Like a fading supermodel, reliever Chuck Hartenstein found himself out of fashion soon after he joined the Cardinals.
Described by The Sporting News as “a little stick of a guy who stands 5 feet 10 and weighs 150 pounds” and who “doesn’t show anything in the way of muscles,” Hartenstein was given the nickname Twiggy by a teammate.
In the late 1960s, when Hartenstein was at his peak as a National League closer, British fashion model Twiggy, 5 feet 6 and 110 pounds, was a cultural icon among the hip crowd. About the time Twiggy retired from modeling, Hartenstein was struggling to remain in the majors.
A right-hander whose signature pitch was a sidearm sinker, Hartenstein had a short stint with the Cardinals in 1970. He had a second career as a coach and scout in the majors and as an instructor in the minors. Hartenstein died on Oct. 2, 2021, at 79.
Thick and thin
Born and raised in Texas, Hartenstein went to the University of Texas and was a teammate of future Cardinals first baseman Joe Hague. Hartenstein earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing, but opted to pursue a professional baseball career, signing with the Cubs in May 1964.
Hartenstein became a protege of Cubs minor-league instructor Fred Martin, a former Cardinals pitcher, who taught him to throw the sinker. Years later, future Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter learned the split-fingered fastball from Martin.
“(Martin) taught me just about everything I know,” Hartenstein told The Sporting News.
Hartenstein had his breakout season in 1967. Called up to the Cubs in June, he became their closer, posting a 9-5 record and team-leading 11 saves.
Reliever Dick Radatz, dubbed “The Monster” because of his 6-foot-6, 230-pound frame, gave Hartenstein the Twiggy nickname, The Sporting News reported, but Hartenstein told the Society for American Baseball Research it was outfielder Billy Williams who came up with the tag.
According to the Pittsburgh Press, Hartenstein was so skinny “he could tread water in a test tube.”
Hartenstein entered 1968 as the Cubs’ closer, but his season quickly unraveled. In April, his errant fastball struck Braves batter Joe Torre in the head. “Torre went down like a fallen tree,” the Atlanta Constitution reported.
In his book, “Chasing the Dream,” Torre said, “I never saw it. It smashed against my cheek. It split my palate, broke my cheek and my nose. My teammates had to carry me off the field. I was in shock.”
Hartenstein told the Chicago Tribune, “I’m sorry it happened. I couldn’t believe the ball hit him. It was a fastball and it bore in on him. I had thrown two away from him for strikes, and this one was supposed to brush him back. I certainly didn’t want to hit him, but he just didn’t move.”
Hartenstein had a terrible April (0-2, 6.75 ERA) and was replaced as closer by Phil Regan. After clashing with manager Leo Durocher, Hartenstein was demoted to the minors in June.
“I found out one thing about Durocher: When you got in his doghouse, you never got out of it,” Hartenstein told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Snapped twig
The Cubs traded Hartenstein to the Pirates in January 1969. He led the 1969 Pirates in saves (10) and was 5-4. Hartenstein was effective against the Cardinals that year, yielding no hits or runs in four appearances totaling five innings.
In 1970, Hartenstein had another bad April (7.04 ERA) and was replaced as closer by Dave Giusti, who was acquired from the Cardinals.
Placed on waivers in June, Hartenstein was selected by the Cardinals. According to the Pittsburgh Press, when Pirates general manager Joe Brown called and told him he was going to the Cardinals, Hartenstein asked, “Football or baseball?”
The transaction made Hartenstein a teammate of Joe Torre, who was traded by the Braves to the Cardinals a year earlier. Hartenstein was thrilled to join a team that featured a lineup with hitters such as Torre, Dick Allen and Lou Brock. “This club could win it all,” he told the Pittsburgh Press.
The 1970 Cardinals could hit, but their bullpen was weak. The Cardinals would finish the season with the fewest saves (20) in the major leagues.
Manager Red Schoendienst said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “Twiggy told me he’ll pitch everyday if we want him to,” but Hartenstein didn’t help. After pitching three scoreless innings against the Pirates in his Cardinals debut, he was shelled in his next five outings. Boxscore
In July, when Nelson Briles came off the disabled list, going into the starting rotation and bumping Chuck Taylor into the bullpen, Hartenstein was given his unconditional release.
In six appearances for the Cardinals, Hartenstein had an 8.77 ERA, surrendering 13 runs in 13.1 innings.
Hartenstein blamed the AstroTurf infields at Busch Memorial Stadium and other National League ballparks for his troubles.
“Sure, I’ve pitched some bad games,” he told the Boston Globe, “but almost everything hit on the ground was finding holes. An infielder playing on the AstroTurf has to be a step quicker than when he plays on a grass infield.”
In Hartenstein’s short time with the Cardinals, he wore three different uniform numbers (22, 26 and 50), according to baseball-reference.com.
The Red Sox, who played on a grass infield, signed Hartenstein for the remainder of the 1970 season and he flopped with them, too (0-3, 8.05 ERA).
Learning to teach
Hartenstein spent the next six seasons (1971-76) in the Pacific Coast League, pitching for farm clubs of the White Sox, Giants and Padres.
In 1977, Hartenstein, 35, returned to the majors with the Blue Jays, an American League expansion club. In May, Rod Carew hit a ball that struck Hartenstein, dislocating his right thumb. When he recovered, Hartenstein gave up four home runs _ to Bernie Carbo, Butch Hobson, Fred Lynn and Jim Rice _ in a July 4 loss to the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Boxscore
“It was great instruction for anyone who wants to be a pitching coach,” Hartenstein said to the Boston Globe. “I showed exactly what you shouldn’t do.”
After finishing 0-2 with a 6.59 ERA for the 1977 Blue Jays, Hartenstein became a minor-league instructor. In 1979, he got back to the majors as pitching coach for the Indians. The club’s bullpen coach was Dave Duncan, who years later was Cardinals pitching coach.
Hartenstein also was Brewers pitching coach from 1987-89 when Dan Plesac developed into a top closer.
In six seasons as a big-league pitcher, Hartenstein was 17-19 with 24 saves. In 13 appearances versus the Cardinals, he had a 1.96 ERA.
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