The St. Louis Cardinals are the greatest team in the National League. With 11 championships under their belt, they are one of two teams to break double digits. Of course, the New York Yankees own the record with 27 championships, but many might be surprised to learn the Cards are tops in the NL.
Those championships have come in very different eras. Those 11 championships have come in seven different decades. The Cardinals won their first championship in 1926, and they last won a title in 2011. During that time, they’ve had some of the greatest players of all time in the clubhouse. The Cardinals have had more than 30 Hall of Famers grace the diamond in St. Louis.
This included some of the best players of all time, such as Cy Young, Steve Carlton, Orlando Cepeda, and Larry Walker. And none of them made this list. Who did make this list? Let’s start with one of the best of all time.
First Base
Albert Pujols
2001-2011, 2022
Albert Pujols is truly one of the great hitters ever. His swing was insane, and he could dominate in the batter’s box. When he joined the league in 2001, he immediately cracked 37 home runs. He was fourth in MVP voting while also winning Rookie of the Year. We’ve seen these flash-in-the-pan seasons before, but this was clearly something different. Something special.
Pujols never stopped. He was in the top three in MVP voting every year for the next four years. He won his first of three MVPs in 2005 when he hit 41 home runs, drove in 117 runs, and stole 16 bases. That season started off a stretch where he led the National League in WAR for six straight seasons. He led all of baseball in WAR in 2006, 2008, and 2009.
Pujols’ best season came in 2008, when he inexplicably led the league in both on-base percentage and slugging percentage. He broke 100 RBIs in every season in St. Louis except one, where he had 99. Barry Bonds was the only hitter scarier than Pujols in this era.
Eventually, Pujols left to sign an insane deal with the Los Angeles Angels, but he would eventually return for a swan song. After a rough end to his Angels’ tenure, Pujols, at 42 years old, signed to play one more year with the team that made him a Hall of Famer. He put together one more great performance, hitting 24 home runs for 68 runs batted in. It was the perfect ending to an amazing career.
Second Base
Rogers Hornsby
1915-1926
From 1917 to 1929, Rogers Hornsby led the National League in WAR 11 times. That’s a psychotic stat. Truly, it’s off the charts. Hornsby was the catalyst for the beginning of the Cardinals’ success. Prior to his arrival, the Cardinals had never finished higher than third in the NL, but they regularly finished seventh or eighth. With Horsby, the Cardinals finally won their first World Series in 1926.
Hornsby also won the MVP in 1925 after leading the league in home runs (39) and RBIs (143). That wasn’t even his greatest season in St. Louis. Hornsby hit 42 home runs with 152 RBIs and a ridiculous 450 total bases in 1922. The Cardinals were graced with Hornsby’s presence, and the fact that he played second base made it even better.
Hornsby leads all second basemen in WAR all-time with 127 over his career. He’s also fourth in doubles, third in triples, and third in home runs all-time at the position. So not only was he one of the great Cardinals in the history of the game, but he might be the best second baseman of all time.
And some even say that Horsnby was the greatest right-handed hitter ever. Of course, there are more recent righties that are making a case, but Hornsby will forever be in the conversation.
Shortstop
Ozzie Smith
1982-1996
It takes a really special player to be nicknamed “The Wizard,” and Ozzie Smith was incredibly special. Smith might actually be the most popular player of his era. Outside of Chicago Cubs fans, the Cardinals’ shortstop was possibly the most beloved player of his era. His on-field antics, which included backflips after big defensive plays and clutch hitting, were paired with a great reputation off the field.
On the surface, Smith’s numbers aren’t the most impressive, but he brought so much more than just batting average and home runs to the Cardinals lineup. He was a 15-time All-Star for a reason. He might be the greatest defensive player ever. He was a 13-time Gold Glove Award winner. This is, again, at the premium position of shortstop.
Upon his first year with the Cardinals, Smith won the World Series. He hit the ground running, making an impact for a championship team in 1982. Three years later, he hit the series-winning home run in the NLCS to send the Cardinals back to the World Series. They didn’t end up winning, but it was an era of impression for the Cards, and Smith was their star through it all.
As for his offense, Smith was a sneaky good bet to get a hit. He amassed more than 2,000 hits, which is impressive for how little people paid attention to his offensive stats. The most impressive part of his offensive game was his speed. He finished his career with more than 500 stolen bases.
Third Base
Ken Boyer
1955-1965
Ken Boyer is another one of those players who won’t have those eye-popping numbers when compared to his peers. He finished his career with 2,100 hits and 282 home runs. Listen, it’s fine for most players and impressive as far as a career goes, but it doesn’t properly tell the story of Ken Boyer.
