The 6-foot, 190-pounder from Clayton, Ohio, recorded just one out in his season debut, and while he righted the ship with three wins in May, Haines appeared to be wilting in the summer heat. Heading into his July 17 start against the Boston Braves, the future Hall of Famer was just 4-12 on the season and had lost his last three decisions.

On July 17, 1924, however, Haines dominated a Braves lineup that ranked third in the National League, earning his place in history as the first pitcher in franchise history to throw a no-hitter.

“Haines had greater speed than I have ever found him using before,” Cardinals catcher Miguel Gonzales said. “His fast one had a bit of a jump and he had pretty good control.”[1]

Haines’ masterpiece took place before a packed house at Sportsman’s Park, though the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Dent McSkimming wrote that the crowd was unusually apathetic to the events of the day, as many were there for festivities benefiting the St. Louis Tuberculosis Society.

“It so happened that a great majority of the 15,000 persons who attended yesterday’s game were not fans and probably a majority did not realize and certainly did not appreciate the fact that they were being treated to a unique sight,” McSkimming wrote. “The annual Tuberculosis day festivity had attracted a very colorful and happy gathering to Sportsman’s Park and the ladies did give passing attention to the ball game. But as the hour grew late they grew restless and seemed more interested in the band and to the mass of variegated color in the stand than in the game.”[2]

McSkimming did note, however, that by the seventh inning even newcomers to the sport were caught up in the excitement.

Haines opened the game by retiring Gus Felix on a fly ball, then striking out Bill Cunningham and Casey Stengel. In the bottom half of the first, Wattie Holm singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch by Braves pitcher Tim McNamara. Rogers Hornsby followed with a single up the middle to score Holm and give St. Louis a 1-0 lead.

Haines retired the side in order in the second, then struck out Bob Smith and Mickey O’Neil before walking McNamara. He ended the inning by retiring Felix on a line drive to Hornsby at second base. Felix’s drive would prove to be the Braves’ hardest hit of the game.

In the bottom of the third, Haines led off with a single to left field. Jack Smith laid down a bunt single down the first-base line to put runners on first and second, but Holm lined out to left field and Hornsby flied out to Braves third baseman Cotton Tierney in foul territory. With two outs, Jim Bottomley hit a fly ball to center field, but Felix misplayed the ball, allowing Haines to score and make it 2-0.

In the bottom of the fifth, Hornsby and Bottomley each singled and Specs Toporcer was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Gonzales. Gonzales scored Hornsby on a fielder’s choice, and Jimmy Cooney hit a two-run single to left to score Bottomley and Toporcer.

With a 5-0 lead, Haines retired his eighth consecutive batter in the top of the sixth before he again walked McNamara. With two outs, he walked Bill Cunningham before getting Stengel to hit a ground ball back to him for the final out of the inning.

Cunningham would prove to be the Braves’ final baserunner, as Haines retired the next 10 batters he faced. Facing the top of the Boston lineup in the ninth, Haines retired Felix and Cunningham on fly balls, then got Stengel to ground out to Hornsby at second base for the final out of the game.

“Much as I need my base hits to earn my ham and eggs, I’m glad I didn’t do it,” Stengel admitted after the game. “That fellow had great stuff on the ball. Wonderful speed and pretty fair control. He deserves a lot of credit and it doesn’t make any difference that he was pitching against Boston. We’re not the hardest-hitting team in the league but we’re not the weakest either. Haines pitched a great game in my opinion.”[3]

Haines’ no-hitter is credited as the first no-hitter in Cardinals franchise history, though it was preceded in St. Louis baseball history. George Washington Bradley, pitching for the St. Louis Brown Stockings, held the Hartford Dark Blues hitless in an 1876 game for the first no-hitter in the history of the National League. In 1891, Ted Breitenstein of the American Association St. Louis Browns threw a no-hitter in his first professional start. After the collapse of the American Association at the end of the season, the Browns joined the National League, became the Perfectos in 1899, and ultimately became the St. Louis Cardinals in 1900.

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[1] Dent McSkimming, “Jess Haines Hurls No-Hit, No-Run Game Against Boston,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 18, 1924, Page 19.

[2] Dent McSkimming, “Jess Haines Hurls No-Hit, No-Run Game Against Boston,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 18, 1924, Page 19.

[3] Dent McSkimming, “Jess Haines Hurls No-Hit, No-Run Game Against Boston,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 18, 1924, Page 19.

The post July 17, 1924: Jesse Haines throws the first no-hitter in Cardinals history first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

You may sing the praises of Mickey Cochrane’s Tigers and the glory of the Giants from the housetops. Tell the story of Lynwood (Schoolboy) Rowe and the saga of Carl Hubbell, the wizardry of Grover Alexander and the blinding speed of Walter Johnson, but brother, if you were at Ebbetts Field yesterday, you’ve got something to tell your children.[1]

It wasn’t often in 1934 that someone managed to steal the show from Dizzy Dean, but on September 21, 1934, his brother managed the trick on a day that only served to bolster the legend of the incredible Dean brothers.

Both games were make-ups for games that were rained out earlier in the month. Before the double-header started, the Deans were speaking to a reporter in the visitor’s dugout when they were asked who would pitch the first game.

“I’m supposed to,” Dizzy said, “but I don’t feel so good. How about you taking it, Paul?”

“OK with me,” Paul responded. “Where’s the boss?”

Frankie Frisch, the Cardinals’ second baseman/manager, was just emerging onto the field and began to take infield drills. Before his pregame routine was complete, however, the Deans already had lost interest.

“Well, I guess there’s no help for it,” Dizzy said as he walked off to begin warming up.[2]

However well Dizzy was feeling, he went on to throw 7 1/3 no-hit innings in a 13-0 blowout. With one out in the eighth, Buzz Boyle beat out a slow roller to the shortstop. In the next inning, Sam Leslie and Joe Stripp each singled before Al Lopez reached on an error by Pepper Martin at third base. With the bases loaded, Dizzy ended the threat by striking out Nick Tremark for his 27^th win of the year.

“I didn’t know that I had a no-hitter,” Dizzy said. “I was way out in front and I was just coasting along. Boy, if I had known that I was so near to a no-hitter, I’d have given those Dodgers so much smoke and such fancy curves that they wouldn’t have even seen the ball.”[3]

Ripper Collins led the Cardinals’ offense with four hits and six RBIs, including a two-run single in the first inning, an RBI double in the third, a two-run home run in the fourth, and another RBI double in the sixth. Frankie Frisch and Spud Davis drove in two runs apiece, and Jack Rothrock added two hits and three runs scored.

