The Baseball Scholar

The 20 Greatest St. Louis Cardinals of All-Time

Dave Franks
1–2 minutes

Rankings based on seasons 1901 – 2025.

To be eligible, position players need 1,500 plate appearances, starting pitchers have to have started a minimum of 75 games, and relief pitchers need to have 150 innings pitched for the franchise.

  1. Stan MusialHOF3x MVP

    • Age: 20–23, 25-42
    • Years: 1941–1944, 1946-1963
    • Positions: LF, 1B, RF
    • Teams: St. Louis Cardinals
    Stan Musial Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    128.7 158 3026 12712 10972 1949 3630 725 177 475 1951 78 31 1599 696 .330 .415 .559 .974

  2. Rogers HornsbyHOFMVP

    Rogers Hornsby Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    91.5 171 1580 6714 5881 1089 2110 367 143 193 1072 118 64 660 480 .359 .427 .568 .995

  3. Albert Pujols3x MVPRookie of the Year

    Albert Pujols Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    88.7 166 1814 7784 6619 1333 2156 469 15 469 1397 85 37 1003 759 .326 .417 .614 1.031

  4. Bob GibsonHOFMVP2x Cy Young

    Bob Gibson Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    81.7 78 528 482 251 174 2.91 3884.1 255 56 6 1420 1258 1336 3117 19.4% 1.188

  5. Johnny MizeHOF

    Johnny Mize Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    37.7 168 854 3582 3121 546 1048 218 66 158 653 14 0 424 279 .336 .419 .600 1.018

  6. Ken BoyerMVP

    Ken Boyer Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    58.1 118 1667 7046 6334 988 1855 269 61 255 1001 97 69 631 859 .293 .356 .475 .832

  7. Jim Edmonds

    Jim Edmonds Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    37.9 142 1105 4356 3628 690 1033 234 11 241 713 37 24 645 1029 .285 .393 .555 .947

  8. Joe MedwickHOFMVP

    Joe Medwick Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    39.7 140 1216 5056 4747 811 1590 377 81 152 923 28 0 264 398 .335 .372 .545 .917

  9. Ozzie SmithHOF

    Ozzie Smith Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    66.0 96 1990 8242 7160 991 1944 338 50 27 664 433 102 876 423 .272 .350 .344 .694

  10. Enos SlaughterHOF

    • Age: 22–26, 30–37
    • Years: 1938–1942, 1946–1953
    • Positions: RF
    • Teams: St. Louis Cardinals
    Enos Slaughter Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    52.7 128 1820 7710 6775 1071 2064 366 135 146 1148 64 7 838 429 .305 .384 .463 .847

  11. Dizzy DeanHOFMVP

    Dizzy Dean Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    39.9 75 273 196 134 75 2.99 1736.4 141 23 30 676 577 407 1095 15.2% 1.20

  12. Ted SimmonsHOF

    Ted Simmons Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    45.0 125 1564 6450 5725 736 1704 332 37 172 929 11 28 624 453 .298 .366 .459 .824

  13. Keith HernandezMVP

    Keith Hernandez Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    34.4 131 1165 4724 4076 662 1217 265 50 81 595 81 46 585 536 .299 .385 .448 .833

  14. Mark McGwire

    Mark McGwire Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    19.3 173 545 2251 1739 394 469 57 1 220 473 4 0 470 553 .270 .427 .683 1.111

  15. Harry Brecheen

    Harry Brecheen Harry Brecheen Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    38.5 74 292 224 128 79 2.91 1787.3 122 25 17 650 578 505 857 11.7% 1.18

  16. Adam Wainwright

    • Age: 23–28, 30–41
    • Years: 2005–2010, 2012–2023
    • Positions: SP
    • Teams: St. Louis Cardinals
    Adam Wainwright Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    40.6 87 478 411 200 128 3.54 2664.6 28 11 3 1117 1047 736 2202 19.8% 1.24

  17. Ray Lankford

    Ray Lankford Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    37.7 123 1580 6290 5417 928 1479 339 52 228 829 250 115 780 1449 .273 .365 .481 .846

  18. Lou BrockHOF

    Lou Brock Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    41.7 112 2289 9930 9125 1427 2713 434 121 129 814 888 285 681 1469 .297 .347 .414 .761

  19. Jim BottomleyHOFMVP

    Jim Bottomley Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    34.5 134 1392 6008 5314 921 1727 344 119 181 1105 50 15 509 429 .325 .387 .537 .924

  20. Scott RolenHOF

    Scott Rolen Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    25.9 128 661 2737 2373 421 678 173 13 111 453 33 17 292 383 .286 .370 .510 .879

    21. The Next 5

  21. 21. Curt Flood
  22. 22. Chris Carpenter
  23. 23. Mort Cooper
  24. 24. Bill White
  25. 25. Matt Holliday

    26. All underlying data used in this analysis is available in The Baseball Scholar Data Library.

    5 responses to “The 20 Greatest St. Louis Cardinals of All-Time”

    1. daveminnj Avatar
      daveminnj

      No way Ozzie Smith and Lou Brock miss the top 6.

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    2. mrgjgMrgjg Avatar
      mrgjgMrgjg

      Ozzie and Brock definitely too low. McGwire too high. The guy had 2 1/2 productive years, and even they were suspect.

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      Reply
    3. Avatar
      Anonymous

      Should have made it top 22 just to put David Freese on this list.

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      1. Avatar
        Anonymous

        lou brock at 18 is a joke

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    4. Avatar
      Anonymous

      No Yadier Molina?!?

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    100 Greatest Players of all time