Joaquin Andujar, Former Saint Louis Cardinals Hurler, Passes Away At 62
Joaquin Andujar, who became a media sensation with the powerhouse Saint Louis Cardinals teams of the early and mid 1980s, died this week in his native Dominican Republic, the News York Times is reporting. He was 62.
Cardinals players in a moment of silence for the late-Joaquin Andujar in honoring his memory prior to tonight’s game. pic.twitter.com/IftQjXwCfV
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) September 9, 2015
During his 12-year career in Major League Baseball, between 1976 and 1988, Andujar pitched for three different teams, but he made a name for himself during his time with the Cardinals. Known as much for his fiery personality as his skill on the mound, Joaquin became a fan favorite with Cardinals Nation.
In a statement via Fox News, former Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog, who managed Andujar during his stint with the Cards, made light of Andujar’s short fuse.
“He was a joy to manage. Everybody knew he didn’t operate with a full deck most of the time, but when you had Joaquin on your ball club, you were sitting on a firecracker every day.”
Another Cardinals personality, former pitcher and current broadcaster Al Hrabosky — himself a pitcher known for his fiery personality (during his playing days he earned the nickname “The Mad Hungarian”) — remembered Joaquin’s sense of humor.
“Joaquin was just a big personality. He was good for the ball club, not just for the wins but also to help keep people loose. There were times for levity and Joaquin was good at that.”
Unfortunately for Joaquin Andujar, his short fuse would also be his undoing. During the 1985 season, Andujar displayed his usual dominance on the mound — at least, during the first half. The second half was a debacle; Andujar racked up only one win after July 26. Still, the Cardinals made the postseason — and Andujar lost all of the good will he’d built up in Saint Louis with a disastrous postseason.
The low point came during the 1985 World Series; the Cardinals were expected to cruise to an easy victory against the Royals, and indeed had a 3-1 lead going into Game 6, despite Andujar’s lackluster performance in the postseason. However, after an infamous blown call in Game 6 that led to the Royals staging a come-from-behind win to tie the series, Andujar was brought in for Game 7, with the Cardinals already down 9-0. Andujar would give up another run before being ejected for arguing balls and strikes; he was so enraged that his teammates had to restrain him.
That would be Andujar’s last game as a Cardinal; he was traded to the Oakland Athletics in the off-season, and played three more lackluster seasons in the MLB before retiring to his native Dominican Republic.
Joaquin Andujar’s official cause of death was diabetes.
[Image courtesy of: Getty Images/Ronald Martinez]