With their win streak now up to five games, 21-year-old rookie Paul Dean and the Cardinals matched up against Ray Benge and the Dodgers. After Benge retired the Cardinals in order in the first, Paul issued a two-out walk to Len Koenecke before retiring Leslie on a fly ball.

“I’ve pitched better ball games in my career than the one today,” Paul said afterwards, “but everything went my way. It seemed that I was always ahead of the hitters, all but Koenecke, whom I walked in the first inning. I had him 3-and-2 and inasmuch as he tagged me for an extra-base hit last month in St. Louis, I wasn’t going to give him anything good.”[4]

Benge kept pace with Paul until the top of the sixth inning, when the younger Dean helped his own cause with a one-out double into center field. Pepper Martin followed with a double to left, and though he was thrown out at third by the center fielder Koenecke, Paul scored on the play to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.

One inning later, Joe Medwick doubled to left field and scored on an RBI single to right by Collins. In the seventh, Paul had his closest call of the game as Leslie lifted a fly ball to deep left field that required Medwick to make a running, one-handed catch.[5]

“When did I first think about (a no-hitter)?” Paul said. “Why, after I got the first three outs of the game in the first inning. I said to myself as I went back to the dugout, ‘Well, no hits so far,’ and after the second inning I said the same thing.

“Then after a couple more innings I started to talk to (rookie catcher Bill) DeLancey about it. We’re roommates and I think a lot of him and we told each other after each inning that there wasn’t no hits yet. After six innings I said to Dee that if we could bear down just a little bit longer, we’d have a no-hit game for the room. Dee thought it was a good idea and we both cut the pie at each other when Medwick goes out near the bleacher wall in that seventh inning and comes up with Leslie’s fly, which was well rickety-cacked.”[6]

Paul Dean struck out two of the three batters he faced in the eighth, and in the top of the ninth Collins drove in his eighth run of the day on a ground ball that scored Medwick.

Down 3-0 in the bottom of the ninth and still seeking the Dodgers’ first hit, Casey Stengel called on Jim Bucher to pinch hit for Lopez. The move didn’t work, however, as Paul recorded his sixth and final strikeout of the game.

After Paul got the final strike, coach Miguel Gonzales, who caught Jesse Haines when he threw the first no-hitter in Cardinals history 10 years earlier, yelled at Paul, “Two more and you’ll get Dizzy jealous!”[7]

“I was pouring that ball through there in the late innings,” Paul said. “How did you like them strikes I throwed to Bucher? … He ain’t never saw anything I thrun.”[8]

The next batter also was a pinch hitter, as Johnny McCarthy came in to bat for Benge. McCarthy popped out to Frisch at second base, leaving Boyle between Paul and history.

“I was thinking it would be kinda nice to have the no-hitter, but if Boyle had been man enough to sock one, I’d have taken it without any crying,” Paul said.[9]

The Cardinals rookie never had to find out, as Boyle hit a sharp ground ball to Leo Durocher at shortstop, who blocked the ball with his chest[10] and recovered to throw Boyle out for the final out of the game.

With the game won, fans mobbed the field to congratulate the younger Dean. Delancey raced out to the mound to hand him the historic ball, but it briefly was stolen by a fan. One of the officers on duty, Jimmy Curran, grabbed the fan and the ball and returned the memento.[11]

“My curve was breaking good and as the game went along I felt looser and better,” Paul said. “I got faster as I went along and the funniest thing to me was that I wasn’t a bit tired when it was all over. I didn’t feel like I’d done no work at all. The fellows on the bench and the other players in the game acted like they’d been under a great strain and they kept sighing and heaving that they was glad it was all over, but I didn’t feel none of that. I felt like I could have pitched a couple more games.”[12]

Paul’s no-hitter was the first in the majors since Cleveland’s Wes Ferrell and Washington’s Bob Burke accomplished the feat, and the first Cardinals no-hitter since Jesse Haines did it 10 years earlier. Despite the accomplishment, Paul said his biggest thrill of the game was his offensive performance.

“I guess those two hits I got will knock Dizz off for a while,” he said. “Did I hit those or didn’t I? I never hit so good in my life. That single to right was good, but that double that I larruped out there to left-center was what I got a big kick out of. Yes sir. I guess Dizz won’t talk about his hitting for a while after those two wallops.”[13]

Of course, that didn’t mean that Dizzy Dean didn’t have anything to say. The two wins not only kept the Cardinals within three games of the New York Giants for the National League lead, but it meant that the Deans already had combined for 45 of the Cardinals’ 88 wins, matching a preseason prediction from Dizzy.

“Even Dizzy wasn’t dizzy enough to predict that the 45^th would be a no-hitter,” Durocher said.[14]

In later years, legend would allege that Dizzy told his brother, “Shucks, Paul, you shoulda told me you was gonna pitch a no-hitter, then I woulda pitched one too!” While the quote appears in Milton Shapiro’s The Dizzy Dean Story, published almost 30 years later in 1963, none of the papers covering the game appear to have recorded the anecdote.

What was indisputable, however, was that the Cardinals would end up winning 13 of their final 15 games to catch the Giants and win the National League by two games. Facing the Detroit Tigers in the World Series, Dizzy and Paul would each win a pair of games, including Dizzy’s Game 7 shutout to win the third world championship in St. Louis Cardinals history.

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[1] Bill McCullough, “Dean Brothers Wrote Mound History With Double Win Over Dodgers,” Brooklyn Times-Union, September 22, 1934: Page 1A.

[2] Tommy Holmes, “Dean Brothers Bubbling Over With Fame,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 22, 1934: Page 6.

[3] J. Roy Stockton, “Paul Dean First St. Louis No-Hit Pitcher Since 1924,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 22, 1934: Page 1B.

[4] Bill McCullough, “Dean Brothers Wrote Mound History With Double Win Over Dodgers,” Brooklyn Times-Union, September 22, 1934: Page 1A.

[5] Tommy Holmes, “Dean Brothers Bubbling Over With Fame,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 22, 1934: Page 6.

[6] J. Roy Stockton, “Paul Dean First St. Louis No-Hit Pitcher Since 1924,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 22, 1934: Page 1B.

