In Game 7 of the 1985 World Series, that bomb finally detonated. Pitching in relief with the Cardinals trailing 9-0, Andujar blew up at home plate umpire Don Denkinger, who one night earlier had missed a crucial call in the Cardinals’ 2-1 Game 6 loss. Andujar was ejected from the game, fined by the commissioner and – less than two months later – traded to the Athletics for catcher Mike Heath and pitcher Tim Conroy.

Even before they obtained Andujar in a trade with the Astros in 1981, the Cardinals had been warned that Andujar could be a one-of-a-kind personality. In a pre-trade discussion with Whitey Herzog, Houston manager Bill Virdon had shared a story from earlier that season, when Andujar took his turn in the rotation and then, after the next two games were rained out, insisted that he should start the next game.

Virdon, whose staff also included Nolan Ryan, Vern Ruhle, J.R. Richard, and Joe Niekro, was flabbergasted. “The other four guys ain’t even been out to the mound yet and he thinks it’s his turn!” Virdon told Herzog. “Whitey, I’m telling you. This guy is out of his mind.”[1]

Andujar was no easier for Herzog to manage, but the Cardinals manager found ways to satisfy his high-strung ace.

“He’d steam through the clubhouse: “I’m pissed, Whitey, I’m pissed!” Sonofagun was always worked up about something,” Herzog wrote in 1999. “I almost never knew why he was pissed and mostly had no desire to find out. I’d say, ‘Pissed, huh, Goombah? Come on by my office at five o’clock, and we’ll talk about it.’

“‘Okay, Whitey,” he’d say, and he’d stomp off mumbling to himself en Español. Well, five o’clock would roll around, and I’d see him on his way out the door. I’d buttonhole him: ‘Hey Goombah, wanna talk?’ He’d look at me like he barely knew who I was, think for a second, then remember. ‘Oh, no thanks, Skip,’ he’d say. ‘I’m not mad anymore!’ And happy as a lark, he’d go home. … If I just showed him I noticed, let him blow off steam and waited for him to cool down, we made a hell of a pair.”[2]

Herzog found that a similar strategy helped him overcome one of Andujar’s greatest pet peeves – being removed from a game.

“When he’d lost his stuff, I’d go to the hill, put my hand right on his shoulder and say, ‘Hey, Goombah, great job. Gimme the ball, and I’ll see you Tuesday,’” Herzog recalled. “‘Okay, Whitey,” he’d say with a big smile. ‘See you Tuesday!’ And he’d stride off to the showers like a proud son. It wasn’t logical. Joaquin already knew he was pitching Tuesday. He knew he’d pitched great. But he like to hear me tell him when he was pitching again. He liked to hear me tell him how good he was.”[3]

Under Herzog’s guidance, the mercurial pitcher certainly was good. Andujar won 15 games in his first full season in St. Louis in 1982, then won two more in the World Series – including Game 7 – to help the Cardinals win the championship. Andujar suffered through a 6-16 season in 1983 but he bounced back in style, leading the league in wins (20), innings pitched (261 1/3), and shutouts (four) in 1984. It could have been termed a career year, but he was just as good in 1985, going 21-12 with a 3.40 ERA over 269 2/3 innings.

ANDUJAR EXPLODES IN GAME 7

As Andujar emerged as one of the National League’s best pitchers, however, his temper once again sabotaged him. Just one day after umpire Don Denkinger missed a key call at first base in a 2-1 Royals Game 6 win, Denkinger was behind the plate and the Cardinals were getting blown out, 9-0. With his bullpen running on fumes, Herzog called on Andujar to pitch in relief. He never recorded an out.

Denkinger called Andujar’s first pitch a ball, and the pitcher gestured with his hand, either indicating that he believed the pitch was high or, as Herzog suggested, asking whether the pitch was high.[4] Either way, Denkinger said something to Andujar, prompting Herzog to jump out of the dugout to defend his pitcher and get himself ejected in the process. Andujar threw one more pitch, Denkinger called it a ball, and Andujar charged the umpire.

When the dust settled, Andujar was ejected as well and found himself in the clubhouse with Herzog. “I’m in the clubhouse minding my own business, having a nice cold Michelob, when who should come huffing and puffing in the door but Goombah himself. Denkinger threw him out too!” Herzog recalled. “That was the only time I ever had a beer with one of my pitchers before the game was over.”[5]

Major League Baseball was embarrassed by the scene, as Andujar became the first player kicked out of a World Series game since Reds pitcher Clay Carroll in 1970. In response, commissioner Peter Ueberroth gave Andujar a 10-game suspension to be served at the beginning of the 1986 season.

“The brewery was embarrassed, too,” Herzog wrote. “It’s been reported that (general manager Dal Maxvill) and I were ordered to trade Joaquin, and I won’t deny that. I will say, though, that he might well have been traded anyway. The other players were tired of his griping and his bitching, and it had gotten to the point where he was dividing the clubhouse.”[6]

Adding to Andujar’s troubles, he faced even more severe potential punishment after former Cardinal Lonnie Smith identified him as a cocaine user during that summer’s drug trials in Pittsburgh.

CARDINALS TRY TO STRIKE A DEAL WITH BOSTON

At the 1985 winter meetings, the Cardinals proposed a trade with Boston that would have sent four Redbird pitchers to the Red Sox for lefthander Bruce Hurst.

