The week of Thanksgiving brings a time for all of us to be thankful for family, friends, health, any a myriad of other things that each of us finds important. Here at I-70 Baseball, we take this time to show some thanks to some players that spent some time wearing both of the uniforms of our two teams, the Cardinals and Royals.

The requirements are that simple: the inducted player had to play for both the Cardinals and Royals in his career. From there, it is pure judgement of I-70 Baseball to say they deserve enshrinement in our “Hall Of Legends”. This year we induct five new legends to join the inaugural group of five from last season. The original five inductees were manager Whitey Herzog, pitchers Dan Quisenberry and Danny Jackson, outfielder Reggie Sanders, and catcher Darrell Porter.

The first inductee for 2011 was Vince Coleman. Today, we welcome Cookie Rojas.

There might not be a better example of how the game of baseball has changed in the last half century than Octavio Victor “Cuqui” Rojas. Born in Havana, Cuba on March 6, 1939, Rojas was an acrobatic middle infielder that played in the major leagues for 16 season, even though he was a career .263 hitter with an on-base percentage barely over .300. In the game today, every player is expected to contribute offensively and Rojas probably doesn’t make it out of the minor leagues. That would be such a loss for baseball because fans would be deprived of one of the best loved and perhaps smartest players to play the game.

There might not be a more easily recognized player either. If you somehow missed the translucent plastic frames holding those giant lenses, or the effervescent smile that can only come from somebody that loves what they are doing, just wait a few moments. Rojas will be the one diving for a ground ball or leaping high in the air to avoid a base runner while tuning a double play. In the end, he will leave you with a similar smile because you have just become another in a long line of Cookie Rojas fans.

Reds (1962)

Rojas was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in 1956, at the age of just 17. His dad had wanted him to be a doctor, but the young infielder had different ideas. He progressed through the Reds minor league system, playing for West Palm Beach (D) in 1956, Wassau (C) in 1957 and Savanah (A) in 1958. Although his power numbers improved and his glove was always solid, his overall batting average dropped at each level.

In 1959, he returned to his home town of Havana, which happened to be the Reds AAA affiliate. His batting average continued to fall, reaching a new low point of .233. With Leo Cardenas and Elio Chacon both hitting better than Rojas, Cookie would return to Havana for the 1960 season, a most unusual one for the franchise. When Fidel Castro nationalized all US-owned businesses in Cuba, the Reds moved the Sugar Kings to Jersey City for the remainder of the season. Rojas continued to struggle at the plate.

With Chacon and Cardenas with the big club, Rojas got more playing time with the Jersey City Jerseys (AAA) in 1961, and he made the best of it. His offensive numbers improved significantly, his batting average jumping to .265. He would also drive in 44 runs. This would turn out to be the story of Rojas career – the more playing time he got, the better his production at the plate.

Rojas make the Reds out of spring training to start the 1962 season, and made his major league debut against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 10. In his first major league at-bat, he would lay down a sacrifice bunt, moving Eddie Kasko over to third base ahead of Vada Pinson and Frank Robinson. That would be another trademark of Rojas career – although he didn’t hit with power or any great regularity, he could handle the bat in sacrifice situations. After two months of struggling at the plate, Rojas would finish the season with the Reds new AAA Affiliate, the Dallas-Ft. Worth Rangers, but he would be back soon, as a September callup.

With the Reds infield looking set for the foreseeable future, they traded Rojas to the Philadelphia Phillies after the 1962 . In return, the Reds got a right handed pitcher named Jim “Bear” Owens. Owens would not last long in Cincinnati. He would be sent down to the minors and Houston would claim him in the Rule 5 draft.

Philadelphia (1963 – 1969)

Philadelphia had two very good middle infielders, Bobby Wine and Tony Taylor, but Rojas found a way to get into games, first backing up Taylor at second base and then occasionally in the outfield. As his hitting improved in 1963, the Phillies found any way they could to get Rojas into games. He would play all eight defensive positions in 1964, and again in 1965. With a batting average finally over .300, Rojas would get an invitation to play in the 1965 All Star Game, as a second baseman. He would also receive some MVP votes, recognition for his improvement and ability to play anywhere he was needed.

What was originally a stunt to keep him in the lineup had become yet another trademark of his major league career – the ultimate utility player. But even that would eventually come to an end as Rojas became the every day second baseman, taking over those duties from Tony Taylor in 1966. He and Bobby Wine would turn into one of the best double play combinations in baseball. Fans would start calling duo the plays of “Wine and Rojas”, referring to the popular song, “The Days of Wine and Roses”.

The one position Rojas had yet to play was pitcher, and that changed in a blowout against the Giants on June 30, 1967. Trailing 12-3, Rojas came into the game in the ninth inning. He gave up a single to Tom Haller. Hal Lanier reached base on an error. Rojas then retired Tito Fuentes, Juan Marichal and Willie Mays to end the inning, stranding both base runners. That would be his only relief appearance, so his career ERA stands at 0.00 and his WHIP is just 1.000.

With a young infield prospect named Denny Doyle turning heads in the Phillies farm system, Rojas would be traded away to make room at the end of the 1969 season. The Cardinals were also ready to shake up their roster, and the two teams agreed on a multi-player deal that would alter baseball history. St. Louis would send Tim McCarver, Byron Browne, Joe Hoerner and Curt Flood to Philadelphia for Rojas, Richie Allen and Jerry Johnson. Curt Flood would refuse to report to the Phillies and the Cardinals were forced to send prospects Willie Montanez and Jim Browning to complete the deal. Flood would challenge the reserve clause in 1970, eventually losing, but that would make way for a successful challenge four years later.

St. Louis (1970)

Cardinals fans were excited to see Rojas in a Cardinals uniform after all the years of watching him as a member of the Phillies. With injuries and age starting to catch up to Julian Javier, the happiness over Rojas was tempered by sadness in the realization that Javier’s Cardinals days were coming to an end. Surprisingly, it was Rojas that left first, not Javier. But not before one exciting play.

The date was April 14 and the Montreal Expos were in St. Louis. In a rare rough outing from Bob Gibson, an early 3-0 Cardinals lead had turned into a 4-3 deficit in the top of the seventh inning. Thanks to some outstanding relief pitching and a Jose Cardenal home run in the bottom of the inning, the Cardinals tied the game, and it went into extra innings.

In the top of the tenth inning, Sal Campisi gives up a 2 out walk to Mack Jones. Marv Staehle triples Jones home to give Montreal a 5-4 lead. Howie Reed tries to close out the game for the Expos, but the Cardinals had a much different plan. Leron Lee leads off the bottom of the tenth with a single. Joe Hague reaches base when Bob Bailey boots a ground ball. Julian Javier fails to advance the runners, forcing Lee at third base on a fielders choice. Pinch hitter, Jim Campbell singles home Hague to tie the game. Vic Davalillo is intentionally walked to load the bases, setting up the double play at just about any base. Cookie Rojas comes off the bench to pinch hit for Sal Campisi and hits a slow roller to third base. It is too slow to turn a double play and Javier scores easily with the winning run. Leave it to Rojas to deliver a walk off single and the ball never leaves the infield.

