Manager Whitey Herzog had a major influence on Jamie Quirk. Even on his honeymoon, Quirk had Herzog on his mind.
Forty years ago, in February 1983, Quirk reported to spring training with the Cardinals after eight seasons in the American League, mostly with the Royals. The Cardinals signed the free agent to be a backup to catcher Darrell Porter, a former Royal.
It was Herzog who convinced Quirk, when both were with the Royals, that he’d help his playing career by becoming a catcher, and it was Herzog who wanted Quirk to come to the Cardinals.
Quirk, who got married in January 1983, was on his honeymoon in Hawaii when he reached agreement on a contract with the Cardinals.
He was the second former Royals catcher Herzog landed for the Cardinals during a honeymoon bliss. In December 1980, Darrell Porter was on a honeymoon cruise when the free agent agreed to move from the Royals to St. Louis.
Calling an audible
Quirk, 6-foot-4, was a standout athlete at St. Paul High School in Santa Fe Springs, Calif., the alma mater of two other future Cardinals, pitcher Andy Rincon and infielder Mike Gallego.
University of Notre Dame football coach Ara Parseghian ranked Quirk, a quarterback, No. 1 on the school’s recruiting list and got him to sign a national letter-of-intent to play for the Fighting Irish, the Kansas City Star reported.
The Royals wanted him, too. A left-handed batter, Quirk was a shortstop in high school, and the Royals sent assistant scouting director Herk Robinson (later their general manager) to California to convince Quirk to play for them.
“I was not optimistic,” Robinson told the Star. “He just didn’t ask enough questions about baseball and the Royals.”
Undeterred, the Royals chose Quirk in the first round of the 1972 amateur draft, then brought him to Kansas City for a red carpet tour. After Quirk, 17, signed with them, Royals director of scouting Lou Gorman told the Star, “He perhaps is the most sought-after high school athlete in the last decade and has a chance to be a star. He’s the kind of player you can build a championship team around.”
As it turned out, Quirk didn’t have the range of Royals shortstop Fred Patek, and his next-best position, third base, was claimed by a better prospect, George Brett.
(Quirk became Brett’s best friend on the Royals _ “He knows me best,” Brett told the Kansas City Times _ and Brett was best man at Quirk’s wedding.)
Able to play multiple infield positions and the outfield, Quirk became a utilityman.
On-the-job training
In December 1976, Quirk was sent to the Brewers in the trade that brought Darrell Porter to Kansas City. After an unsatisfying season in Milwaukee (.217 batting average and almost as many strikeouts, 47, as hits, 48), Quirk was returned to the Royals.
Late in the 1978 season, Royals manager Whitey Herzog suggested to Quirk he should try catching _ the former quarterback had the strong arm for the job _ but Quirk disliked the idea. “I was hardheaded,” he told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I thought, ‘I’m a good infielder.’ “
Herzog eventually convinced Quirk that becoming a catcher would help his chances of staying in the majors. “I don’t want to be a superstar,” Quirk said to the Star. “I’ve never wanted to be one. I just want to stay in the majors a long time and contribute any way I can.”
Quirk went to the Royals’ Florida Instructional League camp after the 1978 season and developed into a capable catcher. “It’s the best thing that’s happened to me,” Quirk told the Post-Dispatch.
At Royals spring training in 1979, Herzog named him a backup to Darrell Porter.
“Jamie has made great progress as a catcher,” Herzog told the Star. “He has good instincts and pitchers like to throw to him. I believe he can eventually become a first-string catcher in the majors.”
Looking good
Herzog was fired after the 1979 season, but became Cardinals manager in June 1980, replacing Ken Boyer. One of his first moves was to acquire Darrell Porter.
Two years later, Herzog managed the Cardinals to a World Series championship and Porter was named World Series Most Valuable Player. Afterward, Porter’s backup, Gene Tenace, became a free agent and signed with the Pirates.
The Cardinals contacted Quirk about replacing Tenace. After Quirk got married in Kansas City, he and his bride were honeymooning in Hawaii when he agreed to a two-year contract offer from Herzog and the Cardinals, the Star reported.
Quirk said the Cubs and Mets were interested in him, too, but he chose the Cardinals because, “Whitey is the only guy who has expressed confidence in me by putting me in (during) tough situations,” he told the Post-Dispatch.
Herzog said to the Star, “I’ve always liked having Jamie around because he’s always ready to play, he plays hard, and he can play almost anyplace. Besides, he looks good in a uniform.”
The reigning World Series champions opened the 1983 season with three catchers _ Porter, Quirk and Glenn Brummer _ and it soon became evident Quirk wouldn’t get much playing time. He sat for two weeks before he appeared in his first Cardinals game and he didn’t make his first start at catcher until May 1.
Idle time
Quirk’s highlight as a Cardinal came on May 29, 1983, when he produced four RBI, including a three-run home run, against the Astros’ Mike Scott. “I finally got a chance to pull my weight and get some respect from my teammates,” Quirk told the Post-Dispatch. Boxscore
As the season wore on, Quirk played less and less. In a stretch of nearly two months (July 28-Sept. 21), he made two starts. In August, he had a mere 11 plate appearances. “This is not what I expected when I came here,” Quirk told the Post-Dispatch. “I was playing more than that in Kansas City.”
To break up the boredom, Quirk pretended to pursue Roger Maris’ record, setting a goal of trying to hit more than 61 batting practice home runs before the season ended. “The other Cardinals have gotten so caught up in it that the regulars occasionally have given up their time in the cage so Quirk can get more swings,” the Post-Dispatch reported.
The Cardinals finished with a losing record (79-83) and Quirk hit .208 overall and .059 (1-for-17) as a pinch-hitter. He caught in 22 games, including 16 as a starter, and threw out 26 percent (8-of-31) of runners who attempted to steal.
Breaking up
Because he had signed a two-year contract in February 1983, Quirk went to spring training in 1984 expecting to have a spot with the Cardinals, so he was stunned when in late March he was told he wasn’t in their plans. Given a choice of being released or getting assigned to the minors, Quirk chose to be released, hoping he could catch on with another big-league team.
“Hindsight is always 20-20,” Quirk told the Post-Dispatch, “but I probably never should have left Kansas City.”
Herzog told the newspaper, “If we hadn’t made a catcher out of him, he probably wouldn’t have been in the big leagues the last five years.”
When no offer came Quirk’s way, Herzog invited him to rejoin the Cardinals as their bullpen coach. The Cardinals were obligated to pay Quirk the second year on his contract, and this way they could continue to get a return on the investment.
Quirk, 29, was with the Cardinals as a coach until late May, when he signed a player’s contract with the White Sox, who sent him to their Denver farm club.
The honeymoon, at least with Herzog and the Cardinals, was over.
Moving on
Except for a brief call-up to the White Sox in July, when he made three plate appearances, Quirk spent most of the summer of 1984 with Denver. On Sept. 24, he was picked up by the Cleveland Indians. In his only plate appearance for them, he hit a game-winning home run against the Twins. “After I hit the ball,” Quirk told United Press International, “I really was in shock for a moment.” Boxscore
Quirk’s baseball odyssey continued with a return to the Royals in 1985. He didn’t appear in the World Series that year against the Cardinals, but he did play in the 1990 World Series for manager Tony La Russa’s Athletics.
Because of his ability to catch, Quirk played 18 years in the majors with the Royals, Brewers, Cardinals, White Sox, Indians, Yankees, Athletics and Orioles.
He spent another 19 seasons in the majors as a coach with the Royals, Rangers, Rockies, Astros and Cubs.