September 14, 1915: Rogers Hornsby Picks Up His First Major League Hit

On September 14, 1915, Rogers Hornsby picked up the first hit of his major league career in a 6-2 win over the Brooklyn Robins at Robison Field in St. Louis. Hornby would only go onto become of the greatest hitters in the history of the game, only Ty Cobb's career batting average of .366 is above Hornby's .358. Hornsby would pick up a grand total of 2,930 hits over the course of 23 years in the big leagues, 2,110 of those hits came with the birds on the bat across his chest.  He played with the club from 1915 to 1926, then again in 1933. He not only holds the highest career batting average for a Cardinal, he ranks among the best in just about every offensive category in the all time rankings in the history of the organization. Among the all time Cardinals records, Hornsby's .427 on base-percentage ranks third, his .568 slugging percentage ranks fifth, he recorded 143 triples which is second to only Stan Musial, he scored 1,069 runs which is good for third, his 2,110 hits in a Redbirds uniform is also good for third. He sits seventh on the all time Cardinals list with 193 home runs, fourth in RBIs with 1,072, fourth in doubles with 367, and ninth in games played with 1,580.  Hornsby was a just a kid when the Cardinals found him playing ball in the Texas-Oklahoma League in Denison, Texas. When he made his debut with the team four days before he picked up his first hit he was 19 years old and had his whole life ahead of him, it was life that would lead to legendary status.

September 13, 1990: Rookie Ray Lankford Shines In Win Over the Expos

On September 13, 1990, Cardinals rookie Ray Lankford turned in a 3 for 5 performance in a 6-4 victory over the Expos in Montreal. The 23 year old Lankford put the Cardinals on the board early with an rbi single in the first inning, then added to the run total with a solo shot in the fifth. It was the second home run of his career. The game also featured another rookie by the name of Omar Olivares who pitched his way to the first major league win of his career. Olivares gave up 6 hits and allowed 3 runs in six innings of work. John Tudor took over on the mound in the seventh and kept the Expos off the board before handing the ball over to Lee Smith in the ninth, who was set to close the door. Things got interesting for Smith in that final frame, a Redbird error led to an Expo run before the Cardinals locked down his 30th save of the season. 

Check out the box score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MON/MON199009130.shtml

September 12, 1959: Boyer Extends His Hitting Streak To 29

On September 12, 1959,  Ken Boyer went 2 for 5 with a home run and a triple in a 6-4 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago. It was Boyer's 29th consecutive game with a hit and a personal best for the man who was named team captain earlier that season. Boyer was assisted by a complete game, 10 strikeout performance from a 23 year old rookie hurler by the name of Bob Gibson. The Cardinals Captain took care of extending the streak in the first with a two run shot that put the Birds on the board first. The Cards never trailed in this one Gibby had a comfortable 6-1 lead until he served up a 3 run shot to Walt Moryn that tightened things up a bit. The young pitcher shut the Chicago lineup down the rest of the way to pick up the second win of his career. Unfortunately Boyer's impressive streak came to an end the next day, however, it is still good for the fourth longest hitting streak in the history of the Cardinals organization. Only Rogers Hornsby, Stan Musial, and Albert Pujols have extended a hitting streak beyond 29 games, Hornsby set the record for the organization with 33 in 1922, Musial reached 30 in 1950, and Pujols tied Musial with 30 in a row in 2003.

Check out the box score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN195909120.shtml

September 11, 1985: Tudor Outlasts Gooden

On September 11, 1985, in a battle of aces at Shea Stadium in New York, John Tudor picked up his third consecutive shutout as he went the distance in a 1-0 ten inning Redbird win. The Cardinals lefty struck out seven, walked two, and allowed just three hits in the extra inning pitching gem. The Mets countered with Dwight Gooden who pitched a gem of his own, striking out seven, while allowing five hits and three walks. All three of Gooden's walks came in the eighth inning, he started the inning with back-to-back free passes before working his way around the jam. Gooden's day ended after being lifted for a pinch hitter in the ninth which failed to produce a run. The Mets skipper Davey Johnson went to Jesse Orosco to pitch the tenth  and he would find himself trailing after Cesar Cedeno led the top of the inning off with a solo shot. Cedeno was only in the game after pinch running in the eighth and the tenth inning blast was his only at bat of the game. The Mets threatened briefly in the bottom of the tenth after Tudor gave up a hit to leadoff the inning. The runner was quickly erased with a double play off the bat of Keith Hernandez. With one more out to go Tudor walked Gary Carter and had Darryl Strawberry who could have won it for the Mets with one swing of the bat. Tudor made quick work of Strawberry by picking up his seventh and final strikeout of the game. Cedeno was acquired for a bag of potato chips in late August and proved to be a truly great acquisition, he was 10 for 23 with three home runs since coming over to the Birds and his bat would stay hot as the club made a charge at the National League Pennant.

Check out the box score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN198509110.shtml

September 10, 1963 Musial Becomes The First Grandpa To Hit Home Run

On September 10, 1963, in an 8-0 win over the Cubs at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, Stan Musial became the first grandfather to hit a homerun. The night before Musial and his wife Lil stayed up well after midnight hoping to hear the news of their first grandchild's birth, they would eventually try and grab a few hours of sleep before popping out of bed just before 5 a.m., the phone call came from Stan's son Dick soon after and Musial was a Grandfather to a baby boy. The Man went to the ballpark and handed out cigars to his manager and teammates before the game against the Cubs, then he promptly made history with his first swing in his first at bat with a long ball that landed on the roof of the pavillion in right. Stan wasn't only a new Grandfather, he had the most home runs ever hit by a Grandfather with 1. It was Musial's 474th home run of his legendary 22 year career. He hit one more before the season and his career as a player came to an end. I can only imagine how that legendary smile beamed as he chatted with his teammates on that day in '63. There were many great days in the life of Stan The Man Musial, it had to be one of the greatest.

The homer overshadowed a complete game victory by Bob Gibson who also hit a 3 run shot in the contest as the team had won their 13th game in their last 14.The '63 squad kept up their winning ways for a few more days, then hit a skid which led to a second place finish for the team.

Check out the box score:  http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN196309100.shtml

September 9, 1923: Eddie Dyer Pitches The Birds To Victory In His First Major League Start

On September 9, 1923, Eddie Dyer made his first major league start for the Redbirds and pitched a nine inning complete game in 3-0 win over the Cubs at Sportsman's Park. Verne Clemons and Milt Stock knocked in a run apiece in the second, then Jack Smith added the last Cardinals run with a solo shot in the third, meanwhile Dyer was dealin. The pitcher walked two men, struck out five, and scattered eight hits in the victory. Dyer also picked up a hit in the contest for the Birds who had nine in the game. His shutout effort was held together with some sensational defense in the ninth. Dyer walked a man before Cubs third baseman John Kelleher hit what looked like a sure hit over second base only to be snagged by the Cards shortstop Howard Freigau that had to make a diving play toward the bag. Freigau flipped the ball to his second baseman Specs Toporcer for the force at second. Then Toporcer turned the double play with a bullet to Rogers Hornsby at first base. Any thoughts of a Cub rally were quickly dashed with the 90 year old web gem and the rookie pitcher picked up a win in his first start in the majors. Dyer, best known for managing the '46 club to the World Series played six years in the majors was primarily a reliever, he posted a 15-15 record before an arm injury ended his playing days in 1927.

Check out the box score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN192309090.shtml

September 8, 1998: Big Mac Hits *62

On September 8, 1998, in a 6-3 win over the cubs at Busch, Mark McGwire broke the single season home run record with his 62nd blast of the year. Just one day earlier the slugger tied Roger Maris' record with his 61st bomb and the electricity was in the air as all 43,644 at Busch knew that with one swing of the bat they would witness history. That swing came in the top of the fourth, the Cards were down 2-0 and the powerful McGwire came to the dish with thousands of flash bulbs popping in anticipation of the moment. It came with Big Mac down 0-2 before he pounced on the Steve Trachsel pitch that was a hard liner that just snuck over the wall in left. It was his shortest home run of the year at 341 feet, yet it was the biggest home run of his career. The excitement by McGwire as he reached first base was off the charts, he nearly forgot to tag the base while celebrating the milestone with first base coach Dave Mckay. The trot around the bases was like no other trot before, he was the single season home run king. As he stepped on home plate his teammates mobbed him he found his son and held him in the air, it was truly a great moment. The Cubs right fielder Sammy Sosa who was in search of the crown was sitting on 58 on that September night came running in to congratulate Big Mac. That summer those two sluggers formed a bond as they both were in pursuit of a record that had stood for 37 years. While I know the records were tainted, the summer of '98 was something special in St. Louis, the electricity that ran through the air could have powered all of Times Square. As time progressed the use of performance enhancers came to light and it has definitely cast a shadow on a very memorable summer. I do not condone how McGwire was able to put up the ridiculous numbers he did, but I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it. I loved every minute of it. Big Mac finished that campaign with 70 jacks while Sosa sat at 66, the record was surpassed by Barry Bonds in '07 when he hit 73 and that is where it sits today. I honestly do believe that Maris should still be considered the home run king and the records set by the known juicers should simply have an asterisk. Time will tell how history looks at back on the great home run chase of '98, I know I will always look back at as a fond memory, however, my memory will have an asterisk next to it.

I've always been a fan of this video:
http://vimeo.com/1474661

Check out the box score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN199809080.shtml