October 20, 1982 - "That's a World Series Winner!"

Wednesday, October 20, 1982 - World Series - Game 7 at Busch Stadium II vs Milwaukee Brewers -  Starting Pitchers:  Joaquin Andujar vs Pete Vuckovich - Attendance:  53,723

For the first time since 1968, the Cardinals were playing host to a seventh and deciding game of the World Series - but this time, the home team won - coming from behind for a 6-3 World Series winner - the ninth in franchise history.

It was a rematch of Game Three starters - Joaquin Andujar and Pete Vuckovich - and once again, Andujar came away with a victory - allowing three runs (two earned runs) in seven innings of work.  Bruce Sutter pitched two perfect innings of relief for his third postseason save - striking out Gorman Thomas on a full-count ten-pitch at bat to finally end it.

After a scoreless first three innings of play, Game Three hero Willie McGee started a fourth-inning rally with a base hit to center off Brewers ace Pete Vuckovich, who was probably relieved Willie didn't hit another home run this time around.  Tommy Herr followed with a single to right, as McGee easily advanced to third.

Vuckovich then retired Ozzie Smith on a pop fly to second baseman Ganter, as the runners remained on the corners.  However, Lonnie Smith drove in McGee with an infield single to shortstop Yount, as Herr took second.

Vuckovich managed to avoid further damage by retiring Ken Oberkfell on an infield grounder and getting a frustrated Keith Hernandez to chase strike three - stranding Herr at third base.

It didn't take the Brewers long to answer back, as Ben Oglivie hit a fifth-inning lead-off home run to tie the game at one run apiece.  Andujar was able to regroup after that blast to retire the next three batters in  order.

However, he ran into serious trouble in the sixth, which was only exasperated by his own fielding miscue which led to an unearned run crossing the plate.  Jim Gantner started the inning with a lead-off double in the right center field gap.  Next up - Paul Molitor - may have caught Andujar off guard with a bunt down the third base line, designed to move the runner up to third.  However, after fielding it, Andujar threw wildly past first base, allowing Gantner to score as Molitor took second.

Robin Yount followed that up with an infield hit which second baseman Herr had no play on.  Runners were now on first and third - still nobody out.  This appeared on the verge of getting out of hand.  However, Andujar escaped total disaster, although Yount did score the second run of the inning on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Cecil Cooper.   Next up - Ted Simmons - who smacked a line drive off Andujar's knee in Game Three, grounded one to Hernandez, resulting in a force out at second this time around.  Likewise, Oglivie, who homered in his last at bat, grounded into a force out to end the threat - and keep it a 3-1 Milwaukee lead.

With one out in the bottom of the sixth, Ozzie Smith singled - then Lonnie Smith doubled him over to third base.  With that, Brewers manager Harvey Kuenn went to the bullpen - bringing in lefty reliever Bob McClure to pitch to Oberkfell with two runners in scoring position.  Whitey Herzog then countered with pinch hitter Gene Tenace - a World Series hero a decade earlier with Oakland.  With first base open, McClure didn't give Tenace anything good to hit - and Tenace patiently drew a base on balls - bringing Keith Hernandez to the plate, with redemption on his mind.

With pinch runner Mike Ramsey replacing Tenace at first base, the stage was set for a classic Fall Classic bit of drama.  Two San Francisco Bay Area high school rivals - McClure and Hernandez - were meeting once again in the Main Event - with the world championship on the line - and for the first time in World Series history, two "Smiths" scored on the same base hit - a single to center, as this game was now tied, 3-3.

With pinch runner Mike Ramsey perched on third, George Hendrick brought him in with a base hit in the hole between first and second - to give the Cardinals a 4-3 lead.

An inspired Andujar protected that lead with a scoreless seventh-inning, with Bruce Sutter waiting in the wings to finish this one up.  After Milwaukee failed to score in the eighth, St Louis tacked on a couple of insurance runs in the bottom half, to put this one on ice.

Facing reliever Moose Haas, Lonnie Smith led-off the eighth-inning with a ground rule double down the right field line - but Mike Ramsey's sacrifice bunt attempt failed - fouling off strike three.  After Hernandez was intentionally walked, Hendrick was retired on a fly ball to center.

