Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently wrote he expects ”a massive year” in 2012 from Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday. I would expect a massive year to be similar to Holliday’s 2007 performance for the Rockies when he hit .340 with 36 home runs and 137 RBI, producing a .405 on-base percentage and .607 slugging percentage.
If Holliday, 32, delivered those kinds of numbers for the 2012 Cardinals, it would rank as one of the best performances in franchise history. But would it rank among the top 10 single-season hitting efforts by a Cardinal?
In selecting a top 10, I focused on five categories: batting average, home runs, RBI, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
In most cases, a player who in a single season had a batting average of .300 or better, 30 or more home runs, 100 or more RBI, an on-base percentage of .400 or better and a slugging percentage of .600 or better stood a chance to make the top 10.
Here, in order, are my choices for the 10 best offensive seasons by a Cardinal in the last 100 years:
TOP 5
1. Rogers Hornsby, 1922
Statistics: .401 batting average, 42 home runs, 152 RBI, .459 on-base percentage and .722 slugging percentage.
Summary: Hornsby had 250 hits and 450 total bases in 1922. Both totals remain Cardinals single-season records. Only one right-handed batter (the Athletics’ Al Simmons, with 253 in 1925) has produced more hits in a season. Hornsby’s 450 total bases are the most by a right-handed batter in baseball history. Only the Yankees’ Babe Ruth (457 in 1921) had more. The 42 home runs and 152 RBI were Hornsby’s career highs. He led the NL in batting average, home runs, RBI, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
2. Rogers Hornsby, 1925
Statistics: .403 batting average, 39 home runs, 143 RBI, .489 on-base percentage and .756 slugging percentage.
Summary: Hornsby’s .756 slugging percentage is the highest produced by a Cardinal and one of the top 10 in baseball history. Only Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig produced a higher slugging percentage in a season. Like in 1922, Hornsby led the National League in batting average, home runs, RBI, on-base percentage and slugging percentage in 1925.
3. Stan Musial, 1948
Statistics: .376 batting average, 39 home runs, 131 RBI, .450 on-base percentage and .702 slugging percentage.
Summary: Musial had a career-high 230 hits. His 429 total bases in 1948 rank No. 2 in Cardinals history. No player in baseball has produced as many total bases in a season since. Musial is the only Cardinal other than Rogers Hornsby or Mark McGwire to post a slugging percentage better than .700. He led the NL in batting average, RBI, on-base percentage and slugging percentage in 1948.
4. Mark McGwire, 1998
Statistics: .299 batting average, 70 home runs, 147 RBI, .470 on-base percentage and .752 slugging percentage.
Summary: Though the accomplishment is tainted by McGwire’s admission he used performance-enhancing drugs, the numbers are historical and impressive. In addition to leading the NL in home runs, on-base percentage and slugging percentage in 1998, McGwire led the league in walks. His 162 walks that season are the most issued to a right-handed batter in baseball history.
5. Albert Pujols, 2006
Statistics: .331 batting average, 49 home runs, 137 RBI, .431 on-base percentage and .671 slugging percentage.
Summary: The home runs, RBI and slugging percentage are career highs for Pujols.
SECOND 5
6. Rogers Hornsby, 1924
Statistics: .424 batting average, 25 home runs, 94 RBI, .507 on-base percentage and .696 slugging percentage.
Summary: The .424 batting average remains the highest by any big-league player since 1901 and the .507 on-base percentage is the highest by a right-handed batter in baseball history.
7. Albert Pujols, 2003
Statistics: .359 batting average, 43 home runs, 124 RBI, .439 on-base percentage and .667 slugging percentage.
Summary: This is the only time Pujols led the NL in batting average. He produced a career-high 212 hits, the only time he topped 200. He also posted career highs for runs (137) and total bases (394).
8. Joe Medwick, 1937
Statistics: .374 batting average, 31 home runs, 154 RBI, .414 on-base percentage and .641 slugging percentage.
Summary: With this performance, Medwick became the last NL player to achieve the Triple Crown for leading a league in batting average, home runs and RBI in a season. Medwick’s 154 RBI remain a Cardinals single-season record. He is the only Cardinal other than Rogers Hornsby and Stan Musial to record more than 400 total bases (406) in a season.
9. Stan Musial, 1949
Statistics: .338 batting average, 36 home runs, 123 RBI, .438 on-base percentage and .624 slugging percentage.
Summary: Musial had a career-high 107 walks and struck out just 38 times in a career-high 721 plate appearances. He led the NL in hits (207), doubles (41), triples (13), on-base percentage (.438) and total bases (382).
10. Johnny Mize, 1940
Statistics: .314 batting average, 43 home runs, 137 RBI, .404 on-base percentage and .636 slugging percentage.
Summary: Mize led the NL in home runs, RBI, slugging percentage and total bases (368) in 1940. His production was far superior to anyone else in the NL that season. Mize had 18 more home runs than the NL runner-up (Bill Nicholson of the Cubs) and his .636 slugging percentage was more than 100 points higher than the next-best producer (Nicholson again, at .534).
Previously: Rogers Hornsby raised the bar for second basemen
