Major League Baseball franchise in St. Louis, Missouri
For the National Football League team that played in the city of St. Louis from 1960 to 1987, see St. Louis Cardinals (NFL). For the current NFL team, see Arizona Cardinals.
In 1892, the Browns – also called the Perfectos – joined the National League. In 1900, the team was renamed the Cardinals. (Two years later, an unrelated St. Louis Browns team joined the American League.)
In 2018, Forbes valued the Cardinals at $1.9billion, the 7th-highest among MLB clubs and far more than the $147million paid in 1995 by ownerWilliam DeWitt Jr.'s investment group. In 2017, the team took in revenue of $319million on an operating income of $40.0million.[9][10][11]John Mozeliak is the President of Baseball Operations, Mike Girsch is the general manager, and Oliver Marmol is the manager.[12][13] The Cardinals are renowned for their strong fan support: despite being in one of the sport's mid-level markets, they routinely see attendances among the league's highest, and are consistently among the top three in MLB in local television ratings.[14][15]
Through 2024, the Cardinals' all-time win-loss record is 11,285–10,402–152 (.520).[16]
The magnitudes of the reorganizations, following the 1877 and 1881 seasons, are such that the 1875–1877 and 1878–1881 Brown Stockings teams are not generally considered to share continuity as a franchise with the current St. Louis Cardinals.[18][19]
American Association and early National League eras (1882–1919)
For the 1882 season, Chris von der Ahe purchased the team, reorganized it, and made it a founding member of the American Association (AA), a league to rival the NL.[20] 1882 is generally considered to be the first year of existence for the franchise which would later become known as the St. Louis Cardinals.[18][19][21][f]
The next season, St. Louis shortened their name to the Browns. Soon thereafter they became the dominant team in the AA, as manager Charlie Comiskey guided St. Louis to four pennants in a row from 1885 to 1888.[7][24]Pitcher and outfielderBob Caruthers led the league in ERA (2.07) and wins (40) in 1885 and finished in the top six in both in each of the following two seasons. He also led the AA in OBP (.448) and OPS (.974) in 1886 and finished fourth in batting average in 1886 (.334) and fifth in 1887 (.357).[25] Outfielder Tip O'Neill won the first batting triple crown in franchise history in 1887 and the only one in AA history.[26][27][28] By winning the pennant, the Browns played the NL pennant winner in a predecessor of the World Series. The Browns twice met the Chicago White Stockings—the predecessor to the Chicago Cubs—tying one in a heated dispute and winning the other, thus spurring the vigorous St. Louis-Chicago rivalry that ensues to this day.[29] During the franchise's ten seasons in the AA, they compiled an all-time league-high of 780 wins and .639 winning percentage. They lost just 432 contests while tying 21 others.[7]
The AA went bankrupt after the 1891 season and the Browns transferred to the National League. This time, the club entered an era of stark futility. Between 1892 and 1919, St. Louis managed just five winning seasons, finished in last or next-to-last place sixteen times, and ended four seasons with 100 losses or more. The nadir was the 1897 season: a 29–102 record for a franchise-worst .221 winning percentage.[7] St. Louis' 84–67 finish as the Perfectos in 1899 would be the team's best finish between the AA era and Sam Breadon's purchase of the team.[22][30] As the "Perfectos", the team wore their jersey with a cardinal red trim and sock striping.[22] Later that season, St. Louis Republic sportswriter Willie McHale included an account in a column of a female fan he heard remarking about the uniforms, "What a lovely shade of cardinal." Fans liked the moniker "Cardinals" and, the next year in 1900, popularity for the nickname induced an official change to Cardinals.[22][30][31][32]
In 1902, an American League team moved from Milwaukee into St. Louis, renamed themselves the St. Louis Browns and built a new park on the site of the Cardinals' old stadium, striking a rivalry that lasted five decades.[33] Breadon bought a minority interest in the Cardinals in 1917 and in 1919 Browns manager Branch Rickey joined the Cardinals.[34][35] The Cardinals' first 28 seasons in the NL were a complete reversal of their stay in the AA – with a .406 winning percentage, they compiled 1,632 wins, 2,425 losses and 74 ties.[7]
In the 1940s, a golden era emerged as Rickey's farm system became laden with such talent as Marty Marion,[43]Enos Slaughter,[44]Mort Cooper,[45]Walker Cooper,[46]Stan Musial,[47]Max Lanier,[48]Whitey Kurowski,[49]Red Schoendienst[50] and Johnny Beazley.[51] It was one of the most successful decades in franchise history with 960 wins and 580 losses for a winning percentage higher than any other Major League team at .623.[52] With Billy Southworth managing, they won the World Series in 1942 and 1944 (in the only all-St. Louis series against the Browns), and won 105 or more games each in 1942, 1943, and 1944.[7] Southworth's managerial winning percentage (.642) is St. Louis' highest since the franchise joined the National League.[53][54] Musial was considered the most consistent hitter of his era and most accomplished in team history, winning three MVPs and seven batting titles.[47][55] St. Louis then won the 1946 World Series on Slaughter's Mad Dash in Game 7.[56] Breadon was forced to sell the team in 1947 but won six World Series and nine NL pennants as Cardinals owner.[22] They remained competitive, finishing .500 or better in thirteen of the next seventeen seasons, but fell short of winning the league or World Series until 1964.[7]
