1973 Recap: Yee ha! These always take too long and yet I'm always happy when I've finished them. Nobody else reads these, haha, but look, these things are going to be like those pretend baseball leagues Jack Kerouac did when I become famous so WATCH OUT
The Cardinals won the division in 1971 but slumped to a sub-.500 record and were uncompetitive in 1972, so it came as something of a surprise that they did so well in 1973. They actually stayed neck and neck with the Phillies and even led the NL East as late as June 9th before a 15-15 record that month dropped them into also-ran status. Overall it's really no skin off this team's back that they couldn't win 100+ gamesand keep up.
The Cardinals overperformed pretty heavily going by the raw numbers: they were actually outscored 663-679. The offense was solid, if not spectacular, running a station-to-station game which, hey, is a bit out of place for Busch Stadium but you have to play to the talent of your team as much as your ballpark. The pitching was even pretty good as far as getting strikeouts... but not great at anything else. This was a slow roster that was 3rd worst in both zone and errors and the bullpen did a pretty poor job of cleang up after a more or less average starting rotation.
1974 Outlook: My first look at this team tells me that they're due for some regression, which in turn makes the Phillies look like an even bigger favorite for 1974. In order to reverse that, the Cardinals would need to turn back time: they've got a whole host of regulars who are over 30 and doing a lot just to tread water in this league. A Minnesota Twins style fall-off could be in order here.
This is a team with a couple of big, gaping holes and who aren't getting any younger. I feel like 17 games is simply too much ground to make up but what do the baseball gods know? I could easily see this team mortgage their future to make one last run at the playoffs.
Ryan Ashbaker
OF/PH No. 6
RR, 5'11" 196 lbs.
Born 1943-10-17
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 PHI MLB | .254 | 69 | 185 | 22 | 47 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 11 | 30 | 1 |
| 1971 MIL MLB | .294 | 6 | 17 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1972 PHI MLB | .170 | 40 | 47 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 0 |
| 1973 STL MLB | .254 | 106 | 260 | 29 | 66 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 28 | 22 | 31 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
No offense to Ryan Ashbaker, but he represents the real opportunity cost of employing a constantly injured guy like Matt Williams: you can't just have another truly starting-caliber outfielder waiting in the wings because there's always that chance that Williams never gets hurt, and so when he does miss time you're forced to elevate someone like career pinch-hitting specialist Ryan Ashbaker into that role.
Ashbaker is a good, solid contact hitter who really worked on his 2-strike approach in the offseason of 72-73 and it showed last season, as he fell from striking out 19% of the time with Philadelphia to 11.9% of the time in St. Louis. He's nothing great as far as that goes but definitely a lot better than the pitchers he pinch-hits for. Ashbaker does hit a lot of line drives if not homeruns and can make a hit happen from any part of the plate. Last year he hit lefties and righties about equally, which is nice, although not to a "starting corner outfielder" level of nice. Ashbaker makes the most of limited speed in the outfield. You wouldn't want to put him out there in center that often but in right he displayed a nice first step and gunned down 7 runners in just 51 games in right.
Ashbaker is... fine. If he'd stuck around with a team like the Milwaukee Brewers he might have been a starter for a season or two. Frankly he seems best equipped in his regular role in St. Louis, as a right-handed pinch-hitter and 4th outfielder.
Barry Bailey
SS/UT No. 13
RR, 5'9" 176 lbs.
Born 1948-06-13
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1972 HAW AAA | .231 | 68 | 242 | 22 | 56 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 34 | 23 | 33 | 1 |
| 1972 SD MLB | .128 | 18 | 47 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
| 1973 TUL AAA | .215 | 34 | 121 | 12 | 26 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 10 | 18 | 3 |
| 1973 HAW AAA | .322 | 56 | 214 | 24 | 69 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 27 | 10 | 33 | 2 |
| 1973 STL MLB | .246 | 51 | 171 | 21 | 42 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 21 | 28 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Does it count as a challenge trade when you move one failed prospect for another? The Cardinals picked up Bailey from San Diego in exchange for Buddy Miles in June, who they'd tried to use at short to open the year but who'd hit .214 in 40 games with less than stellar fielding. Bailey, who'd looked completely outmatched at the plate in a 1972 trial, definitely picked things up offensively in 1973 but the Atlanta Rhythm Section member got an extreme case of the yips in the field and committed 20 errors in only 43 games in the majors at short. He, too, was sent down by the end of the year. I'm happy to report that in Hawaii he looked far, far better at the position (a .970 fielding average and a more normal 8 errors in 54 AAA games).
Bailey also spent time at second, third, and center field, and utility man might be tye 25 year old's long-term role in the major leagues. He's humble and unassuming in the clubhouse which is a big difference between him and Angelo Serrano.
Phil Bowman
MR No. 37
RR, 6'3" 200 lbs.
