{"id":94389,"date":"2025-01-22T22:12:52","date_gmt":"2025-01-23T03:12:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=94389"},"modified":"2025-01-22T22:12:52","modified_gmt":"2025-01-23T03:12:52","slug":"bob-uecker-cardinals-hero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/01\/22\/bob-uecker-cardinals-hero\/","title":{"rendered":"That Time Bob Uecker Was a Hero (Really!)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you hear the one about the time Bob Uecker<\/a> propelled the St. Louis Cardinals to the 1964 World Series<\/a>? First, let\u2019s set the scene before we get too far ahead of ourselves.<\/p>\n

Bob Uecker Was Once a Hero for the Cardinals<\/h2>\n

Wanted: A Good Defensive Catcher<\/h3>\n

In 1963, the Cards were 93-69 but finished in second place in the National League, six games behind the eventual World Series champion<\/a> Los Angeles Dodgers. One of the reasons for their second-place finish was their 6-12 record against the Dodgers. One of the reasons for that 6-12 mark, according to Cardinals general manager Bing Devine, was his catchers\u2019 inability to stop the Dodgers\u2019 Maury Wills<\/a> from running rampant on the base paths. (Wills, who died in 2022<\/a>, led all baseball with 40 stolen bases in 1963.)<\/p>\n

Thus, to shore up the defense behind the dish, on April 9, 1964, Devine traded Jimmie Coker<\/a> and Gary Kolb<\/a> to the Milwaukee Braves<\/a> to obtain seldom-used catcher Bob Uecker for the Cardinals. Yes, that<\/em> Bob Uecker. The same Bob Uecker who passed away<\/a> recently and had a successful post-playing career spent largely ridiculing his baseball abilities. Indeed, the 30-year-old Uecker had caught six of nine would-be base stealers in 30 games with Milwaukee. The right-handed batter was just a .250\/.326\/.338 career hitter up to that point. The Cardinals\u2019 starting catcher<\/a> would be 22-year-old left-handed batter Tim McCarver<\/a>, who hit .289\/.333\/.383 in 1963. It was thought Uecker would occasionally spell McCarver against left-handed pitching while providing good defense.<\/p>\n

Uecker Walks It Off<\/h3>\n

Fast forward to September 1, 1964. The Cardinals entered the day in fourth place in the NL, seven-and-one-half games behind the first-place Philadelphia Phillies. At home in Busch Stadium against the Braves, St. Louis fell behind, 4-0, in the third inning. A two-run homer by Ken Boyer<\/a> off Denny Lemaster<\/a> in the bottom of the inning cut the lead in half. Later, in the fourth inning, Uecker, who walked in his previous plate appearance, shocked the 8,079 in attendance by crushing a long solo home run into deep left field. It was Uecker\u2019s first home run of the year and second of his career. With the score tied 4-4 in the bottom of the ninth, Juli\u00e1n Javier<\/a> hit a one-out double off Lemaster. Lemaster then walked Carl Warwick<\/a> intentionally to get to Uecker. The strategy backfired when Uecker lined a single into left field, scoring Javier to give the Cardinals what would today be called a walk-off win.<\/p>\n

After the game, Uecker declined to gloat over his old team. He told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch<\/em>, \u201cI was just happy to get some hits. I\u2019d been hitting the ball good [sic], but right at somebody.\u201d In his post-playing standup routine, he\u2019d never give himself credit for as much as \u201chitting the ball good.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Phillies in Panic Mode<\/h3>\n

After Uecker delivered, the Cardinals went 21-10 to close out the regular season. Meanwhile, the Phillies were imploding in one of the most epic collapses in sports history. On September 20, they were six-and-one-half games ahead of the Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds, who were tied for second place, with 12 games left in the season. The Phillies then proceeded to lose 10 in a row. Their manager Gene Mauch<\/a>, a highly regarded tactician and \u201csmall ball\u201d proponent who could never get out of his own way whenever there was a pennant to be won, panicked down the stretch and started pitchers Jim Bunning<\/a> and Chris Short<\/a> in eight of 11 games, often on just two days\u2019 rest. Over that stretch, Bunning\u2019s ERA was 4.45. Short\u2019s was 4.56.<\/p>\n

\n

The 1964 Phillies still wonder what could have been 60 years after a collapse cost them the pennant.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust imagine if we would\u2019ve been in the World Series. Today, they would still be honoring that. That would\u2019ve been unbelievable. It wasn\u2019t to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

https:\/\/t.co\/0YsYnTR9nw<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Matt Breen (@matt_breen) September 26, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n