The way they are playing, it seems as though the St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates should be in a virtual tie atop the National League Central.
They possess three of the top four winning percentages in the National League and are a combined 115-74 (.608), while playing in the same division.
But the Cardinals entered Monday with a four-game lead over the Reds and Pirates, who are 37-26 and winning at a .587 clip. The Cardinals not only have the best record in the National League, but their 41-22 mark and .651 winning percentage are the best in all of baseball.
How good is the Central? Atlanta (39-24), which has baseball’s second-best record, leads the NL East by 7 1/2 games over the Washington Nationals.
Gannett purchased the Arkansas Gazette in late 1986. By late April 1987 (and mostly for the next four years) it was a rare home stand in Busch Stadium that a Little Rock reporter didn’t cover.
Whitey Herzog was just the 37th manager in baseball history to record 1,000 career victories. It didn’t take him long to land in the Baseball Hall of Fame. In six full seasons at St. Louis, Herzog had two NL pennants and a World Series title. You didn’t have to be around him long to realize he relished Casey Stengel yarns. Mostly genial, he was also known for banning smart alecks from his clubhouse office.
In 1987, first baseman-outfielder Jack Clark’s 35 home runs were the most for the Cards since Stan Musial had 35 in 1954. After being sidelined for 24 games after spraining his right ankle on Sept. 9 at Montreal, he could only pinch-hit the rest of the season (0 for 2).
Over and over during the September struggle, Herzog would listen carefully to any executive who had a theory.
Then quickly, very quickly, he’d say, “Yeah, but we gotta sign Jack Clark quick.” (For some reason, they didn’t.)
By midseason of 1989, the St. Louis Cardinals had barely hit 50 home runs. When fans complained, Herzog had the perfect squelch. “Don’t worry,” he said. “We’ll catch [Roger] Maris.”
For many years, Anheuser-Busch owned the ballclub. Eventually it was sold to new owners in 1996, with 15 World Series appearances already in the books. The difference has been difficult to detect. Now the Cards have been in 18 World Series, most in the National League.
During spring training some years ago in St. Petersburg, Fla., Hall of Famer Lou Brock loved to tell his favorite Casey Stengel story.
“Casey was managing the Mets then, and of course all the writers wanted to talk to him,” Brock said. “So when he got loose from that, he yelled to the pitcher, who’s name I don’t remember anymore. Casey said, ‘How are you pitching today? Upper deck or lower deck?’ ”
The toughest hitter he’d face that day was Willie McCovey, the San Francisco Giants slugger. In 22 seasons, he’d hit 521 home runs.
Sports, Pages 18 on 06/11/2013