That would be the lone highlight of Rojas Cardinals career as he would be traded to Kansas City in early June.

Kansas City (1970 – 1977)

Even though he failed to find a home in St. Louis, Cookie couldn’t have found a better place to launch his second career than with the expansion Kansas City Royals. He immediately took over second base duties, and just as he had done in Philadelphia, raised his batting average back to a respectable level. He would hit .260 for the rest of the 1970 season and .268 for his entire time with the Royals.

Fans immediately fell in love with Rojas and his acrobatic plays at second base. One of them was captured by the Topps baseball card photographer and his 1971 card remains one of my all time favorites. That image says everything you need to know about Cookie Rojas.

1971 would be a very good year for Rojas, hitting .300 for the second time in his career. He would also set a new career high for on-base percentage (.357) and slugging (.406). He would also be rewarded with his second All Star Game invitation, the first of four consecutive in which he would represent the Royals. He also received more than a token nod in the MVP ballots.

Perhaps his greatest moment as a member of the Royals came in the 1972 All Star Game. With the American League trailing 2-1 in the eighth inning, Rojas steps up to the plate with Carlton Fisk on first base and two outs. Rojas pulls a Bill Stoneman pitch deep into the Atlanta left field seats for a 2 run homer, giving the American League a 3-2 lead. That home run was also historic in that it was the first AL homer to be hit by a non-American born player. Unfortunately for Rojas, Wilbur Wood could not make the one run lead hold up and the National League would win 5-4 in 10 innings.

Rojas continued to play well for the Royals, but as in Philadelphia, he was about to lose his job to a younger and more talented prospect. This time it would be Frank White, but instead of being traded away, Kansas City was smart and kept Rojas around for the rest of his career, which ended in 1977. That also helped the fans who were slow to embrace White, preferring to see their favorite, Rojas, playing every day. Once again, Rojas versatility came into play, backing up White at second base, occasionally playing third and even, ironically, as a designated hitter.

Rojas playing career ended in 1977, but that was not the end of his baseball career.

The Rest of the Story

For his long and productive major league career, Cookie Rojas has been honored as a member of both the Philadelphia Phillies and Kansas City Royals Baseball Hall of Fame, as well as in his homeland of Cuba.

Rojas stayed involved with baseball, first as a scout and then as a coach. In 1988, he managed the California Angels, but after failing to reach .500, was replaced with 8 games remaining in the season. Rojas returned to coaching with the Florida Marlins, New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays.

You can find Cookie Rojas today as the Spanish language broadcaster with Fox Sports Florida, providing color commentary on all Marlins home games. His son, Victor, is also also a broadcaster, first with the Texas Rangers and now with the California Angels.

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.

The week of Thanksgiving brings a time for all of us to be thankful for family, friends, health, any a myriad of other things that each of us finds important. Here at I-70 Baseball, we take this time to show some thanks to some players that spent some time wearing both of the uniforms of our two teams, the Cardinals and Royals.

The requirements are that simple: the inducted player had to play for both the Cardinals and Royals in his career. From there, it is pure judgement of I-70 Baseball to say they deserve enshrinement in our “Hall Of Legends”. This year we induct five new legends to join the inaugural group of five from last season. The original five inductees were manager Whitey Herzog, pitchers Dan Quisenberry and Danny Jackson, outfielder Reggie Sanders, and catcher Darrell Porter.

The first inductee for 2011 is Vince Coleman.

Coleman was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1982 and it did not take long for him to race (pun intended) onto the scene at the big league level. The speedy outfielder was built for the Whiteyball area of the St. Louis Cardinals and the team quickly had him in the leadoff role as the 1985 season got underway.

That rookie year was not perfect by any means, but the young man managed to reach base at a .320 clip while hitting .267. It was what he did when he was on base that captured the focus of fans across the nation. Coleman successfully stole 110 bases that year while also being caught 25 times, leading the league in both categories and capturing the Rookie Of The Year Award (later named the Jackie Robinson Award in 1987) in the National League that season. His 110 steals would fall just short of Cardinal legend Lou Brock‘s national league record of 118, but would establish the record that still stands today of steals by a rookie.

The dreaded sophomore slump would gRip Coleman‘s batting average and on base percentage, dropping the former to .232 and the latter to .301. As the old saying toes, however, speed doesn’t slump. Despite his drop in ability to reach base safely, he would lead the league again in stolen bases, this time with 107. He would also cut down the amount of times he was caught on the bases, being thrown out a paltry 14 times over the course of the season.

Coleman’s third year in the majors wearing the birds on the bat would see him achieve another etching in the record books. In arguably the most successful seasons of his career, Coleman would raise his batting average to .289 and his on base percentage to .363. The batting average would eventually prove to be the second best average Coleman would ever post and his on base percentage would rank as his best of his 13 year career. His increased time spent on the base paths would yield 109 stolen bases, the first player in history to steal 100 or more bases for three consecutive season.

As the 1988 season developed, Coleman would find himself once again atop the league in stolen bases, this time for the fourth consecutive season. He would fail to top 100 stolen bases for the first time in his career, swiping just 81 while being caught 27 times. Coleman would make the first of his two career all star appearances in that year’s mid summer classic. His production would slip again in 1989, falling to just 65 stolen bases, which was still good enough to lead the league. He would make is final appearance in the All Star Game that year. The remarkable thing happened for Coleman was a record that started in 1988 and was completed in 1989.

In the top of the sixth inning of a contest between the Cubs and the Cardinals in Chicago on September 18, Vince Coleman would swipe second base off of Greg Maddux and Jody Davis with Jose Oquendo at the plate. It led to the Cardinals’ fourth run of the contest, a game they would eventually win 5-4. Fast forward to July 26, 1989 as the Cubs would meet the Cardinals in St. Louis. In a game once again won by the Cardinals, Coleman would steal second base in the bottom of the third off of Cubs hurler Rick Sutcliffe and catcher Joe Giradi. The following game, played on July 28 in Montreal, Coleman would be thrown out in the fourth inning attempting to steal second base off of Pascual Perez and cather Nelson Santovenia. It would bring to end a treak of 50 straight stolen bases by Coleman, another record that is still standing today.

Coleman would spend his final season in St. Louis in 1990, stealing 77 bases and leading the league for the final time in his career, the sixth consecutive time. He would post his highest batting average of his career at .292 before departing the city via free agency to head to the bright lights of New York City to join the Mets.

Three injury ridden years in New York would come to a close after the 1993 season when Coleman was traded back into the midwest to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for Kevin McReynolds. Coleman’s health would rebound in 1994 as he put together a decent season for the Royals, stealing 50 bases. He would steal another 26 bases in a Royals uniform the following season before being dealt to the Seattle Mariners for the stretch run of 1995.

Coleman would steal 625 bases combined for the I-70 franchises, winning the Rookie Of The Year Award and appearing in two all star games. He “leads-off” the 2011 selections for the Hall Of Legends.

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.

