On July 17, 1974, Bob Gibson claimed the 3,000^th strikeout of his career, retiring Cesar Geronimo on strikes in a 6-4 loss to the Reds. Early that morning, Dizzy Dean, the unquestioned ace of the 1934 Cardinals’ world championship team had passed away with his wife Patricia; his brother, Paul Dean; and Paul’s two children at his side in Reno, Nevada. Dean had checked into St. Mary’s Hospital with chest pains a few days earlier, on July 14, then suffered a heart attack early the next day.

“Mrs. Nixon and I join sports fans everywhere in mourning the loss of this legendary figure,” President Richard Nixon said.^[1]

Dean cemented his place in baseball lore in 1934 when he led the Gashouse Gang to the World Series championship. Dean won the National League Most Valuable Player Award after he led the league with 30 wins – including seven shutouts – and struck out a league-high 195 batters. Pitching in nine games over a 19-day stretch in the heat of the pennant race, Dean finished the season with 311 2/3 innings and a 2.66 ERA.

He led the league with 28 wins the following season, pitching 325 1/3 innings as he threw 29 complete games. His 190 strikeouts marked the fourth consecutive year that he led the National League in strikeouts.

Given his incredible workload – which included at least 286 innings in five consecutive seasons, plus a variety of exhibition performances throughout each season to supplement the Cardinals’ revenue – Dean’s arm trouble in the late ’30s comes as no surprise. Just before the 1938 season, the Cardinals traded him to the Chicago Cubs, where he battled through injuries until 1941, when he pitched a single inning before retiring.

Dean returned for a lone start in 1947 when, as a radio broadcaster for the St. Louis Browns, he told the audience that he could pitch better than the hurlers the Browns were sending to the mound. Backing up his words, Dean pitched four scoreless innings in a Sept. 28 game against the White Sox.

In 1953, Dean was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and that year he began announcing the nationally televised Game of the Week alongside Buddy Blattner and Pee Wee Reese. Though Reese later denied that Dean ever said such a thing, legend holds that Dean once observed a young couple among the spectators.

“Look-a-there, Pee Wee,” he said over the air. “Those young folks are smooching after every pitch. He’s kissing her on the strikes and she’s kissing him on the balls.”[2]

Dean’s colorful mangling of the English language, including using the term “slud” instead of “slid,” endeared him to audiences, including many who were too young to have seen him pitch in the ’30s. He continued to broadcast games for CBS through 1965 and Braves games from 1966 through 1968, giving him an opportunity to see Gibson’s emergence as the Cardinals’ next legendary pitcher. As Dean remarked, Gibson knew just the right pitch to throw “99 times out of 10.”[3]

Indeed, as Gibson took the mound in pursuit of his 3,000^th strikeout, he had long since earned his own place in the Hall of Fame. He entered the game with 2,999 strikeouts, one shy of becoming the first National League pitcher and just the second player in major league history to reach 3,000, joining Walter Johnson.

Earlier that day, Tony Perez had announced Geronimo as the favorite to be Gibson’s 3,000^th strikeout victim as he set odds for players in the lineup. Six years later, Geronimo also was at the plate for Nolan Ryan’s 3,000^th strikeout.

“Pete Rose is 20-to-1, Joe Morgan is 30-to-1,” he said. “Johnny Bench is 3-to-2, but only because he may bunt.”

“What if I say I’m not bunting?” Bench asked.

“Then you are 1-to-3,” Perez answered with a laugh. “Me, I’m even money if it gets to me. I (have) been helping Gibson for 10 years. Why not do it now? I mean, I always look for the fastball, right here. It never comes. Just that hard slider, hard slider.”[4]

The first time through the lineup, the Reds played spoiler to Gibson’s milestone. In the first inning, Morgan singled and stole second, scoring on a single by Bench. In the second, Dan Driessen reached on an error by Ted Simmons at first base and scored on a ground ball by Ken Griffey. With runners on first and second and two outs, Gibson struck out Geronimo on a fastball above the strike zone to end the inning.

As the Busch Stadium II crowd of 28,743 cheered, the ultra-competitive Gibson uncharacteristically tipped his cap to the fans.