[7] Bill McCullough, “Dean Brothers Wrote Mound History With Double Win Over Dodgers,” Brooklyn Times-Union, September 22, 1934: Page 2A.

[8] J. Roy Stockton, “Paul Dean First St. Louis No-Hit Pitcher Since 1924,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 22, 1934: Page 1B.

[9] J. Roy Stockton, “Paul Dean First St. Louis No-Hit Pitcher Since 1924,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 22, 1934: Page 1B.

[10] Bill McCullough, “Dean Brothers Wrote Mound History With Double Win Over Dodgers,” Brooklyn Times-Union, September 22, 1934: Page 1A.

[11] Bill McCullough, “Dean Brothers Wrote Mound History With Double Win Over Dodgers,” Brooklyn Times-Union, September 22, 1934: Page 1A.

[12] J. Roy Stockton, “Paul Dean First St. Louis No-Hit Pitcher Since 1924,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 22, 1934: Page 1B.

[13] J. Roy Stockton, “Paul Dean First St. Louis No-Hit Pitcher Since 1924,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 22, 1934: Page 1B.

[14] Tommy Holmes, “Dean Brothers Bubbling Over With Fame,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 22, 1934: Page 6.

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There was his season-opening game with the Chicago Cubs in 1934, when Adam Comorosky singled to center field with one out in the ninth. Five days later, he threw another one-hitter, holding the Cardinals to a fifth-inning double by Ripper Collins. In 1939, now a member of the Cardinals, Warneke was a step slow in covering first base and the scorekeeper awarded Stan Hack a seventh-inning single to keep Warneke from perfection.

Earlier in the 1941 season, Warneke allowed a leadoff single to Philadelphia’s Heinie Mueller before holding the Phillies hitless the rest of the way.

On August 31, 1941, however, Warneke was, as Bob Considine of the Cincinnati Enquirer documented, “a perfect pitching machine, not too fast, but smooth and sharp.”[1]  The Reds managed just two hits out of the infield the entire day – a fly ball to center field by Lonny Frey in the first inning and a drive by Frank McCormick in the seventh that forced Cardinals left fielder Don Padgett to the left-field fence.

“I gave them a little of everything I had, mixing up everything I knew how to throw, and not forgetting a change of pace,” Warneke said.[2]

Warneke only struck out two batters on the day, instead relying on his infield defense to record outs. Cincinnati didn’t get its first baserunner until the bottom of the fifth, when Frank McCormick reached on an error by Cardinals second baseman Creepy Crespi. Warneke struck out the next batter, Jim Gleeson, and catcher Walker Cooper caught McCormick stealing for a double play.

In the top of the seventh, the Cardinals finally got Warneke the offensive support he needed for the win. With two outs, Jimmy Brown walked and Johnny Hopp followed with a single. Cincinnati center fielder Harry Craft missed a line drive by Padgett into the right-field gap to score the game’s only two runs. The play was ruled an error, but his postgame recap, St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter J. Roy Stockton wrote that the play should have been ruled a double.[3]

In the bottom half of the inning, Warneke worked around a two-out walk to Frey, and in the eighth he benefitted from a 4-6-3 double play after Jim Gleeson reached on an error by Brown.

In the ninth, Warneke retired pinch hitters Lloyd Waner and Ernie Koy before getting Billy Werber to fly out to Johnny Mize at first base for the game’s final out. Mize tossed the ball to Warneke as his teammates congratulated the veteran right-hander affectionately known as the “Arkansas Hummingbird.” As the Associated Press reported, “there was no uproarious celebration – instead the quiet satisfaction of a job very well-done” and many of Warneke’s teammates simply stopped by his locker, shook his hand, and said, “nice going.”[4]

Warneke said that even though the Cincinnati faithful began to cheer for him in the late innings, he wasn’t thinking about the possibility of a no-hitter.

“It never crossed my mind,” he said. “When I’m pitching, I’m concentrating on my next pitch.”[5]

Center fielder Terry Moore, who missed the game while he was in the hospital recovering from a pitch to the head earlier that month, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in a phone interview that Warneke’s accomplishment was wonderful “just when so many people thought he was all washed up.”

“As soon as the weather turns a little cool, Lon always does better,” Moore said. “He’ll be a great pitcher for us right down the stretch.”[6]

Enos Slaughter, who also missed the game due to injury, was visiting Moore in the hospital. He said that while a few of Warneke’s sliders have “slid right out of the park,” they have become the veteran’s best pitch.[7]

The win marked Warneke’s 15^th of the season and improved the Cardinals to 80-45, two percentage points ahead of the 81-46 Dodgers for first place in the National League.

“Well, we won the game and recaptured first place,” Warneke said. “That’s all that matters to me.”^[8]

Cincinnati’s Elmer Riddle took the tough-luck loss, scattering five hits and five walks without allowing an earned run. His record fell to 15-3 even as he lowered his ERA to 1.99.

Later that week, Warneke told the St. Louis Star and Times that he would undergo surgery on his knee to repair a bone growth that had developed on his left kneecap and was “sore as a boil most of the time.”[9]

Though the Dodgers wound up capturing the National League title, Warneke finished the season with a 17-9 record and a 3.15 ERA. He started 12 games for the Cardinals in 1942, going 6-4 with a 3.29 ERA, before he was sold to the Cubs for $7,500. He went 5-7 for the Cubs the remainder of the season despite a 2.27 ERA, and went 4-5 for the Cubs in 1943 before missing the 1944 season due to military service. After serving about a year and a half as the civilian director of recreation at the Shumaker Naval Ammunition Depot near Camden, Arkansas,[10] Warneke returned to the Cubs for nine games in 1945, all but one game of which came in relief.

He retired after the season with a 192-121 career record, five all-star appearances, the 1932 ERA title, and one no-hitter.

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[1] Bob Considine, “Those Nasty Giants Knock Brooks Out Of League Lead,” Cincinnati Enquirer, August 31, 1941: Page 14.

[2] “Main Thing Is We Won – Warneke,” Des Moines Register, August 31, 1941: Section 5, Page 1.

[3] J. Roy Stockton, “No-Hit Game for Warneke as Cards Regain League Lead By Defeating Reds While Dodgers Lose Twin Bill to Giants,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 31, 1941: Page 8A.

[4] “Main Thing Is We Won – Warneke,” Des Moines Register, August 31, 1941: Section 5, Page 1.