Hurst, 27, was coming off his third consecutive season of double-digit wins, going 11-13 with a 4.51 ERA over 229 1/3 innings. His 189 strikeouts that season ranked second in the American League, and he was considered to have one of the circuit’s best curveballs.

In exchange, the Cardinals offered the Red Sox Andujar, Jeff Lahti, Rick Horton, and Kurt Kepshire.

“It was a typical Whitey Herzog deal,” Red Sox general manager Lou Gorman said. “It was more than legitimate and almost overwhelming. But there were so many considerations involved that you couldn’t do it in a matter of a few hours.”[7]

In the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, reporter Rick Hummel outlined just a few of the considerations Gorman and the Red Sox likely were considering.

“If the offer of Andujar, Jeff Lahti, Rick Horton, and Kurt Kepshire for Hurst can be believed, it was a substantial one,” Hummel wrote. “However, some of those pitchers may not have particularly strengthened the Red Sox, who already have a righthanded reliever they are paying $1 million a year in Bob Stanley and a righthanded starter, Al Nipper, who probably is at least the equal of Kepshire. It was conceivable the Red Sox thought that Andujar might not win any more games pitching for them than Hurst, who was 11-13 last season.”[8]

Meanwhile, the Cardinals were declining trade proposals of their own. Though they needed a starting catcher after Darrell Porter left via free agency, they declined Philadelphia’s offer of Ozzie Virgil for Van Slyke and Horton, then turned down another proposal that called for St. Louis to send Van Slyke, Horton, and Lahti to Philadelphia for Virgil and former Cardinals pitcher John Denny.[9]

Instead, in their trade with the A’s, the Cardinals found another answer to their need for catching – one that didn’t require them to give up Van Slyke or any additional pitching. On December 10, 1985, the Cardinals traded Andujar to the Athletics for catcher Mike Heath and pitcher Tim Conroy.

Heath had been a second-round draft pick of the Dodgers out of his Tampa, Florida, high school in 1973. Now heading into his age-31 season, Heath had spent the past seven years with the A’s. In addition to catching, he also played third base and the outfield.

“Heath was the only front-line catcher we could get without giving up any of our front-line outfielders,” Herzog said. “Now I like our lineup, I like our bench, and I feel we have enough pitching depth to overcome the loss of Andujar.”[10]

Heath hit .250/.313/.408 with 13 homers and 55 RBIs in 1985 and threw out 35% of would-be base stealers in 1985 (by comparison, Cardinals catchers threw out 23%). The year before, he posted career highs with 13 homers and 64 RBIs.

By the end of the season, however, Heath’s relationship with the A’s had run its course. That summer, controversy had ensued when Heath failed to run out a ground ball. The catcher attributed the incident to a sore foot, but A’s management didn’t seem convinced. The Oakland Tribune also reported that A’s pitchers complained of Heath’s game calling.[11]

The charges of a lack of hustle were ironic, given that Heath had built his career around his reputation as a fearless and emotional competitor.

“When Mike Heath steps onto the field, his No. 1 objective is to win,” Heath said, speaking of himself in the third person. “No. 2 is to win and No. 3 is to win. With the A’s, No. 1 was being compatible and No. 2 was winning. When I joined the A’s from the Yankees, it seemed like they were going through the motions. I don’t want to hear after games that old pat-on-the-back stuff, that ‘we’ll get them tomorrow.’ Bull. I say we should get them today.”[12]

With Mickey Tettleton deemed ready to play a larger role after playing 78 games in 1985, the A’s told Heath that he would be the short side of a catching platoon in the upcoming season, getting his starts against lefthanded pitchers. In turn, Heath told the A’s that he wanted to be traded.

“I felt I was an everyday player and I felt I wouldn’t be happy there,” Heath said.[13]

Heath penciled in as the Cardinals’ new starting catcher ahead of the light-hitting Tom Nieto.

“This is probably the happiest day in my career, except for the first day when I signed with the Yankees out of high school,” Heath said. “It’s overwhelming to have the opportunity to play for a team like the Cardinals and I’m really honored to see that Andujar was the one traded for me. I’d like to have had a chance to work with him, but it makes me feel good that the Cardinals felt I was important enough to do something like that. They wanted to improve the position they felt they were weak in, and I know I’ll be able to do it.”[14]

In the 25-year-old Conroy, the Cardinals were getting a wild card. In 1983, Conroy started 18 of his 39 appearances, going 7-10 with a 3.94 ERA over 162 1/3 innings. While his stuff was impressive, he walked 98 batters compared to 112 strikeouts that season, and he had spent much of the past two seasons in the minors. In Triple-A Tacoma, Conroy went 11-3 and struck out 167 batters in 129 1/3 innings.

“He’s sneaky fast with a good breaking ball,” said Maxvill, who also indicated that the inclusion of Conroy had helped seal the deal for the Cardinals. “Anybody who strikes out 167 in that many innings has to be either sneaky or have a trick pitch.”[15]

When reporters reached Andujar in the Dominican Republic for his reaction to the trade, he expressed frustration with the St. Louis media and said they had made it impossible for him to continue playing with the Cardinals.