In 2009, the Cardinals reached 10,000 wins, dating to when they first played in the American Association (AA).[g][95][96] St. Louis returned to the playoffs in 2011, first surmounting the largest games-won deficit after 130 games (at 10.5) to upstage the Atlanta Braves on the final day for the wild card playoff berth.[97] In Game 3 of the World Series, Pujols became just the third player to hit three home runs in a World Series game.[98] In Game 6, third baseman David Freese and outfielder Lance Berkman each tied the score on the Cardinals' final strike—the first such occurrence in any game in MLB history—and St. Louis defeated the Texas Rangers later that game with a walk-off home run from Freese.[99] After winning that Series, La Russa retired and became the only manager to do so after winning a title. He also finished with the most wins for managers in franchise history with 1,408.[100][101]
La Russa's successor, Mike Matheny, helped extend St. Louis' playoff run as he became the first manager in the division play era to guide the Cardinals to the NLCS and playoffs in his first two seasons.[102] In 2014, the Cardinals extended their NLCS streak to 4, with their 3–1 series victory over the Dodgers, in the NLDS. Ten days after being eliminated from the postseason by the San Francisco Giants, rookie outfielder Oscar Taveras was killed in a car accident while traveling to his hometown Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic.[103] On November 17, they acquired Atlanta Braves right-fielder Jason Heyward (who had just come off a Gold Glove-winning season) to replace Taveras.[104] On June 16, 2015, the FBI and the Justice Department started an investigation on the Cardinals for possibly hacking the Houston Astros. The hacking incident was perpetrated by Scouting Director Chris Correa.[105] For the first time since the 2007–2008 seasons, the Cardinals missed the playoffs in consecutive years, 2016–2017.
On July 14, 2018, following an 8–2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds, the St. Louis Cardinals announced they had dismissed manager Mike Matheny after 6+1⁄2 seasons. The team then named Mike Shildt interim manager, and he was made the permanent manager a month later.
On November 19, 2018, the team announced that the "Victory Blue" uniforms, worn by the Cardinals during the late 1970s and 1980s, would be returning for the 2019 season. The uniforms, integrating the powder blue color with the team's current "Saturday alternate" jersey design, were to be worn 13 times on the road during the 2019 season.[106] The Cardinals acquired Paul Goldschmidt in a trade from the Arizona Diamondbacks on December 5, 2018.[107]
On September 14, 2022, long-time starting pitcher Adam Wainwright and catcher Yadier Molina set the NL/AL record for most starts as pitcher and catcher duo, also referred to as a battery, at 325 starts together going back to 2007.[108] The previous record holding duo, Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan, had held the record since 1975.[109]
The Cardinals play their home games at Busch Stadium (also referred to as New Busch Stadium or Busch III) in downtown St. Louis, straddling 7th and Clark near the intersection of Interstates64, 55, and 44.[110] The stadium opened for the 2006 season at a cost of $411million and holds a normal capacity of 46,861.[111][112] The Cardinals finished their inaugural season in the new Busch Stadium by winning the 2006 World Series, the first team to do so since the New York Yankees in 1923.[113] This open-air stadium emulates the HOK Sport (now Populous)-designed "retro-style" baseball-only parks built since the 1990s.[114] The open panoramic perspective over the outfield wall offers a remarkable view of St. Louis' downtown skyline featuring the distinctive Gateway Arch.[115] A replica of the Eads Bridge spans the entrance to the park on the third base side, while the statue of Stan Musial stands in front of that entrance.[116] Other statues at the corner of 8th and Clark include Hall of Famers Rogers Hornsby, Ozzie Smith, George Sisler, Cool Papa Bell, Bob Gibson, Jack Buck, and others.[117]
Ballpark Village is a mixed-use development located across Clark Street from Busch Stadium.[120] Phase 1 of the development, completed for the start of the 2014 season, includes entertainment venues, restaurants, and retail. Anchored by Cardinals Nation (which includes the Cardinals Hall of Fame, a two-story Cardinals-themed restaurant and rooftop seating for 300+ fans with views of the field across the street), a 20,000sqft (1,900m2) Budweiser Brew House, FOX Sports Midwest Live! and PBR, the $100million phase 1 development of Ballpark Village is intended to be a gathering space throughout the year, not just during the baseball season.[121]
Previous ballparks
Busch Stadium is the Cardinals' fourth home ballpark and the third to bear that name. The Cardinals' original home ballpark was Sportsman's Park from 1882 to 1892 when they played in the American Association and were known as the Browns. In 1893, the Browns moved to a new ballpark five blocks northwest of Sportsman's Park which would serve as their home from 1893 to 1920. The new park was originally called New Sportsman's Park but became more commonly referred to as Robison Field.[122] Midway through the 1920 season, the Cardinals abandoned Robison Field and returned to the original Sportsman's Park and became tenants of their American League rivals, the St. Louis Browns. In 1953, the Anheuser-Busch Brewery purchased the Cardinals and the new owner subsequently also purchased Sportsman's Park from the Browns and renamed it Busch Stadium, later becoming Busch I. The Browns then left St. Louis for Baltimore after the season, becoming the Orioles. The Cardinals built Busch Memorial Stadium, or Busch II, in downtown St. Louis, opened it during the 1966 season and played there until 2005.[122] It was built as the multi-purpose stadium home of both the baseball Cardinals and the NFL football Cardinals, who are now the Arizona Cardinals; the NFL's Rams also played the first four games of their home schedule upon their arrival in St. Louis in 1995. The current Busch Stadium was constructed partly atop the site of Busch Memorial Stadium.
