When modern baseball analysts look back at the 1970s, they often realize that traditional metrics overlooked a revolutionary offensive force behind the plate. For decades, Ted Simmons was viewed as an excellent player who shared an era with Johnny Bench and Carlton Fisk. But as sabermetrics changed how we value run production, the baseball world saw that the switch-hitter was one of the most productive offensive catchers ever.

Selected by the front office in the first round of the 1967 draft, "Simba" quickly emerged as a hitting prodigy. He did not merely survive the grueling physical demands of catching; he anchored the middle of the St. Louis batting order for over a decade, turning the batter's box into a personal showcase and rewriting the rules of what a backstop could provide at the plate.

Following a period of scouting work from 1968 to 1970, his initial tenure as the primary starting catcher in 1971 immediately redefined the standard benchmark for National League catchers, as he achieved an impressive batting average of .304. Simmons consistently transformed powerful line drives from both sides of the plate into a rigorous daily routine. He demonstrated an extensive display of contact proficiency and plate discipline, surpassing the .300 batting threshold on six occasions while wearing a Cardinals uniform. Each of these seasons secured a position within the top ten in the National League, notably highlighted by an exceptional 1975 regular season in which he posted a batting average of .332, culminating as the runner-up for the senior circuit batting title.

His value-dense offensive profile represented an exceptional anomaly for his era; Simmons secured a position within the top ten rankings in both on-base percentage and slugging percentage on four occasions, while reliably leveraging his outstanding gap-to-gap power to achieve top-ten rankings in doubles seven times. He combined that exemplary contact ability with authentic middle-of-the-order power, producing five individual seasons with at least 20 home runs for the Redbirds.

Because he was a natural hitter first, traditional pundits frequently contrasted his glove work with that of contemporary elite defenders. Yet, his legendary pitchers—including Bob Gibson—vehemently defended his game-calling and immense physical durability, as Simmons routinely logged heavy workloads, catching over 130 games a year.

His relationship with management grew tense at the end of 1980 when Simmons, in a dispute with Whitey Herzog over contract control, was suddenly traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in a major deal. Over his 13 seasons strictly representing the Cardinals, he accumulated exactly 1,704 hits, 332 doubles, 172 home runs, and 929 runs batted in, entirely validated by a spectacular .298 localized batting average and a robust .366 on-base percentage.

While the baseball writers initially dropped him from the Cooperstown ballot after just one year in 1994, the historical record was beautifully righted decades later.  Simmons was triumphantly elected to the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2015, followed by his long-awaited, emotional induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame via the Modern Baseball Era Committee in 2020. Serving as the final, beautiful punctuation on his immortal legacy, the Cardinals permanently retired his iconic number 23 target behind the plate.

Jim Bottomley entered the scene in eastern Missouri in late 1922, immediately bringing a sense of confidence to the franchise. Fondly known as "Sunny Jim" because of his consistently cheerful demeanor and genuine passion for the sport, he combined this vibrant personality with a powerful, high-volume left-handed batting style. He rapidly became the leading run-scorer for the team's initial generation of modern World Series champions, establishing a period of formidable middle-of-the-order hitting that made a lasting impact on the Senior Circuit.

Becoming a regular in 1923 threw the entire league into an absolute frenzy. Bottomley turned hitting line drives off the wall into a daily routine, batting a blistering, career-high .371 with a stellar .425 on-base percentage during his first full summer in the big leagues.

Rather than peaking early, he simply used that contact foundation to systematically unlock a devastating power and clutch-hitting game as the roster matured around him. Sunny Jim recorded a total of eight .300 batting campaigns during his 11-season tenure with the St. Louis Cardinals, functioning as a consistent RBI producer. He commenced an impressive six-year streak of surpassing the 100-RBI mark beginning in 1924, a sequence initiated by a legendary September afternoon that season when he drove in an extraordinary, major-league record 12 runs in a single game against the Brooklyn Robins.

As his additional-base leverage increased, he led the National League in doubles consecutively in 1925 and 1926, providing the essential offensive foundation that contributed to the franchise's inaugural modern World Series victory over the New York Yankees in 1926. The definitive zenith of his career occurred during an outstanding, award-recognized 1928 regular season. Bottomley overwhelmingly dominated the Senior Circuit, hitting 42 doubles whilst leading the league with 20 triples, 31 home runs, and an impressive 136 runs batted in. This remarkable demonstration of power and speed secured his unanimous selection for the 1928 National League Most Valuable Player Award. He beautifully maintained his frontline baseline through the turn of the decade, driving in 137 runs in 1929 and hitting .348 in 1931 to help pilot the Redbirds to their second world championship banner.

