By Brian Walton and Tom Orf
Who is the only St. Louis Cardinal to drive in seven runs in a game without the benefit of a home run?
You might think Albert Pujols. He has collected seven RBI in a single game twice in his career, including April 11 of this year at Busch Stadium against the Houston Astros. However all of Albert’s RBI that day occurred via the long ball as he hit both a grand slam and a three-run home run.
So, who is this player?
He accomplished the odd feat on August 28, 1980 against the Atlanta Braves and he did all the damage during the first four innings. Three of the runs would be charged against former Cardinal closer and current broadcaster Al Hrabosky.
In the bottom of the first inning, this Cardinals left fielder delivered a two-out, two-run double off Doyle Alexander after Keith Hernandez walked and George Hendrick was hit by a pitch to put the Cards up 2-0.
In the second, the Cardinals added three more runs, knocking Alexander out of the game. Hrabosky was brought in and intentionally walked Hendrick to load the bases. Our mystery man, batting fifth that day, delivered a three-run double this time, scoring Hernandez and Hendrick again along with Tony Scott to make it 8-0.
Our hero came up again against Hrabosky in the fourth inning following a walk to Hernandez and a Hendrick double. This time he delivered a two-run single for his sixth and seventh RBI of the day, and advanced to second on the throw home. After going to third on Terry Kennedy’s groundout, he scored the final Cardinal run on a Hrabosky wild pitch to make it 11-0.
His line that day: 5 1 3 7 (AB R H BI)
For the Cardinals, Bob Forsch pitched a complete game in the 11-2 victory.
How many of you came up with the answer?
The player: Dane Iorg. For those interested, here is the link to the box score.
Could Dane Iorg field very well or was he more of a Matt Stairs type player?
As I rememberr, Iorg was always a serviceable utility man, mostly OF, some 1B, and good pinch hitter, filled in for dinged up guys. Was pretty good in that role, helped out in 82 WS. Only one guy ever hit a ball out of Busch Memorial and I think it was him, pulled it foul though.
bb, on the latter point, that was Mike Laga, not Iorg, though they both do have four-letter first and last names…
Mike Laga, now there’s a name from the past. In looking up his career numbers, I saw that he was involved in a trade with Detroit in which we gave away Mike Heath.
Heath, based on his numbers in Oakland, looked to be the perfect match for the mid-eighties Cardinals but things just didn’t mesh here for him and he was dealt to the Tigers after little more than half a season.
Just think, if he had played for us the way he did for the A’s and, later, the Tigers, the Van Slyke plus prospects for Tony Pena deal may have never been made. Spanky LaValliere and Heath would have been a pretty good platoon behind the plate and Mike Dunne might have enjoyed some success in St. Louis. I sure would have like to have watched Van Slyke during his salad days wearing the Birds on the Bat.
I can still hear Vin Scully explaining that Niedenfuer pitched to Jack Clark because, as he read Lasorda’s lips, Lasorda didn’t want to pitch to that blankety blank Van Slyke.
Of course, had we not dealt Heath to the Tigers for Ken Hill, we would have never enjoyed that “banner” year Andres Galarraga had as a Cardinal. Hill was later dealt for Andres.
Dane Iorg was also a chief villain in game six of the 1985 World Series, driving in the winning run. Perhaps not THE chief villain but a major player in that loss.
Iorg was also a villian in my then teen-aged mind for being one of the guys we got when we traded Bake McBride, one of my heroes. I saw him leg out a triple on a ball that was cut off in right center just short of the track. He went from second to third faster than any human, before or since. Seemed like about four strides and a slide.
On that triple, Mike Shannon commented that when McBride rounded second the ball was right behind him and never caught up.
One thing odd about Iorg’s feat is he was never a power hitter.
Mike Laga on the other hand a college kid out of New Jersey was your conventional AAAA slugger, never much opportunity in the majors.
The Iorgs are a baseball family. There was another about the same age as Dane. And now there has been a new generation of their kids, with about 3 who have played in the minors. Some go to Brigham Young, since they may be Mormons. One went to U Tennessee, IIRC, and has been a little disappointing for the Astros. One Iorg SS spent a year at the Univ. of Alabama, before the Tigers gave him a million dollar bonus to turn pro. a year or two back.