[5] “Main Thing Is We Won – Warneke,” Des Moines Register, August 31, 1941: Section 5, Page 1.

[6] “Just the Tonic Lon Needed, Say Moore and Slaughter,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 31, 1941: Page 8A.

[7] “Just the Tonic Lon Needed, Say Moore and Slaughter,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 31, 1941: Page 8A.

[8] Bob Considine, “Those Nasty Giants Knock Brooks Out Of League Lead,” Cincinnati Enquirer, August 31, 1941: Page 14.

[9] “Warneke to Undergo Operation on Knee After Season Ends,” St. Louis Star and Times, September 2, 1941: Page 11.

[10] Don Duren, “Lon Warmeke,” Society for American Baseball Research, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/lon-warneke/, Accessed September 28, 2020.

The post Lon Warneke finally throws his no-hitter: August 30, 1941 first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

“When I was working on Washburn just before the game, I told him, ‘You’re going to pitch a no-hitter today because you’re going to get even with those guys,’” Bauman said. “It was as simple as that. Nellie (Nelson) Briles was listening to us and said, ‘Ray will settle for just a victory.’”[1]

By the end of the day, the Giants were happy just to get the ball to the outfield, something they managed just twice against Washburn’s steady supply of slow, looping curveballs.

It had been a remarkable few days for the Cardinals, who clinched the National League championship three days earlier with a 7-4 win over the Houston Astros. Curt Flood had five hits in the win, Lou Brock added three and stole a base, and Roger Maris hit a two-run home run. As the San Francisco Examiner reported, “Large amounts of champagne were consumed on the spot. Then, the Cardinals flew to San Francisco and continued the victory party in a bar on California Street.”[2]

That Tuesday, while Bob Gibson struck out 10 and allowed just four hits – including a first-inning home run by Ron Hunt that produced the 1-0 final score – Perry held the Cardinals hitless, striking out nine while walking two.

Coming on the heels of Perry’s performance, Washburn can be forgiven if he was focused primarily on surviving a Giants lineup led by Bobby Bonds, Willie Mays, and Willie McCovey. In early May, Washburn battled through six innings in taking his first loss of the season.  Rookie Dave Marshall hit a two-run homer and Ty Cline, Jim Davenport, and Mike McCormick each added RBI singles. By the time Washburn left the game, the Cardinals were down 6-0 in what would become an 8-4 Giants win.

“You can have this park,” Washburn said afterwards. “I don’t care if I ever pitch in Candlestick again.”[3]

He felt much better about the ballpark by the time he had finished his no-hitter.

Washburn made his major league debut in 1961, appearing in three games. In 1962, the Cardinals placed him in the rotation, where he won 12 games on the strength of a high-90s fastball and a biting slider. After the season, he was sent to the Florida Instructional League to develop a curveball and changeup.

In 1963, he took a no-hitter into the eighth inning of a 3-0 win against the Dodgers and got off to a 5-0 start, leading the majors in wins and strikeouts. But Washburn tore his triceps, possibly in the win over the Dodgers or in another win over the Cubs in which he took a no-hitter deep into the game.

The injury sapped Washburn of just enough velocity that he could no longer rely on his fastball to get him through games. It wasn’t until 1968 that Washburn perfected the curveball that became his go-to pitch throughout his no-hitter.

“That slow curve has made Washburn a great pitcher this season,” catcher John Edwards said.[4]

Washburn couldn’t help but agree. “The curve has been the secret to my success,” he said. “It helps me keep the batters off stride and has them hitting the ball off the end of the bat and into the ground.”[5]

Washburn needed 138 pitches to complete his no-hit bid as he walked five batters and went to three-ball counts 11 times.

“If I got behind a hitter, I went to the curves, particularly when I realized I had a chance at the no-hitter from the sixth inning on,” he said. “We decided not to give in to any hitter.”[6]

Washburn received a couple of scares in the sixth inning. Giants pitcher Bob Bolin tapped a ground ball down the third-base line that required Washburn to pounce off the mound and throw his counterpart out. In the next at-bat, Bonds hit a hard shot that struck Washburn squarely in the leg.

“It fell right in front of me and I had plenty of time to make the throw,” Washburn said. “That’s the kind of break you need to pitch a no-hitter.”[7]

In the top of the seventh, Mike Shannon got the Cardinals on the scoreboard. With one out, Orlando Cepeda singled to center field and Mike Shannon hit a two-out double into right field to make it 1-0.

The Giants threatened in the bottom half of the seventh when Washburn walked Hunt and McCovey. Both runners advanced when Jim Ray Hart grounded out to second base, but with Joe Hoerner warming up in the Cardinals’ bullpen,[8] Washburn struck out Dick Dietz to end the threat.

In the eighth, the Cardinals made it 2-0. Dick Schofield got things started with a double into left field, and with two outs Flood reached on an infield single that scored Schofield.

With the no-hitter on the line in the ninth, Washburn found himself facing the heart of the Giants’ lineup. He threw his worst pitch of the game to Hunt to lead off the inning. The ball floated up in the zone and Hunt hit it hard, but right to second baseman Phil Gagliano.

“I threw hard to Hunt in the ninth because he’s a pesky type who usually gets his bat on the ball,” Washburn said, “and when I got Hunt out, I felt that I could really go to work on Mays and McCovey.”

Mays grounded sharply to Shannon for the second out, leaving McCovey as Washburn’s final obstacle. By that point, the Candlestick Park crowd was eager to see history and one of the fans seated near home plate shouted, “Strike out, you bum McCovey. Let the kid have his no-hitter.”[9]

Instead, McCovey, who fouled a ball out of the park in the seventh, lined a ball foul down the right-field line before Washburn offered up another slow curveball. McCovey hit an easy fly ball to Flood in center field.

Washburn’s no-hitter was the fifth pitched in the major leagues that season, following Baltimore’s Tom Phoebus, Oakland’s Catfish Hunter, Cincinnati’s George Culver, and Perry. It marked the only time in major league history that no-hitters were thrown in back-to-back games, and was the Cardinals’ first no-hitter since Lon Warneke accomplished the feat against the Cincinnati Reds on August 30, 1941.

