In participation with a United Cardinal Bloggers project, here are my choices for the top 5 iconic moments in Cardinals history:
1: STAN MUSIAL’S FINAL AT-BAT
What happened: In a fitting ending to an illustrious career, Stan Musial went out like he came in. Playing in his final big-league game on Sept. 29, 1963, against the Reds at St. Louis, Musial broke a scoreless tie in the sixth by smacking a single past second baseman Pete Rose, scoring Curt Flood. Lifted for a pinch-runner, Musial left to a thunderous ovation. He finished his final game with two hits and a RBI. Boxscore Ever consistent, Musial began his career in similar fashion, getting two hits and two RBI in his big-league debut on Sept. 17, 1941, against the Braves at St. Louis. Boxscore The Cardinals won both games by the same score: 3-2. For his career, Musial had 3,630 hits (1,815 at home and 1,815 on the road).
Why it qualifies: The final at-bat brought to a close the career of the greatest Cardinal. No Cardinal has been more outstanding.
Fun fact: After being lifted from the game, Jim Maloney, the Reds pitcher who gave up the two hits to Musial, went to the St. Louis clubhouse to seek out the retiring Cardinal and tell him, “It was a pleasure watching you play ball.”
Top quote: “It was a great day and I’m grateful that I was able to do something well in my last game.” _ Stan Musial to the Associated Press.
2: THE STRIKEOUT OF TONY LAZZERI
What happened: On Oct. 10, in Game 7 of the 1926 World Series at New York, the Cardinals led 3-2. In the seventh, the Yankees loaded the bases with two out against starter Jesse Haines, who split a finger on his pitching hand. Cardinals manager Rogers Hornsby called on Grover Cleveland Alexander to relieve. Alexander had pitched a complete game the day before in the Cardinals’ Game 6 victory. Boxscore Facing rookie Tony Lazzeri, who had 18 home runs and 114 RBI that season, Alexander struck him out on four pitches. Alexander shut down the Yankees with 2.1 hitless innings, earning a save to go with two World Series wins and preserving the 3-2 St. Louis victory. Boxscore
Why it qualifies: By defeating the Yankees and winning their first World Series championship, the Cardinals transformed from a perennial also-ran into an elite franchise in the National League.
Fun fact: Alexander faced seven batters in Game 7. None of the first six hit the ball out of the infield. The seventh, Babe Ruth, walked with two out in the ninth, then was thrown out attempting to steal.
Top quote: “I knew he was all rattled and nervous and would go after anything, so I gave him a low curve a foot and a half from the plate and he swung and missed.” _ Grover Cleveland Alexander to The Sporting News, describing the pitch on which he struck out Tony Lazzeri.
3: DAVID FREESE’S HOME RUN
What happened: On Oct. 27, in Game 6 of the 2011 World Series at St. Louis, third baseman David Freese, whose two-out, two-run triple in the ninth tied the score, delivered a game-winning home run to lead off the 11th. The Cardinals rallied from deficits of 1-0, 3-2, 4-3, 7-4 and 9-7 against the Rangers to win 10-9 in 11 innings. St. Louis became the first team to score in the eighth, ninth, 10th and 11th innings of a World Series game. The Cardinals were within one strike of elimination in the ninth and 10th innings, and survived. Boxscore
Why it qualifies: The home run capped the most dramatic World Series comeback victory in Cardinals history. It advanced the Cardinals to Game 7 and they clinched their 11th World Series title.
Fun fact: Freese became the fourth Cardinal to receive the World Series Most Valuable Player Award, joining pitcher Bob Gibson (1964 and ’67), catcher Darrell Porter (1982) and shortstop David Eckstein (2006).
Top quote: “Your Game 6 performance, David, will turn out to be one for the ages.” _ Baseball commissioner Bud Selig, in presenting the World Series MVP Award to David Freese.