The Cardinals have exceeded the attendance total of 3 million every season from 2004 to 2019. Every season from 2013 to 2019, the Cardinals finished second among MLB franchises in home game attendance, surpassed only by the Los Angeles Dodgers each season. The Cardinals since 1987, have surpassed 3 million in 25 years, with the 25th season on September 18, 2023.[123]
The Cardinals have had few logos throughout their history, although those logos have evolved over time. The first logo associated with the Cardinals was an interlocking "SL" that appeared on the team's caps and or sleeves as early as 1899 or 1900 (depending on the source). Those early uniforms usually featured the name "St. Louis" on white home and gray road uniforms which both had cardinal red accents. During an 1899 road trip to Chicago, a girl in the stands remarked, "Oh, isn't that a lovely shade of cardinal." The team, known as the Perfectos at the time, changed its name to Cardinals the following season. In 1920, the "SL" largely disappeared from the team's uniforms, and for the next 20 years the team wore caps that were white with red striping and a red bill.[125][126]
In 1922, the Cardinals wore uniforms for the first time that featured two cardinal birds perched on a baseball bat over the name "Cardinals" with the letter "C" of the word hooked over the bat. The concept of the birds originated after general managerBranch Rickey noticed a colorful cardboard arrangement featuring cardinal birds on a table in a Presbyterianchurch in Ferguson, Missouri, at which he was speaking. The arrangement's production was by a woman named Allie May Schmidt. Schmidt's father, a graphic designer, helped Rickey make the logo a familiar staple on Cardinals uniforms.[127] While the team had been known as the Cardinals for over 20 years by then, this logo changed the perception from the color to the bird.[126] The now-famous "birds on the bat" design initially appeared with the birds perched on a black bat and "Cardinals" in printed letters. An alternate version of this logo with "St. Louis" replacing "Cardinals" appeared in 1930 and was the primary logo in 1931 and 1932 before "Cardinals" returned. In 1940, the now-familiar "StL" logo was introduced on the team's caps. The interlocking "StL" has undergone several slight modifications over the years but has appeared on the team's caps every year since. The first appearance of the "STL" in 1940 coincided with the introduction of navy blue as a uniform color. From 1940 until 1955, the team wore navy blue caps with red bills and a red interlocking "StL" while the jerseys featured both cardinal red and navy blue accents. In 1951, the "birds on the bat" logo was changed to feature a yellow baseball bat.[128]
In 1956, the Cardinals changed their caps to solid blue with a red "StL", removing the red bill. Also, for that season only, the Cardinals wore a script "Cardinals" wordmark on their uniforms excluding the "birds on the bat". An updated version of the "birds on the bat" logo returned in 1957 with the word "Cardinals" written in cursive beneath the bat; this logo, with some incremental changes along the way, has been the team's logo since. In 1962, the Cardinals became the first National League team (and the second in all of Major League Baseball after the Chicago White Sox in 1960) to display players' names on the back of their jerseys. In 1964, while retaining their blue caps for road games, the Cardinals changed their home caps to all red with first a blue, than a white, interlocking "StL". The next year, the red caps were the only cap worn by the team full-time. In 1967, the birds on the bat emblem on the jersey was again tweaked, making the birds more realistic and changing the position of their tails relative to the bat and this version remained on all Cardinals game jerseys through 1997.
In 1971, following the trend in baseball at the time, the Cardinals replaced the traditional flannel front-button shirts and pants with belts with new pullover knit jerseys and beltless elastic waist pants. In 1973, the crew-neck collar became a V-neck. Another trend in baseball led the Cardinals to change their road uniforms from gray to light blue from 1976 to 1984; the player numbers were worn on the sleeves in 1979 and 1980. In 1992, the Cardinals returned to wearing traditional button-down shirts and pants with belts. That same year, they also brought back the all-navy cap with a red "StL", which were last worn in 1964, for use on the road only while wearing the same red and white cap for home games.
