José Cardenal

José Rosario Domec Cardenal (born October 7, 1943 in Matanzas, Cuba) is a Cuban American former professional baseball outfielder, who played Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants (1963–64), Los Angeles/California Angels (1965–67), Cleveland Indians (1968–69), St. Louis Cardinals (1970–1971), Milwaukee Brewers (1971), Chicago Cubs (1972–77), Philadelphia Phillies (1978–79), New York Mets (1979–80), and Kansas City Royals (1980). Cardenal batted and threw right-handed. He is the cousin of multi-talented former MLB infielder Bert Campaneris.

José Cardenal
Outfielder
Born: (1943-10-07) October 7, 1943
Matanzas, Cuba
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 14, 1963, for the San Francisco Giants
Last MLB appearance
October 3, 1980, for the Kansas City Royals
MLB statistics
Batting average.275
Home Runs138
Runs batted in775
Teams
As player
As coach
Career highlights and awards

Playing career

Cardenal started his major league career with the San Francisco Giants in 1963 and was sent to the California Angels before the 1965 season. He finished second in the American League with 37 stolen bases, then was dealt to the Cleveland Indians for Chuck Hinton on November 29, 1967.[1] He led the Indians twice in steals twice with a career-high 40 in 1968.[2] In that season, he tied a major league record for outfielders by making two unassisted double plays. Traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1970, he hit .293 with 74 RBI. In a 1971 season split between the Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers, he collected a career-high 80 RBI. He was traded by the Brewers to the Cubs for Jim Colborn, Brock Davis and Earl Stephenson on December 3, 1971.[3]

Cardenal, circa 1977

In 1973 as a right fielder for the Cubs, Cardenal led the team in batting average (.303), doubles (33) and stolen bases (19), being named Cubs Player of the Year by the Chicago baseball writers. Famously temperamental, in 1974 Cardenal was at odds with the Cubs management, and notoriously refused to play the season opener claiming that he was injured because the eyelids of one eye were stuck open.[4] In 1975 he posted career-highs in average (.317) and hits (182).[2]

He had another good season in 1976, batting .299 with 8 home runs and 47 RBI. On May 2, Cardenal went 6-for-7 in a 6-5 win over San Francisco in 14 innings at Candlestick Park. He slumped in 1977, batting only .239 with just 3 home runs and 18 RBI in 100 games played.

Cardenal played with the Philadelphia Phillies during the 1978 and 1979 seasons. He was the last player to wear uniform number 1 for the team, which retired the number in honor of Richie Ashburn during the 1979 season. The Phillies sent Cardenal to the New York Mets on August 2, 1979, between games of a twi-night double header featuring the two teams. Cardenal was a member of the Phillies for the first game and switched uniforms and dugouts to join the Mets for the second. He played for the New York Mets for the balance of the 1979 season and was there for most of the 1980 campaign. He was released by the Mets in August of that year. He later signed with the Kansas City Royals, ending his major league career with the Royals during the 1980 World Series.[2]

In an 18-season career, Cardenal was a .275 hitter with 138 home runs and 775 RBI in 2017 games played. In addition, he collected 1913 hits, 936 runs, 333 doubles, 46 triples, 329 stolen bases and 608 bases on balls. Defensively, he recorded an overall .978 fielding percentage.[2]

Coaching career

Cardenal coached for the Reds, Cardinals, Yankees, and Devil Rays. He was the first base coach for the Yankees run of World Championships in 1996, 1998, and 1999.[5] He resigned from his position with the Yankees prior to the 2000 season over a contract dispute.[6]

Cardenal became the senior advisor to the Washington Nationals general manager in 2005. On September 14, he announced that he wanted to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina, and was seeking to auction his World Series ring he won with the New York Yankees in 1998.[7] Cardenal was relieved of his position with the Nationals following the 2009 season.[8]

Cultural Impact

First Lady Michelle Obama hugged Cardenal during the Chicago Cubs January, 2017 visit to the White House. The team and some veterans were invited there to celebrate their 2016 World Series victory. Native Chicagaon Obama said she wore her Cubs hat on top of her oversized Afro the same way Cardenal had during his career, as seen above in the photograph of his baseball card.[9]

See also

References


Sporting positions
Preceded by
Ron Oester
Cincinnati Reds First Base Coach
1993
Succeeded by
Joel Youngblood
Preceded by
Jack Hubbard
St. Louis Cardinals First Base Coach
1994–1995
Succeeded by
Dave McKay
Preceded by
Brian Butterfield
New York Yankees First Base Coach
1996–1999
Succeeded by
Lee Mazzilli
Preceded by
Billy Hatcher
Tampa Bay Rays First Base Coach
2000–2001
Succeeded by
Lee May
Preceded by
Bill Doran
Cincinnati Reds First Base Coach
2002–2003
Succeeded by
Randy Whisler
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