Born 1946-08-22
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 BAL MLB | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1.17 | 47 | 0 | 0 | 68.2 | 49 | 11 | 9 | 24 | 53 |
| 1972 BAL MLB | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2.50 | 43 | 0 | 0 | 61.0 | 38 | 17 | 17 | 32 | 46 |
| 1973 BAL MLB | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3.24 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 16.2 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 11 |
| 1973 STL MLB | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4.57 | 34 | 1 | 1 | 61.0 | 73 | 33 | 31 | 28 | 34 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
The Cards bought low on Phil Bowman, acquiring him for cash considerations from the Orioles in June of last year. Perhaps they should have considered why the 27 year old right-hander was available for so cheap before installing him as their primary setup man. Livingston was pretty well bad upon entering the new league, highlighted by a terribad August (1-1, 6.59). Usually hitters take some time to adjust to a new pitcher; in Bowman's case, hitters jumped on him from the start and he found himself having to bite off small chunks of the strike zone in response. His walk rate ballooned and his K rate cratered.
Bowman still has two things a lot of pitchers envy: a good sinker and a deceptive change-up, and he should rebound. If not, I guess there's always the American League for him...
Sonny Burwell
CF No. 10
LR, 6'0" 189 lbs.
Born 1948-07-14
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 AMA AA | .352 | 28 | 91 | 14 | 32 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 13 | 17 | 7 |
| 1971 PHO AAA | .297 | 13 | 37 | 8 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 6 | 4 |
| 1971 SF MLB | .600 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1971 CIN MLB | .299 | 109 | 432 | 64 | 129 | 24 | 4 | 4 | 42 | 52 | 101 | 33 |
| 1972 CIN MLB | .214 | 29 | 112 | 13 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 17 | 6 |
| 1972 STL MLB | .250 | 59 | 176 | 24 | 44 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 16 | 21 | 38 | 9 |
| 1973 STL MLB | .262 | 74 | 214 | 37 | 56 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 24 | 42 | 20 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Sonny Burwell made the All-Star Game in 1971 but battled nagging injuries throughout 1972 and last year missed 2 months with a strained shoulder he suffered crashing into the Busch Stadium outfield wall. When he returned he no longer had a starting job.
Burwell is a defense-first centerfielder but is fast enough to get on base on ground balls. He's still got issues with the strikeout and can't seem to get it through his head that he doesn't have the power to drive the high fastball. When he isn't fooled by one of those, Burwell does a decent job waiting out pitches. He is an excellent base-stealer, with 20 steals in 22 tries in 1973, and will also wreak havoc on the bases when he gets on base (which, to be fair to him and his approach, he does do a decent amount of the time). Burwell is an excellent defensive centerfielder who could win Gold Gloves if he could stay healthy.
Jim James might consider himself the rightful owner of the starting CF job but he'll be challenged by Burwell, who is still young enough at 25 that he can shake the injury-prone / not very bright reputation.
Tom Depew
2B/IF No. 15
LR, 6'0" 201 lbs.
Born 1945-07-01
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 STL MLB | .311 | 139 | 562 | 72 | 175 | 23 | 8 | 2 | 46 | 30 | 41 | 7 |
| 1972 STL MLB | .215 | 125 | 433 | 41 | 93 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 23 | 34 | 38 | 8 |
| 1973 STL MLB | .277 | 131 | 458 | 42 | 127 | 19 | 7 | 8 | 51 | 19 | 35 | 1 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Tom Depew did one of those things where he had a good, All-Star level year followed by a horrible one, which is to say he split the difference. Mostly hitting down in the ordeer, Depew rediscovered his approach to hitting and once more looks like a guy the Cardinals can deal with.
Depew prefers the low ball and in 1973 developed an extra little bit of homerun power that made him an extra little level of scary at the plate. Pitchers were still throwing to him, mostly, assuming he'd have the same issues he faced in 1972, so whether that power sticks into 1974 is an open question. He's otherwise a solid contact hitter with good bat control. The only thing keeping him from being a good to great 2 hole hitter is a lack of great pitch selection; in fact, last year Depew's walk totals were the lowest of his 4 year career as a full-time starter. He only has average speed; a year after going only 8/16 on steals, the Cardinals elected to use Depew much less in the running game, trying him out there just one time all season. Depew is a decent second baseman who can and does fill in at third and short when necessary; he has the arm if not the bat for the latter position.
Projecting the 29 year old Depew to make another All-Star Game may be a stretch, but he can be an average to above average second baseman in 1974.
Rafael Disla
LF/1B No. 25
LL, 5'9" 179 lbs.
Born 1944-05-27
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 STL MLB | .314 | 131 | 525 | 76 | 165 | 32 | 2 | 9 | 58 | 38 | 55 | 0 |
| 1972 STL MLB | .274 | 145 | 583 | 74 | 160 | 25 | 2 | 15 | 59 | 50 | 52 | 1 |
| 1973 STL MLB | .323 | 148 | 609 | 77 | 197 | 31 | 3 | 14 | 69 | 42 | 56 | 2 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
After a bad year - is it just me or did all the Cardinals slump in 1972? - Rafael "Grits" Disla was right back to being the #3 hitter and plate-setter for the Cardinals in 1973. He led the National League in batting average and hits - the BA represents his 3rd career batting crown and first since 1969 - and, needless to say, started in the All-Star Game in left field.