Lefty Mike Caldwell - who dominated the Cardinals in Game One's 10-0 blowout - was then brought in to face Darrell Porter - but the strategy backfired - as Porter got the RBI single to right field, which in all likelihood was the deciding factor in the World Series MVP voting.  Steve Braun followed that up with a base hit to center - scoring Hernandez with the sixth and final run of the game.

With Sutter looking to close this one out quickly, Ted Simmons obliged with a ground ball right back to the mound - for out number one.  Next up - Oglivie - grounded out to second for out number two.

Out number three wouldn't be so easy.  Gorman Thomas worked the count full - fouling off pitch after pitch after pitch after pitch - but finally, on the tenth pitch of the at bat, Thomas took a home run cut on non-split-fingered fastball - and came up empty.

That was a World Series winner - ironically, the only one the Cardinals managed to come away with during Herzog's tenure as manager.

The next time St Louis made it to the World Series - in 1985 - a couple of former teammates - Lonnie Smith and Dane Iorg - would be playing for the eventual world champion Kansas City Royals.  Twenty-nine years later, KC has returned - but a second I-70 Fall Classic will have to wait awhile.

August 12, 1982 - Cards Back on Top After 3-2 Win Over Pirates

Thursday, August 12, 1982 - At Three Rivers Stadium (Joaquin Andujar - Starting Pitcher) - Opponent:  Pittsburgh Pirates (Ross Baumgarten - Starting Pitcher) - Attendance:  16,430

The Cardinals broke a scoreless tie with three fifth-inning runs - and that was just enough to beat the Pirates, thanks to a solid start by Joaquin Andujar (7 IP - 4 Hits - 2 Runs) and a strong finish by Bruce Sutter (1.2 IP - 0 Hits - 0 Runs - 2 SO).  The 3-2 win put the Redbirds back on top in the NL East - a half game ahead of the Phillies, who lost to Montreal tonight.

Pirates starter Ross Baumgarten pitched well until the fifth-inning - when the bottom of the St Louis lineup started all the trouble.  Ozzie Smith led-off with a single to left field.  Next up - Joaquin Andujar - in an apparent bunting situation - fooled everybody by lining a single to right field.  The ball was hit so hard, Ozzie had to stop at second.  After Tommy Herr advanced the runners to second and third with a sacrifice bunt, Lonnie Smith brought them home with a single to center.

With Keith Hernandez now batting, Lonnie stole second - then advanced to third when Hernandez grounded out to the shortstop.  George Hendrick then brought Smith in with a single to left, for the third and final run of the game for the Cardinals - but it was enough tonight.

Andujar held Pittsburgh scoreless through the first six innings - but Jason Thompson got the Pirates on the board with a lead-off home run in the seventh.  Andujar got the next three batters, but ran into trouble in the eighth-inning, when his control deserted him.  A lead-off walk to John Milner suddenly brought the tying run to the plate in the person of Willie Stargell.  When Andujar missed with his first two pitches to the 42-year old Pirates' slugger, Herzog had seen enough - bringing in the 43-year old Jim Kaat to pitch - who completed the base on balls - putting runners on first (Jim Smith pinch ran for Stargell) and second.

After Kaat retired Omar Moreno on a pop fly to short, Johnny Ray singled to left - bringing Milner in to score.

With just a slim one-run lead to protect, Herzog brought in Bruce Sutter for the five-out save.  He got two of the outs with one swing of Bill Madlock's bat - along with some questionable base running by Johnny Ray.  After Madlock hit a fly ball to right fielder George Hendrick - just shy of the warning track - Smith tagged up from second, and would have easily advanced to third - but Ray tried to sneak into second.  Not a good move, as Silent George threw a strike to Herr - nailing Ray to silence the Pirates' threat - not to mention the crowd.

Sutter pitched a perfect ninth - striking out the last two batters - to record his 23rd save of the season.  Andujar improved to 9-10 - and would go 6-0 down the stretch to help the Cardinals win their first-ever NL East division title.

That would prove to be the start of something big.