After the game, Cardinals general manager Bing Devine announced that Washburn would receive a $3,000 pay raise for the season in recognition of his accomplishment.[10]

Washburn finished the year with a career-best 14-8 record and 2.26 ERA. Facing the Tigers in the World Series, he threw 5 1/3 innings in Game 3 to earn the win in a 7-3 Cardinals victory, but lasted just two innings in a 13-1 Game 6 loss.

Washburn pitched one more season for the Cardinals before he was traded to the Reds for George Culver. He spent one season as a relief pitcher with the Reds before he was released and, after an unsuccessful tryout with the Angels, Washburn retired with a 72-64 career record.

After earning his master’s degree at Seattle University, Washburn became physical education department chair, athletic director, and baseball coach at Bellevue College, a two-year college in Bellevue, Washington. He retired from full-time duties in 2003.[11]

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[1] Neal Russo, “Washburn Heeds Doc’s No-Hitter Order,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 19, 1968: C1.

[2] Prescott Sullivan, “Job for an Asterisk,” San Francisco Examiner, September 19, 1968: Page 51.

[3] James K. McGee, “Curves Produce No Hitter,” San Francisco Examiner, September 19, 1968: Page 51.

[4] Neal Russo, “Washburn Heeds Doc’s No-Hitter Order,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 19, 1968: C1.

[5] Neal Russo, “Washburn Heeds Doc’s No-Hitter Order,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 19, 1968: C1.

[6] James K. McGee, “Curves Produce No Hitter,” San Francisco Examiner, September 19, 1968: Page 56.

[7] Neal Russo, “Washburn Heeds Doc’s No-Hitter Order,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 19, 1968: C4.

[8] James K. McGee, “Curves Produce No Hitter,” San Francisco Examiner, September 19, 1968: Page 56.

[9] Neal Russo, “Washburn Heeds Doc’s No-Hitter Order,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 19, 1968: C4.

[10] Neal Russo, “Washburn Heeds Doc’s No-Hitter Order,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 19, 1968: C1.

[11] Tim Herlich, “Ray Washburn,” https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/ray-washburn/. Accessed September 27, 2020.

The post How Ray Washburn matched Gaylord Perry’s no-hitter in 1968 first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

At Creighton University, Gibson once pitched a no-hitter into the sixth inning before the manager moved him to center field for the remainder of the game.[2] He recalled coming within one out of a no-hitter while pitching for the Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate in Rochester in 1958, and had thrown one-hitters against the Philadelphia Phillies in 1965 and the San Diego Padres in 1970.

But by 1971, his third decade in the majors, Gibson had yet to throw a complete-game no-hitter. He and third baseman Joe Torre even joked about it half an hour before the start of the game, though the newspaper accounts of the conversation differed slightly.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Gibson jokingly told third baseman Joe Torre, “I think I’ll throw a no-hitter.”

“Naw,” Torre replied. “You throw too many pitches.”[3]

The wire services reported that when Gibson told Torre, “I might pitch a no-hitter,” he reconsidered and said, “Nah, I don’t want to do it. It takes too many pitches.”[4]

Catcher Ted Simmons, however, was ready to believe.

“Just two nights ago, when we were eating, I said Gibson would pitch a no-hitter Saturday,” he said. “Go ask Chris Zachary if I’m not right. He was there too.”

Zachary confirmed Simmons’ tale with a nod.[5]

Meanwhile, there was no doubt that Pirates slugger Willie Stargell, who accounted for three of Gibson’s 10 strikeouts, including the final out of the ninth inning, was a believer.

“All those people who said that Gibson was washed up should have had to bat against him tonight,” he said.[6]

The Cardinals made sure that Gibson had a comfortable cushion before he even threw a pitch. After Matty Alou walked and Jose Cruz singled, Torre and Simmons hit back-to-back RBI singles. Right fielder Joe Hague followed with a three-run home run to center field that made it 5-0.

In the second inning, Gibson struck out May but the ball got past Simmons for a wild pitch, allowing May to reach first. Gibson then struck out Bob Robertson for his third strikeout of the inning, then got Bill Mazeroski to hit a foul pop fly into Alou’s glove at first base.

“Don’t ask me how fast he was,” Mazeroski said, “because I didn’t see a fastball all night. He gave me sliders, good sliders on the outside of the plate. I broke two bats the first two times up.”[7]

Gibson walked Jackie Hernandez to lead off the third before retiring the side in order, and issued a one-out walk to Stargell in the fourth. He then retired the next 10 batters, including May on a deep fly ball that forced Cruz to make a running, one-handed grab at the warning track.

“When I hit it, I thought it was going out,” May said. “I’ve only got one left-field homer in this park, and I thought the ball I hit tonight was harder than that one.”[8]

Gibson said, “It was a high fly ball, and I knew if it came down Cruz would catch it. If it didn’t come down, it was going out of the park. Somehow I always felt it was going to come down, though.”[9]

That play didn’t worry Gibson as much as a high chopper in the eighth inning off the bat of Dave Cash. Torre was playing in at third to defend against the bunt and Torre had to leap to keep the ball from bouncing into the outfield.

“That was the only play that really scared me,” Gibson said.[10]

Meanwhile, the Cardinals’ lineup continued to build its lead. In the fifth inning, Ted Kubiak hit a bases-loaded double that scored Torre and Simmons. Gibson hit a sacrifice fly into right field that made the score 8-0.

In the top of the eighth, Cardinals shortstop Dal Maxvill drew a bases-loaded walk and Gibson hit a two-run single to make the score 11-0.

At that point, the only drama lay in whether Gibson could complete his bid for a no-hitter.

In the ninth, Gibson got Vic Davalillo to hit a ground ball to Maxvill at shortstop and Al Oliver to ground out to Kubiak at second base.

“Gibson threw the ball by me all four times at bat,” Oliver said. “He’s the first guy who has ever overpowered me. I just couldn’t get the bat around.”[11]

With two outs and Stargell at the plate, Gibson went to his slider for his 124^th pitch of the game. Home plate umpire Harry Wendelstedt called it a strike for Gibson’s 10^th strikeout of the day.

“I was looking for a fastball and then that slider cut over the plate at the last instant,” Stargell said.[12]

“That last pitch to Stargell exploded,” Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst said.[13]

It was Gibson’s 201^st win and the 48^th shutout of his career. Though the Pirates had four baserunners, none advanced past first base.

