Our All Time Top 50 St. Louis Cardinals have been revised to reflect the 2024 Season
Yes, we know that this is taking a while!
As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists and consistently look to update them when necessary and based on necessity. As such, we are delighted to present our post-2024 revision of our top 50 St. Louis Cardinals.
As for all of our top 50 players in baseball, we look at the following:
1. Advanced Statistics.
2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National League.
3. Playoff accomplishments.
4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.
Please note that our algorithm has changed, which yielded minor changes throughout the baseball lists.
Last year, the Cardinals won 83 Games, but did not make the playoffs. The rebuilding squad saw minimal movement in the top 50, and the only new entrant was based on the new algorithm.
As always, we present our top five, which saw no changes
1. Stan Musial
2. Albert Pujols
3. Rogers Hornsby
4. Bob Gibson
5. Ozzie Smith
You can find the entire list here.
The only new addition was Ripper Collins, who as discussed above, enters via the new system.
We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.
Our All-Time Top 50 St. Louis Cardinals Have Been Revised to Reflect the 2023 Season
Yes, we know that this is taking a while!
As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out, and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity. As such, we are very happy to present our post-2023 revision of our top 50 St. Louis Cardinals.
As for all of our top 50 players in baseball, we look at the following:
1. Advanced Statistics.
2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in Major League Baseball.
3. Playoff accomplishments.
4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.
Last year, St. Louis had a very disappointing season, and were nowhere close to the playoffs. Regardless, there was one new entrant and one change.
As always, we present our top five, which saw no changes:
1. Stan Musial
4. Bob Gibson
5. Ozzie Smith
You can find the entire list here.
Adam Wainwright reached 200 Wins last year, but bluntly, he was not very good. He had an ERA near 8 and a bWAR of -2.0. As such, he dropped a spot, going from #10 to #11.
The only new entrant was Paul Goldschmidt. The 2022 National League MVP debuts at #46.
We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.
Our All-Time Top 50 St. Louis Cardinals have been revised to reflect the 2022 Season
Yes, we know that this is taking a while!
As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity. As such, we are very happy to present our post 2022 revision of our top 50 St. Louis Cardinals.
As for all of our top 50 players in baseball we look at the following:
1. Advanced Statistics.
2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National League.
3. Playoff accomplishments.
4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.
Last year, the storied history of the Cardinals saw another playoff appearance, but with the 100 years more of existence, it is hard to crack into the top 50. There are noe new entrants into the top 50, with only one elevation.
As always, we present our top five, which had no changes.
1. Stan Musial
3. Bob Gibson
5. Ozzie Smith
You can find the entire list here.
Please note that Pujols, who returned to St. Louis for one final season, was not able to overtake Musial for the top spot.
The only change was Starting Pitcher, Adam Wainwright, who inched up one rank to #10.
We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.
5. Ozzie Smith
When looking at the most impactful moments in the sport's history, the December 1981 trade that changed the balance of the National League really stands out as a major event. The San Diego Padres gave up their promising young shortstop, thinking he was only good at defense and would never be a strong hitter. They couldn’t have been more mistaken. Ozzie Smith was sent to Missouri in a historic trade for Garry Templeton. He didn’t just step into a spot on the infield; he became the energetic, acrobatic heart of the Redbirds’ exciting resurgence. Over an incredible 15 seasons, "The Wizard" completely transformed how his position was played on defense and gradually developed his offensive skills into a top-tier weapon at the top of the lineup.
His initial phase in St. Louis immediately confirmed Whitey Herzog's vision of emphasizing speed, aggressive defense, and generating runs. Although Smith’s compact swing never suggested a power hitter, he dedicated himself to improving his offensive game, transforming his approach under the Gateway Arch. He made consistently making high-velocity contact a daily habit, accumulating 1,944 of his 2,460 career hits while with the Cardinals. Once on the bases, he leveraged his exceptional acceleration to produce 13 consecutive seasons with at least 20 stolen bases, amassing 433 of his 580 career steals with the team and continually challenging opposing pitchers.