Disla has got the kind of swing they teach in hitting schools. It's natural, fluid, and allows him to get around on pretty much anything out over the plate (and many things outside of it). He's usually put the ball into play somehow by the 3rd or 4th pitch and so he rarely strikes out. Disla isn't known for his power but if a pitcher misses out over the plate he can punish it, particularly outside of Busch Stadium (9 of his 14 HRs were on the road). His approach won't result in a lot of walks although the way he crowds the plate, Disla has also been hit by 19 pitches over the last 2 seasons, leading the NL in 1972 with 11 and finishing 3rd in 1973 with 8. He's not fast on the bases or in the field; you put Rafael Disla out there to hit, not to chase down line drives.
Rafael Disla doesn't really comport himself as a leader, choosing to give way to guys like John Stuart instead. When he was an up and coming prospect in Los Angeles, that was considered a strike against him. On the Cardinals, he can just stay and play.
Nick Escabar
MR No. 11
LL, 6'3" 201 lbs.
Born 1944-04-02
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 SYR AAA | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2.10 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 47.0 | 48 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 27 |
| 1971 NYY MLB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5.82 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 17.0 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 6 | 9 |
| 1972 DEN AAA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 1972 SYR AAA | 12 | 9 | 0 | 3.56 | 28 | 28 | 9 | 217.1 | 217 | 97 | 86 | 65 | 143 |
| 1973 STL MLB | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2.25 | 47 | 0 | 0 | 48.0 | 48 | 14 | 12 | 18 | 27 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Nick Escabar wasn't expected to do much of anything in 1973. Texas had actually acquired him for a pile of bats in September of 72 and then they turned around and traded him to St. Louis 4 months later for prospect Joey Kramer (12-7, 2.79 in AAA Spokane). The Cardinals for their part did need left-handed help in the bullpen and to be fair to Escabar he was better than he had any right to be. His main role was to get left-handed hitters out and he excelled in that, holding them to a .212 average with a .547 OPS. Righties were another matter for him (triple-slash of 301/373/381). You look at his stuff and it doesn't jump out as a high-platoon mix and yet... those stats.
The big downside of the 29 year old Escabar is that his season ended in mid-September when his throwing elbow started hurting. He recently had surgery to remove bone chips (was that a thing in the early 70s?) and he'll at the very least miss all of spring training.
Mike Galeana
3B/1B No. 13
RR, 6'2" 199 lbs.
Born 1944-09-19
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 STL MLB | .238 | 122 | 382 | 63 | 91 | 9 | 2 | 30 | 80 | 66 | 77 | 0 |
| 1972 STL MLB | .217 | 144 | 515 | 76 | 112 | 12 | 3 | 32 | 87 | 89 | 73 | 2 |
| 1973 STL MLB | .236 | 148 | 563 | 68 | 133 | 11 | 1 | 29 | 89 | 66 | 70 | 1 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
With the falling off of Mike Brookes, Mike Galeana is now the pre-eminent power-hitting third baseman in all of baseball. He did lead third basemen in HRs, just missing the 30 mark, and, batting 5th behind Lorenzo Martinez for most of the season, finished 6th in the NL in RBIs. Somehow this wasn't enough for the All-Star Game: blame a .186, 2, 14 May (or maybe it's more accurate to say that his big HR in July and August when he hit 15 of them happened after voting closed).
Galeana likes 'em high and over the plate and is a fan of the "oppo taco", as the kids like to call them. Kids and their tacos... Galeana has a pretty long swing but credit where it's due, he's done a lot of work to shorten his swing with two strikes and avoid Ks over the last two seasons to the point that he struck out just under once every 8 at-bats in 1973. Galeana is not fast and one side effect of the not striking out is that when he hits a groundball with runners on base he's a sure bet to hit into a double play. He does a solid job at third base and would be a Gold Glover at first, where he filled in for Martinez 7 times in 1973.
Mike Galeana was a late bloomer and is already 29 years of age. He's sitting on 98 homeruns; while 100 dingers isn't the same kind of milestone that the 500 that Lorenzo Martinez is about to hit, it's a lot for a guy who didn't even play ball in the American system and started his career with a tryout in 1966.
Mario Garcia
SP No. 31
RR, 6'4" 183 lbs.
Born 1946-11-12
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 STL MLB | 6 | 5 | 0 | 4.03 | 19 | 19 | 2 | 116.0 | 106 | 57 | 52 | 42 | 80 |
| 1972 TUL AAA | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4.67 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 52.0 | 51 | 29 | 27 | 14 | 37 |
| 1972 STL MLB | 11 | 8 | 0 | 2.67 | 23 | 23 | 4 | 168.1 | 131 | 60 | 50 | 43 | 136 |
| 1973 STL MLB | 14 | 13 | 0 | 3.79 | 37 | 35 | 6 | 244.0 | 253 | 118 | 103 | 86 | 164 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
So the Cardinals are just going to roll with an all-Dominican Republic starting rotation I guess. Mario Garcia did a lot of things right but his ERA climbed by more than a run from 1972 to 1973. On the plus side, he did last the whole year for the first time since 1970; he's still only 26 (about to turn 27 in November) but Mendoza will want to put those injuries behind him.