“I wanted the fans to know that I appreciated that they appreciated my efforts,” he said the following day.[5]

Joe Torre hit a three-run homer and Reggie Smith added a solo shot to give Gibson and the Cardinals a 4-2 lead, but in the fourth inning, Lou Brock lost track of a Driessen fly ball, allowing it to drop for a double. Griffey smacked a double into right field to cut the St. Louis lead to 4-3.

Gibson maintained that lead until the sixth. With two outs, Dave Concepcion singled, Griffey walked, and pinch hitter Terry Crowley, who was batting just .160 on the season, singled into center to tie the game.

In the seventh, manager Red Schoendienst pulled Gibson for a pinch hitter. Gibson finished the day with four strikeouts, giving him 3,003 for his career.

“I thought he was getting a little tired,” Schoendienst said. “He was also leading off the inning and I thought we might get a run.”[6]

Both bullpens continued to put zeros on the scoreboard until the 12^th inning, when Cardinals reliever Rich Folkers walked Darrel Chaney and allowed a single to Concepcion. Schoendienst called on Orlando Pena to end the threat, but George Foster greeted him with a double to left field to score Chaney and Concepcion.

In the ninth, St. Louis second baseman Jerry DaVanon reached on an error and pinch hitter Ken Reitz singled. After Pedro Borbon uncorked a wild pitch, Reds manager Sparky Anderson called for him to intentionally walk Brock and pitch to infielder Mike Tyson.

The strategy worked. Tyson popped out to Morgan at second base to end the game.

“I wouldn’t have slept if we didn’t walk Lou Brock and he beat us,” Anderson said. “He’s beaten our club a lot in the last few years, at least three times with home runs. If Mike Tyson had beaten us, I would have slept.”[7]

“That’s the kind of game that makes you lose your hair and get ulcers,” Bench said. “Imagine, two out in the ninth, then an error and a hit. I thought, ‘Here we go again.’”[8]

Never inclined to discuss personal accomplishments following a loss, Gibson had already left by the time reporters reached the clubhouse after the game.

The 38-year-old Gibson finished the 1974 season with an 11-13 record and 3.83 ERA over 240 innings. He retired following the 1975 campaign with 251 career victories, a 2.91 ERA, and 3,117 strikeouts, concluding a career that included two World Series titles, two World Series MVP awards, two Cy Young awards, one National League MVP Award, nine Gold Glove Awards, an ERA title, and nine all-star game appearances. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981.

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[1] “Dizzy Returns To South,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 18, 1974.

[2] John Heidenry (2007), The Gashouse Gang, PublicAffairs: Page 289.

[3] John Heidenry (2007), The Gashouse Gang, PublicAffairs: Page 292.

[4] Bob Hertzel, “Gibson Gets 3000^th Strikeout, Reds Get Hits,” Cincinnati Enquirer, July 18, 1974.

[5] Jack Herman, “Fans’ Applause Earns Tip of Gibson’s Cap,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, July 19, 1974.

[6] Associated Press, “Reds Spoil Gibson’s March Into History,” Mexico Ledger, July 18, 1974.

[7] Neal Russo, “Cincy Book A Sleeper,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 18, 1974.

[8] Neal Russo, “Gibby Is Still Gibby,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 18, 1974.

The post July 17, 1974: Bob Gibson gets his 3,000th strikeout the same day Dizzy Dean passes away first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

After losing his debut appearance with just two runs allowed over 6 2/3 innings, Forsch returned five days later, on July 12, 1974, and threw nine shutout innings to lead the Cardinals to a 10-0 victory in the second game of a doubleheader against the Braves.

A Sacramento, California, native selected by the Cardinals in the 26^th round of the 1968 draft, Forsch began his career as a third baseman. In 1970, the Cardinals moved him to the pitcher’s mound, where he began working his way up from the low-A affiliate in Lewiston, Idaho. After going 8-5 with a 3.67 ERA with Triple-A Tulsa, Forsch was called up to replace the injured Sonny Siebert.

He certainly didn’t dissuade the Cardinals or their fans in his debut. Despite walking five batters, Forsch held the Reds to just four hits. However, Cesar Geronimo struck with an RBI double in the second inning and a solo home run in the seventh. A second-inning home run from Ted Simmons provided Forsch his only run support in the 2-1 loss.