In 1998, the "birds on the bat" was updated for the first time in 30 years with more detailed birds and bolder letters. That year, St. Louis introduced a cap featuring a single cardinal bird perched on a bat worn for Sunday home games only. Up until 2020, the alternate "bird" caps were paired with their primary "StL" red batting helmets, but in the 2021 season, the Cardinals added a new helmet to match their home Sunday alternate caps. The new birds on the bat design was modified again the next year, with yellow beaks and white eyes replacing the red beaks and yellow eyes of the 1998 version. Uniform numbers also returned to the front of the jerseys in 1999 after a two-year absence.[128]
On November 16, 2012, the Cardinals unveiled a new alternate uniform to be worn at home games on Saturdays beginning with the 2013 season. The modified jersey, cream-colored with red trim on the sleeves and down the front, retains the "birds on the bat" but is the first since 1932 in which "St. Louis" is used instead of "Cardinals".[129] 2013 also saw the team adopt their red caps as their main cap for both home and away games for the first time since 1991; the navy cap was retained as an alternate, used when visiting other teams with red home caps.[128]
Starting with the 2019 season, the Cardinals have worn updated powder blue alternate uniforms during Saturday road games. Like the Saturday home cream alternates, it features red piping and "St. Louis" below the "birds on the bat" logo.[130] In 2020, the Cardinals introduced a slightly updated version of their "StL" cap logo, which was "soft launched" in 2019 via their social media accounts and game broadcasts.[131]
In 2023, the Cardinals introduced Stifel as its first uniform sponsor. The Stifel patch, which has red letters with the background color corresponding to the team's uniform, is placed on either sleeve depending on a player's handedness.[2]
In 2024, the Cardinals unveiled their City Connect uniform. The red-based uniform with white pants maintained the trademark "birds on the bat" logo in front, but with the script "The Lou" in white trimmed in navy blue instead of either the city or team name. "The Lou" paid homage to rapper Nelly, a St. Louis native who once coined the city's nickname on his 2000 single Country Grammar. Darker red wavy pinstripes were an allusion to the Mississippi River where St. Louis is situated. A red circular patch containing a yellow fleur-de-lis, a navy blue illustration of the Gateway Arch, and a red "STL" wordmark, is placed on either sleeve. Caps are red and featured the aforementioned "STL" wordmark in white with navy blue trim.[132]
Stan Musial wearing the Cardinals' 1950s road uniform with the original navy cap and red bill.
Whitey Herzog wearing the Cardinals' home pullover uniform, used from 1971 to 1991.
Matt Carpenter wearing the Cardinals' current home uniform with the all-red batting helmet.
Albert Pujols wearing the Cardinals' current home uniform with the alternate Sunday 'bird-on-a-bat' cap.
John Mabry wearing the Cardinals' current Saturday alternate home uniform.
John Gant wearing the Cardinals' current road uniform with the primary all-red cap.
Matt Carpenter wearing the Cardinals' current road uniform with the alternate all-navy cap.
The team mascot is an anthropomorphic cardinal wearing the team's uniform named Fredbird. He is assisted by Team Fredbird, a group of eleven women who entertain fans from the field and on top of the dugouts.
While unofficial, the Rally Squirrel became an unexpected phenomenon during the 2011 postseason. Making its "debut" in Game 3 of the NLDS on October 4, a squirrel ran across home plate in the middle of a pitch from Roy Oswalt of the Phillies to the Cardinals' Skip Schumaker. The Cardinals would win Game 4 and subsequently Game 5 (October 7) in Philadelphia to advance to the NLCS, symbolizing the squirrel's "role" in the victory. The squirrel was popularized as "Buschie the Rally Squirrel".[133] As a tribute to the popularity of the squirrel, a small depiction of the Rally Squirrel is also included on the official World Series rings the team received. It shows up under the "STL" logo on the side of the ring.
Fredbird sparked controversy in May 2015, when he was asked by a fan for a photograph and handed him a sign that said "Police Lives Matter". The team later claimed that Fredbird should not be involved in any political activity or social commentary.[134]
The Cardinals–Cubs rivalry refers to games between the Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs. The rivalry is also known as the Downstate Illinois rivalry or the I-55 Series (in earlier years as the Route 66 Series) as both cities are located along Interstate 55 (which itself succeeded the famous U.S. Route 66). The Cubs lead the series 1,253–1,196, through October 2021, while the Cardinals lead in National League pennants with 19 against the Cubs' 17. The Cubs have won 11 of those pennants in Major League Baseball's Modern Era (1901–present), while all 19 of the Cardinals' pennants have been won since 1926. The Cardinals also have an edge when it comes to World Series successes, having won 11 championships to the Cubs' 3. Games featuring the Cardinals and Cubs see numerous visiting fans in either Busch Stadium in St. Louis or Wrigley Field in Chicago.[135] When the National League split into two and then three divisions, the Cardinals and Cubs remained together. This has added excitement to several pennant races over the years. The Cardinals and Cubs have played each other once in the postseason, 2015 National League Division Series, which the Cubs won 3–1.