“I hope the change will be good for me,” he said. “I make my living in baseball, and I’ll go wherever they send me. I’m a competitor, and the proof is that I won 20 games the past two years. I’m very satisfied with the trade. There’s no problem.”[16]

In a column following the trade, Kevin Horrigan of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote that while he would treasure the memories of Andujar’s highs with the Cardinals, the relationship had run its course.

“Clearly, it was time to trade him in, and the suspicion here is that someone down at Anheuser-Busch made that perfectly clear,” Horrigan wrote. “The people at the World’s Largest Brewery were not willing to abide the World’s Goofiest Pitcher, and who could blame them? Andujar is an all-time front-runner. When he pitched well, he was the greatest, the Cardinals were the greatest, St. Louis was the greatest, you were the greatest. When things went badly, he still was the greatest but you and everything else – particularly you – were horse manure.”[17]

For the Athletics, who were desperate for pitching, Andujar represented a risk worth taking, even if he already was suspended for 10 games and could face even greater punishment in the wake of the drug trials.

“We came in with the purpose of adding a pitcher at the top of our rotation,” A’s general manager Sandy Alderson said. “We lost Don Sutton and felt we needed a pitcher who could pitch a substantial number of innings. We are fully aware of the 10-day suspension at the beginning of the season and it is not something we are happy with. We have made inquiries both with St. Louis, other administrative elements of major league baseball, and resources close to Joaquin. And if there is a suspension of more than 10 days, that is a risk we have to assume.”[18]

There was an argument to be made that Oakland was the perfect place for Andujar, whose next-door neighbor in the Dominican Republic, Alfredo Griffin, was the A’s shortstop. Athletics coach Ron Plaza, who spoke fluent Spanish, knew Andujar from their days in the Reds’ organization, and Andujar’s childhood hero, Juan Marichal, was an instructor in the A’s system.[19]

Oakland Tribune columnist Dave Newhouse wasn’t convinced, arguing that whatever the A’s issues were with Heath, those difficulties would be tenfold with Andujar.

“Heath’s only serious problem is that he wants to win,” Newhouse wrote. “Maybe he didn’t run out a ground ball, maybe he’s not alone. But no A’s player ever gave more to this team, day in and day out, in heart and dedication. … I want the A’s to win as much as anyone, but I suspect this trade may not work out – for Oakland. I sense that Whitey Herzog knows exactly what he has done in unloading Andujar, and that he feels he has outfoxed the A’s. He may be right.”[20]

Years later, Cardinals shortstop Ozzie Smith wrote in his autobiography that even as he expected the trade, he felt that it was a mistake.

“Joaquin got a bad rap from a lot of people, but it was his reputation that allowed him to be as good as he was,” the future Hall of Famer wrote. “When you come right down to it, he had a decent fastball, but not a great fastball. He had a decent slider, but not a great slider. His advantage was the threat he posed to hitters; here was this pitcher on the mound who could sometimes be wild, and it was that image that helped him succeed. We missed his talent and his demeanor in the clubhouse.”[21]

WHO WON THE TRADE?

The A’s caught a break when Andujar and six other players named in the Pittsburgh drug trials received season-long suspensions that were reduced to anti-drug donations and community service.

That season, Andujar went 12-7 with a 3.82 ERA over 155 1/3 innings. His 12 wins ranked second on the team to Curt Young, who posted a 13-9 record. In 1987, injuries limited Andujar to just 13 starts and he finished the season with a career-worst 6.08 ERA.

That offseason, Andujar returned to the Astros as a free agent, where he was slated to pitch out of the bullpen. Due to injuries in the rotation, he made 10 starts and finished the year with a 4.08 ERA over 78 2/3 innings.

It proved to be his final major league campaign. Across 13 big-league seasons, Andujar compiled a 127-118 record with a 3.58 ERA. In his five seasons with the Cardinals, he went 68-53 with a 3.33 ERA.

Andujar’s time in Oakland was relatively subdued compared to Heath’s tenure in St. Louis. Heath opened the season with a 4-for-56 slump, then flipped the bird to fans at Busch Stadium and got into an altercation with another set of fans in San Diego. He also had an incident in the Busch Stadium parking lot in which he argued with an attendant until the police got involved. By July, Mike LaValliere had claimed the starting job.

“I’m trying to get my stuff together,” Heath said. “I’m out here taking extra batting practice every day. Think you’d read about that? No. I’m just buried every day in the papers here. I let the organization and the fans down, I know that. But it’s not like I haven’t tried.”[22]

In August, the Cardinals traded Heath to the Tigers for Ken Hill and a player to be named later. In September, the Tigers sent Mike Laga to St. Louis to complete the trade.

“He had a good spring training and then he didn’t hit anything down there in the last week,” Herzog said. “Then he got off to that 4-for-56 start. And then a lot of things happened and the fans wouldn’t let him forget it.”[23]

Conroy pitched two seasons for the Cardinals, going 8-13 with a 5.31 ERA over that span. He spent the entire 1988 season in Triple-A Louisville before he was released. He played one more season with the Pirates’ Double-A and Triple-A clubs before retiring.

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[1] Whitey Herzog and Jonathan Pitts (1999), You’re Missin’ a Great Game: From Casey to Ozzie, the Magic of Baseball and How to Get It Back, New York; Berkley Books, Page 156.

