.L. Washington was on first and future Hall Of Famer George Brett was on his way to the plate. The Yankees were ahead 4-3 in the ninth inning and with one swing of the bat, Brett sent a meaningless middle of the year game straight into history. Brett connected with a home run, Yankee manager Billy Martin protested, and the Pine Tar Incident was born.

In the midst of the tirade and subsequent arguments, Brett, Royals manager Dick Howser, Gerald Perry and Rocky Colavito were ejected from the game. Brett was called out, the home run nullified and the Yankees won. That is where most fans think the situation ended.

But the Royals protested the game. The rule at the time stated that pine tar could not be used more than 18 inches from the handle of the bat. However, the rule simply stated that if that provision was broken, the bat was to be taken out of play. There were no provisions for the hitter to be called out or there to be an ejection. The home plate umpire, Tim McClelland used his knowledge of other rules and ultimately the rule of “Umpire Prerogative” to decide the consequences of the illegal bat.

The protest was taken to Lee MacPhail, American League President, and upheld. The two teams would meet on a mutual day off to resume the game. The home run would stand, as would the ejections, and the game would resume on August 18.

Pine tar was not outlawed because it would give a player an advantage when striking the ball. It was outlawed in order to keep more balls in play and thus not use more new baseballs then necessary during a game. It was simply because of the black mark it would leave on the ball.

Billy Martin, not to be outdone, filed his own protests to attempt to intervene. In front of a new umpire crew, Martin appealed to each base prior to the first pitch being thrown to Hal McRae on August 18th. Martin contended that Brett did not touch all the bases and the umpire crew could not dispute that fact. However, a signed affidavit from the original umpire crew was produced stating that Brett had come into contact with all four bases. Obviously, the league was ready for Billy Martin.

Not able to change the ruling, Martin took matters into his own hands to make the four out affair as big of a laughing stock as he possible could by sending Ron Guidry, a pitcher, to play center field. He would also send his legendary first baseman Don Mattingly to play second base. Mattingly would become the first left handed second baseman in almost two decades due to the antics of his manager.

The Yankees would send George Frazier to the mound to retire Hal McRae almost a month after the inning started. The Royals closer Dan Quisenberry would pitch a perfect bottom of the ninth to put a win on the board for the Royals and bring to an end a game that is truly legendary.

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.
Follow him on Twitter here.

Over the last two weeks, the writers at I-70 Baseball have shared their perspectives on the 1985 World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals. It was an amazing time for both organizations, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the I-70 Baseball series, especially from the perspective of the Kansas City writers and those too young to have experienced it firsthand. No coverage of that great Series would be complete with a discussion of Don Denkinger’s call in Game Six. If you have not already done so, please read Aaron Stilley’s outstanding article, 22%: Quantifying the Denkinger Call. Whether or not you can put the call behind you, as Bill Ivie suggests, one area where we can all find agreement is that there have been other controversial calls in baseball’s history. What you may not know is that one such call by a future Hall of Fame umpire had a similar impact on the outcome of the 1968 World Series. Here is story of October 7, 1968.

Game One

For fans of pitching, Game One of the 1968 World Series was one of the best in the history of the game. It featured two of the most dominating pitchers of their era, Bob Gibson and his 1.12 ERA versus the 31 game winner in Denny McLain. The two did not disappoint. Gibson pitched one of the best games in his career, striking out a record 17 batters on the day, including seven Tigers the first time through the order. Gibson had all of his pitches working – fastball, slider, change-up (yes, a wicked change-up) and a completely devastating curveball that Gibson won’t even acknowledge to this day. While Gibson breezed through the Tigers batting order, McLain struggled early. He fought Tom Gorman, the home plate umpire from the National League, all afternoon. Gorman refused to give McLain the high strike he had been getting in the regular season, and the big right hander was slow to adapt to the smaller strike zone. The Cardinals started exploiting McLain’s troubles in the third inning, finally breaking through in the fourth with three runs on a pair of walks and two RBI singles. McLain would exit the game early, turning the ball over to Pat Dobson and Don McMahon, who both pitched well. The only blemish was a solo home run to Lou Brock off Dobson. The Cardinals would win the game 4-0 behind the record setting performance of Bob Gibson. What the box scores don’t tell you is that even though McLain struggled, he nearly matched Gibson for the first half of the game.

Games Two, Three and Four

After a brilliant pitching duel in Game One, the respective offenses were on display for Games Two, Three and Four – or perhaps it was the vulnerabilities of the two bullpens. Because of Nelson Briles inability to keep the ball in the park, the Tigers were able to get into the Cardinals bullpen in Game Two, and bad things happened rather quickly. After surrendering his third home run of the game, all solo shots, an infield single by Willie Horton ended the day for the young right hander. Manager Red Schoendienst would go to his bullpen for the big left hander, Steve Carlton. Lefty would get hammered, giving up two more runs to the bottom of the Tigers batting order. Side armer Ron Willis was not any more effective the next inning and the Tigers had opened a huge lead. It is all Mickey Lolich would need as he shut the door on the Cardinals with a nifty complete game.

Fortunes would change for the Cardinals as the series moved to Detroit. Veterans Ray Washburn and Earl Wilson would do battle in Game Three. The Tigers jumped out to a 2-0 lead when Al Kaline took Washburn deep in the third inning. There is no shame in giving up a long ball to the Detroit slugger, and Washburn limited the damage to just two runs. The Cardinals would get to Wilson and reliever Pat Dobson, taking a 4-2 lead in the fifth. Washburn would give one of those runs back when Dick McAuliffe hit a solo homer. Schoendienst would again go to his bullpen, calling on Joe Hoerner who had been victimized badly late in the previous game. This time, Hoerner was solid as a rock, earning a save in 3 2/3 innings of nearly perfect relief. Meanwhile the Cardinals would again get to the Tigers bullpen on their way to a 7-3 victory.