The Cardinals have an interleague and intrastate rivalry with the Kansas City Royals, dubbed the "Show-Me Series" after the nickname of the team's home state, Missouri; or the "I–70 Series" after the interstate highway that connects the cities. The teams first met in the 1985 World Series, which the Royals won 4–3, and which remains their only post-season meeting.
Since interleague play began in 1997, the Cardinals and Royals have met in four to six games each season, evenly split between the two cities. As of 2021, the Cardinals lead the overall series 71–50.
The rivalry heated up in 2015, when both teams held the best records in their respective leagues when they opened each of their two series. The Royals advanced to the World Series, where they faced and ultimately defeated the New York Mets, while the Cardinals lost in the NLDS. Had the Cardinals made it to the World Series, they would have faced the Royals in a rematch of 1985.
Primarily a playoff rivalry; since 1892, The Cardinals and Dodgers have met 6 times in the postseason with 2 meetings in the NLCS won by the Cardinals. Both teams have recently grown a history of animosity towards one another since the late 2000s as both teams often met frequently in the postseason. The Dodgers have not fared as well against the Cardinals in the postseason. In five prior postseason series matchups, the Cardinals have won four with the Dodgers winning only the 2009 NLDS and the 2021 National League Wild Card Game.[136][137]
New York Mets
The rivalry between the Cardinals and the New York Mets peaked during the 1980s when both teams contended for National League East supremacy. The rivalry began with the 1983 trade that brought Keith Hernandez from the Cardinals to the Mets, essentially turning the latter into contenders.[138] Between 1985 and 1988, the division was dominated by either of the two teams, and in three of those years, the NL East winner went on to the World Series. In 1994, the Cardinals were moved to the National League Central, and the rivalry faded soon after. The two teams would meet in the 2000 and 2006National League Championship Series, briefly rekindling the rivalry.[139][140][141][142]
An investment group led by William DeWitt Jr. owns the St. Louis Cardinals, having bought the team from Anheuser-Busch (AB) in 1996.[143] As with other periods of the Cardinals' transaction history, doubt loomed as to whether the purchaser would keep the team in St. Louis, due to the city's status as a "small market", which appears to handicap a club's competitiveness. Such was the case when Sam Breadon put the Cardinals up for sale in 1947: then-NL PresidentFord Frick proposed moving the Cardinals to Chicago.[144] When AB placed the Cardinals for sale in 1995, they publicly expressed intention to find a buyer who would keep the club in St. Louis.[145] In March 1996, AB sold the team for $147million to a partnership headed by Southwest Bank's Drew Baur, Hanser and DeWitt Jr.[144] Civic Center Redevelopment, a subsidiary of AB, held the parking garages and adjacent property and also transferred them to the Baur ownership group.[146] Baur's group then sold the garages to another investment group, lowering the net franchise purchase price to about $100million, about $10million less than Financial World's value of the team at the time $110million.[145][147]
Current Cincinnati Reds owners Bob Castellini and brothers Thomas Williams and W. Joseph Williams Jr. each once owned a stake in the Cardinals dating back to the Baur-DeWitt group's purchase of the team. To allow their purchase of the Reds in 2005, the rest of the group bought out Castellini's and the Williams brothers' shares, totaling an estimated 13 percent. At that time, the Forbes valued the Cardinals at about $370million.[148] However, after reabsorbing that stake into the remainder of the group, they decided to make it available to new investors in 2010. Amid later allegations that the Cardinals owed the city profit shares, DeWitt revealed that their profitability had not reached the threshold to trigger that obligation.[149]
Recent annual financial records
As of 2024, Forbes valued the Cardinals tenth among the 30 MLB franchises. Their estimated value of $2.55 billion was the same from the season before, when they ranked tenth. St. Louis' revenue in 2024 was $372 million, up $14 million from 2023. Their Operating income was $57 million.[150] The Cardinals' deal with Fox Sports Midwest (now Bally Sports Midwest), signed in 2015, began in 2018, and is worth $1 billion through 2032.[151][10][11][152][153][154] In 2014, Forbes valued the Cardinals at $820 million and opined previously that they play "in the best single-team baseball market in the country and are among the league's leaders in television ratings and attendance every season."[154] Concurrent with the growth of Major League Baseball, the Cardinals value has increased significantly since the Baur-DeWitt purchase. In 2000, the franchise was valued at $219 million,[155] a growth rate of 374% through 2014. The franchise's value grew 12.7% from 2013 to 2014. The Forbes methodology of team values are enterprise values (equity plus net debt) that include the economics of the ballpark but exclude the value of real estate itself. Forbes does not include the value of team-owned regional sports networks. The league's ownership in Major League Baseball Advanced Media (100%) and the MLB Network (67%) and league's investment portfolio are included in our values. In total, these three assets constitute about $425 million in value for each team. Revenue and operating income (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) measure cash in versus cash out (not accrual accounting) for the 2017 season. Their figures include the post-season and are net of revenue sharing and stadium debt payments. Revenues include the pro-rated upfront bonuses networks pay teams as well as proceeds from non-MLB events at the ballpark. The non-recurring $18 million each team received in 2017 from the sale of a stake in BamTech to Walt Disney was excluded, as were profits or losses from team-owned RSNs.[156]
2 Net of stadium revenues used for debt payments. 3 Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. 4 Includes benefits and bonuses. 5 Compares the number of wins per player payroll relative to the rest of MLB. Playoff wins count twice as much as regular season wins. A score of 120 means that the team achieved 20% more victories per dollar of payroll compared with the league average in 2010.
