MLB Top 5: St. Louis Cardinals Middle Infielders

This is the third article in a series that looks at the five best players at each position for the St. Louis Cardinals. In this installment are second basemen and shortstops.

When you look at the deepest positions among all-time teams, the ones most often mentioned are first base or the outfield. The Cardinals are unique due to their three Hall of Famers at second base, with the other two on the list manning the keystone position for about a decade. Although shortstop is not as deep, the position is led by an acrobatic “wizard” who has been a fan favorite in St. Louis for decades.

The Best Second Basemen and Shortstops in St. Louis Cardinals History

Second Basemen

Honorable Mentions – Although very little is known about the early years of William “Yank” Robinson, he was born in Philadelphia, traveled to Boston for a baseball tryout and made his professional debut with the Detroit Wolverines in 1882. After a stint with Baltimore of the Union Association, he joined the Browns in 1885, using his speed and versatility to become one of the best players in the young league. Robinson was a part of four pennant-winning St. Louis teams, batting .274 with 22 runs, 34 hits, eight doubles, 14 RBIs and eight stolen bases in four World’s Series appearances, but he also butted heads with management including going on strike for several games during the 1889 season. He spent the following year with Pittsburgh of the Federal League and most of 1891 with Cincinnati of the American Association before playing one final game with the Browns, finishing his six-year tenure (1885-89 and ’91) with 462 runs, 537 hits, 100 doubles, 303 RBIs and 221 steals (four seasons of 30 or more, including a career-best 75 in 1887) in 603 games. Robinson played one final major league season with the National League’s Washington Senators in 1892 The following year, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis and continued to lose weight until passing away in 1894 at age 34.

Miller Huggins was the son of English immigrants who generously was listed as 5-foot-6. The lack of height led “Mighty Mite” to use his smarts and determination to succeed, and he became an excellent second baseman in the Deadball Era. Huggins spent the first half of his career with the Reds and was traded to the Cardinals following a 1909 season marred by an arm injury. In addition to timely hitting and slick fielding, he was named the manager in St Louis in 1913, leading the team to a pair of winning records despite the roster being depleted by the Federal League. Huggins finished his seven seasons with the Cardinals (1910-16) with a .270 average, 507 runs, 740 hits, 164 RBIs, 174 stolen bases (including four seasons with 30 or more) and a .402 on-base percentage (ninth in franchise history). The 1913 fielding champion led the league in walks twice and amassed a 346-415 record in five seasons as a manager (1913-17). Huggins was hired by the Yankees the following year and led “Murderer’s Row” to the first six pennants and three championships in franchise history, as well as a 1,067-719 record in 12 seasons. He developed a bacterial skin infection on his cheek during the 1919 season that spread throughout his body and took his life on September 25 at age 51. Huggins was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1964.

Jose Oquendo was a Puerto Rico-born player who spent his first two seasons with the Mets and became a jack-of-all-trades after joining the Cardinals in 1986. Although he spent most of his time at second base and shortstop, he played every position in 1988, including a four-inning appearance against the Braves. Not only could Oquendo be plugged in anywhere in the lineup, but he was effective no matter where he was in the field, earning his “Secret Weapon” nickname. In 10 seasons (1986-95), he batted .264 with 287 runs, 709 hits and 227 RBIs in 989 games. The two-time fielding champion appeared in 12 games during the 1987 playoffs, totaling five runs, eight hits, one home runs and six RBIs to help St. Louis reach the World Series. Following his playing days, Oquendo spent nearly 20 years as a minor and major league infield instructor, a minor league manager and special assistant with the Cardinals.

