(Updated Dec. 31, 2017)
One of the most remarkable teams in St. Louis history was the 1987 Cardinals.
Managed by Whitey Herzog, the 1987 Cardinals overcame adversity and several back-to-the-wall predicaments to finish 95-67 (three 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.
In his book “Mookie,” Mets center fielder Mookie Wilson said, “I loved the Cardinals’ style of play. They were so aggressive, always running on the bases until there was no place else to go … It was an exciting brand of baseball. I always believed that I could have fit in well with that club because I liked running when there were no rules or boundaries.”
The Cardinals started the season with an injury to their top starting pitcher, John Tudor, who suffered a broken kneecap in the dugout when Mets catcher Barry Lyons crashed into him while chasing a pop fly Boxscore, and ended the season without their top slugger, first baseman Jack Clark, who was limited to one postseason at-bat after tearing a tendon in his ankle in a game at Montreal Sept. 9. Boxscore
Two nights after the injury to Clark, the Cardinals were at Shea Stadium to open a three-game series against the second-place Mets, who had moved to within 1.5 games of St. Louis in the NL East standings.
In the ninth, the Mets led 4-1 and were within a strike of getting within a half-game of St. Louis, but Willie McGee delivered a two-out, two-strike RBI-single and Terry Pendleton followed with a two-run home run off Roger McDowell, tying the score. The Cardinals scored twice in the 10th to win, 6-4, stunning the Mets and building their lead to 2.5 games. Boxscore
After clinching the division title Oct. 1 with an 8-2 victory over the Expos at St. Louis, Herzog told the Associated Press, “We could’ve folded when we lost Jack, but we didn’t. The Mets talk about adversity, but we really had it.” Boxscore
In the best-of-seven NL Championship Series, the Giants won three of the first five (on the strength of four Jeffrey Leonard home runs) before the Cardinals won Game 6, 1-0, behind Tudor and two relievers Boxscore and Game 7, 6-0, on a Danny Cox masterpiece. Boxscore
The Cardinals won three of the first five in the World Series against the Twins and held leads in Game 6 (5-2 in the fifth inning) and in Game 7 (2-1 after four) before losing both at Minnesota.
In honor of this resilient team, here are 10 top facts about the 1987 Cardinals:
1. Shortstop Ozzie Smith led the team in hitting, with a .303 batting average _ the only time he hit .300 or better in a season during his 19-year major-league career.
2. Clark had 57 fewer hits than McGee (120 to 177), but finished with one more RBI (106 to 105).
3. Clark drew 136 walks in 131 games. Mark McGwire (with 162 in 155 games in 1998) is the only Cardinal with more walks in a season.
4. Left fielder Vince Coleman was first in the NL in steals (109), second in runs (121) and second in singles (153).
5. With 35, Clark was the only Cardinal to hit more than 12 home runs.
6. Cardinals hitters were remarkably consistent. They batted .264 at home and .263 on the road.
7. Four Cardinals pitchers posted double-digit win totals, but none won more than 11: Cox (11-9), Greg Mathews (11-11), Bob Forsch (11-7) and Tudor (10-2).
8. Pendleton produced 96 RBI, the most in his seven years with the Cardinals and 22 more than his next-best total for St. Louis.
9. McGee had 37 doubles, 11 triples, 11 home runs and 105 RBI, but also grounded into a league-leading 24 double plays.
10. Catcher Tony Pena, who hit .214 in the regular season, hit .381 (8-for-21) in the NL Championship Series and .409 (9-for-22) in the World Series.
Previously: Sweep of Dodgers gives Cardinals a link to 1987
RetroSimba 
Wow, amazing that someone as fast as McGee hit into so many DPs. I recall Pena started wearing glasses at the end of that season and started hitting well after a bad regular season.
I was surprised, too, by how many double plays Willie McGee hit into that season.
Yes, shocking really. I think McGee pulled his hamstring pretty badly in the late 80s and never had the same speed, but he hit a lot of balls on the ground. Your site is great, Living in Ohio as a Cardinal fan, I never had access to a lot of the regular Redbird info you would get in the newspaper pre-Internet. KMOX would start to come in at night after 830 or 9 pm EST.
Isn’t it amazing that a major staple of the Sunday sports sections across America used to be the batting averages and ERAs, and that has completely disappeared due to the Internet? That used to be a big deal to be able to get all the stats (up through the Friday games) in the paper.