MVP Awards: 17 different Cardinal players have won a total of 21 Most Valuable Player awards, the most recent being Paul Goldschmidt in 2022. Albert Pujols and Stan Musial have collected the most MVPs with three apiece. Bob Gibson won both the Cy Young Award and the MVP award in 1968.[192] The Cardinals are second only to the New York Yankees' 22 MVP awards.[193]
Hitting for the cycle: 19 different Cardinal players have hit for the cycle for a total of 21 times, the most recent being Nolan Arenado in 2022.[194]
Joe Medwick's Triple Crown in 1937 is the last in the history of the National League.
Triple Crown: Four of the 16 batting Triple Crowns in the major leagues (including three of only six in the National League) were by Cardinals. Tip O'Neill won the only American Association Triple Crown and the first in franchise history in 1887. Rogers Hornsby became the only two-time winner in NL history when he did it in 1922 and 1925 (Ted Williams won two AL Triple Crowns). Joe Medwick's Triple Crown in 1937 is the last in the history of the National League.[195] Hornsby's 1925 numbers led the entire major leagues, making him one of only five players to have won this expanded Triple Crown.
Four home runs in a row by consecutive batters:Nolan Arenado, Nolan Gorman, Juan Yepez, and Dylan Carlson hit consecutive home runs on July 2, 2022, off starting pitcher Kyle Gibson of the Phillies. This feat has only occurred eleven times in the history of Major League Baseball.[200]
Two grand slams in a single inning:Fernando Tatís is the only player in Major League history to hit two grand slam home runs in the same inning, on April 23, 1999. Both were against Chan Ho Park of the Dodgers.[201]
In 2014, the Cardinals announced the reopening of the franchise Hall of Fame after a 6-year hiatus. A formal selection process recognizes former players as Cardinals Hall of Famers each year. To be eligible for election, a player must have been a member of the Cardinals for at least three seasons. The team initially released the names of 22 former players and personnel included in the inaugural class of 2014.[203] There are now 55 members of the Cardinals Hall of Fame.
The Cardinals have retired 13 total jersey numbers––second in MLB only to the New York Yankees' 22––in honoring 15 total former players and club personnel on the left field wall at Busch Stadium.[206][207] A 16th, Jackie Robinson, is honored by all MLB teams.[208] For the majority of Rogers Hornsby's career, the Cardinals did not have any numbers on their uniforms. When the Cardinals experimented with numbers on uniforms in 1923, Hornsby briefly donned the number 4. He switched to 6 the following season before the team abandoned the practice. Upon his return to the team in 1933, Hornsby again wore number 4 before being traded later that year. The club opted to simply honor his name with no number attached to him in 1997.
Hornsby: When honored in 1997, '"SL"' was used in place of a number as he played mostly in an era without numbers.[209]
42:Jackie Robinson's number 42 was retired throughout baseball in 1997. The Cardinals again retired 42 in September 2006 in honor of Sutter, who was elected to the Hall of Fame earlier in the year.
85: Cardinal stockholders honored Busch with the number 85 on his 85th birthday in 1984.
51:Willie McGee's (OF, 1982–1990, 1996–1999; Coach, 2018–2024) number has not been reissued since late in the 2001 season, except for when he became a coach on the Cardinals' staff and was reissued the number.[210]
The 2011 season marked the Cardinals' return to KMOX following five seasons on KTRS (550 AM), a station which is 50 percent owned by the Cardinals. With a partnership spanning seven decades, and continuously since 1954, its conclusion was realized after the 2005 season when the then owners of KMOX, CBS Radio, and the Cardinals failed to reach terms on a new rights agreement. However, frustrated by the underpowered coverage of 5,000-watt KTRS, the Cardinals reached a new deal with KMOX in 2011.
Starting in 2013 (at age 74), Mike Shannon started reducing his workload. As of the 2016 season, he only called home games for the Cardinals. As of the 2019 season, his 47th in the broadcast booth, he surpassed Jack Buck, his long-time broadcast companion, as the longest-tenured Cardinal broadcaster.
On January 14, 2021, Shannon announced that the upcoming season, his 50th season in the broadcast booth, would be his last.[214]
Cardinals Kids, a program aimed at the team's younger fans, airs weekly in-season on Fox Sports Midwest. It is hosted by former Cardinals pitcher Brad Thompson, team mascot Fredbird, and Busch Stadium Public Address announcer John "The U-Man" Ulett. The 30-minute show began airing in 2003 and presents team news, player profiles, and Cardinals team history in a kid-friendly manner along with games and trivia.[218]
A weekly magazine program, This Week in Cardinal Nation, airs on St. Louis' NBC affiliate KSDK. Cardinals games had been seen on KSDK (and its predecessor, KSD-TV) from 1947 through 1958, 1963 through 1987, and 2007 until 2010. KPLR-TV was the Cardinals' other over-the-air broadcaster, carrying games from 1959 through 1962 and from 1988 until 2006.
↑ In 1981, the Cardinals finished with the overall best record in the East Division. However, a players' strike in the middle of the season forced the season to be split into two halves. St. Louis finished second in both halves and was thereby deprived of a post-season appearance.
↑ In 2001, the Cardinals and the Houston Astros finished the season with identical records of 93–69 and finished tied for first place in the Central Division standings. The Cardinals claimed it was a shared championship but MLB disagreed.[3] For playoff seeding, the NL Central slot went to Houston and St. Louis was awarded the wild card berth.
↑ Most sources consider the 1882 Brown Stockings to represent the beginning of the St. Louis Cardinals (if it was not the even earlier 1875 or 1878 clubs) but the St. Louis Cardinals baseball club itself considers its history to have begun in 1892 when the team (still called the St. Louis Browns) joined the National League.[22][23]
↑ Although the St. Louis Cardinals do not officially recognize their era in the American Association (AA) as part of their Major League history, Major League Baseball recognized that incarnation of the AA in 1968, as well as other historic leagues, existing as former Major Leagues.
Related Research Articles
Busch Memorial Stadium was a multi-purpose sports facility in St. Louis, Missouri, that operated for 40 years, from 1966 through 2005. Built as Civic Center Busch Memorial Stadium, its official name was shortened to Busch Stadium in January 1982.
Robert Gibson, nicknamed "Gibby" and "Hoot", was an American baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1959 to 1975. Known for his fiercely competitive nature, Gibson tallied 251 wins, 3,117 strikeouts, and a 2.91 earned run average. A nine-time All-Star and two-time World Series Champion, he won two Cy Young Awards and the 1968 National League Most Valuable Player Award.
Dorrel Norman Elvert "Whitey" Herzog was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager, most notable for his Major League Baseball (MLB) managerial career.
Raymond Lewis Lankford is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres. He was known for his combination of power, speed, and defensive prowess.
Busch Stadium is a baseball stadium located in St. Louis, Missouri. It is the home of Major League Baseball's St. Louis Cardinals. It has a seating capacity of 44,383, with 3,706 club seats and 61 luxury suites. It replaced Busch Memorial Stadium and occupies a portion of that stadium's former footprint. A commercial area dubbed Ballpark Village was built adjacent to the stadium over the remainder of the former stadium's footprint.
Richard Charles Wise is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher between 1964 and 1982 for the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians and the San Diego Padres. The two-time National League All-Star pitched a no-hitter on June 23, 1971 - and slugged two home runs to support his own effort. Wise was the winning pitcher for the Boston Red Sox in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, considered by some to be the greatest Series game ever played.
Joseph Robert Cunningham Jr. was an American baseball first baseman and outfielder who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago White Sox, and Washington Senators from 1954 to 1966. He batted and threw left-handed, and was a two-time All-Star.
Kenneth John Reitz was an American baseball third baseman who played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "Zamboni", he played for the St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, and Pittsburgh Pirates from 1972 to 1982. He won the Gold Glove Award in 1975 and was an All-Star in 1980. He retired with the highest all-time career fielding percentage for National League third basemen at .970 after leading the National League in fielding percentage a record six times.
The St. Louis Cardinals 2005 season was the team's 124th season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 114th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 100–62 during the season and won the National League Central by 11 games over the NL Wild-Card Champion and eventual NL Champion Houston Astros. In the playoffs the Cardinals swept the San Diego Padres 3 games to 0 in the NLDS. However, the Cardinals lost to the Astros 4 games to 2 in the NLCS.
The St. Louis Cardinals 2004 season was the team's 123rd season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 113th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 105–57 during the season, the most wins of any team in baseball that year, the most wins by any Cardinals team since 1944, and the first Cardinal team to win 100 or more games since 1985, and won the National League Central by 13 games over the NL Wild-Card Champion Houston Astros. In the playoffs the Cardinals defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 3 games to 1 in the NLDS and the Astros 4 games to 3 in the NLCS to reach their first World Series since 1987. In the World Series the Cardinals faced the Boston Red Sox and were swept 4 games to 0. It was the final World Series played at Busch Memorial Stadium. Because the American League had home-field advantage as a result of winning the All-Star Game, Busch Memorial Stadium was where the Curse of the Bambino died.
