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Bernie Bytes: Remembering Bob Forsch
BY BERNIE MIKLASZ, Post-Dispatch Sports Columnist | Posted: Friday, November 4, 2011 11:15 am |
Our condolences to the family and friends of*Bob Forsch, the enduring and terrific*Cardinals' pitcher who died*of an apparent heart attack on Thursday night at the age of 61.
The sad news comes only a week after such a happy occasion: Forsch throwing the ceremonial first pitch at Busch Stadium before the Cardinals' 6-2 victory over Texas in Game 7 of the World Series. It was great to see the Cardinals' organization salute Bob, who has been part of the baseball scene in St. Louis for so long. More recently, Forsch had been working as a minor-league pitching coach for the Cincinnati Reds and former Cardinals GM Walt Jocketty.
Though fully appreciated locally, Forsch had an underrated career nationally. He*spanned 16 seasons. He won 168 games overall, including 163 for the Cardinals between*1974-1988. The total puts him third on the list for most victories in Cardinals history, trailing only Bob Gibson (251 wins) and Jesse Haines (210.) Forsch won 20 games in 1977, and also threw the only two no-hitters in Busch Stadium II history.
And Forsch was one of the better and more dangerous hitters*that you'll ever see for a pitcher. He had a career batting average of .213 with*12 homers. He batted .295 with three homers and*five doubles in 1980, hit .308 in 1975 and batted .298 in 1987. That's pretty amazing. *
I arrived in*St. Louis in 1985, when Forsch was winding down in his career. But he effectively filled a role on Whitey Herzog's*NL pennant winners in 1985 and 1987, making a combined 49 starts and winning a total of 20 games during*those two seasons. Of course, Forsch was a vital rotation presence for the 1982 World Series-champion Cardinals, pitching 233 innings and winning 15 games.
I'll remember Bob Forsch on a more personal level: quick with a*good-natured jab (delivered with a devious twinkle in his eye), refreshingly honest, never short*on an opinion. Forsch was a cut-through-the-bull kind of man, and I liked that very much.*A guy's guy all the way. And as they say in baseball: a true professional.
Broadcaster Bob Costas, after being informed of Forsch's death, remembered a momenth that wouldn't qualify as one of the pitcher's career highlights. After the Cardinals and Joaquin Andujar imploded in Game 7 of the 1985 World Series at Kansas City, Forsch was brought in to pitch. It was a lost cause, and it was an embarrassing evening for but that meant nothing to Forsch.
"When Bob Forsch took the ball,*a sense of professionalism, pride and*dignity was restored," Costas told me Friday on 101 ESPN.
This is just awful news. I know how much Bob Forsch meant to all Cardinals fans but especially a certain generation of Cardinals fans -- those who were coming of age in the*mid-1970s and into the 1980s. Forsch was one of the players that created special memories for an untold number of young Cardinals fans who began to fall in love with baseball and the franchise during that time.
Forsch was such a durable, sturdy figure*for so long, it makes his death even more shocking. In retrospect, it was sweet to see Forsch appear at the mound before Game 7, tossing in that first pitch, happy as could be, and greeted warmly by the crowd. No one knew it at the time, and certainly not our friend Bob Forsch, but it gave him a chance to take a final bow, and to feel*(again) the love and appreciation of Cardinals' fans. *
Bernie Bytes: Remembering Bob Forsch
BY BERNIE MIKLASZ, Post-Dispatch Sports Columnist | Posted: Friday, November 4, 2011 11:15 am |
Our condolences to the family and friends of*Bob Forsch, the enduring and terrific*Cardinals' pitcher who died*of an apparent heart attack on Thursday night at the age of 61.
The sad news comes only a week after such a happy occasion: Forsch throwing the ceremonial first pitch at Busch Stadium before the Cardinals' 6-2 victory over Texas in Game 7 of the World Series. It was great to see the Cardinals' organization salute Bob, who has been part of the baseball scene in St. Louis for so long. More recently, Forsch had been working as a minor-league pitching coach for the Cincinnati Reds and former Cardinals GM Walt Jocketty.
Though fully appreciated locally, Forsch had an underrated career nationally. He*spanned 16 seasons. He won 168 games overall, including 163 for the Cardinals between*1974-1988. The total puts him third on the list for most victories in Cardinals history, trailing only Bob Gibson (251 wins) and Jesse Haines (210.) Forsch won 20 games in 1977, and also threw the only two no-hitters in Busch Stadium II history.
And Forsch was one of the better and more dangerous hitters*that you'll ever see for a pitcher. He had a career batting average of .213 with*12 homers. He batted .295 with three homers and*five doubles in 1980, hit .308 in 1975 and batted .298 in 1987. That's pretty amazing. *
I arrived in*St. Louis in 1985, when Forsch was winding down in his career. But he effectively filled a role on Whitey Herzog's*NL pennant winners in 1985 and 1987, making a combined 49 starts and winning a total of 20 games during*those two seasons. Of course, Forsch was a vital rotation presence for the 1982 World Series-champion Cardinals, pitching 233 innings and winning 15 games.
I'll remember Bob Forsch on a more personal level: quick with a*good-natured jab (delivered with a devious twinkle in his eye), refreshingly honest, never short*on an opinion. Forsch was a cut-through-the-bull kind of man, and I liked that very much.*A guy's guy all the way. And as they say in baseball: a true professional.
Broadcaster Bob Costas, after being informed of Forsch's death, remembered a momenth that wouldn't qualify as one of the pitcher's career highlights. After the Cardinals and Joaquin Andujar imploded in Game 7 of the 1985 World Series at Kansas City, Forsch was brought in to pitch. It was a lost cause, and it was an embarrassing evening for but that meant nothing to Forsch.
"When Bob Forsch took the ball,*a sense of professionalism, pride and*dignity was restored," Costas told me Friday on 101 ESPN.
This is just awful news. I know how much Bob Forsch meant to all Cardinals fans but especially a certain generation of Cardinals fans -- those who were coming of age in the*mid-1970s and into the 1980s. Forsch was one of the players that created special memories for an untold number of young Cardinals fans who began to fall in love with baseball and the franchise during that time.
Forsch was such a durable, sturdy figure*for so long, it makes his death even more shocking. In retrospect, it was sweet to see Forsch appear at the mound before Game 7, tossing in that first pitch, happy as could be, and greeted warmly by the crowd. No one knew it at the time, and certainly not our friend Bob Forsch, but it gave him a chance to take a final bow, and to feel*(again) the love and appreciation of Cardinals' fans. *