At his peak, Boyer was truly one of the best third basemen at all aspects of the game. He was a perennial Gold Glove winner, and he dominated at the plate. It all culminated in his MVP award win in 1964. Ironically, that was the last of his 11 All-Star appearances. That season, he carried the Cardinals to the NL pennant. Truly, he helped the Cardinals overcome an 11-game deficit to the Philadelphia Phillies. He even hit .400 against them in September as they were trying to catch them in head-to-head matchups.
Boyer’s biggest moment came in the 1964 World Series. With the bases loaded, he hit a grand slam off of Al Dowling to drive in all four of the Cardinals' runs in a 4-3 victory. That series with the Yankees eventually went seven games. In that decisive game, Boyer had three hits, including a home run, in a 7-5 championship victory. Without Boyer, there’s no chance the Cardinals even make it to the World Series, and they probably would have been smoked by the Yankees without him if they did somehow make it.
Many might want Scott Rolen there, and that’s because he was more recently with the team, but he wasn’t there long enough. He was really good, don’t get us wrong, and it’s special he had the St. Louis Cardinals cap on his Hall of Fame plaque, but we went with Boyer here because his peak with the Cardinals was just better.
Catcher
Yadier Molina
2004-2022
There are a few aspects of Yadier Molina’s game that are impressive, but nothing is as impressive as his longevity. In his last year, at 39 years old, Yadier Molina still played 77 games at catcher. He finished his career with more than 2,100 games at the catcher position. Only three players in the history of baseball played more games at catcher.
He also played every single game with the St. Louis Cardinals. Looking back, there are a lot of fan favorites on this list. The Cardinals tend to produce a lot of likable players, but it’s hard to say Molina is not the face of this organization. Even with a generational talent like Pujols, Molina is the guy most fans gravitate towards when it comes to Cardinals fandom.
Molina wasn’t just a guy who came to work often. He was a great catcher, possibly the best of the era. He won nine Gold Gloves and added a Silver Slugger to his trophy case. This was an era where the catcher position was not expected to dominate, but Molina was a wrecking ball in the batter’s box.
And he almost won MVP one season, which shows his dominance in his prime. In 2013, he hit .319 with 80 RBIs. He even added three stolen bases for good measure. He was the best catcher at throwing out runners during his prime, giving his team extra outs as teams tried stealing bases on him. It was a dominant overall game, and that’s why his career lasted as long as it did.
Right Field
Stan Musial
1941-1963
There are so many great players who suited up for the St. Louis Cardinals. Nobody was Stan Musial. We’re talking about one of the all-time greats in the history of the game.
Musial owns all the records for the St. Louis Cardinals. He is their all-time leader in hits, doubles, triples, home runs, runs scored, runs batted in, walks, intentional walks, and WAR. It’s hard to wrap one's head around how good Musial was, but let it sink in that he was a 24-time All-Star. That’s just preposterous.
Musial also had one of the great trophy cases in league history. He was a three-time World Series champ, a three-time NL MVP, a seven-time batting champ, and a member of MLB’s All-Century Team. He finished his Cardinals career with more than 3,600 hits and 475 home runs.
At the time of his retirement, he held or shared 17 major league records. It’s not like he played in the 1920s. Musial played in the 50s and 60s, a time where his biggest rivals were Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron, and Willie Mays. This might be the greatest era for stars in the history of the game. Musial still stood above these titans as a member of the Cardinals, representing this city in the best way.
Center Field
Jim Edmonds
2000-2007
Center field was a really hard decision, with Curt Flood and Willie McGee making a real push for this spot, but we went with Jim Edmonds. He was a human highlight reel. His defense was incredible, regularly making SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays when they were still relevant. The catches he could make and the range he had in center field was up there with every center fielder in the game at the time.
When the Cardinals traded for Edmonds in 2000, it was a risk. He had dealt with injuries at the end of his Angels tenure, and the Cards were hoping his talent would prevail. It didn’t take long for that to happen. Edmonds had a career-best .994 OPS in his first year in St. Louis, and the partnership was off to the races.
In his eight seasons in Cardinal Red, he was a three-time All-Star and six-time Gold Glove winner. Edmonds wasn’t appreciated for what he was capable of in Anaheim. That changed in St. Louis, and he rewarded them with some of the best performances of the early 2000s.
What was best about Edmonds was his ability to come up big in the big moments. In the 12th inning of Game 6 of the 2006 NLCS, with the Cardinals facing elimination, Edmonds hit a game-winning home run that went a mile. In Game 7, he made a few defensive gems that kept the Cardinals in it. They won the game and eventually the World Series, thanks in large part to Edmonds manning center field.