Garcia's got some really filthy stuff. After pitchers face Quintana, Mendoza, and Garcia, anyone else is going to look slow by comparison. His heater climbs above 95 and he combines that with a curveball, change, and 2 seamer that all dip and dive around like dolphins. So what happened last year? His K rates were down but does that really explain it? Control was an issue; Garcia walked an extra batter an inning compared to the year previous (3.2 to 2.3) and he did allow twice as many HRs (18 vs 9) albeit in a lot more innings. More than anything else, he just didn't get as many "atom" balls as he got in 1972. That sounds like a cop-out but I'm standing by it. Another potential factor is that Garcia doesn't have super great stamina and yet the Cardinals bullpen behind Travis Livingston is often worse than him even when tired.
I'll expect the 1974 model of Mario Garcia to split the difference between 1972 and 1973. He's one of the best #3 starters in the league.
Ramiro Gonzalez
C No. 38
SR, 5'12" 200 lbs.
Born 1940-03-14
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 DEN AAA | .277 | 26 | 83 | 13 | 23 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 16 | 13 | 0 |
| 1971 OAK MLB | .211 | 20 | 57 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 11 | 0 |
| 1971 TEX MLB | .250 | 5 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 1972 IOW AAA | .216 | 28 | 88 | 8 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 0 |
| 1972 OAK MLB | .238 | 37 | 122 | 12 | 29 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 20 | 31 | 0 |
| 1973 STL MLB | .056 | 6 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 1973 OAK MLB | .220 | 30 | 100 | 12 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
The 33 year old Gonzalez has carved out a 5 year career by working hard behind the plate and building up a good rapport with his fellow Dominican Republic natives. That in fact is why the Cardinals acquired him; he can't be the personal catcher for Quintana, Mendoza, and Garcia, but the four of them work out together in the offseason and get along well. Gonzales hits and runs like a backup catcher and lacks a great arm. I don't have to make a case for starting John Stuart in front of him.
The Cardinals do have... a prospect at catcher in the pipeline who's even hit 88th in the BNN Top 100, but he's 19 and spent the year in rookie ball. Needless to say, he is nameless as of now and probably won't acquire one for a couple more years.
Lance Hall
C No. 39
RR, 5'9" 198 lbs.
Born 1946-10-09
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 TUL AAA | .222 | 35 | 108 | 10 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 18 | 25 | 0 |
| 1971 STL MLB | .278 | 7 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1972 TUL AAA | .280 | 37 | 107 | 9 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 0 |
| 1972 STL MLB | .164 | 20 | 55 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 10 | 0 |
| 1973 STL MLB | .147 | 40 | 116 | 8 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 29 | 33 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Coming up, Lance Hall looked like a defense-first catcher who could hit for a decent average if zero power. In a year plus as the Cardinals' backup catcher he's proven to be completely unable to get his bat around on major league fastballs, hitting for a pitcher-esque .163 average in the major leagues. Last yer he struck out in nearly 25% of his at-bats (22.3%). You have to have Lorenzo Martinez levels of power to be a positive with that and Hall, well I just said he had no power. He's an excellent defensive catcher and a good clubhouse guy which only makes his inability to hit that much sadder.
The Cards, faced with this, had to go out and conduct a waiver trade with the A's, bringing in Ramiro Gonzalez, a man who also works out in the offseaosn with the Dominican 3 in the starting rotation. Hall's days are numbered if that number isn't already zero.
Jim James
CF No. 18
LL, 5'11" 191 lbs.
Born 1945-12-18
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 STL MLB | .286 | 82 | 332 | 40 | 95 | 17 | 6 | 9 | 29 | 9 | 51 | 3 |
| 1972 STL MLB | .262 | 106 | 370 | 46 | 97 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 24 | 12 | 53 | 6 |
| 1973 STL MLB | .273 | 123 | 469 | 52 | 128 | 26 | 11 | 4 | 49 | 15 | 68 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
If you talk to Jim James, you'd think he was the best centerfielder in the National League and only hasn't made the All-Star Game because the voters and his own manager are plotting against him. If you watch him play, he's... fine.
James is a solid contact hitter who's worked to cut down on his strikeouts over the last 3 seasons. One way he does that is by putting balls in play early in the count. He's fast enough to beat out some singles, although once he does get on base the Cardinals generally choose to keep him nailed to the bag - he only tried one steal last season and was just 9/21 combined over the previous two. Again, James thinks he'd be a 30 steal man if they'd only let him. He does display decent power into the gaps and is smart enough about himself to not try and push too many balls over the fences. On defense he uses his speed pretty well. Last year, for whatever reason, teams decided they could run on his average to above average arm; as a result, James gunned down 14 baserunners, almost tripling his previous career high of 5.
James will do until something better comes along. The Cardinals have a guy in A ball who looks like he could be their guy eventually but he's at least 2 years away, and that means at least 2 more years of dealing with James. In the meantime, the Cardinals have brought in a *lot* of competition for him next year.
Travis Livingston
ST No. 26
RR, 5'12" 184 lbs.
Born 1947-03-13
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 CAL MLB | 7 | 4 | 14 | 2.17 | 53 | 1 | 0 | 82.2 | 68 | 20 | 20 | 49 | 64 |
| 1972 MIN MLB | 8 | 7 | 24 | 2.10 | 58 | 0 | 0 | 85.2 | 62 | 21 | 20 | 31 | 65 |
| 1973 STL MLB | 8 | 5 | 24 | 1.80 | 59 | 0 | 0 | 90.0 | 68 | 29 | 18 | 35 | 64 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Yes, St. Louis was 10 miles off from the postseason... but this pitching staff seems made for the playoffs. Kind of all they have is 3 quality starters and an ace reliever. In October, that can make up around 90% of your clutch innings.