[2] Whitey Herzog and Jonathan Pitts (1999), You’re Missin’ a Great Game: From Casey to Ozzie, the Magic of Baseball and How to Get It Back, Berkley Books, Pages 157-158.

[3] Whitey Herzog and Jonathan Pitts (1999), You’re Missin’ a Great Game: From Casey to Ozzie, the Magic of Baseball and How to Get It Back, Berkley Books, Page 158.

[4] Whitey Herzog and Jonathan Pitts (1999), You’re Missin’ a Great Game: From Casey to Ozzie, the Magic of Baseball and How to Get It Back, Berkley Books, Pages 176-177.

[5] Whitey Herzog and Jonathan Pitts (1999), You’re Missin’ a Great Game: From Casey to Ozzie, the Magic of Baseball and How to Get It Back, Berkley Books, Pages 176-177.

[6] Whitey Herzog and Kevin Horrigan (1987), White Rat: A Life in Baseball, Harper & Row Publishers, Page 186.

[7] Rick Hummel, “Cards Deal Andujar To A’s For Heath,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 11, 1985.

[8] Rick Hummel, “Winter Meetings End; Rosters of 24 Likely,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 13, 1985.

[9] Rick Hummel, “Cards Deal Andujar To A’s For Heath,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 11, 1985.

[10] Rick Hummel, “Cards Deal Andujar To A’s For Heath,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 11, 1985.

[11] Kit Stier, “A’s obtain Andujar from Cards,” Oakland Tribune, December 11, 1985.

[12] Rick Hummel, “Heath Happy To Leave A’s,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 11, 1985.

[13] Rick Hummel, “Heath Happy To Leave A’s,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 11, 1985.

[14] Rick Hummel, “Heath Happy To Leave A’s,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 11, 1985.

[15] Rick Hummel, “Cards Deal Andujar To A’s For Heath,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 11, 1985.

[16] “Andujar Rips Sportswriters,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 13, 1985.

[17] Kevin Horrigan, “Trade-In Time,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 13, 1985.

[18] Kit Stier, “A’s obtain Andujar from Cards,” Oakland Tribune, December 11, 1985.

[19] Rick Hummel, “Winter Meetings End; Rosters of 24 Likely,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 13, 1985.

[20] Dave Newhouse, “A’s a contradiction,” Oakland Tribune, December 12, 1985.

[21] Ozzie Smith and Rob Rains (1988), Wizard, Contemporary Books, Page 144.

[22] John Sonderegger, “Cardinals Notebook,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 11, 1986.

[23] John Sonderegger, “Cardinals Notebook,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 11, 1986.

The post Why the Cardinals traded Joaquin Andujar in 1985 first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

On October 21, 1982, Andujar proved to be exactly that, pitching seven innings to lead the Cardinals to a 6-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 7 of the World Series. Just five days earlier, Andujar was writhing on the ground in agony after Cecil Cooper smashed a ground ball back up the middle and struck Andujar in the leg. Andujar was removed from the game and taken to the hospital, where x-rays were negative.

However, by the time the Cardinals had wrapped up a 13-1, rain-delayed victory in Game 6 to force the decisive seventh game, there was little doubt that manager Whitey Herzog would hand the ball to his ace with the world championship on the line.

“I told my teammates before the game that nobody was going to beat me today,” Andujar said. “I told them, ‘You’d better keep the champagne handy because we’re going to be drinking it.’”[1]

“I was afraid if I didn’t give him the ball, I’d be one dead manager,” Herzog joked.[2]

Andujar had received treatment on Monday, October 18, during the Cardinals’ off day ahead of Game 6, but on Tuesday he declined treatment and told the team he was ready for Game 7.

“I’ll give it my best tomorrow,” he said. “I’ve been hit on the knee before and never missed a start.”[3]

“I’m sure he’s going to have some tenderness and soreness there, but this is the seventh game of the World Series,” Cardinals trainer Gene Gieselmann said. “I was having my doubts, but when he came in yesterday (Monday), I thought he had a pretty good chance of pitching.”[4]

Andujar already had won Game 3 of the NLCS against the Braves and Game 3 of the World Series, when he held the Brewers scoreless with just three hits allowed in 6 1/3 innings.

Milwaukee countered with former Cardinal Pete Vuckovich. Vuckovich had gone 18-6 with a 3.34 ERA during the regular season on his way to the American League Cy Young Award, but by the time he took the mound for Game 7, it had been a month since his last win. After dropping his last two starts of the regular season, Vuckovich had taken the loss in Game 2 of the ALCS and received a no-decision in Game 5 against the Angels.

In his World Series Game 3 start against the Cardinals, Vuckovich went 8 2/3 innings, but allowed two home runs to Willie McGee in a 6-2 St. Louis victory.

This time around, Vuckovich worked in and out of trouble as the Cardinals stranded six baserunners in the first three innings. In the second inning, Tom Herr drew a walk between singles from Dane Iorg and Ozzie Smith. With the bases loaded, Vuckovich got Lonnie Smith to fly out to right field, ending the threat.

An inning later, Keith Hernandez walked and George Hendrick singled before Vuckovich retired Darrell Porter and Iorg to maintain the scoreless tie.

The Cardinals finally broke through in the fourth. McGee and Herr singled to start the inning, and Lonnie Smith scored McGee on an infield single to give St. Louis a 1-0 lead.

It proved to be a short-lived advantage, as Ben Oglivie hit Andujar’s first pitch of the fifth inning over the right-field wall to tie the score, 1-1.

The Brewers took the lead an inning later. Jim Gantner led off the inning with a double, and Paul Molitor followed with a bunt down the third-base line. Andujar pounced on the ball but threw wildly to first base, allowing Gantner to score and Molitor to advance to second. Robin Yount followed with an infield single that advanced Molitor to third base and Cecil Cooper brought Molitor home with a sacrifice fly to left field.

Trailing 3-1, the Cardinals answered with two runs in the sixth inning. With one out, Ozzie Smith singled and Lonnie Smith doubled down the left-field line.

“That was the big hit of the ballgame as far as I was concerned,” Molitor said. “You just get the lead and all of a sudden you look up and you see the tying run at second base with one out.”[5]

With runners at second and third, Brewers manager Harvey Kuenn turned to his bullpen. In 5 1/3 innings, Vuckovich had allowed 10 hits and walked two.

“I get paid to take the ball when they give it to me and give it back when they ask for it,” Vuckovich said, before admitting that he had tears in his eyes after being removed from the game.[6]

Left-hander Bob McClure didn’t demonstrate Vuckovich’s ability to dance out of danger. McClure walked pinch-hitter Gene Tenace to load the bases before Keith Hernandez hit a two-run single into the right-field gap to tie the score. The next batter, George Hendrick, followed with an RBI single to give the Cardinals a 4-3 lead.

Afterwards, Brewers catcher Ted Simmons pointed to that inning as the turning point.

“They got the big hits,” the former Cardinals all-star said. “They deserved to win. We got the lead and we couldn’t hold them.”[7]

Andujar closed out his day with a strong seventh inning. With two outs, Charlie Moore reached on an infield single, but Andujar got Gantner to bounce a ground ball back to him for the final out. With the inning over, Andujar – as he often did when he made big plays – made a “shooting” gesture at Gantner.

In response, the Brewers second baseman shouted, “You’re a hot dog,” twice at Andujar. The Cardinals’ pitcher had to be restrained from Gantner by home-plate umpire Lee Weyer.

“When I repeated to him my hot dog comment, he came at me,” Gantner said. “People like him who like to dish it out should learn to take it. I respect him as a pitcher, but that’s all.”[8]

Andujar, who called Gantner “a smart man,” suggested afterward that Gardner was attempting to goad him into a fight.[9] Regardless, Andujar’s day was done after allowing just two earned runs and seven hits over seven innings. With a one-run lead, Herzog handed the ball to Bruce Sutter for the final two innings.

“This was the big one, and I was going to be a hero or goat, but I wanted to be the one out there pitching,” Sutter said. “That’s been my job all year long.”[10]

Acquired in a December 1980 trade with the Cubs, Sutter had led baseball with 36 saves that season.

“For my money, there’s nobody I’d rather have out there than Bruce Sutter,” Cardinals pitcher Jim Kaat said. “Even when he was struggling this year, when the fans were hollering boos instead of ‘Bruce,’ I said that I don’t care how many he loses, I can’t think of another pitcher I’d rather have on the mound with a one-run lead.”[11]

It couldn’t have gone to plan any better. Facing the top of the Brewers’ lineup in the eighth, Sutter retired Molitor, Young, and Cooper in order.

“He’s the main man on that ballclub,” Molitor said. “Take away him and they are not better than a lot of other clubs. They are not a team you expect to come from behind. If you get them down, you can keep them down, but if they get the lead, it’s usually, ‘See you later.’”[12]

In the Cardinals’ half of the inning, they added a pair of insurance runs as Darrell Porter and Steve Braun each hit RBI singles off Brewers reliever Mike Caldwell. Ahead 6-3, Sutter got Simmons and Ben Oglivie to ground out before striking out Gorman Thomas to clinch the Cardinals’ first World Series championship in 15 years.

Ironically, Sutter’s historic strikeout didn’t come on his best pitch – the split-finger fastball. Instead, after Thomas fouled off four split-finger fastballs, Sutter turned away from the pitch that had made him a future Hall of Famer.

“I had a three-run lead and nobody on, so I gave him a fastball,” Sutter explained. “I just wanted to throw it down the middle.”[13]

When Thomas swung and missed, Porter threw off his mask and charged the mound, knocking Sutter off his feet in the postgame celebration.

“You couldn’t think of a better ending to the World Series,” Iorg said. “The best reliever in baseball against the best-hitting team in baseball. Your best against their best.”[14]

It marked Sutter’s third save of the postseason.

“I don’t think it will really hit me until this winter,” Sutter said. “I’ll be sitting up there on a deer stand and I’ll start yelling. I won’t get any deer, but I’ll have a good time.”[15]

Porter, who already earned NLCS MVP honors against the Braves, was named the World Series MVP after going 8-for-28 with a home run and five RBIs in the Fall Classic.

“Hoo-ee, I’ve been to two county fairs and a goat roast and I ain’t never seen nothin’ like this,” he said as observed the postgame celebration.[16]

Hendrick, another candidate for World Series MVP honors, missed the celebration. Instead of returning to the clubhouse with his teammates, he exited the field through the gate in right field and went straight to his car in the parking lot.