Left Field
Lou Brock
1964-1979
Rickey Henderson is the best base stealer in the history of baseball. That is undisputed, but also undisputed is that Lou Brock is number two. The long-time Cardinals great stole 938 bases in his career. He actually stole more bases than he had RBIs in his time in the league (900 vs. 938).
Ironically, Brock began his career with the rival Chicago Cubs. Then, they traded him to the Cardinals because they didn’t like how his development was going. For Brock, the Cardinals sent pitcher Ernie Broglio to Chicago. Brock used the trade as motivation, going off for a .360 average for the rest of the season, helping the Cardinals win the World Series in 1964. Meanwhile, Broglio won three games with the Cubs over his career. Woof.
Who knows what would have happened if Brock was never traded, but that’s a historical “what if” that Cardinals’ fans don’t need to worry themselves with. Brock went to St. Louis, and he was incredible. Not only was he insanely fast, but he had surprising pop off his bat. He also finished his career as a member of the 3,000 hits club.
Brock did so many great things in his career, including winning a second World Series in 1967, but he will always be remembered for the stolen bases. Nobody could do it at the clip that he was doing it. In 1974, he stole 118 bases. Think about that number. He had 194 hits and 61 walks that season. And he still had 118 steals.
Designated Hitter
Mark McGwire
1997-2001
We are sure this is going to be controversial, but what Mark McGwire did after he joined the St. Louis Cardinals is one of the greatest feats in baseball history, steroids or not. He broke the most iconic record in the history of baseball while wearing the iconic Cardinals colors. Not only that, his home run chase with Sammy Sosa in 1998 is said to have saved baseball after many lost interest during the 1994 players’ strike.
We understand why this choice is controversial. However, let’s suspend disbelief for just a few moments. Do we think McGwire was going to be bad if he wasn’t juicing during his Cardinals tenure (which was not against baseball rules at the time)?
More than anything, the historical importance of those 70 home runs will live on forever. McGwire breaking the league’s most significant record and handing the record to the National League, where it’s stood ever since, has to count for something. Also, we’re looking at a designated hitter for this spot.
There was no hitter who was better than 1998 Mark McGwire. He hit five home runs in the last three days of the season, giving him the proper cushion on Sosa. What we don’t talk about enough is that he broke Maris’s record again the next season, putting up 65 home runs and a league-leading 147 RBIs.
Starting Pitcher
Bob Gibson
1959-1975
There were so many great pitchers over the eras to don a Cardinals cap, but this is about as easy a choice as any for any team ever. Bob Gibson is the man for the St. Louis Cardinals. There is no doubt he is the choice for all-time Cardinals starting pitcher.
Gibson played his entire 16-year career in St. Louis, amassing nine All-Star Game appearances. He did everything in his career. He’s led the league in ERA (1968), wins (1970), and strikeouts (1968). Gibson finished his career with more than 3,000 strikeouts, a threshold that seems almost impossible today.
There are two feats that make Gibson one of the best pitchers of all time, and they both have to do with hardware. In 1968, Gibson became one of just 11 pitchers to win both the Cy Young Award and the league MVP. That season, he went 22-9 with a 1.12 ERA, 0.853 WHIP and had 13 shutouts.
Then, there was Bob Gibson in the World Series. He helped the Cardinals win the 1964 and 1967 World Series, and he was named World Series MVP for both. In the ‘68 series, he had 17 strikeouts in Game 1. He has 31 strikeouts in the ‘64 series, which was a record. A record he broke in ‘68 when he struck out 35 players. Gibson had more than swing-and-miss stuff. He had bewildering stuff that was unhittable.
Closing Pitcher
Jason Isringhausen
2002-2008
Closing pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals comes down to longevity versus short-term impact. We went with longevity with our Jason Isringhausen pick. He owns the Cardinals' all-time saves record with 217. He also tied Lee Smith’s franchise record with 47 saves in 2004. He ended up leading all of baseball in saves that season.
Isringhausen had more than 30 saves in five of his seven seasons in St. Louis. He was a dominant pitcher at the end of the game, and his delivery helped get some heat behind his pitches. He might go down as one of the Cardinals’ best free agent signings ever.
This did come down to Smith, who was incredible for a short period of time, and Isringhausen. Since the latter did match Smith’s record in 2004, he eeks out the win here, although it’s hard to argue who was the better pitcher on a single-season basis. Still, the Cardinals knew they were in good hands when Isringhausen was right. Some injuries led to inconsistency near the end of the Cardinals' career, but during his prime, he was a key cog to their winning ways.