Hank Aaron, the greatest home run hitter never to use performance-enhancing drugs, could have added to his historic total if not for an unusual call in a game against the Cardinals. Playing for the Braves, Aaron hit the 393rd home run of his career on Aug. 17, 1965, at St. Louis against the Cardinals’ Tracy [...]
Archive for the ‘Hitters’ Category
Hank Aaron and the home run that wasn’t vs. Cardinals
Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers on February 17, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
How Topps finally got Stan Musial on its baseball cards
Posted in Hitters, Uncategorized on February 14, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
So you think showing a squirrel on a Skip Schumaker Topps baseball card is controversial? How about printing baseball cards for seven years between 1951-57 and never offering a Stan Musial baseball card? In the first series of its 2012 baseball card set, Topps has printed two cards of St. Louis utilityman Skip Schumaker. The [...]
How Stan Musial turned in a great comeback year at 41
Posted in Games, Hitters on February 10, 2012 | 8 Comments »
This year is the golden jubilee of one of the most remarkable seasons in the career of Stan Musial. In 1962, at age 41, Musial, thought by some to be finished, produced like a star player in his prime. He placed second in the National League in on-base percentage (.416) and third in batting average (.330), with 143 hits in [...]
Can Cards continue to contend without steals in arsenal?
Posted in Hitters on February 7, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
The Cardinals consistently have ranked near the bottom of the National League in stolen bases for most of the past six seasons, but it hasn’t hurt them much. In two of the years in which they posted some of their lowest stolen base totals, they won World Series championships. Since 2006, the Cardinals never have [...]
Stan Musial and the Cardinals’ most iconic moment
Posted in Bloggers, Games, Hitters, Pitchers on January 27, 2012 | 1 Comment »
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 [...]
Top 10 offensive seasons by a Cardinal in last 100 years
Posted in Hitters on January 25, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
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 [...]
At 36, Lance Berkman should fit fine at first for Cardinals
Posted in Hitters on January 23, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
The Cardinals’ defense likely hasn’t been weakened by the move of Lance Berkman from right field to first base. 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. Berkman, who turns 36 on Feb. 10, replaces Albert Pujols, the starter at first base [...]
On 25th anniversary, top 10 facts about 1987 Cardinals
Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers on January 20, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
This year marks the 25th anniversary of one of the most remarkable teams in St. Louis history, the 1987 Cardinals. 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 [...]
5 Hall aces: Simmons, Boyer, Flood, Hernandez, McGee
Posted in Hitters on January 10, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
It’s been six years since a player has been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame as a Cardinal. Relief pitcher Bruce Sutter earned the honor in 2006. 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 [...]
In measuring greatness, Lou Brock beats Tim Raines
Posted in Hitters on January 6, 2012 | 2 Comments »
I’m ambivalent about whether Tim Raines has the qualifications to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. I didn’t vote for him in recent balloting by the Baseball Bloggers Alliance, but I’m not opposed to him getting elected. I’m not ambivalent, however, on the topic of who among Raines and Lou Brock was the greatest [...]
