Final Card: Ron Willis

Ron Willis was a relief pitcher for the Cardinals and others for 5 (essentially 4) seasons from 1966-70. Willis was signed by St. Louis in 1961, and was an outfielder/3rd baseman for their class-D team that season, playing 65 games but also making 3 appearances on the mound, totaling 5 innings. 

In 1962 he converted to full-time pitching, and worked his way up the organizational ladder as a starting pitcher until converting to relief in 1966. He made his major-league debut in September 1966. 

 

Ron made the Cardinals at the start of 1967, and was a key member of the bullpen for the next 2 seasons, pitching in 65 and 48 games as the Cardinals marched to the NL pennant in those seasons. He appeared in 3 games in each of the 2 World Series. 

In 1969 he fell out of favor, as rookies Mike Torrez and Chuck Taylor, as well as the newly-acquired Dave Giusti and Mudcat Grant received more playing time than Willis. He also spent some time in triple-A, and by early-August was sold to the Astros. 

He only pitched 2 innings for the ‘Stros in the final 2 months, and was returned to the Cardinals in November. 

Ron began the 1970 season with the Cards’ double-A team, then was purchased by the Padres in mid-June. He pitched 56 innings over 42 games in the second half, his last appearance coming on September 29th. 

That was it for his pro career – not even minor-league ball after 1970. I wonder if he was injured in 1971’s spring training. After two (‘67, ‘68) and a half (‘70) good seasons, it seems odd that he would retire at age 26. 

Willis passed away in 1977 at age 34.

 

Dal Maxvill (#320)

Dal Maxvill was a shortstop for 14 seasons, primarily the Cardinals starting SS from 1962-72. He appeared in 3 World Series with the Cardinals (’64, ’67, ’68) and 1 with the Athletics (’74). He also played in the ALCS in ’72 and ’74.

Maxvill was signed by the Cardinals in 1960, and played 2 ½ seasons in the minors before making his major-league debut in June 1962. He alternated with incumbent starter Julio Gotay for a while, then became the primary shortstop in the season’s closing months.

Before the 1963 season, the Cardinals acquired veteran shortstop Dick Groat from the Pirates. Groat started 157 games in ’63, while Maxvill only managed 51 at-bats in 53 games as the backup. He started 5 games at short and 4 at 2nd base.

Dal returned to the minors for most of 1964, but was back in the majors for good to start the 1965 season. With Groat established at shortstop, Maxvill actually played more at 2nd base in ’65, but started very few games at either keystone position.

Good news for Maxvill in 1966! Groat was traded to the Phillies in the off-season, opening up a starting position. Dal was the Cardinals’ regular shortstop from April 1966 until the end of August 1972. He also won a Gold Glove in 1968.

Maxvill was traded to the Oakland Athletics at the end of August 1972, just in time to make their post-season roster. He had 8 at-bats in 5 games against the Tigers in the ALCS.

Dal began the 1973 season with the A’s, but was sold to the Pirates in July, then started 73 of the final 80 games for the Bucs at SS. The following April he was released, and picked up by the A’s a month later. He played 60 games in ’74 and 20 games in ’75 as the backup to Bert Campaneris.

After his playing career, he was a coach for the A’s, Cardinals, Mets, and Braves. He was also the Cardinals’ GM from 1985-1993.

Steve Carlton (#255)

Ok, after much delay, I have finally added text to this blog post. 


Steve Carlton, who is the greatest Phillies’ left-handed pitcher in their history, began his career with the Cardinals in the mid-1960s.

Carlton was signed by the Cardinals in 1963, and spent only one season in the minors (1964), compiling a 15-6 record, before making his major-league debut with the Cardinals in April 1965.

During his rookie season, he pitched in 11 games prior to the end of June, and then not again until late August, when he pitched 4 times over the season’s last 5 weeks. (I assume he was on the DL in July and August, because he has no minor-league record for 1965.)

Carlton was back in the minors to start the 1966 season, and after compiling a 9-5 record in 19 starts, he rejoined the Cardinals in late July, and pitched 9 games in the final 2 months of the season.

Steve began the 1967 season as the team’s 5th starter, and finished the season with a 14-9 record and an appearance in the World Series.

Carlton pitched for the Cardinals through the 1971 season, bouncing back from a 10-19 record in 1970 to a 20-9 record in 1971.

After the season, he was traded to the Phillies for pitcher Rick Wise. Both pitchers were involved in contract squabbles with their respective teams. (Imagine trading away a 20-game winner!)

Here is Carlton's first card as a Phillie.

Lefty’s first season with the Phillies was one for the record books. He led the NL in all these categories: 27 wins (the Phillies only won 59 games that season!), a 1.97 ERA, 310 strikeouts, 41 starts, 30 complete games, and 346 innings pitched. He also only walked 87 batters (a 310/87 strikeout/walk ratio!) All this earned Carlton his 1st of 4 Cy Young awards.

As if worn out by his 1972 feats, Carlton lost a league-leading 20 games in 1973, although he also led the NL in starts, complete games, and innings pitched. He also struck out 223 batters in ’73.

Lefty pitched for the Phillies until late-June 1986. Along the way, he won 20 or more games 4 times (’76, ’77, ’80, and ’82) winning the Cy Young award in ’77, ’80, and ‘82, and led the NL in strikeouts in ’74, ’80, ’82, and ’83. He was also a combined 6-5 in six post-seasons between 1976 and 1983.

After going 1-8 in 1985, and starting the 1986 season at 4-8, the Phillies released their long-time ace on June 24th. In a classic example of not knowing when to retire, Carlton bounced around for several more seasons with the Giants (July ‘86), White Sox (Aug-Sep ‘86), Indians (Apr-Jul ‘87), and Twins (Aug ’87 – Apr ’88) before retiring.

Carlton finished his career with a 329-244 record, 4136 strikeouts, and a 3.22 ERA. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1994.

Curt Flood (#540)

Yesterday would have been the 75th birthday for 1960s Cardinals' outfielder /Free Agency pioneer Curt Flood. (He passed away 16 years ago tomorrow.)

This is Flood's last card as a St. Louis Cardinal, and he looks pretty weary. He was the Cards' regular center fielder from 1958-69, and teamed up with Lou Brock for his last 6 seasons there.

A 7-time gold glove center fielder, and former leadoff hitter (prior to Brock's arrival), I was surprised to see that he didn't steal that many bases, getting a season-high 12 steals in 1962.

1968 World Series

Here are the cards highlighting the 1968 World Series (coincidentally won by the Detroit Tigers). After a 4-game sweep in the '66 series, the Fall Classic went the distance for the next 2 seasons.

Several of the story lines during that time were:

1) Tigers' manager Mayo Smith putting centerfielder Mickey Stanley at shortstop, having never played there prior to late September. This kept weak-hitting Ray Oyler OUT of the lineup, while keeping outfielders Willie Horton, Jim Northrup, Al Kaline, and Stanley all IN the lineup.

2) Bob Gibson and his non-existent ERA leading the charge in the Year of the Pitcher.

3) The Tigers' Denny McLain becoming the first 30-game winner in decades.


The key for me was Smith's handling of his starting pitchers. With the 3-man post-season rotation back then, Gibson and McLain started games 1 and 4, with Gibson winning both. Detroit's #2 starter Mickey Lolich won games 2 and 5 against lesser Cardinals' pitching.

Instead of having McLain face Gibson in game 7, Smith brought McLain back on short rest for game 6, where he finally picked up a win against a lesser Cardinals pitcher, as the Tigers blew out the Cardinals by a 13-1 score.

This positioned Lolich for a game 7 match-up with Gibson, which paid off for the Tigers.