Although Fernando Viña earned two gold gloves during four seasons with the Cardinals (2000-03), he was best known for two infamous moments. With the Brewers in 1996, he was caught off guard and knocked over by Indians star Albert Belle, leading to a five-game suspension for the slugger. More than a decade later, Viña was mentioned in the Mitchell Report and admitted to using human growth hormones to recover from an injury in 2003. He batted .285 with 286 runs and 570 hits with St. Louis and added 13 runs, 31 hits, two homers and nine RBIs in 21 playoff games. Viña signed with the Tigers but missed most of the 2004 season and all of 2005 due to several knee and leg injuries. He retired the following year after a hip injury during spring training led to his release by the Mariners.

Kolten Wong was a Hawaiian-born star who was selected by the Cardinals in the first round in 2011, played in the MLB All-Star Futures Games in each of the next two seasons and reached the major leagues in 2013. He was a decent offensive producer throughout his eight seasons in St. Louis (2013-20) and was even better in the field, winning two gold gloves and a Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2019. Wong batted .261 with 351 runs, 703 hits, 124 doubles, 53 home runs, 281 RBIs and 1,036 total bases in 852 games with St. Louis. He added 10 runs, 20 hits, eight doubles, five homers, 15 RBIs and four steals in 31 playoff contests and played with the Cardinals during their loss to the Red Sox in the 2013 World Series. Wong spent time with the Brewers, Mariners and Dodgers and was released from the Diamondbacks’ minor league system in May 2024.

5. Tommy Herr – He signed with the Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 1974 and joined the big-league club after five seasons in the minor leagues. The light-hitting but productive Herr was a part of three pennant-winning teams, playing in 37 games and amassing nine runs, 31 hits, nine doubles, two home runs and 15 RBIs, including five against the Brewers in the 1982 World Series. He had three knee surgeries the following year, then had his best season in 1985, earning his only All-Star selection after batting. 302 and set career highs with 97 runs, 180 hits, 38 doubles, eight homers, 110 RBIs and 31 stolen bases. After helping the Cardinals reach the World Series in 1987, Herr was traded the following year to the team they lost to, the Twins. He finished his 10-year Cardinals career (1979-88) with a .274 average, 498 runs, 1,021 hits, 179 doubles, 435 RBIs, 152 stolen bases and 1,319 total bases in 1,029 games. Herr played for four teams over his final four seasons before retiring in 1992. He spent five years as a minor league and independent team manager and has been out of baseball since 2010.

4. Julian Javier – Although Hall of Famers occupy the top three spots on this list, he has spent the most seasons as the starter at second base than anyone in franchise history. The bespectacled Javier was originally signed by the Pirates but was blocked at the position by Bill Mazeroski and was sent to the Cardinals before the 1960 season in a trade that benefited both teams. Pittsburgh won the World Series that year and St. Louis received a slick fielder with great speed, incredible range and little power who would develop one of the best bunters in the game.

Over the next dozen seasons (1960-71), “The Phantom” earned two All-Star selections and led National League second basemen in putouts twice. He was part of an all-Cardinals All-Star infield in 1963 and helped the team win the pennant the following year, although a hip injury limited him to just one World Series game in the win over the Yankees. Javier earned the only MVP consideration in 1967, when he batted .281 and hit a career-high 14 home runs, then rapped nine hits in a title-winning effort against the Red Sox. He was traded to the Reds for one final season in 1972, finishing his Cardinals career with 719 runs, 1,450 hits, 214 doubles, 55 triples, 76 home runs, 494 RBIs, 134 stolen bases and 2,002 total bases in 1,578 games. After one season managing in Mexico, Javier returned to his native Dominican Republic and set up youth and professional teams and leagues to help develop the game for future generations. His son, Stan, enjoyed a 17-year major league career and won a championship with Oakland in 1989.

3. Albert “Red” Schoendienst – He grew up in Illinois and dropped out of high school to plant trees and work on roads in the Civilian Conservation Corps, a program started by President Franklin Roosevelt to help the economy rebound after the Great Depression. While building fences, Schoendienst was hit in the left eye with a stray staple. Doctors wanted to remove the eye, but he was able to save his vision with special exercises. “Red” worked on an airfield during World War II and had a successful tryout with the Cardinals in 1942, hitching a ride on a milk truck to get there. Three years later, he arrived in St. Louis and led the league with 26 stolen bases. The following year, he made his first of nine All-Star Games with the Cardinals and 10 overall.