The pinnacle of his evolutionary development as a comprehensive, multidimensional athlete was demonstrated during a remarkable 1987 regular season. Acting as the driving force behind a pennant-winning team, Smith delivered an exceptional offensive performance that exceeded conventional expectations. He achieved a remarkable batting average of .303, his career high, supplemented by 40 doubles and 104 runs scored across 158 games. Most notably, he attained this high level of offensive output without recording a single home run throughout the summer. His exceptional discipline at the plate was unmatched; he drew 89 walks compared to only 36 strikeouts, resulting in an impressive on-base percentage of .392. This performance merited the receipt of a Silver Slugger Award and contributed to a strong second-place finish in the National League Most Valuable Player voting, surpassed only by Andre Dawson.
Nevertheless, while his offensive development solidifies his overall value, it is his extraordinary, gravity-defying defensive prowess that sustains his standing in the sport’s enduring zeitgeist. "The Wizard of Oz" did not merely play shortstop; he did so with a predatory, awe-inspiring artistic flair that transformed routine grounders into a literal human highlight reel, famously executing his iconic pre-game backflip to the utmost delight of the Busch Stadium spectators. He secured 13 of his 15 career Gold Glove Awards while solely representing St. Louis, thereby establishing a standard that remains unparalleled.
His advanced analytical filters strongly affirm his defensive dominance as the greatest to ever wear leather. He led National League shortstops in Total Zone Runs eight times—ranking first all-time at the position—and led the league in fielding percentage seven times. As a Redbird, he was the league leader in defensive bWAR five times, retiring as the sport's all-time top defensive player, conclusively establishing himself as the greatest defensive asset in baseball history.
His steady hand and unmatched instinct directly translated into historic team success, guiding the franchise to three National League pennants and the ultimate world-championship crown during a magical 1982 Fall Classic run, highlighted by his unforgettable, walk-off home run in Game 5 of the 1985 NLCS that triggered Jack Buck's immortal "Go crazy, folks!" broadcast.
Across his 1,990 games representing St. Louis, he accumulated exactly 1,944 hits, 991 runs scored, 876 bases on balls, and 433 stolen bases. Smith would enter the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002 on his first year of eligibility, and was also named to the inaugural Cardinals Hall of Fame Class in 2014. Smith's #1 was retired in 1996, right after he hung up the cleats.
Awards = HOF? Part Twenty-Six: Gold Glove Shortstop
Needless to say, different awards in different sports yield hall of fame potential. In basketball, the team sport with the least amount of players on a roster, the dividend for greatness much higher. In baseball, it is not as much as a great individual season does not have the same impact.
We are now taking a look at the Gold Glove Award, given annually to the best defensive player in MLB in each respective position.
Homer Simpson to the Baseball HOF?
Homer Simpson has twice been a Semi-Finalist for our Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame. By the way, you can vote for the Class of 2017 here! As it turns out, Homer Simpson will be “inducted” into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Now for all of the purists out there, don’t get too concerned. This is not an actual induction, but more of a celebration of 25th Anniversary of one of the most famous episodes of The Simpsons; “Homer at the Bat”. The event will take place on May 27, where in the morning a round table discussion featuring the program’s executive producers Al Jean and Mike Reiss, director Jim Reardon, executive story editor Jeff Martin and casting director Bonnie Pietila. That round table is impressive enough, but two of Homer’s “teammates”, Wade Boggs and Ozzie Smith will also be present for the discussion.
Following the discussion, Simpson will be mock inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame and the Simpsons exhibit in Cooperstown will open.
To recap, the episode saw Springfield Power Plan owner, Montgomery Burns, stack his team with the best ringers for his company softball team. In addition to Boggs and Smith, Burns procured the services of Steve Sax, Don Mattingly, Ken Griffey Jr., Jose Canseco, Roger Clemens, Mike Scioscia and Darryl Strawberry so that his team could defeat their rivals, the Shelbyville Nuclear Power Plant team.
“Home Run” Simpson was benched in favor of slugger, Darryl Strawberry, but pinch hit for Strawberry as Burns was “playing the percentages” as Simpson batted left. Simpson drove in the winning run, albeit by being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
Admittedly, this is one of the favorite episodes amongst those of us at Notinhalloffame.com.
As always, the Hall of Fame news remains interesting.