On July 12, Forsch took his second shot at his first major league win. He had perhaps the unenviable task of following Bob Gibson in the second game of a doubleheader. Gibson, who entered the game with 2,997 strikeouts, was poised to make history against the Braves, but with only two K’s in the game, he finished the day one shy of becoming just the second pitcher in history to reach the 3,000-strikeout milestone.

“I just sat there kind of in awe,” Forsch said. “He was so close to punching it out. I never dreamed two weeks ago I’d be sitting in the dugout watching history.”[1]

Following the Cardinals’ 7-3 loss to the Braves, it was Forsch’s turn to take the mound before the crowd of 51,267, at the time the seventh-largest crowd in Busch Stadium history.[2]

“It was scary when I first went out there, with all those people,” Forsch said. “I didn’t look up in the stands because there seemed to be so many people.”^[3]

Forsch’s fears didn’t last long. He retired the side in order in the first inning, then benefited from a nine-run Cardinals rally. In all, 13 Redbirds stepped to the plate as Reggie Smith drove in four runs with a sacrifice fly and a three-run triple. Bake McBride hit an RBI double, and Joe Torre and Mike Tyson each hit RBI singles as the Cardinals scored nine runs on four hits and two Braves errors.

From there, Forsch took control of the game. He retired the first 10 batters he faced before Craig Robinson singled to center field. In the fifth, he worked around a one-out error before retiring the next eight hitters he faced.

Forsch even got the first hit of his career, a single to left field, in the third inning. Afterwards, he couldn’t wait to tell his wife, who had noted his struggles at the plate in his debut after playing two years in the American Association, where the designated hitter was used.

“When I called her in Tulsa after the game (against the Reds), she didn’t say a thing about my pitching,” Forsch said. “All she said was, ‘Boy, your hitting was terrible.’”[4]

After McBride hit an RBI single to right field to give the Cardinals a 10-0 lead, Forsch returned to the hill in the ninth inning looking to close out his first victory. Vic Correll led off the inning with a single, and with one out, Darrell Evans singled as well. With runners on first and second, however, Forsch got Dusty Baker to hit into a 6-4-3, game-ending double play.

With the shutout, Forsch lowered his ERA to 1.15 through his first 15 2/3 major league innings.

“Although Forsch is a mere 2,992 strikeouts behind Gibson, the kid already looks as if he’s ready to help the Cardinals the way Gibby has for so many years,” Neal Russo wrote for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.[5]

Forsch’s shutout took just 92 pitches, including 72 fastballs. Of the 31 Braves that stepped to the plate, only two worked the count to three balls.[6]

“I threw mostly fastballs after getting that lead,” Forsch said. “I didn’t want to relax and get behind the hitters.”[7]

Forsch was rocked in his next start, allowing seven earned runs in just 2/3 of an inning, but rebounded nicely with complete-game wins in each of his next two appearances. He finished the season with a 7-4 record and a 2.97 ERA in 100 innings pitched. It marked the start of a 16-year career that included 168 wins, including 163 with the Cardinals. Forsch was inducted into the Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2015.

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[1] Paul LeBar, “Forsch Brings Redbirds Split,” Springfield Leader and Press, July 13, 1974.

[2] Neal Russo, “Big Days Ahead For Cards’ Forsch, Gibson,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 13, 1974.

[3] Neal Russo, “Big Days Ahead For Cards’ Forsch, Gibson,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 13, 1974.

[4] Neal Russo, “Redbirds’ Rookie Bare Eager To Prove Point,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 14, 1974.

[5] Neal Russo, “Big Days Ahead For Cards’ Forsch, Gibson,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 13, 1974.

[6] Neal Russo, “Big Days Ahead For Cards’ Forsch, Gibson,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 13, 1974.

[7] Neal Russo, “Big Days Ahead For Cards’ Forsch, Gibson,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 13, 1974.

The post Bob Forsch shuts out Braves for first career win: 7/12/1974 first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

Brock entered the game on a roll. Since returning from a shoulder injury that occurred in late April, Brock had improved his batting average to .321 entering that day’s game. While Brock was surging, the 1975 Cardinals entered the game with two consecutive losses and six defeats in their last eight games.