By the conclusion of the 1932 campaign, a sudden transactional crossroads materialized. With the emergence of young star Ripper Collins at first base, management executed a definitive business departure, trading the 32-year-old veteran to the Cincinnati Reds to initiate the late-career chapter of his journey before he eventually wrapped up his playing days with the cross-town St. Louis Browns.

Across his 11 seasons strictly representing the Cardinals, he accumulated exactly 1,727 hits, 344 doubles, 122 triples, 181 home runs, and 1,105 runs batted in, entirely validated by a spectacular .325 batting average and a robust .537 slugging mark. The baseball world beautifully formalized his legacy decades later, as the Veterans Committee officially punched his first-class ticket to Cooperstown in 1974.

Ensuring his cheerful dominance remains permanently etched in team history, the organization added the final, perfect punctuation to his story by triumphantly enshrining Jim Bottomley as a proud member of the inaugural St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame class in 2014.

There is so much to love about Yadier Molina.

A ferocious player when needed, Yadier Molina has been a clubhouse leader since he arrived to the St. Louis Cardinals, the only team he has played for in the Majors.  Early in his career, the Puerto Rican was universally regarded as being a really good defensive Catcher and a light hitter but in 2008 he improved his Batting Average to .308 and was locked in as the team’s starting Catcher. 

Harry David Brecheen spent his early twenties climbing through the minor leagues with careful deliberate steps, but he joined the major league roster permanently in 1943 and immediately made a significant impact on the pitching staff. He was just 5'10" and 160 pounds, earning the long-lasting nickname "The Cat" for his quick, feline-like reflexes when fielding bunts off the mound. With a perfect combination of a screwball and curveball, the southpaw built a ten-year career of excellence, excelling as a consistent regular-season performer and becoming an immortal legend in the postseason.

His early role as a key part of the rotation came during an exciting period for the team in the mid-to-late 1940s. Brecheen made a consistent effort to keep National League lineups in check by encouraging weak contact and focusing on control. He was impressively dependable, winning 14 or more games across six consecutive summers, offering valuable stability along with Mort Cooper and Red Schoendienst, and helping lead the team to two world championships.

The individual's peak performance during the regular season was exemplified by a remarkable 1948 achievement that received commendation. During that summer, “The Cat” demonstrated an outstanding ability in preventing runs, leading the Senior Circuit with an impressive 20–7 record and a league-leading 2.24 ERA. He impeded hitters throughout the season, leading the National League in strikeouts (149), shutouts (7), FIP (2.49), WHIP (1.037), and achieving an exceptional 3.04 strikeout-to-walk ratio, resulting in a fifth-place finish in the National League MVP voting.

While his strong regular-season performance established his important role in the front line, it’s his incredible achievements in October that truly secured his legendary status in baseball history. Brceheen saved his best performances for the brightest stages. He proved to be an essential player during the 1944 Fall Classic against the nearby St. Louis Browns, delivering an outstanding game in Game 4 where he gave up only one run, helping secure a key victory. Two years later, he delivered an amazing and historic performance against the powerful Boston Red Sox in the famous 1946 World Series. He took control of the game and became the first left-handed pitcher in baseball history to win three games in a single Fall Classic. During 20 intense innings in the postseason that October, he outperformed Boston's top hitters with an incredible 0.45 ERA and a 0.950 WHIP—winning Game 2, pitching a complete-game masterpiece in Game 6, and famously stepping out of the bullpen on zero days' rest to throw two scoreless innings during Game 7, helping to secure the championship with Enos Slaughter’s famous "Mad Dash’.

Brecheen departed from the Sportsman's Park rubber, leaving an impressive statistical record that garners considerable respect among analytical purists. During his eleven active seasons solely representing the Cardinals, he achieved exactly 128 wins against 79 losses, complemented by an outstanding 2.91 ERA, 122 complete games, and 25 career shutouts—still the franchise record for left-handed pitchers. The organization beautifully added the final, definitive punctuation to his legacy in 2018; the Red Ribbon Committee officially righted the historical record by triumphantly enshrining Harry Brecheen into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame.