Robert Herbert Forsch was an
American right-handed starting pitcher who spent most of his sixteen years in
Major League Baseball (MLB) with the
St. Louis Cardinals (1974–1988) before finishing his playing career with the
Houston Astros (1988–1989) died from an aneurysm he was 61..
(January 13, 1950 – November 3, 2011)

He was a member of the
1982 World Series Champions and
National League (NL) pennant winners in
1985 and
1987.
A twenty-game winner in
1977,
he is third amongst all Cardinals pitcher in victories with 163. He is
also the only player in team history to pitch more than one
no-hitter, achieving it twice in
1978 and
1983. Along with
Ken Forsch, they are the only
brothers to have each performed the feat in the majors.
Early years
Forsch graduated from
Hiram Johnson High School in
Sacramento, California, and attended
Sacramento City College. He was drafted by the
St. Louis Cardinals in the 26th round of the
1968 Major League Baseball Draft as a
third baseman, eight rounds after his brother was selected by the
Houston Astros. He compiled a .223
batting average with four
home runs before he was converted to a pitcher with the Cards' low A affiliate, the
Lewiston Broncs, in
1970. Forsch went 41-37 with a 3.96
earned run average over four and a half seasons pitching in their
farm system.
Career
Forsch was called up to St. Louis midway through the
1974 season. Making his major league debut in the first game of a
doubleheader at
Riverfront Stadium, he lost a pitchers' duel with
Tom Carroll and the
Cincinnati Reds.
[1] He shut out the
Atlanta Braves in his second start to earn his first major league victory,
[2] but perhaps his most memorable pitching performance of the season came on September 30 against the
Montreal Expos. In the second to last game of the Cardinals' season, needing a win to remain tied with the
Pittsburgh Pirates atop the
National League East, Forsch carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning. He ended up with a
complete game three-hitter for his fourth consecutive win.
[3]
Forsch was a twenty game winner in
1977. He pitched his first career no-hitter on April 16,
1978 against the
Philadelphia Phillies[4] with the help of a questionable ruling by official scorer Neal Russo of the
St. Louis Post-Dispatch on a
Ken Reitz error off the bat of
Gary Maddox.
[5]
Regardless, his record stood at 3-0 with a 0.71 ERA following the game,
however, things began to unravel for Forsch shortly afterwards. After a
May 11 three hit
shutout against the
Los Angeles Dodgers improved his record to 6-2,
[6] Forsch went 5-15 with a 4.07 ERA the rest of the way to end the season at 11-17.
After nine seasons in the majors, Forsch made it to the postseason for the first time in his career in
1982. He also earned his first career
save on May 15 against the Atlanta Braves.
[7] He got the game one start in the
1982 National League Championship Series, and held the Atlanta Braves to three
hits while striking out six.
[8] He also went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a
run scored. He lost both of his
World Series starts against the
Milwaukee Brewers, however, the Cardinals still won the series in seven games.
[9]
After going 15-9 with a 3.48 ERA in 1982, his record fell to 10-12
with a 4.28 ERA the following season as the defending World Champions
dipped to 79-83 and fourth place in the NL East. One of the few bright
spots for his club came on September 26,
1983, when Forsch pitched his second career no-hitter, this time against the Montreal Expos.
[10]
He became, at the time, just the 25th pitcher to throw more than one
career no-hitter, and the only Cardinals pitcher to accomplish the feat.
[11] His career nearly came to an end when he required back surgery during the
1984
season to relieve pressure on a nerve on his lower back, however, after
sitting out three months, he was able to return to the mound.
[12]
Forsch's final win of the
1985 season was a 4-2 victory over the
Chicago Cubs on October 4 to clinch a first place tie with the
New York Mets,
as they and the Mets battled for first place in the NL East all season.
The Cards ended up winning the division by three games, and defeating
the
Los Angeles Dodgers in the
1985 National League Championship Series. With the
Kansas City Royals representing the
American League in the World Series,
1985 was the first time two teams from the same state faced off in a World Series since
1974, and the first time two teams from
Missouri faced each other since the
1944 World Series. The Royals beat the Cardinals in seven games for the franchise's first World Series title.
[13] Forsch went 0-1 with a 8.53 ERA in his second postseason.
Forsch made headlines during the
1987 National League Championship Series, which pitted the Cards against the
San Francisco Giants. The Giants led the series after Game 2, owing in part to the batting prowess of outfielder
Jeffrey Leonard,
who scored nine runs and five RBIs during the series. The Cardinal fans
were enraged with Leonard's "one-flap down" routine of running the
bases, and his "Cadillac" home run trot. While pitching to Leonard in
the fifth inning, Forsch famously hit Leonard in the back with a
fastball. This created a stir in the St. Louis press, which began
calling Leonard "both flaps down". Forsch unconvincingly commented,
"Just trying to come inside"
[14]
Forsch was 9-4 with a 3.73 ERA in
1988 when he was traded just before the waiver trade deadline to the Houston Astros, who were making a playoff push in the
National League West.
[15] Forsch pitched poorly for the Astros, going 1-4 with a 6.51 ERA. Forsch re-signed with the Astros for
1989, and went 4-5 with a 5.32 ERA splitting his time as a starter and
relief pitcher in his final season before retiring.
Career stats
Forsch was one of the better hitting pitchers of his era. He hit
twelve career home runs, batted over .300 in 1975, won the inaugural
Silver Slugger Award for NL pitchers in
1980 and a second Silver Slugger award in
1987. Forsch's no-hitters were the only two ever thrown at
Busch Memorial Stadium.
[16] His 163 career wins with the Cardinals is the franchise's third highest total.
Death
Forsch was a Minor League pitching coach for the Reds' Rookie League affiliate, the
Billings Mustangs from
2009 until his death. He also wrote a book titled
Bob Forsch's Tales from the Cardinals Dugout, with Tom Wheatley.
[17]
Forsch died suddenly from an
thoracic aortic aneurysm on November 3, 2011.
[18] Less than a week before his death, he threw out the ceremonial first pitch before Game seven of the
2011 World Series at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.
[19][20]
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