JS, Iorg did NOT hit the ball out of old Busch. There was no feat to stand on.
bb, I didn’t look far enough back at Iorg’s numbers to notice that he came over for McBride. Yeah, Bake was a favorite of mine, too.
Devine (was he GM then?) made some some really poor trades and personnel decisions in the seventies: Carlton, Reuss, Mike Torrez, Jose Cruz, McBride, Richie Allen, etc.
DD, Gussie Busch himself was behind a number of those bad trades. I wouldn’t have wanted to work for him…
Sorry for the bad info Jumbo, all those $8.50 beers must have killed off a few brain cells.
Brian, didn’t he give Harry Carey the boot too.
bb, yes he did, though Harry Caray’s alleged affair with Gussie’s daughter-in-law may have had something to do with his firing! All Steve Carlton wanted was $10,000 more and Jerry Reuss had the audacity to want to wear a mustache. Despite all the obvious good Busch did, I still wince a bit when I see #85 up there with the retired numbers.
I mentioned Gussie in the $8.50 beer thread as one of the hard-liners among management. It’s probably because of him my nose bleeds when I drink Budweiser. (not because of getting into fights either)
No other beer seems to have that effect on me and I have made exhaustive studies of the matter.
I am one of the “one in 15” who get headaches from drinking A-B products. I will never forget ordering beers with a long-time Cards front-office member about 15 years ago at spring training and getting a deadly look for requesting a Miller Lite. It was for my health.
I loved Dane Iorg……and Bake McBride. We’re Bake’s knees shot by the time he was traded. I don’t recall him doing anything real significant after that.
Dane’s brother Garth was a long time 3B platoon mate with Rance Mulliniks for the Toronto Blue Jays. Couldn’t hit as well as Dane, but he was better defensively.
DD: are those…ahem… exhaustive studies part of the reason you picked the DIZZY Dean moniker?
No, Axcion, I picked my moniker in honor of the Cardinal Hall of Famer who I watched every Saturday (and many Sundays) doing the Game of the Week on CBS when I was a wee lad. In case you didn’t know, 17 was his uniform number.
Bake McBride finished tenth in the MVP voting for the 1980 World Series champion Phillies so he had plenty left. Judging by his SB numbers, it looks like something happened to him in 1981 and he wasn’t much after that.
Who remembers the memorable part played by the speedy McBride in the finale’ of the 25 inning Cards v Mets game in ’74.
Give up? Go to: http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1974/B09110NYN1974.htm
Hint: The balk that never was (officially).
Of course I know why you picked it Dizzy. Just a little friendly teasing over your ‘exhaustive studies’ remark.
You may have me by a few years though; Lou Brock’s stealing exploits made me a Cardinal fan way back in the late 60′s. However, I’ll have to admit your memory is far superior. Now I’m going to have to check out Bake’s career numbers.
Anyone know whatever became of Arnold Ray McBride? Yes, I like Bake better too.
I have never drunk a lot of beer. I once tried a Bud, in a tin can. I was impressed by its unpleasantness and fizziness. No reason to try another, after a terrible experience like that. I was pretty impressed A-B could actually sell the stuff, a testimonial to something, though I am unsure what it is, the power of advertising or social custom.
In contrast, I have enjoyed beers imported from Brazil, Mexico, the Phillipines, the Czech Republic. The nation that makes the best beers is Belgium. Among US beers, there can be nice small specialty breweries. For a large brewer, I used to like Miller High Life from a glass bottle. The greater availability of foreign beers had to be a problem for A-B, like Japanese and German cars for General Motors. Its no surprise A-B was eventually bought by a Brazilian-Belgian company, because there are people in these nations who actually know something about beer-making.
Jumbo, Bud is one of the survivors from the days when all domestically produced beers were basically the same. Conformity was big in American society from after prohibition until 60′s. That was what beer was supposed to be like and everybody drank it unless you weren’t a real American, or were some kind of weirdo or fruit. Since it doesn’t leave much of an impression, compared to many foreign beers, I think people got used to beer that didn’t intrude, and it took a while to adapt to the idea of beer that you actually noticed. These days, I think that kind of beer is still great when one wants some frosty cold refreshment but doesn’t want to be distracted from whatever else is going on. Perfect for the ball park. Lucky for you, society doesn’t demand such compliance and conformity anymore, your taste in beer would no doubt have got you black balled.