Schoendienst continued to improve, both as a hitter and a fielder, and he led the league in doubles and sacrifices in 1950. Before that year’s All-Star Game, he told his teammates that he would hit a home run and did just that, winning the game with a blast in the 14th inning. While St. Louis went through changes to owners and managers and struggled in the standings, Schoendienst continued his solid play. He had his best season in 1953, finishing fourth in the MVP race with 193 hits to go with career highs with a .342 average, 107 runs, 15 homers and 79 RBIs. The Cardinals traded Schoendienst to the Giants during the 1956 season, and he also played with the Braves before returning to his original team in 1961. During his time away, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis and part of his lung was removed to aid in his recovery.

Schoendienst played his final three seasons with the Cardinals, finishing his 15-year tenure (1945-56 and 61-63) ranked sixth in franchise history in runs (1,025), seventh in games (1,795) and hits (1,980), eighth in doubles (352) and ninth in total bases (2,657) to go with a .289 average, 65 triples, 65 home runs and 651 runs batted in. The five-time fielding champion was a member of the 1946 championship team, smacking seven hits against the Red Sox in the World Series. After a little more than a year as a coach, Schoendienst was named manager, amassing a 1,041-955 record and back-to-back pennants (including a championship in 1967) during a 14-year run (1965-76, ’80 and ’90). He spent two years as a coach in Oakland and returned to St. Louis as in 1979, and he was a coach and special assistant for the next 39 years. Schoendienst was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1989 and passed away in 2018 at age 95.

2. Frankie Frisch – The Bronx-born Fordham graduate decided to play ball instead of joining his father in his successful business manufacturing lace and linen. Frisch joined the hometown Giants, becoming the sparkplug on a team that won four straight pennants and two World Series titles in eight seasons. The switch-hitter was great at making contact and stealing bases, but not at dealing with the criticisms of New York fans or management. The Giants sent him to the Cardinals for an equally disgruntled star (and the next player on this list), and Frisch rewarded his new team by batting .337 with 112 runs, 208 hits, 78 RBIs and a league-leading 48 steals to finish as the MVP runner-up in his first season with St. Louis.

“The Fordham Flash” was a part of four pennant-winning Cardinals teams and earned two more title victories during his 11-year tenure (1927-37). He was the MVP runner-up again in 1930 after batting .346 with 187 hits and 10 home runs, as well as career-best totals of 121 runs, 46 doubles and 114 RBIs. He followed that up by winning the MVP Award in a season in which he hit .311 and stole 28 bases to lead the league for a third time. Frisch had seven hits in the World Series, as the Cardinals avenged their loss to the Athletics the previous year. He was a player-manager on the “Gas House Gang” team and totaled six hits and four RBIs against the Tigers in 1934.

Frisch played in the first three All-Star Games, but his career wound down as focused on his managerial duties. He finished his St. Louis tenure with a .312 average, 831 runs, 1,577 hits, 286 doubles, 61 triples, 51 home runs, 720 RBIs, 195 stolen bases and 2,138 total bases in 1,311 games. Frisch was fired as Cardinals manager in 1938, and he amassed a 458-354 record during his six seasons at the helm (1933-38). He spent the next 13 years alternating between broadcasting in Boston and New York and managing in Pittsburgh and Chicago, leaving the game for good after being fired by the Cubs in 1951. Frisch was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1947 and later served as a leader of the group. He passed away in 1973 at age 75 after he was in an automobile accident on the way home from a committee meeting.

