There has been a lot of talented hitters over the years for the St. Louis Cardinals. There are five players in team history with over 2,000 career hits. One of the players has over 3,600 hits and was considered one of the best. There is nothing like looking back on Cardinals history and seeing what these great players did during their time. As we remember the history of this team, let’s take a look at the top five St. Louis Cardinals career hitters.
Top Five St. Louis Cardinals Career Hitters
Stan Musial (3,630 Hits)
Stan “The Man” Musial is the player with over 3,600 career hits and is considered one of the best if not the best players in Cardinals history. He is at the top in over half of the offensive statistical categories. Musial is not only the all-time hits leader but he also leads the team in WAR, runs scored, runs-batted-in, total bases, extra-base hits, singles, doubles, triples, and home runs. Every team was afraid to pitch to him because of his amazing talent. Even more amazing than holding all of these records was that he went to an incredible 24 all-star games, won three MVPs with seven batting titles, and lead St. Louis to three World Series in five years between 1942 and 1946. Musial had an incredible career and as the great Ford C. Frick said “Here stands baseball’s perfect warrior. Here stands baseball’s perfect knight.”
Lou Brock (2,713 Hits)
The Cardinals pulled off one of the best trades in history. They got the great Lou Brock from none other than the Chicago Cubs. He had a couple of good seasons for the Cubs but the Cardinals got the better end of the stick. Brock was an all-around great player with his bat and his glove. With St. Louis, he made it to six all-star games while becoming a World Series winner. He was also great on the bases as he broke Ty Cobb‘s all-time stolen base record which was 892. Brock retired in St. Louis with a batting average of .297 and 2,713 hits as a Cardinal. He was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1985 on his first try.
Rogers Hornsby (2,110 Hits)
For 13 years, the Cardinals had one of the best hitters in the league at the time. Rogers Hornsby was a hard-nosed player who worked very hard to be perfect at his craft. As a Cardinal, he won six batting titles, two triple-crowns, and an MVP with a World Series. Between 1920-1925, he had a batting average of .402. Hornsby is near or at the top in a lot of Cardinals statistical categories. He was finally elected into the Hall of Fame in 1942. Hornsby was truly a pure hitter and he was must-see when he was at the plate.
Albert Pujols (2,073 Hits)
Albert Pujols was like a man-made machine in St. Louis. For 11 years, he brought St. Louis to their feet every time he was up to the plate and the numbers show why. As a Cardinal, he had a batting average of .328 with 445 home runs. Pujols had a lot of great accomplishments and brought home a lot of hardware.
He made nine all-star games, won Rookie of the Year along with three MVPs and two World Series rings. Even though Pujols hit his 600th career home run with the Los Angeles Angels, Cardinals fans still love to talk about his time in St. Louis and like to see him succeed. Many hope that he someday finds his way back into the Cardinals organization at some point. He will go down as one of the best Cardinals to ever play the game.
Enos Slaughter (2,064 Hits)
Enos Slaughter played with four teams but he’s mainly known for his years as a Cardinal. He loved the game of baseball so much and he always gave 100 percent every time he took the field. From 1938 to 1953, Slaughter made it to ten all-star games, all with the Cardinals. He had over 2,000 hits with 1,148 runs-batted-in and 146 home runs. Slaughter served the United States of America during World War ll from 1943 to 1945. When he came back, he didn’t miss a beat as he won a World Series. If he’d stayed in the league, his numbers would be exponentially better. He was a great inspiration to many while doing great things for the Cardinals.
Around The Diamond
If we went down even further on this list, you would find Yadier Molina at number seven with 1,963 career hits. He’s only 18 hits away from the great Red Schoendienst for sixth all-time. With what might be a couple more years left in his career, Molina can make pass Red and even pass Slaughter and Pujols if time allows. These are all some of the greatest hitters in Cardinals history and it’s been a privilege to watch or read about what they’ve done for this team. over the years.
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