(Updated Dec. 9, 2020)
Lance Berkman wanted to return to the National League, and the Cardinals were willing to give him the chance.
On Dec. 4, 2010, the Cardinals and Berkman agreed to terms on a one-year contract for $8 million. The Cardinals projected Berkman to be their right fielder in 2011 and join Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday in the heart of the batting order.
A switch-hitter who became a free agent after the 2010 season, Berkman, 34, hadn’t played the outfield regularly since 2004. He split the 2010 season with the Astros and Yankees, playing first base and designated hitter, and disappointed at the plate, hitting .248 with 14 home runs and 58 RBI in 122 games combined for the two teams.
The Cardinals, though, were confident Berkman in 2011 would be more like the player they’d been accustomed to seeing in his prime with the Astros.
“Lance’s talent, his character and what he brings to the club makes us a better team and changes the makeup of the clubhouse,” Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “It’s a big add.”
Houston hitter
While with the Astros from 1999 to 2010, Berkman hit .296 and had an on-base percentage of .410. He produced more than 100 RBI in a season six times, slugged 30 or more home runs five times and also scored more than 100 runs five times with Houston. In addition, Berkman twice led the National League in doubles, 55 in 2001 and 46 in 2008, and was No. 1 in RBI in 2002 (128).
Berkman was tough on the Cardinals. He hit .313 against them for his career, with an on-base percentage of .415. In 13 postseason games versus the Cardinals, Berkman had 12 RBI.
He played the outfield from 1999 to 2004 before moving to first base.
Before the 2010 season, Berkman had arthroscopic knee surgery. He missed the first two weeks of the season before joining the Astros on April 20. Scouts said Berkman wasn’t fully recovered when he returned to the lineup and “the lack of leg strength hurt his swing,” the New York Daily News reported.
Berkman hit .245 with 13 home runs for the 2010 Astros, who dropped out of contention early. His batting average against left-handers was .188.
Berkman’s contract gave the Astros the option to bring him back for 2011 at a salary of $15 million, or pay him a $2 million buyout and let him become a free agent. A more appealing option was to trade him for prospects.
The Yankees, who had Mark Teixeira at first base, were interested in Berkman as a designated hitter. Berkman agreed to waive the no-trade clause in his contract if the Yankees would pay him the $2 million buyout after the season and allow him to become a free agent.
On July 31, 2010, the Astros dealt Berkman to the Yankees for Mark Melancon and Jimmy Paredes.
Trying on pinstripes
The Yankees were contending with the Rays for the American League East title and hoped Berkman would give them an edge.
“Berkman long has been considered a tough out, a smart, patient hitter who always has a high on-base percentage,” wrote New York Daily News columnist John Harper.
It was an adjustment for him trying to play for a contender in the American League after spending his whole career in the National League.
“When you’re a veteran _ I’m 34, which isn’t necessarily ancient but definitely getting toward more yesterdays than tomorrows in the game _ you start to see the window for an opportunity to win, and feel the rush of the playoffs, close,” Berkman said.
“I really feel like I had to do something with my career. I felt like I needed to either retire, or get into a situation where you’re scared again, where if you fail, then you’re a bum. I want that situation. I want to see what I’ve got.”
Berkman wasn’t much of an upgrade for the Yankees. He hit .255 for them, with one home run. His batting average versus left-handers was .111.
The Yankees got to the American League Championship Series before being eliminated by the Rangers.
Right stuff
Berkman became a free agent and got offers from two American League clubs, the Athletics and White Sox, to be a first baseman and designated hitter. The Athletics offered a two-year contract, according to the Post-Dispatch.
The Cubs also wanted Berkman as a first baseman.
The Cardinals countered with an invitation to play the outfield.
In his book, “If These Walls Could Talk,” author Stan McNeal said the Cubs “came close” to landing Berkman, “but after the Cardinals offered $4 million, Berkman told St. Louis if the team upped it to $8 million with no incentives, he wouldn’t bother with the Cubs.”
“I didn’t want to limit myself to first base or designated hitter,” Berkman told the Post-Dispatch. “I know I can run around in the outfield. I don’t foresee that as an issue.
“It worked out how I wanted. I love the National League.”
The Cardinals, who had Albert Pujols at first base, planned to feature a 2011 starting outfield of Matt Holliday in left, Colby Rasmus in center and Berkman in right. The club viewed Berkman as a player who would “reshape its lineup and its personality,” the Post-Dispatch reported.
It turned out to be an ideal fit.
In his book, author Stan McNeal said, “In the off-season after signing with St. Louis, Berkman retained a personal trainer for the first time and strengthened his knees and lost 20 pounds.”
Berkman hit .301 for the 2011 Cardinals and led the club in walks (92) and on-base percentage (.412). He hit 31 home runs, drove in 94 runs and scored 90. He also was a leader in the clubhouse.
Berkman’s return to prominence earned him the 2011 National League Comeback Player of the Year Award.
The Cardinals (90-72) qualified for the postseason as a wild-card entry, beat the Phillies and Brewers, and won the National League pennant.
Berkman excelled in the World Series against the Rangers. He had a team-high 11 hits, including a run-scoring, two-out single in the 10th inning of Game 6 to tie the score and set the stage for David Freese’s walkoff home run in the 11th. Boxscore and Video
Among Cardinals regulars, Berkman was the leader in batting average (.423) and on-base percentage (.516) in the seven-game World Series.
Limited to 22 games in 2012 because of knee injuries, Berkman became a free agent after the season and completed his playing career with the 2013 Rangers.
RetroSimba 
I will not hesitate to say that without Lance Berkman, the Cardinals would not have been 2011 World Series Champions. Besides having a fine year overall, he went on an incredible hot streak from September 2 to Game 7 of the World Series. Over a course of 43 games he went 54 for 151 for a batting average of .358. During this span he had only two games in which he failed to get on base. Even though only a decade has past, it seems like a long time ago. The team back then not only had great players on the field. They also had great players that maintained the proper atmosphere in the clubhouse.
Thanks for the insights, Phillip.
I have the DVD set of the 2011 WS and I marvel at Lance Berkman’s play every time I dust it off and watch it. He used to drive me out of my ever lovin’ mind when he played on the Astros. As in, ‘oh no, not Berkman again!’
That he fell off the HOF ballot after his first year of eligability is astonishing; he seems (to me, at least) to be better than the Hall of the Very Good.
Good points. I had forgotten just how consistently productive he was for the Astros until I went back and started researching this piece.