1. Rogers Hornsby – He is in the conversation as one of the game’s all-time greatest hitters, and he is arguably the best second baseman and right-handed batter in baseball history. Hornsby was born in Texas, played on adult teams as a teenager, and even donned a wig and bloomers to play on a traveling girls’ team. He eventually found his way to the minor leagues and was noticed by the Cardinals when they played his Class D team at the end of spring training. Hornsby made his debut in St. Louis as a 19-year-old in 1915, and he played all four infield positions in his first five seasons but was mostly used at shortstop. His breakthrough season was his first at second base in 1920, when he led the league with a .370 average, 218 hits, 44 doubles, 94 RBIs and 329 total bases.

Over the next six seasons, Hornsby won the batting title and led the league in slugging and on-base percentage each year, and he topped the National League in total bases five times, RBIs, hits and doubles four times apiece, runs three times and home runs twice. Unfortunately, the N.L. did not have an MVP Award in 1922 because he would have won it easily. Hornsby won the Triple Crown and dominated almost every offensive category, leading the league with 141 runs, 250 hits (a team record), 46 doubles, 42 home runs, 152 RBIs (second in team history), a .459 on-base percentage, a .722 slugging percentage, 450 total bases (a team record) and a .401 average, which led the league by nearly 50 points. He had arguably his best season two years later when he finished second in the MVP voting after leading the league with 121 runs, 227 hits, 43 doubles and a .424 average, a team and major league record in the modern era (since 1900).

“Rajah” won the MVP Award in 1925, finishing with his third .400-plus batting average in four years and his .403-39-143 performance earning a second Triple Crown. He also took over the team as a player-manager. Although the Cardinals finished in fourth place that year, they won 89 games and topped the Yankees in the World Series the next, with the star producing seven hits and four RBIs and tagging out Babe Ruth trying to steal second to win the championship. The elation didn’t last long, though, as Hornsby’s nasty disposition combined with a contract dispute led to his trade to the Giants for Frisch. He spent one year each in New York and Boston, winning his seventh and final batting title after leading the league with a .387 mark with the Braves. Hornsby was named MVP for a second time with the Cubs in 1929, but his team could not defeat the Philadelphia Athletics in the World Series that year. His secret to success was to not get involved in the typical ballplayer dalliances of the times, cigarettes and alcohol. He also refused to read books or newspapers or watch movies for fear that would damage his eyes. Outside of baseball, Hornsby’s only diversion was betting on horse races, although that would eventually get him into trouble.

Hornsby returned to the Cardinals in 1933 and hit .325 as a third baseman and pinch hitter, but he was plagued by several foot and leg issues and released at midseason. He finished his 13-year career in St. Louis (1915-26 and ’33) ranked second in franchise history in average (.359), on-base percentage (.427), slugging percentage (.568) and triples (143), fourth in runs (1,089) and total bases (3,342), fifth in hits (2,110) and RBIs (1,072), sixth in doubles (367) and seventh in home runs (193) in 1,580 games. “Rajah” joined the Browns as a player-manager, but his inability to lead his team to the top half of the American League, in addition to his gambling debts, bad investments and failed marriage led to his being fired. During the 1940s, Hornsby coached throughout the minor leagues, had a brief stint in Mexico, was an instructor for the White Sox and Indians and ran a training school in Arkansas and a youth baseball camp in Chicago. He began the next decision by managing in the Yankees organization and, after a minor league stint in Seattle, had failed chances as a skipper with the Browns and Reds.

Although he was an immensely talented player, Hornsby was known for his sour disposition, crabby nature and his ability to alienate players, executives, media members and fans. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1942, although no induction ceremony took place due to travel restrictions during World War II (a ceremony was officially held in 2013, long after his death). Hornsby worked as an instructor and scout with the Cubs and Mets and served as a coach during the latter team’s 1962 expansion year. He suffered a stroke after undergoing cataract surgery that fall and a heart attack early in 1963 claimed his life at age 66.