The 1962 New York Mets season was the first regular season for the Mets, as the National League returned to New York City for the first time since 1957. They went 40–120 (.250) and finished tenth and last in the National League, 60+1⁄2 games behind the NL Champion San Francisco Giants, who had once called New York home. The Mets were the latest team to be 60+ games behind in a division before the 2018 Baltimore Orioles finished 61 games behind the World Series Champion Boston Red Sox. The Mets' 120 losses were the most losses in modern MLB history until the 2024 Chicago White Sox lost 121; though their winning percentage (.250) is still lower than the 2024 Sox (.253). The Mets' starting pitchers also recorded a new major league low of just 23 wins all season.
The 1966 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 37th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played on July 12, 1966, at then-new Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, home of the St. Louis Cardinals of the National League.
The St. Louis Cardinals 2012 season was the 131st season for the franchise in St. Louis, Missouri, the 121st season in the National League, and the seventh at Busch Stadium III. The Cardinals made their 25th trip to the postseason in 2012 after taking the NL Wild Card title by one game over the Atlanta Braves on the last day of the regular season in 2011. They began the 2012 season away against the Miami Marlins on April 4. St. Louis was coming off a 90–72 (.556) season, a second-place finish in the National League Central Division, the aforementioned wild card berth, and their National League-leading 11th World Series championship.
The 2013 St. Louis Cardinals season was the 132nd for the baseball team in St. Louis, Missouri, the 122nd season in the National League (NL), and the eighth at Busch Stadium III. On Opening Day, April 1, the St. Louis Cardinals played the 20,000th game in franchise history against the Arizona Diamondbacks, dating back to the start of their American Association (AA) play in 1882. Heading into the 2013 season, St. Louis had an all-time winning percentage of .518.
The St. Louis Cardinals, a professional baseball franchise based in St. Louis, Missouri, compete in the National League (NL) of Major League Baseball (MLB). In 1953, the Anheuser-Busch (AB) brewery bought the Cardinals, and August "Gussie" Busch became team president. Busch's influence is still seen today as three of the Cardinals' home stadia are or were named some form of Busch Stadium. Three World Series titles in the 1960s and 1980s, contrasted with missing the playoffs for the entirety of the 1950s and 1970s checkered the team's success distinctly by decades. However, the team still remained generally competitive in each of those decades - they did not see a last place finish until 1990, which had been the first since 1918. With Busch's tenure as owner, the Cardinals also won six NL pennants.
Stephen Edward Piscotty is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals and Oakland Athletics.
The St. Louis Cardinals 2014 season was the 133rd for the franchise in St. Louis, Missouri, the 123rd season in the National League (NL), and the ninth at Busch Stadium III. The Cardinals entered 2014 as the defending NL champions.
References
↑ Getzenberg, Alaina (September 18, 2017). "Schmidt's vision inspired iconic red bird logo". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved December 2, 2018. There are few logos in baseball as closely linked to a team as the "Birds on the Bat" is to the Cardinals. The red birds that are now inseparable from the Cardinal name, however, were not featured by the team in its earliest days. Rather, the name originally referred to the color cardinal red.
1 2 "Cardinals announce Stifel as club's first jersey patch sponsor". Cardinals.com (Press release). MLB Advanced Media. May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 28, 2023. "We are proud to partner with Stifel in unveiling our first jersey patch sponsor," said St. Louis Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III. "We worked closely with Ron Kruszewski and his team at Stifel on the patch design to make sure it fit tastefully on our iconic uniform, and they even agreed to slightly modify their word mark to fit the red and blue color combination that we use for our classic 'Birds on the Bat' logo. Both Ron and I are confident that this design strikes the perfect balance between preserving the integrity of our uniform while providing great exposure for Stifel."
↑ Doug Feldman. Dizzy and the Gashouse Gang: The 1934 St. Louis Cardinals and Depression-Era Baseball. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2000. 215pp.
↑ Newhan, Ross (July 5, 1987). "A Deep Team Rises to Top Despite Injuries, Cardinals Are Flying High and Leading NL East". Los Angeles Times. p.Sports 3.
↑ Lupica, Matt (January 2012). "Busch Stadium". The Baseball Stadium Insider: A Comprehensive Dissection of All Thirty Ballparks, the Legendary Players, and the Memorable Moments. Bloomington, Indiana: iUniverse. p.221. A lifetime .358 hitter, Hornsby was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 1942, and the Cardinals honored him alongside the retired numbers with the 'SL' symbol due to his playing days predating the use of numbers.
↑ Snyder, John. Cardinals Journal: Year by Year and Day by Day with the St. Louis Cardinals Since 1882. Clerisy Press. p.689. ISBN9781578604807.
Judd, Dennis (2002). The Infrastructure of Play: Building the Tourist City. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe. ISBN978-0-7656-0956-4.
Taylor, Phil (October 31, 2011). "Where's The Boo In Booster?". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on October 29, 2011. Retrieved October 28, 2011. Redbird Nation's reputation as the most knowledgeable, loyal and, above all, friendly fans in the majors ... 'Our fans are the best because they're just as passionate as anywhere else, ..., but they're probably a little more fair-minded,' says St. Louis managerTony La Russa.
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2024 St. Louis Cardinals season 