Travis "Doctor" Livingston played with his 4th big league club in 4 years and produced at each location. His latest move saw him arrive in the Gateway City in exchange for RF / race car driver Gilles Villeneuve (.287, 8, 56) and P Paul Boerger (3-1, 5.63). Trading a reliever for a position player rarely works out well but this appears to be the exception that proves the rule. Livingston throws positively slow compared to the 3 Dominicans, hitting only the low 90s with his cut fastball, but... the man throws sidearm. A 92 MPH fastball sidearm is like a 100 MPH fastball overhand the way it skips and jumps around. Livingston adds a slider in there for good measure. He doesn't even try to get the breaking pitch over the plate sometimes and does allow a fair share of walks. No matter because he strikes out so many guys that in high-leverage situations hitters still only got on base at a .292 clip on him.
More than anythign else, Travis Livingston's biggest "problem" is that he can't be the entire bullpen. On a "personal" note I really, really need to lean on aces harder and this guy is maybe person number one for that.
Jesse Lockhart
OF No. 2
RR, 5'10" 199 lbs.
Born 1943-10-23
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 HOU MLB | .293 | 105 | 416 | 52 | 122 | 27 | 0 | 6 | 47 | 31 | 56 | 3 |
| 1972 HOU MLB | .231 | 142 | 571 | 59 | 132 | 21 | 4 | 8 | 49 | 45 | 68 | 9 |
| 1973 HOU MLB | .238 | 72 | 269 | 35 | 64 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 21 | 31 | 11 |
| 1973 STL MLB | .241 | 18 | 58 | 7 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 1 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Lockhart had 204 hits and a .325 average in 1970 but was available in a waiver trade with the Astros this August for cash and a minor league non-prospect. It's crazy that he's fallen this hard so quickly but then, the 29 year old hasn't hit for squat in 2 years now.
Lockhart still has the elite swing that made him look like a future star with the Astros in the late 60s. He's had a lot of issues with injuries over the past few seasons, particularly his back: he had to sit out for an entire month with a herniated disc in 1973 and was clearly hampered by it before he did miss time, hitting .152 in July. When he was healthy - healthy was a relative term - Lockhart was pressing a lot this year; although he continued to avoid strikeouts, the balls off his bat were mostly hard grounders instead of the line drives we've seen in the past. Lockhart is faster than you'd expect and stole 12 bases last year. You probably won't want to steal with him all that often because what if he hurts his back again? He's become a timid outfielder.
Is Lockhart actually finished in this league already? He seems like a great candidate for some bad team to stick out there, perhaps in the DH league, and try. That is obviously not the Cardinals in several different ways.
Micah MacMillan
CF/PH No. 28
LR, 5'11" 200 lbs.
Born 1944-07-01
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 NYY MLB | .242 | 121 | 521 | 66 | 126 | 24 | 6 | 14 | 56 | 38 | 70 | 8 |
| 1972 NYY MLB | .193 | 95 | 353 | 33 | 68 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 25 | 33 | 52 | 6 |
| 1973 SYR AAA | .282 | 39 | 149 | 13 | 42 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 10 | 25 | 4 |
| 1973 NYY MLB | .273 | 80 | 308 | 50 | 84 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 28 | 37 | 46 | 12 |
| 1973 STL MLB | .182 | 8 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
The Cards executed a bunch of waiver deals this year... it's a good thing they weren't in serious contention by this point because the league might need to do something otherwise. Micah MacMillan, the Yankees' former leadoff man and starting centerfielder, arrived in St. Louis for cash in early September. He barely played; his main purpose will be to challenge Jim James and Sonny Burwell in spring training.
MacMillan was actually enjoying something of a comeback season for the Yankees, hitting for the highest average of his major league career last year. A lot of that was because the Bronx Bombers finally stopped trying to make him a full-time starter and used the lefty almost exclusively against right-handed pitching. MacMillan had just 31 at-bats vs LHPs all year long, and that was a good thing for him because he collected just 6 hits and 2 walks vs them. He's got some power, some would say too much power for his own good because it encourages him to chase the high, inside fastball when he could be producing singles on ground balls. MacMillan has 23 career hit by pitches but 7 last season alone as he chose to get closer and closer to the plate. Defensively he's not a great centerfielder and would be the worst of the three between himself, James, and Burwell.
Micah MacMillan proved he deseerves some role in this league after seeming like a big disappointment the previous 3 seasons. Will that role be with the Cards in 1974? Tune in and find out!
Lorenzo Martinez
1B No. 8
LR, 6'2" 199 lbs.
Born 1938-04-21
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 STL MLB | .265 | 145 | 498 | 99 | 132 | 14 | 1 | 37 | 100 | 113 | 78 | 0 |
| 1972 STL MLB | .233 | 127 | 438 | 74 | 102 | 13 | 0 | 24 | 60 | 106 | 71 | 0 |
| 1973 STL MLB | .256 | 144 | 523 | 86 | 134 | 9 | 0 | 29 | 84 | 97 | 75 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Ho hum. Another year, another 30 HR season from Lorenzo Martinez. Okay, teeeechnically he fell just short, but after an injury-shortened 1972 there was some worry that he'd taken a step back as a hitter and he proved that he's the same guy he used to be.