Shortstops

Honorable Mentions – Bill Gleason was the son of Irish immigrants who teamed with his older brother, Jack, in the minor leagues, and the pair formed the left side of the infield for the first Browns team in the American Association. He was an aggressive player in the early days of baseball, running over catchers to score runs and impeding opposing runners on the basepaths. Gleason was a consistent starter on a team that won pennants in each of his final three seasons with the club. His best season with the Browns was his last, setting career highs with a .288 average, 135 runs, 172 hits and 76 RBIs in 1887. Gleason spent six seasons with St. Louis (1992-87), batting .275 with 552 runs, 781 hits and 232 RBIs (although the A.A. did not keep track of the statistic in 1882 or ’84) in 659 games. During the postseason, he scored 11 runs, tallied 19 hits and drove in six runs for the Browns. Gleason was traded to Philadelphia, spent another season with Louisville and finished his career with the minor league Washington Senators in 1890. After one season as a minor league player-manager, he joined the St. Louis fire department, rising up to the rank of captain during a 42-year career. Gleason was still doing the job later in life and, in 1931, he stepped on a nail while fighting a fire, with the infection adding to heart disease and claiming his life at age 73.

Before he became a quick-witted and foul-mouthed manager, Leo Durocher enjoyed a 17-year playing career that included a World Series title with the 1934 Cardinals team known as the “Gas House Gang” (he had four runs and seven hits in the seven-game win over the Tigers) and his only All-Star selection with St. Louis two years later. He finished his five seasons with the Cardinals (1933-37) with two fielding titles and 272 runs, 611 hits, 100 doubles and 294 RBIs in 683 games. Durocher earned two more All-Star selections with the Dodgers and started a long career in the dugout as a player-manager in Brooklyn in 1939. In 29 seasons as a manager, “The Lip” went 2,008-1,709 and won three pennants, including the 1954 World Series with the Giants. One of Durocher’s most famous moments came before the 1947 season. The Dodgers were talking about boycotting in the wake of Jackie Robinson joining the team and the manager woke up his players and went into a tirade in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, Durocher would not manage that season since he was suspended for a year for his ties to gambling. He finished his career with the Astros in 1973, passed away in 1991 at age 86 and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee three years later.

Solly Hemus served four years in the Navy during World War II arming planes on aircraft carriers. He joined the Cardinals in 1949 and after two years of little use, took over as the starting shortstop. Although Hemus wasn’t the greatest hitter or fielder, he got under opponents’ skin by heckling, getting hit by pitches and being an overall pest. Arguably his best season was 1952, when he batted .268 with 52 RBIs, a career-high 15 home runs and league-leading totals of 105 runs and 20 hit by pitches. When the Cardinals started acquiring other infielders, Hemus was traded to the Phillies in 1956, but he returned three years later and appeared in 24 games as a player-manager in his final season. He spent parts of three seasons as a skipper for the Cardinals, posting a 190-192 record. Hemus was great with the skill aspects of baseball but was not capable of working well with others, and he was accused of being a racist for his treatment of the team’s young black stars, Curt Flood and Bob Gibson. He coached for the Mets and Indians and worked in the oil industry in Texas after his playing career. Hemus passed away in 2017 at age 94.

Garry Templeton was the son of a former Negro League player and, after being drafted by the Cardinals in the first round in 1974, was a teammate of future agent Scott Boras in the Rookie League. Templeton moved through the minor leagues quickly and made his debut in St. Lous two years later. He led the league in triples in each of his first three seasons and amassed 200 hits twice, earning All-Star selections both years. Templeton’s best season at the plate was 1979, when he drove in 62 runs, led the National League with 211 hits and 19 triples, and posted career highs with a .314 average, 105 runs and 308 total bases. After fighting the team for a pay raise, the switch-hitter became the first player in major league history to get 100 hits from each side of the plate in a season. “Jumpsteady” won the silver slugger the following year, but his Cardinals tenure was nearing an end thanks to a game in late August 1981 in which he responded to fans upset at his play with a pair of obscene gestures (on Ladies’ Day, no less). Templeton was traded to the Padres in a deal for the top player on this list, finishing his Cardinals career with a .305 average, 443 runs, 911 hits, 125 doubles, 69 triples, 281 RBIs, 138 stolen bases and 1,249 total bases in 713 games. He spent a decade with San Diego, helping the team reach the World Series in 1984, and ended his career in New York after being traded to the Mets in 1991. Templeton spent the next 20 years as a minor league instructor, coach and manager, retiring in 2013.

David Eckstein began his career in the Red Sox organization before being claimed off waivers by the Angels in 2000. He earned Rookie of the Year and MVP consideration in his first two years and batted .310 with six runs and nine hits in a World Series victory over the Giants in 2002. Two years later, Eckstein signed with the Cardinals, and he earned All-Star selections in his first two seasons in St. Louis. He was an integral part in the team’s run to the World Series, earning MVP honors after batting .364 with eight hits and four RBIs in five games against the Tigers despite starting the series hitless in his first 11 at-bats. After three seasons (2005-07), Eckstein signed with the Blue Jays, and he played for the Diamondbacks and Padres before announcing his retirement in 2012. He spent two seasons as a special assistant for baseball operations with the Pirates from 2019-21.

Paul DeJong was a fourth-round pick of the Cardinals in 2015 and made his major league debut two years later, finishing second in the Rookie of the Year voting after hitting a personal-best .285 and leading all National League shortstops with 25 home runs. Although his average dropped considerably after his first season, DeJong earned his only All-Star selection in 2019 after setting career highs with 97 runs, 39 homers and 78 runs batted in. He finished his seven-year Cardinals tenure (2017-23) with 338 runs, 566 hits, 118 doubles, 115 homers, 338 RBIs and 1,037 total bases in 698 games, and he added five runs, nine hits and three RBIs in 14 postseason contests. DeJong was sent to the Blue Jays at the 2023 trade deadline but was released after three weeks and finished the season with the Giants. He is currently with the White Sox after signing a one-year deal for 2024.

5. Charles “Dal” Maxvill – Despite limited playing time during his first four years, he earned his spot thanks to his defense. Maxvill started at second base during the 1964 World Series victory over the Yankees and converted to his natural position two years later after Dick Groat was traded. His team won a championship over the Red Sox in 1967 and he won his only gold glove the following year, although he went 0-for-22 in the World Series as the Cardinals fell to the Tigers. Maxvill continued to play solid defense as an everyday player, but he was a low average hitter, batting just .175 in 1969. He won a fielding title the following year and was the team’s union representative before he was traded to the Athletics in 1972.

Maxvill ended his 11-year stint in St. Louis (1962-72) with 678 hits, 231 RBIs and 812 total bases, but he hit just .220 in 1,205 games. He appeared in three World Series, totaling two runs, seven hits and two RBIs in 21 contests. Maxvill was sold to the Pirates after less than a year with the Athletics, and he returned to Oakland in 1974, finishing his playing career the following season. He ran a travel business but continued to work in baseball, coaching for the Mets, Cardinals and Braves before being named general manager in St. Louis in 1985. Maxvill continued in that role for a decade before tight payroll, the 1994 players’ strike and executive changes led to his dismissal. He was a scout with the Yankees for a few years but otherwise stayed away from baseball.

4. Edgar Renteria – He has some of the greatest moments in postseason history. Unfortunately, he did not have the same playoff success in St. Louis as he did in other places. Renteria was signed by the Marlins at age 15 and spent four seasons in the minors before he was called up and hit .309 to finish second in the Rookie of the Year voting in 1996. The following year, he led the league with 19 sacrifices to go with 90 runs and 171 hits. However, he created an indelible baseball image in Game 7 of the World Series when he singled home the winning run in the 11th inning. Renteria was an All-Star for the first time in 1998, but the Marlins traded most of the best players from their championship team and went from first to worst. Florida traded its shortstop to the Cardinals after the season. Renteria had a mediocre first season but rebounded to earn three All-Star selections, three silver sluggers and two gold gloves during his six-year stint in St. Louis (1999-2004). His best season was 2003, when he hit 13 home runs and set career highs with a .330 average, 96 runs, 194 hits, 47 doubles and 100 RBIs.

The team went to the playoffs five times in the span, and he had five hits in the 2004 World Series, although the Cardinals were swept by the “curse-breaking” Red Sox. Renteria finished his time in St. Louis batting .290 with 497 runs, 973 hits, 207 doubles, 71 home runs, 451 RBIs, 148 stolen bases and 1,411 total bases in 903 games. He appeared in 36 postseason contests, totaling 21 runs, 32 hits, seven doubles, one home run, 13 RBIs and eight steals. Renteria bounced around baseball, playing for five teams in his final seven seasons. After stints with Boston, Atlanta and Detroit, he joined San Francisco, where he played two injury-plagued seasons. However, much like he had done more than a decade before, Renteria played postseason hero. He homered in Game 2 against the Rangers, then hit a go-ahead three-run shot in the deciding Game 5 to win World Series MVP honors. He retired after one season with the Reds and was the bench coach for his native Colombia in the World Baseball Classic and manager for the World team during the MLB All-Star Futures Game in 2017. The National Baseball Stadium in Columbia is named in his honor.

3. Dick Groat – The former two-sport star in baseball and basketball had a stellar start to his career with the Pirates that included both and MVP Award and an improbably World Series title against the Yankees in 1960. The former member of the NBA’s Fort Wayne Pistons (later Detroit) spent two seasons in the Army during the Korean War and nine with Pittsburgh before coming to St. Louis via trade in 1963. The Cardinals were a team on the rise, with all four infielders starting in the All-Star Game and Groat finishing as the MVP runner-up after batting .319, setting career highs with 85 runs, 201 hits, 11 triples and 73 RBIs and leading the league with 43 doubles. The following year, he earned his second straight All-Star appearance and had five hits and three runs scored in the Cardinals’ win over the Yankees in the World Series.

Both St. Louis and Groat fell off in 1965 and the shortstop was traded to the Phillies after the season. He ended his Cardinals tenure (1963-65) with a .289 average, 210 runs, 536 hits, 104 doubles and 195 RBIs in 472 games, After the trade to Philadelphia, the shortstop dealt with cellulitis, and inflammatory tissue condition that caused his right ankle to swell to three times its normal size. Groat was sold to the Giants and ended his playing career in 1967. The College Basketball Hall of Fame member moved away from baseball, working as a salesman for a steel company, owning and running a golf course in Pennsylvania and working as a radio analyst for University of Pittsburgh basketball games. Groat passed away in 2023 at age 92.

2. Marty Marion – The South Carolina-born star began his professional career after signing with the Cardinals in 1936. Four years later, he became the starter in St. Louis and spent his career as a bottom-of-the-order hitter with a decent bat and a great glove for a team that won four pennants and three championships during the 1940s. One of Marion’s best seasons was also the best in club history. The 1942 Cardinals won a franchise-record 106 games and beat the Yankees in the World Series, with the shortstop batting .276 with 54 RBIs and a league-best 38 doubles.

“The Octopus” was an All-Star in each of the next eight seasons including 1944, when he won the MVP Award by one voting point over Cubs outfielder Bill Nicholson, who led the majors with 35 home runs and 122 RBIs. While Nicholson was the more productive hitter, Chicago had a losing record while St. Louis won the pennant and the World Series over the crosstown rival Browns. The Cardinals finished behind the Cubs the following year but regained the top spot the following year as many players returned from World War II. During this time, Marion was dealing with a painful back injury and began to formulate a pension plan for players which, surprisingly, was agreed upon by the owners. On the field, he had a down year at the plate, but tallied six hits and four RBIs in a victory over Boston in the World Series. The Cardinals stayed near the top of the standings for the rest of the decade and Marion continued his solid play until torn cartilage in his knee ended his Cardinals playing career in 1950.

