The roots of the modern day St. Louis Cardinals stretch back to 1899. By the 1920's the Cardinals had built a successful team around second basemen Rogers Hornsby. In 1926, the Cardinals won their first World Series by knocking off the feared Yankees in seven games. Soon thereafter, in 1928, the Cardinals won another pennant. In 1934, comic pitcher Jerome Herman 'Dizzy' Dean and his younger brother Paul combined for 49 wins, still a record to this day for two brothers.
The 1940's displayed the Cardinals' utter domination of the National League. In 1942, the team won 106 games, a franchise record. Stan ?The Man? Musial led the '44 team to another World Series victory against the team's cross-town rivals, the St. Louis Browns. In 1946, the Cards won yet another World Series, with the eventual winning run coming in the eighth inning by Enos Slaughter in Game 7.
In 1964, with the help of Lou Brock and Bob Gibson, the Cardinals once again defeated the New York Yankees to take the World Series. In 1967, future Hall of Famers Lou Brock, Orlando Cepeda, Steve Carlton, and Bob Gibson led St. Louis to another World Series victory over the Boston Red Sox. In 1970, Gibson was recognized for his outstanding pitching by being awarded the Cy Young Award.
Compared to the history of the St. Louis Cardinals, the team did not have much success in the 1970's. However, there were highlights. Famed New York Yankee manager Joe Torre won the National League MVP award in 1971, while in 1979 Lou Brock had his 3,000th hit. With the unconventional Whitey Herzog taking on the role of manager, the Cardinals restored their great position in the 1980's. Players such as Ozzie Smith, Willie McGee and Darrell Porter played crucial roles in the successes of the Cardinals in this era.
The team went on to win the 1982 World Series and win pennants in '85 and '87. In 1998, Mark McGwire set the record for most home runs in a season with 70, breaking Roger Maris' previous record of 61. In 2001, the Cardinals shared the NL Central Championship with the Houston Astros. The same year, rookie sensation Albert Pujols slammed 37 home runs, and it would not take long for all of baseball to realize that he would be one of the greatest players ever to play the game.
In 2004, Pujols helped launch the team into the World Series by getting the game tying hit in Game 7, only to lose to the long due Boston Red Sox. In 2005, Chris Carpenter was awarded the Cy Young Award, and Albert Pujols was named National League MVP. In 2006, maybe it was the opening of the new Busch Stadium. Maybe it was just pure skill. Either way, the Cardinals went on to win the 2006 World Series and are the reigning champs. After defeating the New York Mets in the NLCS, the Cards faced a formidable opponent in the Detroit Tigers. With the great play of David Eckstein, Chris Carpenter, and Jeff Weaver, and the great managing by Tony LaRussa, the Cardinals once again were victorious by a margin of 4-1.
The Cardinals finished the 2008 season with an 86-76 regular season record, setting them back to 4th place in the NL Central. Although they didn't make the playoffs last season there are great expectations for 2009. Pujols should lead the charge for the team along with Ryan Ludwick, Skip Schumaker, and Troy Glaus. With this line up St. Louis will be very competitive in the NL Central.
The highly anticipated Phillies Dodgers NLCS rematch will start up at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Thursday, October 15th. In 2008 the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies dominated Los Angeles in just five games, but this season the Dodgers certainly believe they have done enough to give themselves a better chance. LA now has left [...]
In the bottom of the ninth inning in yesterday’s NLDS Game matchup, the St Louis Cardinals held the 2-1 advantage over the Los Angeles Dodgers with just one out to go. Left fielder Matt Holliday was given the opportunity to catch a routine fly to even up the series heading back to St Louis. “I didn’t [...]
Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp homered in the 1st inning to deep center field, setting the tone for Los Angeles as the bullpen worked together to harness the Cardinals lineup to just one run from the 4th inning on last night at Dodger Stadium. Jeff Weaver picked up the Game 1 NLDS win in relief, shutting down the [...]