June 21, 1982 - Another Win in Relief for Sutter

Monday, June 21, 1982 - At Busch Stadium II (Dave LaPoint - Starting Pitcher) - Opponent:  Philadelphia Phillies (Marty Bystrom - Starting Pitcher) - Attendance:  19,14

The Cardinals blew an early lead, had some missed opportunities to put the game away, and had a couple of base running blunders, before finally putting the Phillies out of their misery.  Final score:  St Louis 7 - Philadelphia 5.

Lonnie Smith helped the Cardinals establish an early lead with a run-scoring single in the third-inning - then after a balk put him in scoring position, Willie McGee brought Lonnie in with a single to right field.

Meanwhile, Dave LaPoint was pitching well, holding the Phillies scoreless through six innings.  Then, leading off the bottom of the sixth, LaPoint lined a single to center - then came all the way around to score on Lonnie Smith's triple down the left field line.  Unfortunately, Lonnie tried to stretch it into an inside-the-park home run - and was nailed at the plate.

It's difficult to imagine his thought process when he decided to run through third base coach Hal Lanier's - stop sign.  With nobody out, he likely would have scored from third base relatively easily.  Instead, the Cardinals had to settle for just one run - when it could have been a big inning.

If a team can gain momentum from another team's mistakes - the Phillies seemed to have it going when they came to bat in the seventh.  With one out, Ivan DeJesus lined a single to left, then scored from first on pinch hitter (for Bystrom) Luis Aguayo's triple - who later scored on a Pete Rose ground out - making it just a 3-2 Cardinal lead now.

The Redbirds matched that with two runs of their own in the bottom of the seventh.  With one out, George Hendrick drew a base on balls off reliever Sparky Lyle - then moved up to third on Ken Oberkfell's double to right field.  Mike Ramsey's single to center field scored Hendrick - then Ozzie singled in Oberkfell, as Ramsey advanced to third.

Lyle's night was over after retiring just one batter in the inning - two runs already in - and he was responsible for the runners on first and third.  The new pitcher - Ron Reed - got out of the jam when Mike Ramsey was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a ground ball to first baseman Rose - who was playing "in".

Another costly base running blunder for St Louis - although they once again held a three-run advantage, with a new pitcher - Doug Bair - coming in to work the eighth-inning.  It seemed like he was in there to pitch batting practice, instead of protect the lead.  Mike Schmidt's lead-off single preceded back-to-back home runs by Bill Robinson and Ozzie Virgil.  Just like that, the game was tied - 5-5 - and just like that, Herzog yanked Bair - and brought in Bruce Sutter to restore order - and he did.

Suddenly, a game that should have been an easy winner - was very much in jeopardy.  Ron Reed - who did such a splendid job in the previous inning, didn't fare so well in the eighth.  McGee's infield single and Keith Hernandez' single to right field put runners on the corners - with nobody out.  That got Reed out of the game, however, as another venerable reliever - Tug McGraw - came in to pitch to Darrell Porter - who ripped a double to right- scoring McGee and sending Hernandez to third.  Hendrick then plated Hernandez with a single to center - but once again, the rally stalled, with just two runs on the board.

However, that was enough to win this one, as Sutter (6-5) pitched his second scoreless inning, as manager Whitey Herzog went through his second bottle of Rolaids.  It was undoubtedly a nerve-wracking game - but at least it was a winner - keeping the first-place Cardinals just a game ahead of the Montreal Expos in the NL East.

May 30, 1982 - A Wild Come From Behind (Twice) Extra-Inning Winner

Sunday, May 30, 1982 - This was the rubber game of a three-game series with the San Diego Padres at Busch Stadium II.  The Cardinals worked some magic in the first game on Friday night - a 5-2 win - scoring those five runs on just five hits.  The Padres got some measure of revenge on Saturday, when they broke a 2-2 tie with two runs in the ninth - good for a 4-2 win.  The way some of the Padres sauntered off the field after Saturday's win rankled more than a few of the Cardinals, who vowed to turn the tables on Sunday.  What would happen at the end of this game was almost beyond belief.  For those among the crowd of 32,410 who stuck around until the end; it was a game they'd never forget.