Matt Holliday hurt his finger while swinging a bat in the on-deck circle Tuesday night. Doctors found the tendon for the ring finger on his right hand inflamed when they examined him on Wednesday. Holliday will miss this weekend’s series with Philadelphia.

Hurting one’s finger while warming up has to qualify for weirdest injury ever, right? How unlucky can you be? Unfortunately, the Cardinals are no strangers to freak injuries. Here’s a short list of other odd injuries that have recently befallen the franchise.

Freese breaks toe, 2010. While rehabilitating from an earlier injury, part-time third baseman David Freese dropped a weight plate on his left foot, breaking his big toe. He missed the rest of the season.

Matheny cuts hand, 2000. Mike Matheny was a Gold Glove catcher for the Cardinals in 2000, and the team returned to the playoffs for the first time in 4 seasons. On the last Friday of that regular season Matheny received a hunting knife as a birthday present; since it was wrapped, he didn’t realize it was a knife until after he had opened it and almost sliced the ring finger off his right hand. Matheny missed the 2000 playoffs.

Osborne cuts hand, 1996. In Tony LaRussa‘s first year as manager, and a year after finishing 19 games under .500, the Cardinals were NL Central Champions, headed to the post-season for the first time since 1987. Dutifully, Cardinal management provided champagne for the players to enjoy the day they clinched the division title. At some point, one of the bottles was broken, and as (un)luck would have it, Cardinal lefty Donovan Osborne cut his pitching hand grabbing that bottle. 1996 was the best year of Osborne’s career, and based on ERA+ he was the ace of the staff. Osborne got shelled in two of his three post-season starts, including Game 7 of the NLCS against Atlanta.

Cox breaks ankle, 1986. Danny Cox was an 18-game winner for the NL Champs in 1985, combining with Joaquin Andujar and John Tudor to form a formidable rotation for the Cardinals. In a harbinger of the season to come, he jumped off a 3-foot seawall while fishing during spring training and chipped a bone in his right ankle. The surgery to remove the chip, and subsequent recovery, caused the righty to miss the first month of the 1986 season. St Louis staggered out of the gate, was 10 games under .500 on 31 May, and finished 79-82.

Coleman and the tarp, 1985. Quite possibly the most famous of all the Cardinal freak injuries. Vince Coleman, arguably the fastest man in baseball, the 1985 NL Rookie of the Year, owner of 110 stolen bases, was run down by the 1.5 MPH automatic tarp machine before Game 3 of the 1985 NLCS against the Dodgers. Without him as the catalyst for their attack, St Louis put up a puny .309 OBP and recorded only 8 successful steals (they were caught 8 times) during the rest of the post-season (13 games).

Matt should only be out 4 or 5 games. The bad news: that’s 38% of the Cardinals remaining games. Trying to make up 4 games on Atlanta with 13 left to play just got a lot harder.

Mike is a life-long Cardinals fan currently sitting in San Diego with his fingers crossed. He blogs about the San Diego Padres.

The St. Louis Cardinals hosted a special Guest of Honor at Busch Stadium Friday night for their game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. In the process, they may have rekindled a debate that has been going on for the better part of a decade. And it involves arguably the best offensive player of the Whiteyball era.

On the night he was immortalized by his very own bobblehead figurine, Willie McGee returned to St. Louis to sign some autographs (with fellow Cardinal great Vince Coleman), be paraded around the warning track in a shiny new pickup truck, and throw out the ceremonial first pitch to Coleman while their teammate Ozzie Smith served as umpire.

McGee’s endearment to the Cardinal fan base is immeasurable and unshakable. He is easily one of the most popular players in Cardinal history. Fans were lining up outside Busch as early as noon on Friday to guarantee a spot in line to get the outfielder’s autograph and make sure they got their McGee bobblehead. By 5:00—still 15 minutes before the gates even open—the stadium was completely ringed with lines of fans. McGee #51 jerseys draped the backs of hundreds, maybe thousands in attendance. And McGee, a sheepish yet genuine smile permanently plastered on his face, looked almost embarrassed by all the love sent his way. No one expected any more or less.

That’s the emotional side of the story. Cardinal fans genuinely love Willie McGee. One almost universally used descriptor of McGee is humble…that has something to do with it. McGee never once gave off a single vibe of “me first” or taking his position in life for granted. And McGee never dogged it in any aspect of his game. He’s a perfect fit here, because St. Louis sports fans cannot get enough of the two H’s: humility and hustle.

But McGee also produced on the field. Everyone knows about the batting titles, the plays in the 1982 World Series, the 1985 MVP, gold gloves, etc. What may come as a surprise is just how good statistically McGee was during his time as a Cardinal from 1982-1990.

During that period, McGee had more hits (1,362) than any other Cardinal. He had the most singles (1,030) and triples (76), and finished second to Smith in doubles. He had the third-most stolen bases (274), behind Coleman and Smith. McGee also had the most RBI of any Cardinal in that period (545) and only Ozzie scored more runs. And the biggest surprise of all is that McGee’s home run total in that era (52) is only surpassed by Jack Clark‘s (66).

In the field, McGee may not have been a defensive wizard (pun intended) like Ozzie but he more than held his own. McGee won three Gold Gloves as a Cardinal, playing mostly center field. It may not have always looked pretty, but McGee had the range and athleticism to get the job done. And for that team in that time and playing in that stadium, his defensive skills were just fine.

McGee had all the tools necessary to make him the perfect Whiteyball player: speed, solid defense, timely hitting, and a little bit of power. His defense could never hold a candle to Ozzie; whose could? But it’s possible Willie McGee is a little underrated as an offensive player. He may have been the Cardinals’ best all-around hitter during the Whiteyball era. Think of the importance that title carries.

That’s the logical side of the story. Nearly every time McGee’s name is brought up, the debate about whether his #51 should be retired or not fires up right along with it. The Cardinals, officially, only retire uniform numbers when the player gets inducted into the Hall of Fame (Ken Boyer excepted). McGee’s career numbers are not good enough to earn him that distinction. Others argue that since the Cards already have 11 numbers taken out of rotation, the team must be prudent with future retirement or they’ll run out of digits for future players to wear. But many fans believe #51 should be retired. They believe McGee deserves the same team accolades that other key members of the Cards’ most successful eras have received. McGee was on two NL Championship teams and one World Series winner for the Cardinals in the 80s. And after being traded to the Oakland A’s in 1990, McGee returned to the Cards 5+ seasons later to help them make the playoffs again in 1996. But that time in the 80s, that Whiteyball era, was so special and so remarkable. Even now, as Cardinal fans witness the unprecedented career of Albert Pujols and the success Tony LaRussa-led squads have had here since 2000, there is still a very noticeable pining for that brand of baseball played in St. Louis more than two decades ago. And Willie McGee was as important to the success of those teams as any other player…even Ozzie Smith.

Maybe a professional team can’t retire a uniform number just because everyone loves that player. That would be especially dangerous in St. Louis, where half the team is, at the very least, treated like extended family. But when coupling the pinnacle of that popularity with top offensive and defensive stats in maybe the most franchise-defining era in team history, perhaps the real question is why wouldn’t the Cardinals retire Willie McGee’s #51?