Martinez's game is entirely built around the longball and the constant threat to hit the ball out of the park. 1973 was the first year he played 140+ games where he didn't manage to draw at least 100 walks... but he drew 97 of them, so let's not go crazy here. Martinez was a little bit more aggressive at the plate than he's been in years past although aggressive is in the context of Martinez's career: in 1973 he took 3.7 pitches per plate appearance vs. his career average of 4.3. 3.7 is still crazy high. Martinez was never fast and now he's very slow and has hit just 22 doubles and no triples combined in the last 2 seasons. He doesn't cover a lot of ground at first base.
Martinez reached his 11th All-Star Game in 1973 and is sitting on 496 homeruns. Number 500 might come as early as the first week of the season. He's already a Hall of Fame lock and he's got 5 years or more left.
Raul Mendoza
SP No. 16
RR, 6'1" 193 lbs.
Born 1943-01-04
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 WAS MLB | 16 | 11 | 0 | 3.44 | 34 | 33 | 13 | 242.2 | 216 | 116 | 93 | 55 | 165 |
| 1972 STL MLB | 10 | 13 | 0 | 3.27 | 33 | 30 | 7 | 233.2 | 192 | 99 | 85 | 55 | 186 |
| 1973 STL MLB | 17 | 12 | 0 | 3.14 | 37 | 37 | 12 | 278.0 | 271 | 109 | 97 | 73 | 212 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Raul Mendoza and Roger Quintana form an all-Dominican 1-2 punch in this starting rotation. Mendoza actually throws a little faster than Quintana and it really depends on what day of the week it is and how everyone's feeling if you wanted to ask who the truly better power pitcher is.
Mendoza's fastball breaks ever so slightly away from right-handed hitters and he complements it with a nasty curve and two very deceptive off-speed pitches. As you might expect from a guy with so much right-to-left movement on his pitches, lefties hit him far, far better than righties: a triple-slash of 277/323/411 from LHBs vs 237/295/325 from RHBs. Teams should just straight up rest all right-handed hitting players when they face Mendoza. Like Quintana, Mendoza has decent command of his pitches given all the movement, although unlike Quintana he has a habit of missing out over the plate sometimes and when that happens he can give up some long, long hits. Mendoza's got good if not great stamina; unfortunately for a guy who throws as hard as he does, even though he tossed 111 pitches per start last year, which is a top 5 total in the NL, he still couldn't finish as many games as the Cards might prefer given the state of their bullpen.
Raul Mendoza is the 1967 Al Cy Young winner but now might only be the 2nd best pitcher on his own team. It's also something of a war crime that he has yet to appear in the All-Star Game with his current club.
Roger Quintana
SP No. 27
LL, 5'11" 170 lbs.
Born 1947-09-25
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 PHI MLB | 17 | 14 | 0 | 3.38 | 39 | 39 | 11 | 287.0 | 271 | 121 | 108 | 85 | 223 |
| 1972 STL MLB | 13 | 14 | 0 | 2.69 | 34 | 34 | 10 | 271.0 | 221 | 88 | 81 | 84 | 231 |
| 1973 STL MLB | 18 | 12 | 0 | 2.69 | 37 | 37 | 11 | 290.2 | 253 | 103 | 87 | 79 | 218 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
They don't call him "Senor Smoke" because he doesn't throw smoke. Roger Quintana was part of a rare "challenge trade" with the Phillies, arriving in exchange for Vince Bachler, who was pretty good himself last year. Quintana led the league in strikeouts for the second straight season - he also finished 4th in 1971 - and really cemented his role as the 1A or 1B, depending on who you ask, of this rotation. He even made his first All-Star Game - to be fair, this shouldn't have been his first.
Quintana throws a mid-90s fastball that is nearly impossible to hit when it's "on", which is most of the time, plus an equally hard to track slider and straight change. His K rate actually fell by almost a strikeout in spite of the general trend towards more Ks this year but 6.8 Ks/9 is still nothing to sneeze at. Batters hit only .236 off of him last year. He's got surprisingly good command of his pitches given how much movement they have. Although he's had some issues with the longball in the past, Quintana really did not in 1973, allowing only 17 HRs, including 9 on the road. Quintana is a pretty good hitter for a pitcher and had a career year at the plate with a .232 batting average and 10(!) RBIs. And as if it weren't enough, he also has a great pickoff move, even for a left-handed pitcher.
Senor Smoke at age 26 is coming into his own as a strikeout artist and one of the premier pitchers in the game. He's such an exciting player that it's frankly weird that the fans across the league don't know this guy more.
Victor Rodriguez
2B/1B No. 9
RR, 5'9" 181 lbs.