Dave LaPoint got the start for St Louis, and pitched well through eight innings; holding San Diego to just two runs on six hits.  Unfortunately, the Cardinal offense could do nothing with Padres starter Tim Lollar, who blanked the Redbirds on just two hits through the first six innings.  Then, in the seventh-innng, after retiring both George Hendrick and Lonnie Smith on routine ground outs, light-hitting Mike Ramsey doubled down the left field line - only the third hit Lollar had allowed up to this point in the game.

Apparently, Padres manager Dick Williams had seen enough.  He brought in Gary Lucas to pitch to Julio Gonzalez, who struck out to end the threat.  Lucas would then be asked to pitch the eighth and ninth innings for San Diego; normally, a routine assignment.

After St Louis failed to score in the seventh, the Padres put runners on second and third with nobody out in the top of the eighth-inning.  Herzog elected to keep LaPoint in the game, and his starter rewarded him by retiring the next three batters - stranding the runners.  It seemed inconsequential at the time; especially after Lucas retired the Cardinals on just one hit and no runs in the bottom-half of the eighth.

It really seemed inconsequential when the Padres came right back to tack on an insurance run in the ninth inning, off reliever Doug Bair.  With two out and nobody on, Luis Salazar singled, stole second, then came around to score on Jerry Manuel's triple.  Ironically, after an intentional walk put runners on first and third, Gary Lucas was allowed to hit for himself - striking out to end the inning; but the Padres now led 3-0, as Lucas headed back to the mound, anxious to close this one out.

The Cardinals had other ideas.  Keith Hernandez began the ninth-inning rally with a single.  George Hendrick also singled, as Hernandez stopped at second.  The next hitter, Lonnie Smith ripped a double down the left field line, scoring Hernandez, as Hendrick stopped at third.  One run in, still nobody out.  Lucas finally retired a batter - Mike Ramsey - on a ground out to third, as the runners remained at second and third.  The next batter, Julio Gonzalez hit another ground ball to third, but this time, Luis Salazar made an errant throw to first, allowing Hendrick to score, as Smith held up at third; but Gonzalez hustled all the way to second on the error.  After David Green was intentionally walked to load the bases, Tommy Herr pinch hit for Bair - and got the third and final run of the inning home with a sacrifice fly to left.  Ozzie Smith, who had a tough day at the plate, going 0 for 5, grounded out to end the inning.

The Cardinals had tied it, 3-3.  On to one of the wildest tenth innings in Cardinal history.

The Cardinals' relief ace, Bruce Sutter was now pitching.  The first two batters he faced -Wiggins and Richards - both singled - putting runners on first and third.  The next batter, Lefebvre, doubled - scoring Wiggins, as Richards stopped at third.  After Jones was intentionally walked to load the bases (still nobody out), Lezcano hit a ground ball to Ozzie who made a strong throw home to force Richards.  One out.  Salazar hit another ground ball to Ozzie.  His only play was a force out at second.  Two out, but another run in as Lefebvre scored.  Salazar stole second, but the inning ended when Manuel grounded one to Ozzie, who threw to first for the third out.  The Padres were back on top, 5-3, with Gary Lucas heading back to the mound once again, trying to close it out.

Lucas retired the first two hitters - Sanchez on a ground out to second and Hernandez on a line out to center - but trouble lurked ahead.  George Hendrick poked a single to left field and scored when Lonnie Smith smoked a double down the left field line.  Mike Ramsey then delivered the game-tying hit - a single to left as Lonnie crossed home, sending 32,410 - minus a few who left early - into pandemonium.  Lucas, obviously rattled, hit the next batter, Gonzalez, with a pitch - and that signaled the end of his day.  He was still responsible for the base runners - the important one being Ramsey at second, representing the winning run.

Floyd Chiffer was the third and final pitcher for the Padres.  He would face only one batter - Dane Iorg - who wasted no time in lining a single to center field, scoring Ramsey with the improbable game winner.

The winning pitcher - Bruce Sutter (3-1) - was smiling a sheepish grin in the Cardinal clubhouse, as his teammates were needling him about his performance.  His pitching line:  1 IP - 3 H - 2 R - 1 BB - 0 SO

Gary Lucas (0-4) wasn't so happy in the visitor's clubhouse.  He worked three innings, but probably came into the game too early - and he probably stayed in the game too long.  The Cardinals roughed him up for seven hits and six runs, including one very costly unearned run.