With the win, Gibson improved to 11-10 on the season and lowered his ERA to 3.22. It had been a challenging, injury-prone season for the veteran right-hander, including a three-week stint on the disabled list in June due to a torn thigh muscle.[14]

“This thrilled me, it really did,” Gibson said. “After it was over, I felt like we’d won the seventh game of the World Series.”[15]

It was an equal thrill for Simmons, who went 4-for-6 with a double and three runs scored, improving his batting average for the season to .314.

“That was the greatest thrill of my life, catching a no-hitter,” Simmons said. “Man, he was throwing fire.”[16]

Torre went 4-for-6 and drove in his 95^th RBI, increasing his batting average to .360. Ted Sizemore, Hague, and Kubiak each added two hits. Despite a banner day for the offense, they were happy to hand the spotlight to Gibson.

“You keep looking up at that big scoreboard and see they don’t have any hits,” said Gibson, who admitted he was aware of the no-hit bid throughout the game.

“In the last two innings, I was bearing down extra hard. I was trying not to make bad pitches. Even when I was getting behind in the count, I was being careful not to groove the ball. I was throwing sliders and curves with the count 3 and 2.”[17]

After the reporters had asked all their postgame interviews, the 35-year-old Gibson offered high praise for his performance.

“This was the greatest game I’ve ever pitched anywhere,” he said.[18]

[1] Neal Russo, “Gibson Fires First No-Hitter,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 15, 1971: B1.

[2] Neal Russo, “Gibson Fires First No-Hitter,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 15, 1971: B1.

[3] Neal Russo, “Gibson Fires First No-Hitter,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 15, 1971: B6.

[4] Wire Services, “Bob Gibson No-Hits Bucs in ‘Best Game,’ Philadelphia Inquirer, August 15, 1971: Section 3, Page 1.

[5] Neal Russo, “Gibson Fires First No-Hitter,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 15, 1971: B6.

[6] Neal Russo, “Gibson Fires First No-Hitter,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 15, 1971: B1.

[7] Wire Services, “Bob Gibson No-Hits Bucs in ‘Best Game,’ Philadelphia Inquirer, August 15, 1971: Section 3, Page 1.

[8] “Bucs Scared Gibson In 8^th,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 15, 1971: B1.

[9] “Bucs Scared Gibson In 8^th,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 15, 1971: B1.

[10] “Bucs Scared Gibson In 8^th,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 15, 1971: B1.

[11] Neal Russo, “Gibson’s Reward: A Party,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 16, 1971: C3.

[12] Neal Russo, “Gibson Fires First No-Hitter,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 15, 1971: B6.

[13] Neal Russo, “Gibson Fires First No-Hitter,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 15, 1971: B1.

[14] “Bucs Scared Gibson In 8^th,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 15, 1971: B6.

[15] “Bucs Scared Gibson In 8^th,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 15, 1971: B1.

[16] Neal Russo, “Gibson Fires First No-Hitter,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 15, 1971: B1.

[17] Neal Russo, “Gibson Fires First No-Hitter,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 15, 1971: B1.

[18] Neal Russo, “Gibson Fires First No-Hitter,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 15, 1971: B6.

The post Bob Gibson throws his only career no-hitter: August 14, 1971 first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

It marked the Cardinals’ first no-hitter since Bob Gibson achieved the feat in 1971 – even if the Phillies weren’t willing to give him full credit for the performance.

“I think Bob Forsch deserves all the accolades that go with pitching a one-hitter,” Phillies third baseman Mike Schmidt said.[1]

The contentious play led off the eighth inning, as Philadelphia center fielder Garry Maddox hit a ground ball to Reitz’s left. The ball went under Reitz’s glove, and while accounts differed as to whether Reitz got leather on the ball, there was no doubt that the ball skipped past him and into left field.

“I thought the ball was hit a lot harder than it was,” explained Reitz, who won the 1975 Gold Glove Award three years earlier. “I put down my glove, double pumped, and when I came up with the glove the second time, the ball hit the webbing of the glove and went by me. I make that play 99 out of 100 times, but this was the 100^th time.”[2]

Maddox was certain he had a hit until he saw the delay in posting a hit on the scoreboard.

“I thought it was a hit all the way,” he said. “So did (first base coach) Tony Taylor. That was the first thing he told me. And the umpire at first base (Harry Wendelstedt) thought it was a hit, then when I saw they didn’t put it up right away, I said, ‘Uh, oh,’ and figured it was being discussed before they made a decision. I looked up at the press box and saw (Cardinals announcer) Mike Shannon give a thumbs-down sign, and I knew they were gonna call it an error.”[3]

At the time, it was common for newspaper beat writers to serve as official scorekeepers for the games they covered. In fact, the San Francisco Giants and Atlanta Braves were the only two National League teams that didn’t use local newspaper reporters as scorekeepers that season.[4]

Bill Conlin of the Philadelphia Daily News wrote that Russo briefly discussed the play with Cardinals public relations official Jim Toomey before ruling it an error.[5]

“Very simply, it looked as if he should have fielded the ball,” Russo said. “It was not a routine play, but it was not anything as difficult as some people think it was.”[6]

Phillies third baseman Mike Schmidt, who won the Gold Glove in 1976 and 1977 and would go on to win another of his 10 career Gold Glove awards that season, saw things differently.

“He goes to his left, puts the glove down, and it goes through without him ever touching it,” he said. “There’s no way in hell you can give the man an error on a play like that.

“To me, it was just like a line drive to left field. You don’t give the shortstop an error for jumping and missing the liner, do you? You’ve got to follow your guidelines for a hit, and the guideline here has to be whether the guy touches the ball.”[7]

Reitz said that he indeed touched the ball, but Phillies manager Danny Ozark argued that even if Reitz did manage to get leather on the ball, he never could have thrown out the speedy Maddox.

“There’s no question that it was a hit,” he said. “You tell me that if he catches it, he’s going to throw him out?”[8]

Phillies third base coach Billy DeMars had arguably the best vantage point to see the play. Perhaps not surprisingly, he also thought the play should have been ruled a hit.

“Remember, this was Maddox running, not (catcher Bob) Boone,” DeMars said.[9]

Cardinals catcher Ted Simmons came away with the opposite impression.