“The next day I called him up and said, ‘Where were you?’” pitcher Bob Forsch recalled. “He said, ‘I just wanted you guys to enjoy it. I was listening to the celebration in my car while I was driving home.’”[17]

[1] John Hughes, “Herzog’s genius was the difference,” Wisconsin State Journal, October 21, 1982.

[2] Rick Hummel, “Cards’ Goal: Bury Brewers With Wounded Knee,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 20, 1982.

[3] Rick Hummel, “Cards’ Goal: Bury Brewers With Wounded Knee,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 20, 1982.

[4] Rick Hummel, “Cards’ Goal: Bury Brewers With Wounded Knee,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 20, 1982.

[5] Bill Brophy, “Season of miracles ends,” Wisconsin State Journal, October 21, 1982.

[6] Neal Russo, “Brewers Credit The Cardinals, And Vuckovich Takes The Blame,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 21, 1982.

[7] Ed Wilks, “Simmons Remained At The Front In Class,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 21, 1982.

[8] Neal Russo, “Andujar Style Is ‘Hot Dog’ To Gantner,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 21, 1982.

[9] Neal Russo, “Andujar Style Is ‘Hot Dog’ To Gantner,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 21, 1982.

[10] Mike Smith, “A Ring For Sutter’s ‘Split Finger,’” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 21, 1982.

[11] Mike Smith, “A Ring For Sutter’s ‘Split Finger,’” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 21, 1982.

[12] Bill Brophy, “Season of miracles ends,” Wisconsin State Journal, October 21, 1982.

[13] Mike Smith, “A Ring For Sutter’s ‘Split Finger,’” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 21, 1982.

[14] Mike Smith, “A Ring For Sutter’s ‘Split Finger,’” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 21, 1982.

[15] Mike Smith, “A Ring For Sutter’s ‘Split Finger,’” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 21, 1982.

[16] Kevin Horrigan, “It Was The Time For Series Victory,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 21, 1982.

[17] Bob Forsch with Tom Wheatley (2013), Tales from the St. Louis Cardinals Dugout, New York; Sport Publishing, Page 31.

The post 1982 World Series Game 7: Andujar, Sutter clinch the title first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

“There’s no way we can get on him now,” Smith said. “We like to give him trouble, but there’s nothing we can do now.”[1]

Not after one of the best all-around performances of Andujar’s career.

Heading into the Cardinals’ May 15, 1984, game against the Braves at Busch Stadium, Andujar was off to a 5-3 record, just one win shy of his disappointing 1983 season in which he went just 6-16 with a 4.16 ERA.

“The way I tried to pitch in 1983, I tried to throw everything too hard,” Andujar said. “There’s no way you can pitch in the National League by throwing everything hard. You’ve got to have other pitches to go with your fastball. This year I’ve got four pitches working – my changeup, curve, slider, and fastball.”[2]

Andujar credited new Cardinals pitching coach Mike Roarke with his success on the mound and at the plate.

“He’s my pitching coach and hitting coach,” Andujar said. “He tells me when to slow down my swing.”[3]

Though the Padres roughed him up in his second start of the season, three of Andujar’s five wins had come in complete-game shutouts, including his most recent start, a 7-0 win over the Padres.

The Cardinals got on the scoreboard first with an RBI double from Willie McGee.

“I’m just doing what I’ve been doing,” McGee said. “I’m just going out there and swinging.”[4]

The Braves answered with their own version of “Whiteyball” in the third, as Alex Trevino singled, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and a ground ball to second base, then scored on an infield single by Rafael Ramirez. It was the only run the Braves managed on the day, as Andujar retired the next eight batters he faced.

With Andujar holding the Braves’ offense in check, the Cardinals reclaimed the lead in the sixth after McGee doubled and scored on an infield single by George Hendrick. An inning later, Ken Oberkfell scored on a passed ball to give the Cardinals a 3-1 lead.

The Cardinals didn’t break the game open until the bottom of the eighth. After intentionally walking Andy Van Slyke to load the bases, Braves reliever Jeff Dedmon uncorked a wild pitch that scored McGee, and Smith scored Tito Landrum with a ground-ball force out. After Smith stole second base, Dedmon walked Nieto intentionally to bring Andujar to the plate with the bases loaded.

That proved to be a mistake.

As he stood in the on-deck circle, Andujar pointed to the outfield wall and told his teammates he was about to hit a home run.

“What’s worse is (he) pointed before he hit the damn thing,” bemoaned Smith. “Just like Ruth. Ruth and Andujar. He’s going to be impossible.”[5]

Though Andujar had not hit a home run since he was playing for the Astros in 1980, he took Dedmon deep from his less-powerful side of the plate. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that it was Andujar’s career first home run batting left-handed,[6] though Baseball-Reference.com indicated that he hit one in 1979.[7] According to the Post-Dispatch’s research, Andujar was the first Cardinals pitcher to hit left-handed and right-handed home runs in the same season.[8]

“I’ve got more power right-handed, but everybody knows I’m strong enough. I’ve been telling you for three years: if I make contact, it will go,” Andujar said.[9]

“Every day I hit five or six home runs in batting practice,” he added. “It doesn’t surprise me that I hit a home run. I know I’m not a good hitter. I know I’m a horsebleep hitter, but like I tell you, if I make contact, it’s gone.”[10]

Smith had a great vantage point from second base to watch Andujar’s home run sail over the wall.

