Ozzie’s effort in ’87 most memorable

— The Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremonies Sunday at Cooperstown, N.Y., served (for me, at least) like a refresher course on the St. Louis Cardinals’ 1987 season.

Whitey Herzog, who won his third and final St. Louis pennant in 1987, became the 19th manager elected to the Hall of Fame.

Chicago Cubs outfielder Andre Dawson, who led the National League in home runs and RBI in 1987, became the 203rd player inducted. His 22-year career, 1976-1996, with the Montreal Expos, Cubs, Boston Red Sox and Florida Marlins included a .279 average, 2,774 hits, 438 home runs, 1,591 RBI and 314 stolen bases.

The 1987 season found Doug Harvey, an NL umpire from 1962-1992, winding down a career that included 4,673 regular-season games, 5 World Series, 6 All-Star Games and 9 National League Championship Series. He is the ninth umpire inducted.

Dawson spent his first 10 big league seasons with Montreal, feeling that the Expos’ artificial surface in old Olympic Stadium was threatening his future and killing his legs(12 knee surgeries).

As a free agent in the spring of 1987, the natural grass in Wrigley Field prompted him to sign a blank contract for Cubs General Manager Dallas Green, who reportedly signed him for $500,000 in salary plus some incentive bonuses for staying healthy, making the All-Star Game, etc.

He hit 49 home runs and 137 RBI in 153 games. That fall, he was voted the league’s MVP, even though the Cubs finished last in the East Division.

The first half of the season, St. Louis ruled with the hottest hitting team in the majors. “It’s incredible,” Herzog said often through May and June. “Some weeks, we’re even 10or 12 [percentage] points ahead of any of the American League clubs with their DHs.”

For the first 3 1 /2 months, the Cards averaged 5.6 runs per game while padding their record to 61-32, good for a 9 1 /2 game lead July 23. They averaged 3.9 runs the rest of the way, going 34-35.

Around the time of the All-Star break, slugging first baseman Jack Clark was considered a shoo-in for MVP. His pace projected 45 home runs and 150 RBI. However, he soon cooled off and then a severe ankle injury during an early September series at Montreal ended his season (except for a couple of futile pinch hitting efforts).

Clark went out with 35 home runs, 106 RBI, 136 walks and 139 strikeouts in 131 games. Most of the other St. Louis regulars had cooled off several weeks earlier.

Shortstop Ozzie Smith never slumped. He had the greatest offensive and defensive season of his career, which made him the anchoring factor down the stretch.

In 158 games, he hit .303, scored 104 runs, stole 43 bases, and drove in 75 runs with 40 doubles, 4 triples,and no home runs. He fielded .987, with only 10 errors in 771 chances. His 516 assists beat the nearest competitor by 175.

The 95-67 Cards finished three games ahead of the 92-70 New York Mets and four ahead of the 91-71 Expos. St. Louis scrambled past the San Francisco Giants in a bitterly waged NLCS before losing the World Series to the Minnesota Twins.

In his coverage of Sunday’s Cooperstown festivities, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch quoted Smith as telling the crowd, “I probably wouldn’t be standing here if [Herzog] had not got on a plane and come out to San Diego [to convince Smith to give up his no-trade provision, which was holding up a potential trade with St. Louis].

“I’ll never forget the words he told me. He said, ‘If you come to St. Louis, there’s no reason we can’t win it all.’ Fortunately, we won it my first year [1982].”

I’ve always admired Andre Dawson. He was elected his ninth year on the Hall of Fame ballot, although I felt he should have made it several years sooner.

Sports, Pages 14 on 07/27/2010

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