Happy Birthday Tempy

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  • #46279
    Michael Dusablon
    Participant

    Paid - Annual

    62 today. I remember thinking it was a bad trade when he
    went to the Padres for Ozzie. At the time Templeton was
    a lifetime .305 hitter while Smith was at .230. Never thought
    that Ozzie would end up the better hitter. And then there
    was the defense….
    I still have the Sporting News cover from Feb of 82(I think)
    showing both shortstops on the cover with the title
    ‘Changing of the Guard’

    Needless to say the trade could not have worked out better
    for the Cardinals but I did enjoy following Tempy’s early
    years with the team.

    #46298
    mudville
    Participant

    Paid - Annual

    Two years prior to that trade Sixto Lescano was playing for the Brewers and hit .321 with 28 HR’s at the age of 25. Many of us thought that Lezcano would reach those numbers again in St. Louis. He was part of the trade along with a very promising young pitcher named Luis DeLeon. We got Smith, a local kid named Al Olmstead, and a slowball pitcher named Steve Mura. When Whitey Herzog, who was the GM at the time, got back to St. Louis has most memorable comment on the trade was ‘I thought he (Ozzie Smith) was untouchable’. Many of us thought Herzog was blowing smoke, and that the real reason Templeton got traded was because of his outburst at a fan in St. Louis that wound him up in a hospital here for treatment of a mental condition. I always thought that he didn’t really get, or need, treatment, but that Herzog came up with that idea in order to save Templeton’s career with the excuse that Templeton was sick and needed treatment. BTW, what Templeton did was grab his crotch and yell an expletive at a fan during a Sunday game that was also Ladies’ Day. In 1982 that could have been enough to get a player banned, especially when you take into consideration that Gussie Busch was still active in the game.

    #46303
    Brian Walton
    Keymaster

    Paid - Annual

    He also twice gave fans a middle finger salute. This story recounts the incidents, with the suggestion that substance abuse was behind it.

    https://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/aug-garry-templeton-s-ladies-day-eruption/article_e2ebeb70-ce60-592f-a506-99c938347842.html

    #46316
    bicyclemike
    Moderator

    Paid - Annual

    I met Ozzie at a sports collectibles show in Houston back in 2015. I told him I was not real big on the trade when we got him, and as I started to tell him my story he went along with it saying “….I don’t know, Templeton…..”

    I went on to say that here we had a Southern California guy at shortstop, who seemed to want to go back there and play. Now we get another Southern California guy, and he’ll probably be with us a couple of years and then leave as well. I then told him “Thanks for sticking around”. He cracked up and enjoyed the banter.

    But at the time of the deal, Templeton looked like a future Hall of Famer. Great offensive player, with a glove that was not as good as Ozzie’s, but darn good. I also recall a KMOX broadcast one night when we were playing in San Diego in the late ’70s, and Ozzie made a great play and Jack Buck commented how “they really like this guy (Ozzie) out here”, and Shannon chimed in that he was good, but he’s “not in Templeton’s class”. That changed a few years later of course. Ozzie was actually the NL MVP in 1987, although the award when to Andre Dawson.

    Fortunately, Garry got his act together. But for some reason he never hit anywhere else like he did as a Cardinal.

    #46324
    14NyquisT
    Participant

    From BB Reference:

    STEVE MURA
    Traded by the San Diego Padres with a player to be named later and Ozzie Smith to the St. Louis Cardinals for a player to be named later, Sixto Lezcano and Garry Templeton. The San Diego Padres sent Al Olmsted (February 19, 1982) to the St. Louis Cardinals to complete the trade.
    The St. Louis Cardinals sent Luis DeLeon (February 19, 1982) to the San Diego Padres to complete the trade.

    I don’t remember that trade being so complex. I just remember Templeton for OSmith.

    #46382
    PugsleyAddams
    Participant

    Paid - Annual

    For obvious reasons they get no fanfare whatsoever, but the importance of the team psychologist is crucial to the success of an organization. Back in Templeton’s era, some teams did not employ one. George Steinbrenner was said to have an elite team shrink on the hefty Yankee payroll during his historic run in NY. George fondly referred to this man as his “10th Man”. The good doctor was supposedly on par in his profession at the same stature as greats like Ruth, Gehrig and DiMaggio was to theirs. Steinbrenner never made a significant player move without him. Before any free agent was inked or high draft pick selected, they first were subjected to spending an hour or two with the Yankee team psychologist. And I guess he wasn’t your basic garden variety shrink who would hold up pictures of ink blots gone wild to get your take on them. It was said this guy could not be fooled and could accurately get vivid glimpses into one’s soul in mere minutes of conversation. We Cardinal fans can thank God he was plying his trade in The Big Apple and not San Diego during the Templeton era or Ozzie Smith would never have landed in St. Louis.

    #46389
    Brian Walton
    Keymaster

    Paid - Annual

    Welcome back, Pugs! Are you getting into regular season form?

    #46394
    gscottar
    Participant

    Paid - Annual

    The Ozzie-Templeton trade worked out about as well as the Brock-Broglio trade did for us.