Chris Reed also writes for InsideSTL Mondays and Bird Brained whenever he feels like it. Follow him on Twitter at @birdbrained.

Vince Coleman will celebrate his 50^th birthday in September, and he is still confident that he could lead this year’s Cardinals in stolen bases.

“There’s no doubt in my mind I could do it,” Coleman said by phone this week from his home in San Diego. “Have them call me. I’d be glad to go out there and steal a base or two.”

It would not take many more than that for Coleman to become the team’s leader in stolen bases, which has dramatically become a lost art to anyone wearing a St. Louis uniform.

They came within three games of setting a franchise record for the most consecutive games without a stolen base earlier this year, going 33 games in a row without a steal, and since June 4, have stolen a combined five bases as a team in 55 games – with 13 caught stealing. Their season total of 39 steals in 115 games is only one more than the Cubs, but add in the fact that they have had 28 runners thrown out trying to steal, and their success rate of 58 percent is the lowest in the National League.

The last stolen bases they have had out of the leadoff spot in the order came on May 6. The team has a combined seven steals out of that spot, the lowest total in the league, and has had six runners caught stealing.

The individual leader on the team, Tyler Greene with nine steals, has spent almost as much time in Triple A as he has on the major league roster. Of the players on the current roster, Albert Pujols leads the team with six steals. There are 57 players in the NL with a higher total.

What in the name of Coleman and Lou Brock is going on here? A franchise which once stole 314 bases in a season, and had those two players top 100 by themselves, can’t steal more bases than this?

Coleman thinks part of the reason is that the art of stealing bases is not taught in the minor leagues, as it was in his day in the 1980s, and that baserunners in the major leagues do not study the pitchers as and his teammates did in the 1980s.

“If Don Blasingame had not been an instructor in the minor leagues I wouldn’t have learned how to read pitchers as well as I did,” said Coleman, who stole 549 bases in his six years as a Cardinal between 1985-1990. “I knew what to look for and passed that knowledge on to my teammates. Whitey (Herzog) gave us the freedom and the green light to run at will. 

“Every pitcher has a flaw, and I don’t think today they study that and see what the flaw is.”

Coleman disputes the notion that the development of a “quick-step” move by pitchers slowed down the running game in the majors. He said pitchers who try that generally fall behind in the count, and then have to change to try to throw strikes in order to not walk the next batter.

“It just meant I would steal on the third or fourth pitch instead of the first or second,” Coleman said.

The Cardinals have had successful teams which did not steal many bases in the past. The World Champion 2006 squad stole only 59 bases for the season, and the next year’s total fell to 56 – the fewest by any team managed by Tony La Russa in the last 33 years. This year’s team already is ahead of the franchise record for fewest steals in a season – a meager 17 by the 1949 Cardinals.

Despite their lack of steals, which also includes the inability of going from first to third base on a single to the outfield, the Cardinals still lead the NL in runs and hits. Just think how much better off they would be even if they were at least average in the baserunning department? Think they might have grounded into a fewer double plays if they had players who could steal second?

To their credit, the scouting and player development personnel identified speed as an area they would like to improve in this year’s draft. Three of their first 10 picks in the June draft were described as speedy, athletic outfielders with a chance to develop as basestealers.

In addition to the lack of speed on the major-league club, there are only seven players (eight if you add Tyler Greene’s major league and minor-league totals together) out of the close to 200 in the minor league system with more than 10 stolen bases this season. Tied for the organization lead through Saturday’s games were Memphis outfielder Adron Chambers and Johnson City outfielder Steven Ramos, each with 17 steals.

Coleman, who worked briefly as a base running instructor in the minor leagues for the Cubs after his playing career, believes if a player doesn’t learn how to steal bases in the minors he is not going to be able to do it successfully in the majors. 

The lack of players who have the ability to steal bases also makes it hard for Coleman to watch games these days.

“There is no one out there who excites me,” Coleman said. “When fans came to watch the Cardinals in the 1980s the one thing they knew they were going to see was stolen bases, if they didn’t see anything else.

“I patterned myself after Tim Raines and Rickey Henderson and Lou Brock. Those guys excited me when I watched them play and steal bases. I learned from watching guys like Joe Morgan when I was growing up. I don’t see that many complete ballplayers in baseball today. When we got on base it was exciting.”

As the Cardinals attempt to add more speed to their lineup, the question is where it will come from – with the two corner outfield spots, the two corner infield spots and the catcher position all unlikely sources – there are really only three choices, shortstop, second base and centerfield.

Newly acquired shortstop and leadoff hitter Rafael Furcal was supposed to add that dimension to the team, but he has not even attempted a stolen base in his first eight games as Cardinal. Jon Jay, now the regular centerfielder, has five steals but also has been thrown out four times. Now splitting time at second base, Skip Schumaker has no steals and two caught stealing, and Ryan Theriot has four steals and has been thrown out attempting to steal five times.

Head over to Rob Rains website to check out Rob’s thoughts on the National League Central race coming down to two teams and his notes on Major League and Minor League baseball.

During the offseason we have been taking a look at the past, giving readers a timeline of St. Louis baseball throughout history. Last time we learned about how Whitey Herzog came in and rebuilt the organization into a lean mean running machine. Whiteyball led to a World Series title in 1982, but felt a little less than potent in the two years following. Could the team rise to the top?

When people talk about the Cardinals’ 1985 team, it all seems to boil down to the Series. More specifically, it points to the Call. The team here at I-70 Baseball even did a week-long tribute to the 1985 Series between the Cardinals and Kansas City Royals (You can find the archive here). It is unfortunate that a 101-61 record that witnessed players winning the MVP, Rookie of the Year, and Gold Glove awards has boiled down to one call, but it happened.

Whitey and owner Gussie Busch were disappointed with how the team had performed in both 1983 and 1984. Because of that, most of the championship team from 1982 was long gone before the beginning of 1985. The real holdovers included Ozzie Smith and Tommy Herr in the infield, Willie McGee in the outfield, and Bob Forsch and Joaquin Andujar in the rotation. Joining those names were slugging first baseman Jack Clark, outfielders Vince Coleman and Andy van Slyke, and starting pitcher Danny Cox.

The Cardinals did not exactly run away with the division, as their biggest lead of four games out in front would indicate. They battled with the New York Mets tooth and nail all the way through the season. The “Pond Scum” Mets featured former Cardinal Keith Hernandez and young pitching phenom Dwight Gooden, who at age 20 picked up 24 wins in 1985.

What pushed the Cardinals to the top? Speed. The Mets and Cardinals basically had the best two lineups and pitching rotations in the National League, going toe to toe in many of the top counting categories, with the exception of a few. Where the Mets relied on power, in the form of home runs from their sluggers and strikeouts from their pitchers, the Cardinals looked to speed around the bases and scoring runs in bunches.