In the end, it was by far, the craziest game of the season for the Cardinals - and a very nice one to win.

Numbers Don't Lie - Morris Not HOF Material

Jack Morris had a nice career, but was it really a Hall of Fame career?  His won-loss record (254-186 - .577) is just slightly below average for all pitchers who have been enshrined (251-176 - .588).  What should keep him out is his mediocre career ERA of 3.90, which is nearly a run per nine-innings higher than the average ERA for Hall of Fame hurlers (2.96).  In fact, Morris never even had a single season (he played for 18 seasons) when he was able to post an ERA under 3.00.  Those don't sound like Hall of Fame numbers to me.

His supporters tout him as the Pitcher of the Eighties because he happened to win more games in that particular decade than anyone else.  However, that was attributable more to his durability (and stellar defense behind him) than his pitching ability.  Yes, he was a workhorse, but Morris never won a Cy Young Award (his best finish was third-place) and that high ERA is barely better than what an average run-of-the-mill pitcher posted during the time he played (1977-1994).  It's not surprising that his ERA+ of 105 is likewise, only slightly above average (100).  So far, he seems to be a good candidate for the Hall of Above Average to Pretty Good But Not Great.

Digging deeper into the sabermetric evidence, we find that his career WAR of 39.3 is lower than such above-average-to-pretty-good-but-not-great pitchers as Brad Radke, Kevin Brown and Kevin Appier - all solid performers with flashes of excellence who will never, ever  be enshrined in Cooperstown.

It seems that the Morris Hall of Fame candidacy really comes down to that one legendary postseason game - Game Seven of the 1991 World Series - when Morris, pitching for the Minnesota Twins, squared off against a young John Smoltz of the Atlanta Braves in a truly classic duel.  Morris would pitch ten shutout innings - good enough for the win - as the Twins finally broke through for the only run of the game in the bottom of the tenth-inning.  As valiant as that effort was, Morris also had more than just a little bit of luck going for him, when the Braves hit him hard in the eighth-inning, but came up empty-handed - thanks in large part to a base-running gaffe by Lonnie Smith.  Still, this effort by Morris on the grandest of all stages was certainly his most noteworthy episode - or flash - of excellence.

In the end, Morris became the iconic hero, as Minnesota won its second World Championship in five seasons; they've yet to win their third.  The perception that Morris was a great postseason pitcher is largely based from that one sensational flash-in-the-pan performance; otherwise, his postseason career amounted to a fairly run-of-the-mill 7-4 record with a 3.80 ERA.  Once again, not exactly Hall of Fame worthy.

If Morris does get the necessary support this year (2014 is his final year of eligibilty), he will supplant Red Ruffing (3.80 ERA) for the dubious distinction of having the highest ERA for any enshrined hurler.  The fact that he managed to win 254 games (I thought 300 was the magic number?) is more a testament to the strength of the teams he spent time with - namely, three World Series champions - Detroit, Minnesota and Toronto.

In Detroit, where he spent the early years of his career, he had the good fortune of having one of the greatest (if not "the" greatest) double-play combinations of all-time playing behind him:  Alan Trammell & Lou Whitaker - both of whom deserve more Hall of Fame consideration than Morris.

With all the controversy surrounding this new batch of Hall of Fame candidates emerging from the dreaded Steroids Era, the time may be right for Morris to sneak in the back door of Cooperstown; no doubt steroid-free and a pretty darn good pitcher with an engaging personality who was a fierce competitor, to boot. 

Another fierce competitor - Roger Clemens - is on the ballot for the first time this year, along with a few others that have been linked to performance enhancing drugs.  It's highly unlikely for Clemens to get voted in this time around; however, it's interesting to note that he managed to win exactly 100 more games than Jack Morris, and he also managed to lose two fewer games than Morris.  Clemens' ERA is almost a point lower (3.12), and his ERA+ is a very Hall-of-Fame-like 143.  I don't know how much of all that is inflated by any possible steroid use; but here's a guy who won seven Cy Young Awards and an MVP Award, and is perhaps the greatest pitcher who ever lived.

How strange it would be to see Morris getting voted into the Hall of Fame while Clemens is forced to wait; possibly for more than fifteen years.