“The ball was hit right to Reitz, and it wasn’t hit hard,” he said. “The ball wasn’t juiced. It hit off his glove. If it wasn’t an error, I’d say so. That’s the way I am.”[10]

Cardinals manager Vern Rapp agreed, and pitching coach Claude Osteen said, “We were sitting right in line with the play. There was no question in my mind that it was an error. It was not a case of Reitz having to reach for the ball. It went right under his glove. I would have flashed the error button right away. I’d say the same thing if he had pitched a 12-hitter.”[11]

Davey Johnson, a reserve infielder for the Phillies who would go on to a 17-year managerial career, noted that it was the sixth no-hitter he had seen (actually the fifth), and each time the pitcher got some assistance from a friendly ruling from the scorekeeper.

“I suppose he figured that if somebody got a solid hit later, he could always change the error to a hit then,” Johnson said.[12]

Whether Forsch got assistance from the scorekeeper or not, he was entirely willing to admit that a friendly wind helped to keep Schmidt in the ballpark in the first inning.

“I thought (it) was going to hit the Stadium Club,” Forsch said. “I think that’s a home run easy on a normal day here. And he hit the other two good. I don’t know if they would have been homers, but they might have been trouble.”[13]

Nine days earlier, Forsch held the Phillies to one run on five hits in a season-opening 5-1 victory.

“The guy pitched a helluva game, but I don’t think he threw as good as he did in Philly opening day,” Ozark said. “We hit a lot more balls hard today. Schmidt might have had three homers if this game was in August.”[14]

Phillies pitcher Randy Lerch kept the Cardinals off the scoreboard until the fourth inning, when Simmons doubled into the left-field gap and scored on a two-out single by Reitz. Two innings later, pinch hitter Roger Freed hit a bases-loaded double into right field to drive three runs home.

In the eighth, Jerry Morales and Simmons chased Lerch from the game with consecutive singles. Gene Garber entered the game and intentionally walked Keith Hernandez before retiring the next two Cardinals. With two outs, pinch-hitter Dane Iorg drew a bases-loaded walk to make the score 5-0.

While Forsch’s teammates avoided him out of respect for the long-standing superstition regarding no-hitters, the right-hander kept ducking into the clubhouse to escape the chilly 41-degree temperature. There, the radio broadcasters unintentionally kept him apprised of how close he was to history.

“They were saying on the radio that no no-hitter had been pitched by a Cardinal in St. Louis in 54 years,” Forsch said.[15]

After Reitz’s error, Forsch escaped the inning, getting Boone to hit into a ground-ball double-play and Ted Sizemore to line out to shortstop Garry Templeton. Forsch retired the side in the ninth on consecutive ground balls. With the final out retired, Simmons engulfed Forsch in a bear hug.

“Once the game started, everything seemed to fall in place,” Forsch said. “The ball was moving good. All my pitches were working. Simmons again called a tremendous game. I never shook him off. He knows me better than I know myself.”[16]

Forsch needed just 96 pitches.

“He looked like an accomplished artist out there,” Rapp said. “He had complete control of his pitches and complete poise. In a word, he was sensational.”[17]

Five years later, on September 26, 1983, Forsch recorded the second no-hitter of his career against the Montreal Expos. This time, there were no controversial error calls to cast doubt on the accomplishment.

“A lot of people said that (the first no-hitter) was tainted,” Forsch said after holding the Expos hitless. “This one, I don’t think there was any question about.”[18]

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[1] Bob McCoy, “Phils Dispute Maddox Ruling, Credit Forsch With One-Hitter,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 17, 1978: C4.

[2] Neil Russo, “Forsch Avoids Jinxes, Gets No-Hitter,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 17, 1978: C1.

[3] Bill Conlin, “The Forsch Is With Cards,” Philadelphia Daily News, April 17, 1978: Page 68.

[4] “Scorer Explains Ruling On Error,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 17, 1978: C4.

[5] Bill Conlin, “The Forsch Is With Cards,” Philadelphia Daily News, April 17, 1978: Page 68.

[6] “Scorer Explains Ruling On Error,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 17, 1978: C4.

[7] Bob McCoy, “Phils Dispute Maddox Ruling, Credit Forsch With One-Hitter,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 17, 1978: C4.

[8] Bob McCoy, “Phils Dispute Maddox Ruling, Credit Forsch With One-Hitter,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 17, 1978: C4.

[9] Bob McCoy, “Phils Dispute Maddox Ruling, Credit Forsch With One-Hitter,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 17, 1978: C4.

[10] Neil Russo, “Forsch Avoids Jinxes, Gets No-Hitter,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 17, 1978: C4.

[11] Neil Russo, “Forsch Avoids Jinxes, Gets No-Hitter,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 17, 1978: C4.

[12] Bob McCoy, “Phils Dispute Maddox Ruling, Credit Forsch With One-Hitter,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 17, 1978: C4.

[13] Bill Conlin, “The Forsch Is With Cards,” Philadelphia Daily News, April 17, 1978: Page 68.

[14] Bill Conlin, “The Forsch Is With Cards,” Philadelphia Daily News, April 17, 1978: Page 58.

[15] Neil Russo, “Forsch Avoids Jinxes, Gets No-Hitter,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 17, 1978: C4.

[16] Neil Russo, “Forsch Avoids Jinxes, Gets No-Hitter,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 17, 1978: C4.

[17] Neil Russo, “Free Breaks Ice: ‘I Know I Can Hit,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 17, 1978: C4.

[18] Rick Hummel, “Forsch Hurls His 2^nd No-Hitter,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 27, 1983: C1.

The post Bob Forsch no-hitter stirs controversy in 1978 first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

Nonetheless, when Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan saw Smith’s pitch count reach 70 through five innings, he doubted that his rookie left-hander had enough remaining to get through the rest of the game unscathed.

“I was almost rooting for him to give up a hit so we could get him out of there,” Duncan admitted after the game.[1]

Despite Duncan’s doubts, the graduate of St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California, approximately 110 miles north of San Diego, completed the feat in front of 40 friends and family members[2], including his mother.[3] It took 134 pitches.

“I didn’t start thinking about it until the seventh inning when I started getting a little fatigued,” Smith said. “Then I realized I had to finish on adrenaline.”[4]

Smith pitched with a lead the entire way. Cardinals second baseman Fernando Viña led off the top of the first with a single into right field, and with two outs Albert Pujols homered to left to make it 2-0.

In the fifth inning, Placido Polanco made it 3-0 when he singled up the middle. On a full count to J.D. Drew, Polanco took off for second, swiping the bag as Drew struck out. Padres catcher Ben Davis’s throw bounced off Polanco’s foot went into the left field gap, allowing Polanco to score when left fielder Rickey Henderson couldn’t pick up the ball.