“When I realized the ball was going out of the park, I was trying to pull it back,” Smith said. “I was wondering if there was any way I could go back to first base.”[11]

On the heels of his grand slam, Andujar threw a scoreless ninth inning to secure the win. The Braves scattered eight hits in the game as Andujar allowed one earned run while striking out six. With his sixth win, Andujar matched his total from the previous season.

“I pitched like that before,” he said. “I’m not surprised. Nobody should be. I’ve been nine years in the major leagues and went to two All-Star Games. It surprises me if I pitch bad. I’m not going to say I’m the greatest, but I’m not as bad as I was last year.”[12]

After the game, Cardinals general manager Joe McDonald and scout Wilfred Calvino, who signed Andujar to his first professional contract, presented Andujar with a bottle of wine to commemorate the occasion.[13]

Though it proved to be the final home run of Andujar’s career, he continued to build upon his early success on the mound. By the All-Star break, he was 13-6 with a 2.90 ERA. He led the league with 20 wins, 261 1/3 innings, and four shutouts. He finished the year with a 3.34 ERA as he won a Gold Glove Award and placed fourth in the Cy Young Award voting.

“He’s one of a kind,” Herzog said. “There’s only one Joaquin, but I’m glad we’ve got him.”[14]

Give the gift of Cardinals history! The Trades That Made The St. Louis Cardinals is available now on Amazon.

[1] Rick Hummel, “Andujar, Cards Slam Braves,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 16, 1984.

[2] Lyndal Scranton, “The Dominican is tough again,” Springfield Leader and Press, May 16, 1984.

[3] Lyndal Scranton, “The Dominican is tough again,” Springfield Leader and Press, May 16, 1984.

[4] Rick Hummel, “Andujar, Cards Slam Braves,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 16, 1984.

[5] Mike Eisenbath, “Cards, Andujar slam Braves,” Belleville News-Democrat, May 16, 1984.

[6] Rick Hummel, “Andujar, Cards Slam Braves,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 16, 1984.

[7] “Joaquin Andujar,” Baseball-Reference, https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/split.fcgi?id=andujjo01&year=1979&t=b.

[8] Rick Hummel, “LaPoint Beats Braves, Not Odds,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 17, 1984.

[9] Rick Hummel, “Andujar, Cards Slam Braves,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 16, 1984.

[10] Rick Hummel, “Andujar, Cards Slam Braves,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 16, 1984.

[11] Rick Hummel, “Andujar, Cards Slam Braves,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 16, 1984.

[12] Rick Hummel, “Andujar, Cards Slam Braves,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 16, 1984.

[13] Rick Hummel, “Andujar, Cards Slam Braves,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 16, 1984.

[14] Lyndal Scranton, “The Dominican is tough again,” Springfield Leader and Press, May 16, 1984.

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Herzog had been on the search for pitching when Astros general manager Al Rosen called and offered Andujar in exchange for center fielder Tony Scott. Herzog was intrigued by the opportunity to pick up the two-time All-Star, but he wanted more information. He called Astros manager Bill Virdon to find out why Andujar was available in the first place.

Virdon, whose pitching staff already included Nolan Ryan, Vern Ruhle, J.R. Richard, and Joe Niekro, explained that he simply didn’t have the patience for Andujar’s antics. The breaking point had come when Andujar pitched on a Thursday before the Astros were rained out Friday and Saturday. Come Sunday, Andujar was in Virdon’s office, declaring himself ready to pitch in that day’s game.

“The other four guys ain’t even been out to the mound yet, and he thinks it’s his turn!” Virdon told Herzog. “Whitey, I’m telling you. This guy is out of his mind.”[1]

Cardinals pitching coach Hub Kittle, however, had coached Andujar in the Dominican winter league for five seasons and was confident he could keep Andujar in line.

“He’s not wild with me,” Kittle said. “I know how to handle him.”[2]

With Kittle’s confidence and the Cardinals’ desperate need for pitching counteracting Virdon’s warning, Herzog agreed to the deal. Andujar and Scott were both in the final years of their contracts, and Herzog might not have agreed to the trade if Scott and his agent had responded to the team’s recent contract offer.

“He had to know that with the trading deadline approaching, we’ve got to hear from him,” Herzog said. “We laid an offer – it was a pretty good one, too – but we never heard back. If Tony liked it here so much, why didn’t they get back with us?”[3]

It didn’t help that Scott was batting just .227 in 45 games. In five seasons with the Cardinals, Scott had hit .255 with 12 homers, 168 RBIs, and 87 stolen bases in 137 attempts.

Following the trade, he played four seasons in Houston before he was released during the 1984 season. Scott caught on with Montreal for 45 games before ending his 11-year major league career.

The day the trade was announced, Herzog admitted he was uncertain whether the Cardinals could re-sign Andujar.[4]

In 1977, his second season in the league, Andujar went 11-8 with a 3.69 ERA and earned an All-Star Game appearance. He started just 13 games for Houston the following year, then went 12-12 in 1979 with a 3.43 ERA and another All-Star Game.

In 1980, he made just 14 starts, going 3-8 on the year, and the Astros had used him for just 23 2/3 innings so far in 1981.

