Over the course of the next month, LWOSports will be breaking down the top five MLB players in franchise history for all 30 teams. This article will rank the top five St. Louis Cardinals from least to best by who had the biggest impact for the team. You can check out the other series articles here.
Top Five St. Louis Cardinals Players
5. Ozzie Smith
Ozzie Smith had a stellar career in St. Louis. The 14x All-Star was one of the greatest shortstops in MLB history. Defensively, he is almost untouchable. During his time with the Cardinals, Smith won 11 Golden Gloves and the 1985 NLCS MVP. He was also a crucial part of the Cardinals team that won the World Series in 1982.
4. Lou Brock
Lou Brock is probably the second best baserunner in MLB history, only to Rickey Henderson. He is 2nd all-time in stolen bases with 938 and led the league in the category eight times. Brock was a six-time All-Star and also won two World Series Championships in his time with St. Louis.
3. Albert Pujols
Albert Pujols is extremely important to the city of St. Louis. He was the face of the Cardinals franchise for a decade and brought the Cardinals back to the top of the league twice. While in St. Louis, Pujols was a nine-time All-Star and led the league in hits five times. He also led the league in homers twice. Pujols was the best contact hitter in the league for many years. Last season, he became only the fourth player in the history of baseball to record 3000 career hits and 600 home runs.
2. Bob Gibson
Widely regarded as the best pitcher in Cardinals history, Bob Gibson had a stellar career with some pretty crazy statistics. He was an eight-time All-Star and two-time Cy Young winner with a 2.91 career ERA and over 3,000 strikeouts during his time with the Cardinals. His best season by far was in 1968. Gibsons ’68 season included a 1.12 ERA, 22 wins, the NL Cy Young, and NL MVP. He also recorded 17 strikeouts in Game one of the World Series that year. Only 17.
1. Stan Musial
The obvious number one. Stan Musial‘s entire career was magic. 24-time All-Star, three-time MVP, three-time World Series Champion, he was untouchable. Arguably the greatest contact hitter the game has ever seen, Stan the Man led the league in hits six times, doubles eight times, and five times in triples. He was an extremely consistent hitter throughout his entire career. Musial even joined the Navy in the final year of the Second World War and came back to the MLB hitting even better than before. Stan Musial is a baseball legend and will never be forgotten for as long as baseball is around.
Last Word
The St. Louis Cardinals are one of the MLB’s great franchises. With their stacked resume of star talent, Cardinals fans have been pretty happy overall with how the team has done. From the early days of Stan Musial to the 1980s with Ozzie Smith and the 2000s with Albert Pujols, it’s only a matter of time until the next Cardinals great steps up and makes a splash in this great baseball league.
Main Photo:
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