Marion played 11 seasons in St. Louis (1940-50), batting .263 with 586 runs, 1,402 hits, 261 doubles, 36 home runs, 624 RBIs and 1,902 total bases in 1,502 games to go with three fielding titles. He managed the team for one season then joined the Browns for two years as a player-manager before the team moved to Baltimore and was a coach and manager for three tumultuous seasons with the White Sox. Marion had worked for a printing company during the offseason and worked with owner Milton Fischmann to try and buy a team. The pair bought the Houston Bulls minor league team but attempts to purchase the Royals and NBA’s Minneapolis Lakers failed. The American League was looking to expand to Houston but passed over Marion and Fischmann to run the team that would become the Astros. Marion returned to the Cardinals, working as a spring training coach and part-owner and manager of the Stadium Club, an upscale restaurant at Busch Stadium. He passed away due to a heart attack in 2011 at age 94.

1. Ozzie Smith – He was born in Alabama and his family moved to Los Angeles when he was six years old. Smith became a switch-hitter in college and was selected by the Padres in the fourth round in 1977. After playing just 68 games in the minor leagues, he made the San Diego team as a non-roster invitee in spring training the following year and finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting after stealing 40 bases, leading the league with 28 sacrifices and performing his signature backflip at shortstop for the first time. Following a down year in 1979, Smith stole 57 bases and earned his first of 13 consecutive gold gloves in 1980. He won another the next season and earned his first All-Star selection in the strike-shortened campaign.

Smith was sent to the Cardinals as part of a six-player trade that saw Templeton come to the Padres. He helped his new team win the World Series, smacking 10 hits and driving in four runs in 10 playoff games against the Braves and Brewers. Three years later, St. Louis made a deep postseason run once again. Smith was the MVP of the NLCS victory over the Dodgers, amassing 10 hits, with a winning blast in the ninth inning of Game 5 being his only playoff home run and his only career homer as a left-handed batter. In the World Series against the Royals, he slumped, and the Cardinals fell in seven games. Smith had his best season at the plate in 1987, earning his only silver slugger and finishing as the MVP runner-up after setting career highs with a .303 average, 104 runs, 182 hits, 40 doubles and 75 RBIs to go with 43 steals. He had five runs, 11 hits and three RBIs in the postseason but St. Louis fell to Minnesota in a seven-game World Series.

Nicknamed the “Wizard of Oz” for his many outstanding defensive plays, Smith’s fantastic range became the standard by which all other shortstops were measured. In addition to his record gold glove streak, he won seven fielding titles and led the league in assists five times and double plays four times. Smith is the all-time leader among shortstops (and second to Rabbit Maranville among all fielders) with 8,375 assists and second (behind Omar Vizquel) with 1,590 double plays at the position. He earned 14 All-Star selections with St. Louis, including 11 in a row from 1982-92, and won the Lou Gehrig (1989), Branch Rickey (1994) and Roberto Clemente (1995) awards during his 19-year career.

Smith ranks third in franchise history with 433 stolen bases (with 12 seasons of 20 or more) and walks (876), fourth in games (1,990), seventh in runs (991) and eighth in hits (1,944) to go with a .272 average, 338 doubles, 50 triples, 27 home runs, 664 RBIs and 2,463 total bases. His playoff stats include 14 runs, 34 hits, 10 RBIs and six steals in 42 postseason contests. Smith’s playing time declined over his final three seasons (although he was still selected to the All-Star team each year), and he retired following a loss to the Braves in the 1996 NLCS. He turned to broadcasting, hosting the This Week in Baseball television series and working as a television analyst in St. Louis for three years each before a stint with CNN-Sports Illustrated. Smith also worked as a special instructor for the Cardinals and owned a restaurant, a grocery store and a sports academy, wrote a children’s book and had his own salad dressing. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2002, and he has a statue outside of Busch Stadium.