The Cardinals pushed through the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers despite facing such pitchers as Fernando Valenzuela, Orel Hershiser and Tom Niedenfuer. The real loss of that series occurred in Game 4, when Rookie of the Year winner Vince Coleman was trapped by a rolling tarp and suffered a broken leg. Losing his speed on the basepaths for the rest of the playoffs was a tough blow, but the team was far from finished.

The big question: if the Call does not happen, do the Cardinals win the Series? It is certainly possible. However, one bad call does not produce seven games’ worth of outcomes. There was still one whole game after it happened. The Cardinals still could have won… but they rolled over in game seven. They let it slip away.

1986 was a down year across the board. For Willie McGee it meant dropping from an MVP winning season in which he batted .353/.384/.503 to a disappointing .256/.306/.370 line. He was not the only sharp fall. The team was dead last in hits, runs, doubles, home runs, batting average, slugging and on base percentages. That is correct… dead last in the National League. The funny thing is they still managed to lead the league in stolen bases, despite having the fewest opportunities to do so.

The pitchers did not have quite a drop, but consider this: in 1985, Tudor and Andujar both won 21 games and Cox won 18. The pitching staff was in the top 3 in every category except strikeouts. The next year Andujar had found his ticket out of town and Tudor/Cox/Bob Forsch all put up rather similar lines of 12-14 wins and a roughly 3.00 ERA. Not bad, but who was the shutdown ace? That was a rotation of number two or three starters.

Speaking of not having an ace, the 1987 team might fit that bill even better. Have you ever heard of a team that went to the World Series without a pitcher winning more than eleven games? It happened. Eight different pitchers won at least eight games, but no pitcher on the team won more than eleven. Whitey pulled wins out of that team every way he could, because on paper, this team was not the top.

Jack Clark

All in all, the lineup was solid. The starters all seemed to hit around .285, and for the first time in what felt like decades, the Cardinals had a genuine slugger in Jack Clark, who thumped 35 home runs and racked up a ridiculous 136 walks. The whole team was patient at the plate, leading the league in walks and, as a result, in on base percentage, but Clark blew them all away. Wonder of wonders, the highest batting average on the season belonged to “light hitting” shortstop Ozzie Smith, who smacked out a .303 batting average (despite 138 of them being singles).

Finishing at 95-67 put the Cardinals three up on the Mets in the National League and pushed them into the NLCS against the San Francisco Giants, led by Will “the Thrill” Clark. Despite pushing the series to seven games, the Cardinals snuck out of it and on to the World Series to face the big bats being wielded by the Minnesota Twins’ Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek and Garry Gaetti. The Cardinals’ wiry runners looked like batboys next to the big guys hanging out in the Twins’ dugout!

The World Series turned out to be one of those affairs where the home team wins every game, but some people have made somewhat of a stink about that. The Twins played in the Metrodome, and in at least one player account of the Series, when the Twins’ players were up to bat the crowd noise was such that the team would turn on fans somewhere in the stadium that caused balls to blow into the stands, helping those sluggers just a little bit more. Who knew there would be wind in a dome? This was never confirmed of course, but considering the very lopsided scores in those four games in Minnesota (10-1, 8-4, 11-5, and 4-2), I suppose anything is possible.

Coming out of the World Series that year felt like a letdown, but for kids like Joe Magrane, who finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting in ’87, getting to the postseason was a, “Ho-hum, we will be back next year,” kind of feeling. Little did any of them know that this would be the last time the team sniffed the postseason for ten long, lean years.

Joe Magrane

1988 was awful for the Cardinals. Jack Clark and general manager Dal Maxvill were not the best of friends, and when the two could not come to terms on a new contract, the free agent basically threw his hands in the air and walked away to join the Yankees. It was a sucker punch to the rest of the team, who relied on the big slugger to push across all the runners they were getting on base for him. Without a guy to bring in the runners, tallies on the scoreboard were scarce. Vince Coleman and Willie McGee were still tearing up the basepaths, but they were left stranded more often than not. Joe Magrane knew that better than anyone, winning the ERA title in ’88 with a puny 2.18, but finishing with a 5-9 record. He would go up against David Cone and the Mets’ fearsome lineup, but his team could only ever scratch out a run at a time for him. With that kind of support, the team finished an abysmal 76-86, a very distant fifth place in the NL East.

1989 had promise. Slugger Pedro Guerrero came through in a big way, finishing third for the NL MVP, being branded with a “clutch” label and bringing around all those baserunners to score, racking up what felt like a monstrous 117 RBI after a year in which no one could seem to push a runner across. The pitching staff felt less of a burden to allow one run or less in every start, and as a result Joe Magrane had a nice year, going 18-9 and finishing third in the CY Young race.

Unfortunately, things were getting messy off the field. Gussie Busch’s health was failing. He turned the team over to his son, August Busch III, who had little interest in the team, and forced Whitey to go through a board of directors to get any baseball decisions done. On September 29, Gussie died, but the Cardinals had already started to fade out of the pennant race, finishing a close third. The pitchers’ arms tired and the bats could not keep up with the Cubs.

The end was nearing for the Cardinals. Gussie was gone, and Whitey was going to be next. The only question was when.

Angela Weinhold covers the Cardinals for i70baseball.com and writes at Cardinal Diamond Diaries. You may follow her on Twitter here or follow Cardinal Diamond Diaries here.

It has been a quiet week on the Cardinals front, but not so much for the division. The Brewers got better by working with the other I-70 team, but you will find the rundown of all of that on the Royals links today.

A few of the Cardinal sites out there paused for a few minutes to pay tribute to Bob Feller. You can read Retrosimba’s look at a young Rapid Robert by clicking here and I-70′s own Michael Metzger paying tribute to a fellow serviceman on his site, Stan Musial’s Stance, by clicking here.

Another alumni of the site, Bob Netherton, runs his own site that takes frequent walks down memory lane. This week, Bob takes a stance on the player (or the type of player) the Cardinals really need. Read up on Vince Coleman and what he did for the Cards by clicking here.

Our good friends over at CardsGM take a look at the Cardinals, with a Black Eyed Peas twist. You can give it a read by clicking here.

JD over at Bleed Cardinal Red With Me takes a look at John Sickel’s top 20 list of Cardinal Prospects for the upcoming season. Give it a read by clicking here.

If all else fails and you are feeling brave, drop by our friends at Cards Diaspora and check out the 12 Days of Cardinals Crapmas. Be careful though, they are not the most family friendly site.

It’s a slow time of year for Cardinal news, but the sites above do a good job of giving some quality content during the cold months.

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.

Earlier this month, we took a look at how the 1987 Cardinals overcame a slew of injuries to win the National League East Division Title, holding off a late run by both the New York Mets and the Montreal Expos. John Tudor would miss half of the season with a broken leg, newcomer Tony Pena a month and a half with a broken hand and long disabled list stints by Danny Cox, Tommy Herr, Curt Ford, Joe Magrane and Jack Clark. Of these, Clark’s injury hurt the Cardinals the most as he was their only legitimate power threat in the lineup. Behind the dual running threat of Vince Coleman and Ozzy Smith and the reliable bat of Tommy Herr, Jack Clark feasted on opposing pitchers. He put together one of the best offensive seasons since a guy named Stan Musial roamed in the right field corner at Grand and Dodier (Sportsman’s Park). That is until the sixth inning of the game in Montreal on September 9 when “The Ripper” tried to avoid a tag on an errant throw by Expos third baseman Tim Wallach and ended up tearing some ligaments in his ankle, ending his season. For many Cardinal fans, their hopes for post-season ended with that awkward slide.