    #46400
    forsch31
    Participant

    Free

    Welcome back, Pugs. I hope to see more of your posts. You’ve been missed.

    #46460
    PugsleyAddams
    Participant

    Paid - Annual

    Thank you gentlemen ( Brian & Forschster )…… you’re too kind! I’m a titch rusty, Brian, so I’ll probably ease back into my posting routine so not to risk injury. Not that anyone was counting, but during my Birdhouse/Cardinal Nation posting career from May of ’06 to April of ’16, I averaged a rather robust 9.7 posts per day. I had to leave baseball after only the second game of the ’16 campaign because it became painfully obvious that the cubbies were about to embark on a 2 year playoff run. I just couldn’t take it! So regretfully I had to leave the game. If it’s one thing I’ve learned from this horrible experience, it’s that as much as I love my beloved St. Louis Cardinals, I dislike the cubbies ten times as much as my love for the Birds. I’m not proud of this. But thank God their little run is over. The Chicago cubs will not make the playoffs in 2018…..let me repeat that….the Chicago cubs will NOT make the playoffs this year. So let’s get ready to saddle on up and enjoy one whale of a season. With all of your blessings, I would like to help call one of the first games of the regular season just like in the good ol’ days. If you already have a crack PBP crew intact, maybe I could just sit in and offer a word or two every inning? Have a feeling this year is going to be a fun one!

    #46463
    forsch31
    Participant

    Free

    There has been no play-by-play going on for quite a while now. I would completely enjoy reading game threads again where a person can actually find out what happened during the game. I don’t get to watch the games and rarely listen to them due to a busy schedule. So, even if I don’t comment during a game, I will catch up on all the action later.

    PBP would be greatly appreciated by me.

    #46465
    Brian Walton
    Keymaster

    Paid - Annual

    Yes, the game threads have been lonely without you, Pugs.

    #46494
    gscottar
    Participant

    Paid - Annual

    Pugs, if the Cubs don’t make the playoffs this year I will gladly buy you an ample supply of the beverage of your choice. Cheers.

    #46505
    thejager
    Participant

    Paid - Annual

    Pugs Pugs Pugs!

    Welcome back!

    #46506
    858booyah
    Participant

    Free

    That brings us to what….15 posters now! Lol

    Nice to gain another person in the game threads.

    BTW is there anyone were missing from the old board? Anyone we could possibly give a 2nd Chance? Lol

    #46522
    gscottar
    Participant

    Paid - Annual

    There used to be a poster called “Chicagocardinal” or “CardsinChiago”, something like that. I miss that poster. He/she always had some insightful comments but also edgy.

    #46524
    PugsleyAddams
    Participant

    Paid - Annual

    Thanks for the hearty ( or is it “hardy”?) welcome back, Jags! Brian & Forschster’s wish is my command. If its one thing that brings posters into the house, it’s a rousing Game thread. It will take a month or two to build up, but I guarantee you this…. those 15 posters that Booyah referred to, will swell to at least ten times that amount with PBP in full throttle. I’m prepared to go this alone if necessary, but what I really need is a sidekick to join me up in the booth. As usual, yours truly will call the action when our Cardinals are handling the lumber. So we just need another Cardinal Nationer to call the opposing team’s futile attempts at hitting Redbird pitching so good ole’ Pugs can wolf down a cold one or two every half inning. And to GScott from the great State of Arkansas…… you better get ready to pony up a stealth supply of Budweiser with Wild Turkey chasers, because those cubbies are going down this year….. no playoffs in their immediate future whatsoever!

    #46532
    Brian Walton
    Keymaster

    Paid - Annual

    I may have to re-think the site’s ad-free policy to take full advantage of the huge growth in clicks just around the corner! 😉

    #46535
    UConn Card
    Moderator

    Paid - Annual

    HH!!!

    WOO HOO!!! Good to see you.

    Have you missed my cakes?

    #46580
    PugsleyAddams
    Participant

    Paid - Annual

    Missed you and your cakes, UCONN! Those scrumptdilyitious cakes of yours makes life justifiable. Those newbies around here have no idea what they are going to be in for on PBP game threads. If I may I’d like to share with you just two of the many many notes that still occupy my old Cardinal Nation mailbox regarding the subject; DizzyDean from sunny California wrote: “Love your PBP Pugs! I thought I knew everything about this great game until I starting reading your game threads. You’ve truly opened my eyes. I see you are slated to call this Saturday night’s game in Philly…. the same night as my nice niece’s long awaited wedding. I’m going to pull out all of the stops to see if she’ll consider postponing it until the following Saturday. Love you Pugs!” And I’d be terribly remiss not to include this one compliments of RatsBuddy from cloudy Indiana (especially up near Gary, IN): ” I’m swearing off Mannix, Baretta, Perry and Big Hoss from Bonanza until the season and your wonderful game threads conclude. Harry & Jack were my favorites for decades…..they have now been supplanted. Keep em coming Pugs”! So it should go without saying that Brian has always generously compensated me for my stellar efforts. My last yearly agreement was somewhere in the high 2 figures. I think a pay increase is in order.

    #46585
    Brian Walton
    Keymaster

    Paid - Annual

    99 is my max, sorry about that.

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