“I guess he was very unhappy playing with the Astros,” said Cardinals infielder Julio Gonzalez, who had played alongside Andujar in Houston. “He just wanted to get a starting job.”[5]

Andujar told the Houston media that while he appreciated the opportunity to pitch more in St. Louis, he was disappointed to leave the Astros.

“It will be better for me in St. Louis,” he said. “At least I’ll get a chance to pitch, but I don’t feel very good about having to leave a lot of good friends. I guess I expected it, but when they tell you, it hits you in the heart awfully hard.”[6]

Virdon told Andujar about the trade in the seventh inning of the Astros’ 6-2 win over the Mets. With two innings left in the game, he told Andujar it would be OK to head to the showers and start packing his belongings. Instead, Andujar stayed until the game was over.

“I said, ‘No, I want to stay here and be an Astro as long as I can,’” Andujar said. “This is like leaving your family.”[7]

The Cardinals would soon become family for Andujar as well. He appeared in 11 games for the Cardinals during the strike-shortened season – starting eight – and went 6-1 with a 3.74 ERA. That December, the Cardinals signed him to a three-year contract.

“I decided to sign with the Cardinals again because I like Whitey Herzog and the people of St. Louis,” Andujar said. “All I want to do is pitch and help the Cardinals win the pennant.”[8]

He did exactly that in 1982, going 15-10 with a 2.47 ERA over 265 2/3 innings. In the World Series against the Brewers, he won both his starts, allowing just two earned runs over 13 1/3 innings.

Though Mike Roarke replaced Kittle as pitching coach after the 1983 season, Herzog found his own ways to manage Andujar’s temper. Andujar was known to get angry whenever he was taken out of a game, but Herzog found that a few words of encouragement, along with confirmation of Andujar’s next start, would take the sting away when he came to retrieve his ace.

“I’d go to the hill, put my hand right on his shoulder, and say, ‘Hey, Goombah, great job. Gimme the ball, and I’ll see you Tuesday,’” Herzog recalled. “‘OK, Whitey,’ he’d say with a big smile. ‘See you Tuesday!’ and he’d stride off to the showers like a proud son. It wasn’t logical. Joaquin already knew he was pitching Tuesday. He knew he’d pitched great. But he liked to hear me tell him when he was pitching again. He liked to hear me tell him how good he was.”[9]

Herzog used a similar strategy in the clubhouse.

“He’d steam through the clubhouse: ‘I’m pissed, Whitey, I’m pissed!’ Sonofagun was always worked up about something,” Herzog wrote in 1999. “I almost never knew why he was pissed and mostly had no desire to find out. I’d say, ‘Pissed, huh, Goombah? Come by my office at five o’clock and we’ll talk about it.’ ‘OK, Whitey,’ he’d say, and he’d stomp off mumbling something to himself … Well, five o’clock would roll around, and I’d see him on his way out the door. I’d buttonhole him: ‘Hey, Goombah, wanna talk?’ He’d look at me like he barely knew who I was, think for a second, then remember. ‘Oh, no thanks, Skip,’ he’d say. “I’m not mad anymore!’ and happy as a lark, he’d go home … If I just showed him I noticed, let him blow off steam, and waited for him to cool down, we made a hell of a pair.”[10]

In 1985, Andujar again pitched the Cardinals into the World Series, but struggled against the Royals, taking the loss in Game 3. With Game 7 out of hand, he appeared in a mop-up relief role and was ejected for arguing balls and strikes and charging home plate umpire Don Denkinger, who infamously missed a crucial call late in Game 6. The embarrassing episode led to the Cardinals trading Andujar to the Athletics for Tim Conroy and Mike Heath that winter.

Despite the ignominious end of Andujar’s Cardinals career, the trade certainly proved positive for St. Louis. Over five seasons, Andujar went 68-53 with a 3.33 ERA. He twice placed fourth in the Cy Young Award voting (1984 and 1985) and proved a valuable innings eater – from 1982 through 1985, he averaged more than 255 innings per season.

Give the gift of Cardinals history! The Trades That Made The St. Louis Cardinals is available now on Amazon.

[1] Whitey Herzog and Jonathan Pitts (1999), You’re Missin’ a Great Game: From Casey to Ozzie, the Magic of Baseball and How to Get It Back, New York; Berkley Books, Page 156.

[2] Rick Hummel, “Hard Work Ahead For Andujar,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 8, 1981.

[3] Rick Hummel, “Hard Work Ahead For Andujar,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 8, 1981.

[4] Rick Hummel, “Hard Work Ahead For Andujar,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 8, 1981.

[5] Rick Hummel, “Hard Work Ahead For Andujar,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 8, 1981.

[6] Rick Hummel, “Hard Work Ahead For Andujar,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 8, 1981.

[7] “Andujar dislikes trade,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram,” June 8, 1981.

[8] “Cardinals Sign Andujar To A Three-Year Contract,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 30, 1981.

[9] Whitey Herzog and Jonathan Pitts (1999), You’re Missin’ a Great Game: From Casey to Ozzie, the Magic of Baseball and How to Get It Back, New York; Berkley Books, Page 158.

[10] Whitey Herzog and Jonathan Pitts (1999), You’re Missin’ a Great Game: From Casey to Ozzie, the Magic of Baseball and How to Get It Back, New York; Berkley Books, Page 157-158.

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