Thanks to some late season heroics by Terry Pendleton and the pitching of Greg Mathews, Joe Magrane, Danny Cox and John Tudor, the Redbirds were able to hold onto the lead that they had built earlier in the season and would face NL West Champions, the San Francisco Giants, in the National League Championship Series. While the Cardinals limped into post-season, the Giants stormed into the series. A long winning streak in mid-September separated the Giants from both Houston and Cincinnati and the outcome of the division was really never in doubt after that. The Giants were also entering the playoffs with all of their regulars in the lineup.

Bad Blood, Lots of it

Not that post-season needs any more drama than the best-of-seven game series provides, this one featured just a bit more than the others in the decade. There was bad blood between these two teams, and a lot of it. It all dated back to a game the previous season. To be specific, a Tuesday night game in St. Louis on July 22, 1986. Both pitchers would get off to a rough start. Giants starter Vida Blue was being beaten up, one single at a time. At the same time, John Tudor could not retire the Giants in order and surrendered a game tying home run to Bob Brenly just moments after being given an early lead. It was going to be one of those kind of games.

Things fell apart for the Giants in the fourth inning when the Cardinals sent 11 men to the plate against Blue and relievers Mark Davis and Juan Berenguer. Andy van Slyke did most of the damage with a triple and a home run, but it was the aggressive base running of Vince Coleman and Ozzie Smith that got under the Giants skin. By the time Berenguer got the last out in the inning, the Cardinals plated 8 runs for a 10-2 lead.

In the next inning, John Tudor would single with one out. Vince Coleman would ground out, forcing Tudor at second. With a 10-2 lead, Coleman was back off to the races and would steal both second base as well as third. The last straw came when Vince Coleman tried to score on a wild pitch to Willie McGee. Catcher Bob Brenly threw out Coleman and pitcher Juan Berenguer slammed the ball into the ground to show his displeasure of Coleman’s aggressive play with such a big lead. Both benches emptied, but nothing happened quite yet. Coleman added fuel to the fire when he tipped his cap to Berenguer in mock appreciation of his play.

You know what comes next, right ? Exactly. When Coleman comes up to bat the next time, he take his punishment – which in this case was a pitch in the rib cage, but not before the first attempt failed to hit the Cardinals speedster. Both benches were warned, but that apparently wasn’t a deterrent as Frank Williams’ next pitch hit Coleman in the mid-section, prompting an automatic ejection of Williams and manager, Roger Craig. That’s when the melee broke out, and a good one it was. Even Whitey Herzog got into the act when Jeffrey Leonard threw Cardinals pitching coach Mike Roarke to the ground. A huge mound of players exchanged blows with Tommy Herr getting the worst of it, receiving 8 stitches to the face.

The Giants would make the game more interesting by jumping all over reliever Ray Burris, but Todd Worrell would close the game out, preserving the win for the Redbirds. But the Giants would get their revenge, it just took a bit over 14 months for another opportunity to present itself.

NLCS Games 1 and 2

Even though the Cardinals had won 5 more game than their Western Division foes, injuries to Jack Clark and Terry Pendleton made the Giants the favorites in this series. Fortunately for the Cardinals, the series would start in St. Louis where young left-hander Greg Mathews won Game One with 7 1/3 innings of 4 hit baseball. Mathews would even drive in the eventual winning runs with a 2 out single in the sixth inning. Todd Worrell and Ken Dayley would bail Mathews out late in the game, preserving the win for the home team.

Dave Dravecky would even the series with the best post-season pitching performance since Jim Lonborg’s 1 hitter in the 1967 World Series. The Giants lefty would hold the Cardinals to just 2 hits as they pecked away at John Tudor for a 5-0 win. In this game, Jeffrey Leonard would hit his second home run in as many games. That was starting to get under the skin of the Cardinals.

Game 3

While the first two games featured some very good pitching on both sides of the diamond, the first game at Candlestick Park looked to be more of an offensive battle. Whitey Herzog would give the ball to his star rookie, Joe Magrane. On the other side, Roger Craig would call on his big lefty, Atlee Hammaker. Hammaker had been a bit of a Ray Sadecki pitcher for the Giants. He had great stuff and could completely shut down the opposition, but for some reason could not get any run support. If the current group of baseball writers were voting for the Cy Young award in 1983, Hammaker would probably have won it. Even though he only compiled a 10-9 record, he led the league in ERA (2.25), walks per 9 innings (1.7) and K/BB ratio of almost 4. After missing the entire 1986 season with an injury, Hammaker turned in a solid 1987, finishing with a 10-10 record.

The Giants would draw first blood in this battle, getting all over Joe Magrane in the bottom of the second inning. A double by Chili Davis, single by Will Clark and double from the bat of Bob Brenly would give the Giants a quick 2-0 lead. That would lead would soon grow to 3-0 when Bob Brenly scored on a Magrane wild pitch to leadoff hitter, Robby Thompson.

What the box scores don’t tell you is that the Cardinals were being beaten on every aspect of the game. They were being out-pitched, out-hit and out-hustled. If something didn’t change, and soon, the series might not return to Busch Stadium.

The last straw for the Cardinals in this game came in the bottom of the third inning. Jeffrey Leonard would lead off with his third home run of the series. In front of the large home town crowd, Leonard took his time rounding the bases. As he did so, he ran with his right arm dangling limply – he called that his “one flap down.” It was a huge insult to the opposing pitchers, and that was not lost on Bob Forsch who was getting ready to enter the game.

Bob Forsch Knocks One Flap Down

The dean of the Cardinals pitching staff would take over for Joe Magrane in the fourth inning. After a failed bunt from Robbie Thompson and a sharp single by Kevin Mitchell, Jeffrey Leonard stepped into the batters box. In a bit of old school retribution, Bob Forsch puts a pitch right in Leonard’s rib cage. Leonard takes it like a professional and quietly takes his base. After some shaky infield play, Forsch closed out the inning without any further damage. But he did make a big statement – if the Cardinals bats could just show some sort of life, this could be a game again.

That would happen in the next inning. With two outs and Ozzie Smith on first base, Jim Lindeman, filling in for the injured Jack Clark, surprised everybody by blasting a 2 run homer. After tearing up spring training and making it possible for Dal Maxvill to deal Andy van Slyke to the Pirates for Tony Pena, Lindeman struggled through the regular season, finishing with a disappointing .208 average with 8 home runs and 28 RBIs. With this one hit, Lindeman gave the Cardinals some much needed life.

