52 Cardinals At Pirates, August 14, 1971, Ted Simmons Can Do Everything

25 September 2023

Album art features the Cardinals' St Louis Cardinals.

Ted Simmons was one of the MLB's greatest catchers.

Two games with the St Louis Cardinals in 1968 started his career in the game, but after a year in AAA his natural debut came in 1970.

When he retired after 21 years in the majors, he held the catcher records for 2,472 career hits (with 483 doubles), ranked second for RBIs with 1389 runs, and 10th for home runs with 248 out of the park. Throw in seven years batting over .300, and catching two no-hitters with the Cardinals, and you get an idea of how much confidence he gave to his pitchers.

We're going to pick up his career in 1971, with Simmons now established as the starting catcher for the Cardinals. On the mound is another legend, pitcher Bob Gibson. What magic can they produce as they visit the Pittsburg Pirates?

Jack Buck is behind the KMOX microphone.

You can find the boxscore here.

This game was played on August 14th, 1971.