In the wake of Cardinals euphoria after the World Series title, there is sadness in St. Louis.
Bob Forsch, a mainstay in the Cardinals pitching staff for 14 1/2 years, died yesterday.
He was never an All Star (although he was a Kellogg's 3D All Star, which is cooler) and never got Cy Young consideration.
But he WAS steady, reliable and could be from time to time brilliant. He threw the only two no hitters in the Concrete Donut Busch Stadium's history.
And he was a good hitter, twice winning the Silver Slugger award.
He won 20 games in 1977 and seven times gave the Cardinals 200 innings. In Game 1 of the 1982 NLCS, Forsch threw a 3 hit shutout (walking nobody) against a hard hitting Atlanta Braves team. The Cardinals would go on to sweep Atlanta for the pennant and later win the World Series.
He would pitch for the 1985 and 1987 National League champion Cardinals, winning Game 3 of the 1987 NLCS and Game 4 of the World Series out of the bullpen.
Bob Forsch seemed to be with the Cardinals forever just like his brother Ken Forsch was a mainstay in Houston. It must have been confusing when Bob finished his career as an Astro.
The Forsches are the only two brothers to each throw a no hitter.
Bob Forsch threw out the first pitch before Game 7 of the World Series this year.
Now he's gone.
Another player from my youth is no more.
You are good fans, Cardinal Nation. Salute Mr. Forsch. Give him his due.
I remember seeing Forsch's debut on local TV. I think it was against the Reds and I think the opposing pitcher was Tom Carroll (Clay's little brother) in his debut.
ReplyDeleteForsch was the best pitcher through the darkest part of Cardinal baseball in my lifetime. I'm glad he got to hang around to get in on the success in the 80s, but by then, after back surgery, he just wasn't what he was in the 70s.
2 Cardinals gone in 2 days (I remember Matty Alou from his days with the Cards). Reaper, (see the What Sucks blog for the reference...and a ton of great laughs) you better stay away from Stan Musial, Red Schoendienst, Ted Sizemore and Steve Braun. (Tim McCarver.....eh, whatever)
Very sad - Bob Forsch was one of my favorite Cardinals players. Helped fans transition as Gibson left in 75 and Bob F came out strong in mid-74 and then 75. 3 hit shutout against Braves was huge in 82 playoffs. Play against Leonard in 87 playoffs was also huge. He had such a good year for a bad team in 86 - even hit a grand slam. Also enjoyed his book about Cardinals bench several years back. A very good man and a real exception to free agent revolving door, putting so many years in with the same team. RIP and condolences to his family.
ReplyDeleteSully
ReplyDeleteJust an observation... Was checking out Forsch's page on baseball reference and his two closest comps are Mike Flanagan and Paul Splittorff. Both also having passed away this year. Weird. Speaking of Splittorff, you never did a "Sully Salutes" to him.