The Baseball Scholar

This is a list of the St. Louis Cardinals best single seasons. I decided to select two players for each infield position, six outfielders (regardless of specific position), and one designated hitter for each AL team. Hitters had to play at least 51% of games at their position. For pitching, we selected seven starting pitchers, three non-closers, and two closers. Starting pitchers had to start at least 20 games during the selected season. Relief pitchers were deemed non-closers if they saved less than 10 games. Closers are pitchers that save more than 10 games.

• Catcher – Yadier Molina, 2012



Yadier Molina

wRC+	wOBA	WAR	G	PA	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
138	.375	6.9	138	563	65	159	28	0	22	76	12	45	55	.315	.373	.501	.874

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• First Base – Mark McGwire, 1998



Mark McGwire

wRC+	wOBA	WAR	G	PA	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
205	.492	7.5	155	681	130	152	21	0	70	147	1	162	155	.299	.470	.752	1.222

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• Second Base – Rogers Hornsby, 1924



Rogers Hornsby

wRC+	wOBA	WAR	G	PA	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
221	.537	12.1	143	642	121	227	43	14	25	94	5	89	32	.424	.507	.696	1.203

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• Third Base – Scott Rolen, 2004



Scott Rolen

wRC+	wOBA	WAR	G	PA	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
159	.422	9.2	142	593	109	157	32	4	34	124	4	72	92	.314	.409	.598	1.007

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• Shortstop – Dick Groat, 1963



Dick Groat

wRC+	wOBA	WAR	G	PA	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
132	.367	7.1	158	704	85	201	43	11	6	73	3	56	58	.319	.377	.450	.827

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• Outfield – Stan Musial, 1948



Stan Musial

wRC+	wOBA	WAR	G	PA	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
201	.512	11.1	155	698	135	230	46	18	39	131	7	79	34	.376	.450	.702	1.152

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• Outfield – Albert Pujols, 2003



Albert Pujols

wRC+	wOBA	WAR	G	PA	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
184	.461	8.6	157	685	137	212	51	1	43	124	5	79	65	.359	.439	.667	1.106

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• Outfield – Joe Medwik, 1937



Joe Medwick

wRC+	wOBA	WAR	G	PA	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
180	.467	8.5	156	677	111	237	56	10	31	154	4	41	50	.374	.414	.641	1.056

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• Starting Pitcher – Bob Gibson, 1968



Bob Gibson

ERA-	WAR	G	GS	W	L	ERA	IP	CG	SHO	SV	R	ER	BB	SO	SO/9	WHIP
38	11.2	34	34	22	9	1.12	304.2	28	13	0	49	38	62	268	7.9	0.853

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• Starting Pitcher – Mort Cooper, 1942



Mort Cooper

ERA-	WAR	G	GS	W	L	ERA	IP	CG	SHO	SV	R	ER	BB	SO	SO/9	WHIP
53	8.4	37	35	22	7	1.78	278.2	22	10	0	73	55	68	152	4.9	0.987

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• Starting Pitcher – John Tudor, 1985



John Tudor

ERA-	WAR	G	GS	W	L	ERA	IP	CG	SHO	SV	R	ER	BB	SO	SO/9	WHIP
55	8.1	36	36	21	8	1.93	275	14	10	0	68	59	49	169	5.5	0.938

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• Starting Pitcher – Harry Brecheen, 1948



Harry Brecheen

ERA-	WAR	G	GS	W	L	ERA	IP	CG	SHO	SV	R	ER	BB	SO	SO/9	WHIP
55	8.9	33	30	20	7	2.24	233.1	21	7	1	62	58	49	149	5.7	1.037

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• Starting Pitcher – Chris Carpenter, 2009



Chris Carpenter

ERA-	WAR	G	GS	W	L	ERA	IP	CG	SHO	SV	R	ER	BB	SO	SO/9	WHIP
55	6.5	28	28	17	4	2.24	192.2	3	1	0	49	48	38	144	6.7	1.007

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• Relief Pitcher – Kevin Siegrist, 2013



Kevin Siegrist

ERA-	WAR	G	GS	W	L	ERA	IP	CG	SHO	SV	R	ER	BB	SO	SO/9	WHIP
12	1.9	45	0	3	1	0.45	39.2	0	0	0	2	2	18	50	11.3	0.882

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• Relief Pitcher – Pat Neshek, 2014



Pat Neshek

ERA-	WAR	G	GS	W	L	ERA	IP	CG	SHO	SV	R	ER	BB	SO	SO/9	WHIP
52	2.3	71	0	7	2	1.87	67.1	0	0	6	14	14	9	68	9.1	0.787

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• Closer – Bruce Sutter, 1984



Bruce Sutter

ERA-	WAR	G	GS	W	L	ERA	IP	CG	SHO	SV	R	ER	BB	SO	SO/9	WHIP
43	4.6	71	0	5	7	1.54	122.2	0	0	45	26	21	23	77	5.6	1.076

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Bench

• Catcher – Joe Torre, 1970
• First Base – Johnny Mize, 1939
• Second Base – Frankie Frisch, 1927
• Third Base – Ken Boyer, 1961
• Shortstop – Solly Hemus, 1952
• Outfield – Jesse Burkett, 1901
• Outfield – Jim Edmonds, 2004
• Outfield – Willie McGee, 1985
• Starting Pitcher – Dizzy Dean, 1934
• Starting Pitcher – Bob Tewksbury, 1992
• Relief Pitcher – Steve Kline, 2001
• Closer – Lindy McDaniel, 1960