Born 1947-08-13
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 ARK AA | .281 | 35 | 128 | 12 | 36 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 13 | 18 | 5 |
| 1971 TUL AAA | .281 | 31 | 57 | 5 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 2 |
| 1972 ARK AA | .255 | 29 | 106 | 15 | 27 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 20 | 10 | 6 |
| 1972 TUL AAA | .312 | 105 | 401 | 62 | 125 | 22 | 4 | 6 | 34 | 47 | 58 | 14 |
| 1972 STL MLB | .364 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 1973 TUL AAA | .323 | 66 | 232 | 25 | 75 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 22 | 26 | 2 |
| 1973 STL MLB | .296 | 34 | 98 | 18 | 29 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Victor Rodriguez provides essentially the same stuff that teammate Jon Sherron does: a good bat vs lefty pitchers, some gap power, and pretty bad defense at second base. He's younger and faster than Sherron but to make up for it doesn't try as hard; while Sherron can be painful to watch because you can see he wants to do something out there but just can't, Rodriguez just plain doesn't seem to want it, at least in the field. At the plate he proved he was too good for the minor leagues for the second straight year and probably needs to be up in the majors to stay one way or the other. Rodriguez has good speed, although he doesn't always show it. He wasn't asked to lay down a bunt last year in the major leagues but he proved to be very, very good at that in the minor leagues.
Victor Rodriguez is your classic tweener: not a good enough bat for first base, not a good enough glove for second.
Vincent Schiavelli
SP/LR No. 1
LR, 6'6" 226 lbs.
Born 1948-11-10
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 TAM A | 6 | 2 | 7 | 1.57 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 68.2 | 65 | 13 | 12 | 26 | 61 |
| 1972 TR AA | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1.72 | 20 | 6 | 6 | 68.0 | 47 | 16 | 13 | 19 | 39 |
| 1972 CIN MLB | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.51 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 14.1 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 10 |
| 1973 IND AAA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.57 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 14.0 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| 1973 CIN MLB | 9 | 7 | 0 | 3.51 | 16 | 16 | 3 | 117.2 | 111 | 52 | 46 | 43 | 76 |
| 1973 STL MLB | 2 | 4 | 0 | 5.78 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 56.0 | 69 | 46 | 36 | 31 | 30 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Schiavelli rode the train from Cincinnati to St. Louis in a move that sent one set of troubled prospects away for another. Schiavelli was the prize of that deal but adjusted poorly to his new team, allowing more walks than strikeouts and ballooning his season-long ERA to 4.25. Now he'll have to compete for a job in the rotation. Schiavelli throws both the 4 seam and the 2 seam fastball although he relies primarily on the latter for outs; he also will mix in a change-up. The lack of a breaking pitch proved to be a real problem for Schiavelli in the second half of the season.
Scouts project Schiavelli as a future spot starter. That mix of pitches tells me he might be better off in relief.
Angelo Serrano
SS No. 22
RR, 5'12" 197 lbs.
Born 1946-05-19
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 IOW AAA | .286 | 74 | 217 | 16 | 62 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 33 | 16 | 21 | 1 |
| 1971 OAK MLB | .308 | 6 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1972 IOW AAA | .258 | 20 | 66 | 7 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 19 | 1 |
| 1972 OAK MLB | .213 | 27 | 47 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| 1972 STL MLB | .082 | 21 | 61 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 0 |
| 1973 STL MLB | .249 | 89 | 221 | 15 | 55 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 27 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Shortstop was a real mess for the Cardinals all year long in 1973. Angelo Serrano, claimed off of waivers by the team at the end of the 1972 season, spent the whole year with the club and wound up being the de facto "starter" based on being their #1 guy for the final two months of the season. He wasn't great but he was... adequate, I guess.
Serrano is a career .218 hitter in the major leagues and the .218 has been pretty empty. He did a good job to raise his average into the .240s but it was still mostly singles with the occasional two-base hit thrown in. He's got an aggressive approach to hitting which does at least mean that he doesn't walk a lot. Serrano has below average base-running speed and has never attempted a steal in the major leagues. He's an unspectacular defensive player who's got a good arm but little else.
Serrano is also a bit of a clubhouse lawyer, which might have been a big part of why the A's cut him loose. Last year he was clearly Mister Right Now, not Mister Right. With their top shortstop prospect Jim Ross (.303, 7, 26 in A Modesto) another year away, the Cardinals will have to deal with him or someone of a similar replacement-y level in 1974.
Jon Sherron
2B No. 19
RR, 5'11" 202 lbs.
Born 1943-02-14
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 HOU MLB | .286 | 36 | 98 | 12 | 28 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 13 | 0 |
| 1972 HOU MLB | .340 | 54 | 97 | 13 | 33 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 0 |
| 1973 STL MLB | .270 | 54 | 152 | 15 | 41 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
The Astros finally grew tired of trying to coach up Jon Sherron to become a good enough fielder to justify putting in the lineup and they traded him to St. Louis over the offseason for their eventual starting catcher in Jonathan Hyde (.216, 5, 31). Sherron continued to do what he does with the Cards: hit for good contact, drive a few balls deep into the gap, and have the range of a postage stamp. Sherron isn't very fast, doesn't track the ball particularly well, and has a weak arm. He did prove to be an absolute beast against left-handed pitching with a triple-slash of 316/358/513 against those folks.
At 30 years of age, Sherron is who he is at this point in time. A move into left field might be best for him. He doesn't have the power you'd need to start but it's not like he's going to start anyway.