As the game went on, rather than avoiding Smith, Cardinals first baseman Mark McGwire sat beside the 21-year-old and discussed hitting. Smith said that McGwire was annoyed by a defensive shift the Padres made that had stolen a hit from him earlier in the game. Smith, who finished his major league career with seven hits, helpfully advised McGwire to hit it where there weren’t defenders.[5]

“I wasn’t even thinking about pitching,” Smith said. “Whatever he was doing worked.”[6]

As Smith grew fatigued, he relied on the Cardinals’ defense for support. In the sixth, Drew tracked down a foul ball off the bat of Ryan Klesko, climbing the bullpen mound and reaching into the stands to make the play.

“I had my eyes closed after I went across the mound,” Drew said. “I just stuck my glove out. You’ve got to watch for the mound, you’ve got to watch for the (ball)girl sitting down behind the mound. You never know who’s going to poke you in the eye. I was just making sure I came out with both eyes.”[7]

One inning later, Pujols went to the warning track in left field to catch a fly ball off the bat of Bubba Trammell.

“That ball was the biggest scare of the night,” Smith said. “I thought the only chance I had was if Albert jumped and robbed him.”[8]

Polanco added an insurance run for the Cardinals in the seventh. Viña drew a two-out walk and Polanco doubled into the left-field gap, scoring Viña from first.

In the eighth, shortstop Edgar Renteria, who already made a nice play on a line drive off the bat of D’Angelo Jimenez in the third inning, was perfectly positioned for a ground ball up the middle by Tony Gwynn, who came to the plate as a pinch hitter.

“To be honest, when Mr. Gwynn opted to pinch hit, I said to myself, ‘I didn’t go over his report’ because I didn’t expect to see him, being a lefty and all,” Smith said. “Wow. San Diego would have loved to see him break up a no-hitter. Tony Gwynn can hit everything in and out, so I said, ‘I’m going to just throw it down the middle and see what he can do with it.’ Luckily, he hit it right at somebody.”[9]

With Gwynn retired, Smith got Wiki Gonzalez out on a ground ball, leaving him just three outs away from history.

“I was almost shaking, knowing I had to get three outs to get a no-hitter,” Smith said.[10]

The left-hander led off the ninth inning by getting Henderson – who already had walked twice – to ground out to Renteria at shortstop. He then walked Jimenez, his fourth free pass of the game. With Jimenez on second base due to defensive indifference, Renteria made a back-handed stop in the ninth to throw out Klesko. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said he considered taking Smith out of the game if he walked Klesko after falling behind in the count 3-0.[11]

“If (Klesko) was going to get a base hit, he was going to have to hit it behind second base,” Renteria said. “I got lucky he hit the ball where I was. That was a hard play to make, but I’m happy for that kid. I think he deserves it.”[12]

The game ended when Phil Nevin hit a bouncer back to Smith, who tossed the ball underhand to McGwire at first to complete the standout game of his career. 

It was a much better result than Smith’s previous start, when the Padres had touched him up for seven runs – five earned – in 3 1/3 innings on their way to a 16-14 win. Smith had allowed 14 runs in his previous 14 innings, but the Padres saw a different pitcher this time around.

“His ball has a little movement on it,” Klesko said. “He has a good changeup. He kept a lot of right-handed batters off balance with it.

“You have to give him credit. We beat up on him pretty good last time.”[13]

Smith’s no-hitter was the eighth in Cardinals’ history and the first since another rookie, Jose Jimenez, no-hit the Diamondbacks on June 25, 1999. Smith’s no-hitter also marked the second time that season the Padres had been no-hit after the Marlins’ A.J. Burnett accomplished the feat in May.

“It’s not a lot of fun when you get no-hit,” Bochy said. “(Smith) wasn’t what we saw in St. Louis. Today he was a different pitcher. Great command, good changeup and curveball.”[14]

The win improved Smith to 4-2 on the season. He finished with a 6-3 record and 3.83 ERA, but the Cardinals had concerns about Smith’s size and stamina and shopped him around to prospective trade partners during the offseason.[15]

 In 2002, Smith struggled with his mechanics, posting a 1-5 record with a 6.94 ERA in 48 major-league innings. He was optioned to the minors three times that season before the Cardinals traded him, Polanco, and Mike Timlin to the Phillies for Scott Rolen on July 30, 2002.

Smith never appeared in the majors for the Phillies. He pitched in their minor-league system through 2004, then signed as a minor-league free agent with the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate in Rochester in 2005. He finished his professional career by pitching two seasons with the Long Beach Armada of the independent Golden Baseball League in 2006 and 2007.

Smith is now an area scout for the Toronto Blue Jays based out of Lakewood, California.[16]

Enjoy this post? Find similar stories listed by decade or by player.

[1] Rick Hummel, “No fuss, no muss, no hits,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 4, 2001: D7.

[2] Rick Hummel, “No fuss, no muss, no hits,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 4, 2001: D7.

[3] John Maffei, “This Bud makes two,” North County Times, September 4, 2001: C1.

[4] John Maffei, “This Bud makes two,” North County Times, September 4, 2001: C2.

[5] Rick Hummel, “Homecoming for Smith turns into one big party,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 5, 2001: D5.

[6] Rick Hummel, “Homecoming for Smith turns into one big party,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 5, 2001: D5.

[7] Rick Hummel. “Renteria makes key plays to benefit Smith,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 4, 2001: D7.

[8] Rick Hummel, “Homecoming for Smith turns into one big party,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 5, 2001: D5.

[9] John Maffei, “This Bud makes two,” North County Times, September 4, 2001: C2.

[10] John Maffei, “This Bud makes two,” North County Times, September 4, 2001: C1.

[11] Rick Hummel, “Homecoming for Smith turns into one big party,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 5, 2001: D1.

[12] Rick Hummel. “Renteria makes key plays to benefit Smith,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 4, 2001: D7.

[13] John Maffei, “This Bud makes two,” North County Times, September 4, 2001: C2.

[14] John Maffei, “This Bud makes two,” North County Times, September 4, 2001: C2.

[15] Joe Strauss, “Cardinals snatch Rolen,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 30, 2002: E1.

[16] Toronto Blue Jays Front Office Directory, https://www.mlb.com/bluejays/team/front-office-directory. Accessed September 6, 2020.

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