By the late teens, Rogers Hornsby emerged as one of the best hitters in baseball and he would go on an absolute tear in the first half of the 1920’s. The Second Baseman would win the National League Batting Championship six seasons in a row (1920-1925) and in that timeframe would also finish first in On Base Percentage and Slugging Percentage. While Hornsby is primarily known (and should be) for his hitting skills, the man who is second all-time in Batting Average (.358) had some good power numbers and is a two time Home Run Champion and in both of those seasons (1922 & 1925) he would win the coveted National League Triple Crown. Hornsby is also eight all-time in OBP (.434) and tenth in Slugging (.577). Hornsby would take the Cardinals to a World Series win in 1926 where he was not only their star player but also the teams Manager. He would be traded to the New York Giants in the offseason after he could not come to terms with St. Louis on a new contract.
While Hornsby is and always will be most associated with the St. Louis Cardinals, he would later be an MVP for the Chicago Cubs and had one solid season each with the New York Giants and Boston Braves. He would finish his career with the St. Louis Browns.
He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1942, and the Cardinals named him as one of the members of their franchise Hall of Fame in 2014. The Redbirds also honored him on the Leftfield wall in 1997 with a logo and his name.
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