If Lindeman was feeding off Forsch’s efforts in the previous inning, Forsch in turn feed off the bats waking up by setting down the Giants in order without a ball leaving the infield. That put the Cardinals bats back into the game quickly, and they would break the game open against Hammaker and relievers Don Robinson and Craig Lefferts. Unlike the previous inning, the Cardinals did it this time by pure Whitey-ball: singles, stolen bases and sacrifices. Jim Lindeman, who drove in the first two runs, would drive in the last run with a sacrifice fly. By the time the inning ended, the Cardinals enjoyed a 6-4 lead and were standing much taller than they were an hour earlier.

Whitey Herzog would turn the game over to Todd Worrell for a 3 inning save. A 2 out home run in the 9th inning by Harry Spilman would make it a one run game, but Worrell would retire Kevin Mitchell to end the game.

Games 4 and 5

In Game 4, the Cardinals got to Giants starter, Mike Krukow, early but failed to tack on any more runs. Cardinals starter, Danny Cox, ran into trouble with the long ball as Robbie Thompson, Jeffrey Leonard and Bob Brenly would victimize the big right hander. Leonard’s game winning homer was his 4th in as many games. Fortunately, this would be the last we would hear out of Leonard.

Game 5 was a back and forth affair as each time the Cardinals would score, the Giants would come back and tie the game. San Francisco would have the final word, scoring 4 runs in their half of the fourth inning. Neither team would allow another run and the Giants would leave San Francisco with a 3-2 lead in the series.

Games 6 and 7

When the series returned to Busch Stadium, John Tudor pitched one of the best post-season games in his career. He gave the Giants fits, scattering 6 hits in 7 1/3 innings of work. Todd Worrell and Ken Dayley would retire the five batters they would face, three by way of the the strikeout. The only run in the game came on a Tony Pena fly ball that Candy Maldonado misplayed into a triple. Jose Oquendo would drive him in two batters later with a sacrifice fly.

Game 7 would feature Danny Cox against Game 3 starter Atlee Hammaker. In a complete reversal of fortunes from Game 3, it was Hammaker that would fall apart early. Three consecutive singles by Tony Pena, Terry Pendleton and and Willie McGee in the second inning would set up the big play of the game. Jose Oquendo would break the game open with a three run homer, giving Danny Cox a lead that he would not surrender. The Cardinals would tack on two insurance runs later in the game, but Cox didn’t need them as he would go the distance in the 6-0 shutout, further adding to his reputation of being a big game hurler.

Epilogue

As much as Jeffrey Leonard irritated opposing players and fans, he had a truly remarkable post-season in 1987. He would be rewarded by taking home the NLCS Most Valuable Player award, the first one given to a player on the losing team. Willie McGee and Tony Pena had a good series for the Cardinals, but nothing like the .417/.500/.917 that Leonard put up. He would finish the series with 4 home runs, but just 5 RBIs. Yes, he deserved the award more than any other player.

But one player deserves an even bigger award. Bob Forsch gave his team a much needed lift when he sent the series MVP down in the dirt at that pivotal moment in Game 3. He won’t receive any iron for that, but he should get the respect of Cardinals fans, young and old. If not for some old school payback, the 1987 NLCS might have ended in San Francisco.

Had the 2010 Series gone to seven games, Game 7 would have been played last night in San Francisco. Game 7′s in every sport offer the prospect of high drama, but very seldom live up to the expectation. By most baseball observers, the 1991 Game 7 at the Herbert Hoover Metrodome is held up as one that did live up to the hype, and also as the greatest World Series Game 7 of the last quarter century. There was another Game 7 four years earlier in the same building, and although not even close to as well pitched a game as the 1991 version, it was every bit as dramatic. Let’s take a look back at the other Metrodome Game 7 – 1987′s final baseball game.

Prologue and the early innings

This series is memorable for many because it was the first one where the home team won every game. This isn’t surprising when you consider: Minnesota had the majors’ best home (56-25) and worst road records (29-52), so of course they won the first 3 games in Minnesota and lost all 3 in St Louis. Rookie Joe Magrane had started Game 1, not surviving the fourth. Frank Viola would win the Cy Young the following year, but during the 1987 World Series, he was unhittable in Game 1 and back in the dugout before the fourth inning ended in Game 4. Could the rookie hold off the veteran who had only lost once at home since May 23rd?

Things started great for St Louis. Jim Lindeman, Willie McGee, and Tony Pena all singled to start the second, with Pena’s knock driving in the game’s first run. Two outs later catcher Steve Lake got his only hit in his only start of the series, driving in McGee to make it 2-0 Cardinals. Minnesota’s first two hitters reached in the bottom half of the frame – Don Baylor via HBP (naturally), Tom Brunansky with the more conventional single to left – but when Vince Coleman threw out Baylor at the plate trying to score on Tim Laudner’s base hit, it appeared Magrane would wriggle out of the jam.

Nope. Steve Lombardozzi, who hit .412 in this series, singled to score Brunansky. 2-1. Magrane got Dan Gladden to pop out and end the inning.

The Fateful Fifth Inning

After Lake’s RBI single, Viola settled right down, and the next 10 Cardinals failed to get the ball out of the infield. No really – 5 strikeouts, 3 groundouts, a pop out, and a foul out. Magrane worked around a Lindeman error in the third, and a walk to Laudner in the fourth, to enter the fifth still leading 2-1. After retiring Gladden on a ground out, he allowed a single to Greg Gagne, and St Louis manager Whitey Herzog felt Magrane had done all he could. Whitey replaced Magrane with Danny Cox, who had thrown 7 shutout innings two days before to win Game 5. This set up one of the more unique sequences in baseball history.

• Kirby Puckett hit the first pitch Cox threw off the right-center field wall, scoring Gagne and tying the game.
• Gary Gaetti worked a full-count walk.
• The Twins then attempted to double steal. Puckett was cut down at third while Gaetti stole second.
• Baylor followed that play by singling to left. Coleman fired another strike to the plate and threw out his second runner of the game at home ending the inning.

So Danny Cox would be credited with two outs in an inning where he didn’t retire anybody – every hitter reached safely before outs were recorded on the basepaths. And Vince Coleman demonstrated, once again, you don’t run on Vince Coleman (to be fair, Coleman had 16 OF assists in 1987, his career high). But with that sequence the momentum shifted decidedly to Minnesota, and their crowd re-emerged as a factor for the rest of the game.

Endgame

In the sixth, Tommy Herr became the first Cardinal baserunner since the second when he singled with one out, but was eventually picked off by Viola. Cox started the bottom of the six by walking Brunansky and Kent Hrbek (still had not retired anyone), prompting Herzog to replace him with Todd Worrell. Worrell got Laudner to foul out to Lindeman at first. Twins manager Tom Kelly surprisingly pinch hit for the hot-hitting Lombardozzi with Roy Smalley III, but it worked out when Smalley walked. Worrell struck out Gladden swinging with the bases loaded, then worked the count full to Gagne. Gagne sent that 3-2 pitch at third baseman Tom Lawless, but Lawless couldn’t do anything with it. Tom Brunansky scampered home to give the Twins the lead. Worrell struck out Puckett to end the inning.

The Cardinals would not quit. Pena doubled with one out in the seventh, and stole third with two out, but Lawless’ fly ball landed harmlessly in Puckett’s glove ending the inning. Minnesota got a huge insurance run in the eighth thanks to Gladden’s two-out double to right-center, which scored Laudner from first. Jeff Reardon put all those years of futility in Montreal, where his teams were always close but never quite good enough, to rest by retiring the Cardinals in order, giving the Twins franchise their first World Series victory since 1924.

Epilogue

This was the zenith of Whitey Herzog’s career. He would not return to the playoffs. The Cardinals as a franchise would not get a shot at redemption until the MV3 2004 team. It has been 23 years, but still one can only wonder what might have been had Terry Pendelton not suffered a ribcage injury that prevented him from playing third base in this series. That’s not intended to be a knock on Lawless, but Pendelton did win the NL Gold Glove in 1987. Of course, being able to put Jack Clark on the field and in the lineup would have helped out too – he didn’t play a single game in the World Series.

My appreciation of this game has grown. How many games see multiple runners getting thrown out at the plate? Do pitchers often come in, let every hitter they face reach but get credit for recording 2 outs? Do teams routinely attempt a double steal in the playoffs? At the time I was a 17-year old kid 3000 miles from home and depressed; this game made me miserable. But now – this was a great game. Too bad more fans don’t remember it.

Terry Lee (Tito) Landrum was a utility outfielder, born in Joplin, Missouri. I make this point because a lot of visiting sports reporters would get confused between him and teammate David Green. It was tall and muscular Green who was from Nicaragua, not Landrum.

Tito Landrum

Landrum signed with the Cardinals right out of high school in 1972. He progressed slowly through the minor league system, eventually breaking in with the big club in the middle of the 1980 season. He would play well enough to earn a spot as a reserve outfielder in 1981. His playing time went down with the additions of Lonnie Smith and Willie McGee, and Landrum found himself bouncing between Louisville (AAA) and St. Louis before getting a short chance at fame with the Baltimore Orioles in 1983. In the decisive Game Seven of the ALCS, Landrum would hit the game winning home run in the 10th inning, sending Baltimore to the World Series. Baltimore would go on to win the World Series, but Landrum would play sparingly and finish the series without a hit. Regardless, Landrum had his fifteen minutes of fame, or so he thought.

The Cardinals would reacquire Landrum prior the start of the 1984 season. He would get more playing time, subbing at all three outfield positions. He would finish the season with a respectable .272 batting average.

The outfield was very crowded to start the 1985 season, and Landrum would enter it nursing a pretty bad leg injury. When Willie McGee also went down with an injury, Landrum would go on the disabled list to make room for a young speedster named Vince Coleman. Coleman was only supposed to be with the big club for a few days, but as Landrum’s injury took longer to heal, Coleman cemented his position in left field. All of a sudden, the outfield was a lot more crowded.

With Vince Coleman and Willie McGee set in left and center field respectively, manager Whitey Herzog had to figure out what to do with his right field situation. Andy van Slyke was a future Gold Glover, but had a hard time hitting left handed pitching. Lonnie Smith was an offensive catalyst, but his defense could sometimes be an adventure – and those were his good days. This was all resolved when Lonnie Smith was traded to the Kansas City Royals, leaving Landrum and van Slyke as a platoon pair for the final outfield spot. The right handed hitting Landrum would play against left handed pitching, and the left handed van Slyke would get the bulk of the playing time against right handers.

This arrangement worked out quite well for Herzog as both Landrum and van Slyke played well in their respective roles. Cardinals fans might be surprised to learn that Landrum was actually more productive, hitting for a higher average than van Slyke. What he could not do is play defense like the younger van Slyke, who could produce a highlight reel that would make Jim Edmonds blush.

Things changed for Landrum when the Cardinals acquired Cesar Cedeno at the postseason eligibility deadline on August 29. Cedeno would initially play first base, taking over for the injured Jack Clark. At the same time, Andy van Slyke would get more playing time, even against left handed pitching. Landrum found himself as a late inning pinch hitter, and his batting average finally dipped below .300, finishing at .280 by year’s end.

As well as Cedeno had played down the stretch for the Cardinals, he became the platoon partner for Andy van Slyke in the NLCS instead of Landrum. That is until Game Four, when Vince Coleman would be caught under the automatic tarp system, severely injuring his leg. With Coleman out for the rest of the postseason, Landrum would take over in left field.

Always on base

In his first game, Landrum would go 4-5, all singles. He would also drive in 3 of the Cardinals 12 runs on the evening. Maybe not the speedster at the top of the order, but 4-5 hitting behind Jack Clark and Cesar Cedeno will do very nicely. Landrum would wear the collar in the next game against Fernando Valenzuela, but would steal second base after a late inning walk, putting himself in scoring position for the go ahead run. He would not score, but Ozzie Smith would send the huge crowd back home happy in a few minutes with the now famous “Go Crazy Folks” home run.

In the decisive Game Six, Landrum would collect another hit, but not figure in the scoring. He would finish the NLCS going 6-14 (.429) with 4 RBIs and a stolen base. Only NLCS MVP Ozzie Smith had a higher batting average (.435) than Landrum and only Tommy Herr drove in more runs (6). Not bad for a guy that only expected a few pinch hitting opportunities.

Tito Landrum would come up big again in the World Series, one of the few Cardinals to do so. Off a very tough left hander, Danny Jackson, Landrum would double and score the go-ahead run when Cesar Cedeno would drive him in with a single. Landrum would also get a hit off the nearly unhittable Dan Quisenberry, whose submarine style of delivery was especially tough on right handed batters.

In nearly a replay of Game One, it was a Tito Landrum double off Charlie Liebrandt in the 9th that set up Terry Pendleton’s bases clearing double to give the Cardinals the victory.

Landrum would extend his World Series hitting streak to three games with a single off Bret Saberhagen, one of the few that the Cardinals would get a hit against the eventual World Series MVP. He would extend that to four games when he hit a solo home run off Bud Black in the second inning of Game Four. That run would be the only one the Cardinals needed as John Tudor would pitch a brilliant complete game shutout.

Three Cardinals victories, and it was Landrum that scored the winning run in each of them. Unfortunately for St. Louis, he would not do that again for the rest of the World Series.

Landrum would collect a hit in each of the three remaining games, making him the only Cardinals player to get a hit in each game. He would lead the Cardinals in every offensive category except for RBIs (Jack Clark would have 4). Yes, the lineup was completely different without Vince Coleman in the leadoff spot. Willie McGee had a good, but not great World Series. The problem was that most of the rest of the batting order was one or two positions out of their regular spot, and they were never able to get in sync against the tough Royals pitching. Even though he had been thrust into the spotlight without much warning, Tito Landrum was the best player on the Cardinals roster for the last two weeks of the 1985 season. In a losing effort, the kid from Joplin should be remembered as the Cardinals’ Most Valuable Player.

Bob Netherton covers Cardinals history for i70baseball.com and writes at Throatwarbler’s Blog. You may follow Bob on Twitter here or on Facebook here.