This date in the MLB, December 3rd, 1968 It was a busy two days (December 2nd and 3rd) for the Cardinals on the trading block with the team making deals with the Red Sox and Padres. The Redbirds send infielder Dick Schofield to Boston in exchange for right-hander Gary Waslewski and also trade third baseman Ed Spiezio, outfielder Ron Davis, backstop Dan Breeden, and pitching prospect Phil Knuckles for right-hander Dave Giusti. A lifelong Red Sox fan, Dick Ducky Schofield wanted to sign with the Boston Red Sox but the club had just signed some other expensive players, including shortstop Don Buddin. The best offer, as it turned out, came from the St. Louis Cardinals. Scouts Joe Monahan and Walter Shannon made the 18-year-old Schofield - shortstop, the Cardinals’ first bonus baby when they signed him to a $40,000 bonus contract in June 1953. He played for the Cardinals until he was traded in 1958 and played for them again after the Cardinals won the 1967 World Series. The World Series champion Cardinals invited Ducky to spring training in 68 and he signed with the club on April 1. In his second tour of duty with St. Louis, Schofield settled into a utility role. He started 13 games at shortstop and 17 at second base while appearing in a total of 69 games for the pennant-winning Cardinals. He appeared in two World Series games but did not get to the plate as the Cardinals bowed to the Tigers in seven games. In December Schofield was on the move again; the Cardinals sent him to the Boston Red Sox for pitcher Gary Waslewski. Waslewski was from Meriden, Connecticut, the family lived in the Kensington section of Berlin, Connecticut. In 1965,The Boston Red Sox sent Waslewski to manager Eddie Popowski and his AA Eastern League Pittsfield Red Sox to start the season. The Sox beat out Earl Weavers Elmira Pioneers to win the league title by one game. Their star was third baseman George Scott, who won the Triple Crown with 25 HR, 94 RBI and a .319 batting average. Waslewski went 6-2 with a 2.65 ERA, but again was called up before seasons end and later was a member of the 67 Boston Red Sox Impossible Dream season. On December 3, 1968, Waslewski received a call from Red Sox general manager Haywood Sullivan. It wasnt good news. The Red Sox had lost all of their infielders and some other people to the expansion teams, it was the year Kansas City and Seattle joined the American League. He said, We had to make a trade to get a utility infielder, we have no backups for our infield. And we got Dick Schofield, who can play second, short, and third...and you were the only guy the Cardinals would accept. Gary would be heading west to join the team he pitched so well against in the 1967 World Series. Those guys won the World Series two years ago, Waslewski remembers. Theyve got a lot of good ballplayers on that club. Maybe I got a shot of winning another World Series with them. The 1969 Cardinals had a surplus of starting pitchers. Bob Gibson, Steve Carlton and Nelson Briles anchored the rotation. The Cardinals then sent Ed Spiezio, outfielder Ron Davis, backstop Dan Breeden, and pitching prospect Phil Knuckles to the Padres and in return, got right-hander Dave Giusti from the Houston Astros. Giusti was a workhorse of the Houston Staff in 1968. He set a personal record for innings pitched with 251. Unfortunately, the Astros did not score a lot of runs, only 510. Dave was recipient of the team’s lack of offense. There wasn’t a single .300 hitter in the Houston starting line-up in 1968. Rusty Staub came the closest at .291. None of the starting pitchers had a winning record. At that time, Major League Baseball held the second expansion draft in its history. The newcomers to the National League were the Montreal Expos and the San Diego Padres. Their draft was held on October 14, 1968. The American League added the Kansas City Royals and Seattle Pilots. One week before the draft the St. Louis Cardinals also traded Johnny Edwards to Houston for Giusti (others players were involved) but then left him unprotected for the draft. Instead they decided to protect Ted Simmons, Mike Torrez, and Joe Hauge. The Padres drafted Dave at number three. This was the second time Giusti was involved in an expansion draft. Coincidentally, Houston and St. Louis played a role in the 1961 draft. At that time, the Cardinals delayed in signing him causing Dave to sign with Houston. When David was drafted in 1961, he was twenty-one and could not afford to spend many years in the minors. In 1968, he was going to be twenty-nine, and pitching for another expansion team was not appealing. Fortunately his career in San Diego was short-lived. He never threw a pitch in a Padre uniform. After the 1968 World Series, the Cardinals traded Dan Breeden, Ed Spezio, Ron Davis and minor leaguer Phil Knuckles for him. Giusti was once again a member of the St. Louis Cardinals. After the 1971 baseball season, The 37-year-old Dick Schofield’s 19-year career was over. He had entered the game in 1953 as one of baseball’s youngest players. He became a victim of baseball’s labor wars in 1972 so with a strike looming during spring training, he left baseball as one of the oldest. In a testament to his versatility, he was used as a pinch-runner 190 times and as a pinch-hitter in 283 games. Below: Dick Schofield - SS Gary Waslewski - P
Posted on: Wed, 03 Dec 2014 09:51:47 +0000
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