Thanks to a complete-game performance from second-year right-hander Bob Forsch and the veteran Brock’s four hits, the Cardinals began a surge that would include 10 wins over their next 12 games.

Brock led off the bottom of the first with the game’s first hit, a single to center field off Padres right-hander Dave Freisleben. With Ted Sizemore at the plate, Brock stole second, though he would be stranded at third when Keith Hernandez grounded out to end the inning.

The game was still scoreless in the third when Brock came to the plate with one out. Friesleben tried to sneak a curveball past him on the first pitch, and the left-handed hitting Brock hit it an estimated 415 feet.[1]

“That’s about five or six I’ve hit in that section,” he said.[2]

Brock drove another run home two innings later. Forsch led off the fifth with a single before Brock hammered the ball past Padres center fielder Johnny Grubb. Seeing the ball get past Grubb, Cardinals third base coach Vern Benson began to wave Brock home. When the Padres got the ball in faster than expected with a series of quick relays, Benson threw up the stop sign.

It was too late. Brock got halfway home before he tried desperately to get back to third, but Padres catcher Randy Hundley threw him out for the second out of the inning.

“Lou really powdered the ball for that triple,” Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst said.[3]

In the top of the sixth, the Padres got on the scoreboard when Enzo Hernandez hit a leadoff double and scored on a ground ball by Dave Winfield.

The Cardinals broke the game open in their next half-inning. Hernandez led off with a double to right field. Ken Reitz drew a walk before Mario Guerrero hit an RBI single to score Hernandez. That chased Freisleben from the game in favor of reliever Dave Tomlin.

Forsch greeted Tomlin with an RBI single up the middle that improved his batting average to .333 and gave the Cardinals a 4-1 lead. Tomlin struck out Brock before he was replaced with Bill Greif. The Padres’ third pitcher of the day walked Sizemore before giving up a two-run single to Reggie Smith, who had been brushed back with a pitch near his head earlier in the game.

“I know it’s part of the game, but nobody likes to be thrown at,” Smith said. “I said something to Freisleben when I reached first base. It’s not printable, but he heard what I said.”[4]

In the bottom of the eighth, Brock took his shot at the cycle against yet another reliever, former teammate Alan Foster. With one out, Brock doubled to right to complete the cycle. He scored on a single to right field by Ken Rudolph to produce the final 7-1 score.

“Brock didn’t hit a soft one all night,” Smith said.

Padres coach Dick Sisler, who had just returned to Major League Baseball for the first time since 1970, said, “Brock looks just as strong and fast now as he did then. He’s amazing.”[5]

Brock’s 4-for-5 night improved his season batting average to .342.

“I hit three breaking balls and a fastball,” he said.[6]

Forsch, who was pitching on just three days’ rest, allowed just five hits while walking four. With the win, he improved to 5-3 on the season with a 3.01 ERA.

“I tired in the last two innings, so that big cushion and defense helped,” Forsch said. “I usually have trouble in the early innings, but I’ve been able to settle down.”[7]

The 1975 season proved to be a breakout year for Forsch, who went 15-10 with a 2.86 ERA over 230 innings.

Brock also enjoyed a nice 1975 campaign, batting .309 with three homers, 47 RBIs, and 56 stolen bases. Four years later, in his final MLB season, Brock eclipsed 3,000 career hits. In 1985, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

[1] Associated Press, “Brock revs up for cycle against Pads,” Escondido Times-Advocate, May 28, 1975.

[2] Neal Russo, “Brock, Forsch Sizzle At Night,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 28, 1975.

[3] Neal Russo, “Brock, Forsch Sizzle At Night,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 28, 1975.

[4] Neal Russo, “Brock, Forsch Sizzle At Night,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 28, 1975.

[5] Neal Russo, “Brock, Forsch Sizzle At Night,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 28, 1975.

[6] Associated Press, “Brock revs up for cycle against Pads,” Escondido Times-Advocate, May 28, 1975.

[7] Neal Russo, “Brock, Forsch Sizzle At Night,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 28, 1975.

The post Lou Brock hits for the cycle on May 27, 1975 first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.