The Tigers bullpen would again be torched in Game Four. While Bob Gibson was cruising to another dominating victory, the Cardinals bats lit up starter Denny McLain and relievers Joe Sparma and John Hiller. When the dust, or maybe more accurately, the mud settled, the Cardinals won in a 10-1 laugher. More importantly, they had taken a 3 games to 1 lead in the World Series while making the Tigers bullpen throw a lot of innings.

This brings us to Game Five, the pivotal game of the 1968 World Series.

Game Five

This last game in Detroit featured the starters from Game Two, Mickey Lolich for the Tigers and Nelson Briles for the Cardinals. This time it was Lolich that had trouble with the long ball, and early. The Cardinals would jump out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first inning on a lead-off double by Lou Brock, a single and stolen base from Curt Flood and a two run homer off the bat of Orlando Cepeda – a bat that had been far too quiet for most of the 1968 season. Lolich would bear down and limit the damage, pitching effectively against the bottom of the Cardinals batting order.

On the other side of the diamond, Briles was cruising along, as he had done throughout most of the 1968 season. A couple of hard hit balls in the home half of the fourth inning caused a bit of trouble for Briles as Mickey Stanley and Willie Horton both tripled and scored in the inning. At least the ball was staying the field of play this time around. Like Lolich in the first, Briles settled down and limited the damage by retiring Bill Freehan to end the inning.

With the Cardinals holding on to a slim 3-2 lead and just 15 outs from their second consecutive World Series Title, we now proceed to the fifth inning, and the “other” blown call of the World Series.

The play

After Nelson Briles leads off the inning by striking out, Lou Brock nearly hits the ball out to left field. A great play by Willie Horton holds Brock to just a double. This defensive gem would become significant when Julian Javier singles to left field on the next play. Willie Horton comes up firing and throws a strike to Bill Freehan, who was blocking the plate. Brock actually beats the the throw to the plate, and unbelievably, Hall of Fame umpire Doug Harvey calls Brock out. A huge argument breaks out, involving the on deck batter, Curt Flood, Lou Brock, coach Joe Schultz and manager Schoendienst. Through all of this, Harvey remained resolute on his call, and the inning would eventually come to an end with Cardinals still nursing a slim one run lead.

After the game, Brock would defend his decision not to slide into home plate, as everybody expected. With Freehan blocking the plate, the only way for Brock to score would be to run through the Tigers catcher, which he did. What Harvey missed was Brock’s foot clearly on home plate before Freehan was able to turn and tag the speedy Brock. In his post game interview, Harvey even admitted to turning his attention away from the tag, calling it inevitable.

The best comment came from Bill Freehan, prior to Game Six in St. Louis. The Tigers catcher said, “After the game the other day, the writers came up to me and everybody wanted to know if Lou Brock had touched the plate or not. I told them I had to be the worst person in America to know because I was trying to catch the ball and couldn’t see a thing.” The grin on his face suggested otherwise.

The Implication

Had Harvey called Brock safe, the Cardinals would have had a two run lead at 4-2, instead of 3-2. They would also have had a speedy runner at second in Julian Javier. With only one out and the heart of the order coming up, the fifth inning in Game Five might have been a huge inning for the Cardinals. St. Louis had trouble with Lolich in Game Two, but he had not been particularly sharp thus far in Game Five. The momentum shift of a Brock run might have been all it took to rattle the Tigers lefty. The actual call had the opposite effect – Lolich toughened and the Cardinals would never really challenge him again.

The second domino to topple would happen in the bottom of the fifth inning. Trailing by two runs, with Briles crusing, Tigers manager Mayo Smith might have lifted Lolich for a pinch hitter. That would have put the game back in the hands of the Tigers bullpen, who had just been torched in the last two games. Down only a single run, Smith gambled, leaving Lolich in the game and that turned out to be the right decision as Lolich would be the one who cruised to the complete game victory, not Briles.

And we’re not done with the implications quite yet. With a two run lead, Red Schoendienst might have stayed with young Briles a bit longer when he got into trouble again in the bottom of the seventh inning. Down to just 8 outs for another championship, Schoendienst went to his bullpen, again calling on lefty Joe Hoerner. The Tigers ripped Hoerner just as they had at the end of Game Two, taking a 5-3 lead before the Cardinals reliever could record a single out. Ron Willis would finish the game, but the Tigers would go on to win this pivotal game.

The Outcome

The record books tell us how this story would end. In Game Six, the World Series would return to a soggy St. Louis. Denny McLain would shake off his early World Series troubles and pitch a dominating complete game. Cardinals starter Ray Washburn would not be so lucky, giving up five runs before leaving without getting a single out in the third inning. Larry Jaster, Ron Willis and Dick Hughes would follow Washburn in the third inning, and would also be hit hard. The game was not even an hour old and the Tigers had an insurmountable 12-0 lead. They would go on to win Game Six in a laugher, setting up a decisive Game Seven.

Not even Bob Gibson could salvage this series. He pitched well, but a late defensive miscue by the always dependable Curt Flood led to three tigers runs in the top of the seventh inning. That proved to be the difference in the game, and ultimately the series as Lolich continued his domination of Cardinals hitters, winning his third game and earning the 1968 World Series MVP award.

When looking back at the 1968 World Series, many historians will point at the Jim Northrup fly ball that Curt Flood played into a triple in Game Seven as the turning point. If you are willing to take a closer look, the controversial call by Doug Harvey in Game Five was just as devastating as Don Denkinger’s now infamous call in Game Six of the 1985 World Series. The difference is that Harvey’s call happened in the middle of the game, in the middle of the series.