4: ENOS SLAUGHTER’S DASH TO HOME PLATE
What happened: On Oct. 15, in Game 7 of the 1946 World Series at St. Louis, the Cardinals’ Enos Slaughter was on first base with two out and the score tied, 3-3. Harry Walker hit a line drive that dropped into center where Leon Culberson (who had replaced an injured Dom DiMaggio) fielded the ball and threw to the cutoff man, shortstop Johnny Pesky. Slaughter rounded third and dashed toward the plate. Pesky appeared to hesitate before throwing to the catcher as Slaughter slid home safely. The daring baserunning gave the Cardinals a 4-3 victory and the championship. Boxscore
Why it qualifies: Slaughter’s hustle symbolized the smart and sound Cardinals teams that dominated the National League in the 1940s. The Cardinals won four pennants and three World Series championships in the decade and finished second five times.
Fun fact: Slaughter credited third-base coach Mike Gonzalez for waving him to home plate as soon as he reached third. It was redemption for Gonzalez, who had been criticized after Game 4 when two Cardinals baserunners he waved home had been thrown out at the plate.
Top quote: “They say if Pesky hadn’t held the throw I would have been out by a country mile. I don’t know about that. I know the throw to the plate was a little wide, up the third-base line. I also know I had to score.” _ Enos Slaughter to International News Service.
5: OZZIE SMITH’S HOME RUN
What happened: In Game 5 of the best-of-seven National League Championship Series on Oct. 14, 1985, at St. Louis, shortstop Ozzie Smith snapped a 2-2 tie with a one-out home run in the ninth against Dodgers reliever Tom Niedenfuer, giving St. Louis a 3-2 victory. Boxscore It was the first home run Smith hit left-handed in eight years as a big-leaguer.
Why it qualifies: The blast (along with broadcaster Jack Buck’s memorable call of “Go crazy, folks! Go crazy!”) symbolized the spirit of manager Whitey Herzog’s 1980s Cardinals clubs and helped clinch Smith’s reputation as a Hall of Fame legend.
Fun fact: Niedenfuer said the pitch was supposed to be up and in to Smith, but instead was down and in. That mistake enabled Smith to drop the head of the bat on the ball and golf it over the right-field wall.
Top quote: “All I was trying to do was get the ball down the line, into the corner. Fortunately, I got enough to put it out. It was exciting.” _ Ozzie Smith to the Associated Press.
Previously: Stan Musial ranks with best walkoff homer hitters
In selecting a top 10, I focused on five categories: batting average, home runs, RBI, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
Based on Berkman’s fielding record and on recent Cardinals history, having a 36-year-old as the everyday first baseman isn’t a problem.
Managed by Whitey Herzog, the ’87 Cardinals overcame adversity and several back-to-the-wall predicaments to finish 95-67 (3 games ahead of the favored Mets in the National League East). The Cardinals then won the pennant by beating the Giants in the League Championship Series and got to Game 7 of the World Series before losing to the champion Twins.
A Cardinals left-hander hasn’t posted three consecutive seasons of double-digit wins since Tudor did it 25 years ago. Tudor was 21-8 in 1985, 13-7 in 1986 and 10-2 in 1987.
Al Jackson: I was supposed to pitch the night before that in Milwaukee. And Casey (manager Casey Stengel) came to me and said, “They think we’re going to lie down in St. Louis. Why don’t you pitch the Friday night in St. Louis instead of Thursday in Milwaukee.” I said, “No problem.”
Q: You began the 1967 season in the Cardinals’ rotation and in April pitched a one-hit shutout, beating the Astros, 4-0, in Houston. Bob Aspromonte broke up the no-hitter with a leadoff single in the eighth. Do you recall what happened? 
Members of the committee presently include Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith, who openly clashed with La Russa when both were with the Cardinals, and Hall of Fame manager Whitey Herzog, who remained more popular than La Russa among some Cardinals fans even when La Russa was leading St. Louis to three pennants and two World Series titles.
With first baseman Mark McGwire continuing to get a cold shoulder from most Hall of Fame voters because of his use of performance-enhancing drugs, it may be several years before anyone else (Jim Edmonds, Chris Carpenter) has a chance to gain election as a Cardinals player in balloting by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
Miller, who turns 66 in May, has been a Cardinals minor-league coach or instructor for 19 seasons _ from 1985-86 and from 1995-2011. Now, after all those years of service, he’s getting his first chance to be a coach with St. Louis.
I’m not ambivalent, however, on the topic of who among Raines and Lou Brock was the greatest ballplayer.
