June 3, 1984: LaPoint Earns His First Complete Game Shutout

     On June 3, 1984, Cardinals starting pitcher Dave LaPoint locked down his first complete game shutout as he blanked the Mets 1-0 at Shea Stadium in New York. The Cardinals hurler was assisted by an RBI single off the bat of Ken Oberkfell in the fourth that scored George Hendrick. The Mets starter, Mike Torrez gave up 10 hits in the contest. However, his defense bailed him out time and time again, while his offense failed to get to LaPoint. The '84 season was LaPoint's third full season at the big league level. He had posted a 9-3 record for the Birds during the Championship season of 1982, and started Game Four of the Fall Classic. He followed up the '82 campaign with back-to-back 12 wins seasons before being dealt to the San Francisco Giants in a package deal that brought Jack Clark to town.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN198406030.shtml

     While looking at the game summaries from that day I could not help but notice that John Tudor pitched the Pirates to a 4-0 victory, which locked down his first complete game shutout as a member of the National League. Tudor had spent the first five years of career in Boston, before the Pirates swung a deal for him in the Winter of '83. The Pirates saw great potential in the 30-year-old who had posted 13 wins twice in his career. Both of those 13 win seasons had at least 10 losses attached to the other side of the stat column as he had not realized his true potential just yet. After going 12-11 for the Buccos during that '84 campaign, a deal was made that made him a member of the St. Louis Cardinals. In 1985, Tudor posted a 21-6 record for the National League Champion Cardinals, and finished second in the Cy Young balloting. He never came close to the 20 win plateau again, but was a solid pitcher on a staff that also claimed the National League Crown in 1987.

June 2, 1926: The Birds Hand The Cubs a Crushing Defeat In Wrigleyville

     On June 2, 1926, the Cardinals handed the Cubs a 14-6 defeat at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Rogers Hornsby led the way in the 15 hit attack that was unleashed with a 2 for 4 day that included a home run, and five RBIs. Hornsby also walked in the contest, and crossed the dish three times before the game was put in the books. The Cardinals victimized a trio of Cubs pitchers, which included starter George Milstead, and relievers Sheriff Blake, and Johnny Welch. The boys who wore the Birds on the Bat came into that contest seven games out of first place, and were ranked fifth in the division. With the help of some losses within the division, the club jumped up to just 4 1/2 games out the next day by blanking the Phillies 4-0. The team moved up and down in the standings following that day, getting as close as a half game, while never falling more than five games out. They fought, battled, and clawed their way into a first place tie on August 19th, and took over first place the next day for the first time since the sixth game of the season. This was 118 games into the 154 game schedule. The team had heated up when it mattered the most as they posted a 36-19 record over their last two months of the season as they made their charge toward the National League Pennant, and an eventual World Series Crown.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN192606020.shtml

June 1, 1981: Templeton Goes Off At The Plate One Day After Requesting A Trade

     On June 1,1981, Garry Templeton's bat led the way in a 4-2 win over the Montreal Expos at Busch. Batting in the two-hole, the 25-year-old shortstop went 3 for 4 with a double, two RBIs, and a run scored. Just one day earlier Templeton had asked to be traded. He had been struggling at the dish a bit, so Cards skipper Whitey Herzog moved him out if his usual leadoff spot, and was shuffling the deck a bit trying to get him to work through his struggles. Templeton objected to the move, and he let reporters know it. However, he denied that it was the reason he requested the trade. The reason that was given was he wanted to be closer to his family on the West Coast. He even suggested that the club swap him to San Diego for a 26-year-old shortstop in San Diego by the name of Ozzie Smith. When the Whitey Herzog heard that Templeton was talking trade, he said "It'll be a cold summer day in St. Louis before he even thinks about trading his .307 lifetime hitter." While the White Rat thought that at the time, things changed in August of that year when Templeton flipped off the cowd at Busch. It was the beginning of the end for the man who had represented the Cardinals during two All Star games. In December of that same year, Templeton's suggestion to trade him for the shortstop that was playing in San Diego became a reality, and as they say... The rest is history.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN198106010.shtml

May 31, 1963: Stan's Pop Fly Leads To Victory

     On May 31, 1963, an unusual pop fly off the bat of Stan Musial proved be a game winning hit in a hard fought 6-5 win over the Giants at Sportsman's Park. The Birds had found themselves down 5-2, before a comeback began to mount in the bottom of the sixth, when Tim McCarver cut the deficit in half by knocking in a run. Bill White smashed a two-run shot in the seventh with a man on in the seventh to tie it, before a ninth inning that would leave the fans surprised by the turn of events that led the Cardinals to the win column. The inning started off with a walk to Curt Flood, then the Giants tried to take down the lead runner not once, but twice, and failed, which led to a bases loaded situation for the Cardinals legend. The game winning hit wasn't a hit at all, as Musial popped it up, just beyond second baseman Cap Peterson, into shallow centerfield where Willie Mays made a hard charge, and he was joined by Felipe Alou racing in from right field. The infield fly rule went into effect which meant Musial was out, but the fielders failed to make a clean catch. The moment Flood realized the ball had hit the ground, he was off to the races and home plate was his, as he scored the winning run. The RBI by Musial was the 1,921st of his career. An article that was printed in The Southeast Missourian called it the strangest RBI of his Hall of Fame career. Stan added 30 more ribbies to his totals by season's end, which was also marked the final season that The Man swung the bat as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN196305310.shtml

May 30, 1931: The Birds Move Into First Place and Don't Look Back

     On May 30, 1931, the Cardinals claimed sole possession of first place by knocking off the Cincinnati Reds in both ends of a doubleheader. The Birds took the first contest by the score of 12-4, behind the solid pitching of Jesse Haines, and a 15 hit offensive attack. The Cardinals hurler start was a rocky one, as he surrendered four runs in the first frame, before posting zeroes all the way across the board the rest of the way. The offensive attack was highlighted by George Watkins, who smacked 2 home runs, which added up to four ribbies on the day.The Birds took the second tilt by scoring five runs in the seventh inning that quickly erased a 4-0 Cincinnati lead. Ripper Collins led the way in that one with a double that scored three runs.

     The Cardinals had entered the day in a virtual tie with the New York Giants, who were beaten in both ends of a doubleheader in Brooklyn. The Cardinals retained first place from that day on as they made a charge toward their second World Series title. The club finished with a 101-53 record, which made them the first Cardinals squad to win at least 100 games. By season's end they were 13 games ahead of the Giants and would go onto meet Connie Mack's Philadelphia A's in the Fall Classic, and a classic it was, as it went the full seven games before the Cardinals were crowned champions.

Check out the box scores here:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN193105301.shtml
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN193105302.shtml

May 29, 1971: Joe Torre's Triple Caps Off The Comeback

     On May 29, 1971, Joe Torre's bases loaded walk off triple capped off a classic comeback that saw the Cardinals take down the Braves 8-7 at Busch. The triple for Torre was one of eight that the he posted in the stat columns during that MVP campaign. Torre's eight triples were good for fifth best in the National League. His .363 average led the league, and he also led the league in hits with 230, and in RBIs 137. Torre started off that '71 season with a 22 game hitting streak, and he played in 161 of the 162 games on the schedule. Torre only failed to get a hit in 28 of those contests, while never going more than 10 at bats without a hit.

      The game looked to be a disaster early, as Bob Gibson got rocked for five runs in the top of the third, then left the game in the bottom of the frame with a thigh injury after legging out a single. The squad led by Red Schoendienst refused to lose, and began to mount a comeback within moments of the injury, by scoring their first run of the ballgame on an RBI by Matty Alou.

      The Birds continued to peck away in the fourth when Dick Schofield knocked in Joe Hague who had doubled with one out in the inning, and in the seventh the club tied it up on RBIs by Alou, Ted Simmons, and Joe Torre. Reliever Frank Linzy, took over in the eighth, and with help of a double play that erased Hank Aaron posted a zero on the board. With one out, a man on second, in the ninth, Schoendienst went to lefty Don Shaw who watched the tied ballgame go up in smoke by committing an error that led to two runs, and gave the Braves a 7-5 edge.

     The ole Redhead called on Moe Drabowsky to put the fire out for Shaw, and Drabowsky got the job done quickly. The Braves skipper, Lum Harris called on his closer Cecil Shaw to shutdown the Birds in the bottom of the inning. However, it was not going to be an easy task since the Cardinals had the top of the order coming at him, which began with Lou Brock, then was followed by the bats of Alou, and Simmons. Brock and Alou both singled, and Simmons reached on an error by Upshaw who failed to field a sac bunt cleanly, that set the table for the Torre to win the ballgame with his walk off triple.

     The ballgame featured some historic moment for the visitors. Hank Aaron picked up his 3,152nd hit, which moved him into a seventh place tie with Paul Waner on the all time list, and Darrell Evans hit his first ever big league home run. Evans spent 21 years in the big leagues, and was a member of the 1984 World Series Champion Detroit Tigers squad. He also hit a total 414 bombs in his career, and will always be able to tell those that know him Bob Gibson was the first pitcher that he took deep.

     The injury by Gibson sidelined the ace for three weeks. He had already been off to a rough start before the injury, and it took a couple starts to get himself back on track when he returned in late June. Despite his struggles with the injury bug Gibby still notched 16 wins for the club. With that said, the achilles heel of that Cardinals club was the pitching staff who posted a 3.85 E.R.A., which was the second worst in the National League. However, they did win 90 games and were in the hunt until September. There were bright spots on that staff as well, which included Reggie Cleveland, who was named best rookie pitcher after winning 12 games, and most notably Steve Carlton put together a complete turnaround by winning 20 games. Carlton had led the league with 19 losses in 1970.

     One of the lessons that I have taken from looking into the history of club is a team does not have to win the World Series every season, for all seasons to be appreciated. It seems like some fans expect that out of a ballclub, which it is impossible. That '71 season in St. Louis is a great example of season to be appreciated, although there was no parade at the end. It was truly a great year of baseball in St. Louis, as Torre put together a historic season that will not be forgotten. I do understand disappointment when a team falls short, but I will never be the one who berates a team when they gave it all they had. I look at the baseball seasons like I look at the years in my life. Some years will stand above the rest, but when I look back I hope that I can say I enjoyed them all.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN197105290.shtml

May 28, 1941: The Birds Rally Past The Cubbies In St. Louie

     On May 28, 1941, down 5-3 headed into the bottom of the ninth at Sportsman's Park, the Cardinals stage a comeback by scoring three runs to beat the Cubs 6-5. The rally started with  a double by Terry Moore, who had already belted a home run in the contest. Coaker Triplett followed up Moore's double with an RBI triple to put the Cards within one, and Steve Mesner rapped a single that tied the ball game. Mesner moved over to second on an error, and over to third on a sacrifice by Enos Slaughter. Billy Southworth called on Don Padgett to bat for catcher Gus Mancuso who came up with the winning single that put the Birds in the win column for the ninth consecutive time. The winning streak would stretch to 11 before being snapped in the second game of a doubleheader on the 30th. The 11 game winning streak was the longest winning streak of that '41 season for the Redbirds who posted a 97-56 record, which was just two and a half games back of the Pennant winning Dodgers at season's end.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN194105280.shtml