John Stuart
C No. 32
RR, 6'2" 198 lbs.
Born 1941-04-16
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 STL MLB | .294 | 104 | 384 | 50 | 113 | 17 | 2 | 12 | 59 | 38 | 65 | 0 |
| 1972 STL MLB | .263 | 103 | 396 | 41 | 104 | 14 | 2 | 15 | 52 | 36 | 73 | 0 |
| 1973 STL MLB | .266 | 123 | 508 | 58 | 135 | 22 | 0 | 13 | 60 | 41 | 107 | 1 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
John Stuart didn't join the Cardinals until well after their big run in the 60s but he's quickly on his way to eclipsing Lee Citro as the greatest catcher in Cardinals history. Stuart reached his 6th All-Star Game in 1973 and finished 2nd or 3rd among NL catchers in most major categories. Right now the big backstops in the NL are him, the Mets' Jason Bushon, and the Cubs' Greg Darrow.
Stuart's K rate climbed to its highest rate since his injury-shortened 1970 season and the raw K total was his highest since 1968. He still managed to hit a solid .264, two points off of his career .266 average. He mostly hit 2nd in this star-studded lineup; 58 runs and 60 RBIs aren't the highest numbers hitting at the top of the order but... it's not bad, right? Especially for a catcher. Stuart's pretty much established himself as a 12-15 HR hitter. He's got an above average arm at catcher and while he won't be winning any Gold Gloves he won't hurt you behind the plate.
The fans adore Stuart and his gritty approach to the game, whatever that means.
Tom Waits
SP/LR No. 24
RR, 6'2" 189 lbs.
Born 1949-12-08
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 CR A | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2.37 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 64.1 | 49 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 53 |
| 1971 MOD A | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.08 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 23.1 | 17 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 19 |
| 1971 ARK AA | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2.75 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 62.0 | 55 | 21 | 19 | 20 | 50 |
| 1971 TUL AAA | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9.69 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 13.0 | 18 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 2 |
| 1972 TUL AAA | 14 | 11 | 0 | 3.22 | 30 | 30 | 16 | 248.0 | 207 | 93 | 89 | 113 | 185 |
| 1972 STL MLB | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4.23 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 17.0 | 20 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 11 |
| 1973 TUL AAA | 8 | 5 | 0 | 2.63 | 15 | 15 | 7 | 119.1 | 72 | 36 | 35 | 43 | 76 |
| 1973 STL MLB | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4.35 | 18 | 10 | 1 | 82.2 | 85 | 40 | 40 | 33 | 45 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Tom Waits may only be 23 but he's got the gravelly voice and the junkballing stuff of a man twice his age or older. A 3rd round draft pick in 1971, he raced up the organization in just 2 years, parlaying a solid 1st half into a call-up in July. Things didn't fare so well for Waits in the major leagues. He already wasn't striking out a huge number of guys in Tulsa, winning down there on the face of some great defensive play behind him, and in the majors his K rate dipped to 4.9/9 innings. Waits has had control issues at every level early on and that trend also continued. As a man whose big out pitch is a forkball, he doesn't allow a huge amount of HRs so that's nice at least. Waits displayed a ton of stamina in the minor leagues, completing 23 out of 47 starts in AAA but in the majors he found himself the victim of his own pitching: even with averaging 113 pitches per game, which would have been a top-10 total had he qualified, Waits completed just 1 game in 10 tries.
Tom Waits is still just 23 years of age so has time and room to grow. It doesn't hurt that he won't have to inhabit any role larger than 4th starter and could even go back down to the minors if he isn't ready yet.
Matt Williams
RF No. 4
RR, 6'2" 198 lbs.
Born 1939-01-09
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 MON MLB | .281 | 98 | 313 | 47 | 88 | 8 | 4 | 19 | 48 | 45 | 59 | 7 |
| 1972 MON MLB | .253 | 95 | 320 | 43 | 81 | 9 | 3 | 16 | 42 | 49 | 62 | 4 |
| 1973 STL MLB | .294 | 79 | 265 | 43 | 78 | 9 | 7 | 13 | 39 | 33 | 48 | 4 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Matt Williams is a frustrating player. Whene he's healthy he's one of the best right fielders in the league. He just can't stay healthy for a whole season. That was as true in 1973 as it's ever been; Williams saved his annual trip to the disabled list until late July, which meant that he got his 3rd career All-Star nod, and yet he played in his fewest games since 1970.
Williams is a slugger, pure and simple. He can hit the ball a country mile and doesn't mind looking foolish with big, empty swings sometimes to get there. He's got a good deal of speed for a 34 year old with a long history of injuries, too: he finished 6th in the NL in triples last year with 7 and has shown up on the top 10 in that category 4 times in his career, including 16 back in 1961. Last year he wilted in high-leverage situations, hitting just .213 with the game on the line. The book on Williams in those situations is to go at him low and away; ironically, lefties seemed to really get that message last year, as he hit just .241 against them. Williams will now stop short of crashing into fences, which is good for his long-term health if not always his defense.
Matt Williams is another player on this team who might benefit from moving to the DH league. Well, you know what? The NL doesn't use the DH, Matt. Get used to it.