Born in Galveston, Texas, Carpenter grew up in a baseball-centered household. His father, Rick Carpenter, was a longtime high school coach, and Matt developed his game at Fort Bend Elkins High School, where he helped lead a national championship team and set school records for hits. After graduation, he enrolled at TCU, where his collegiate career took an unexpected turn. An elbow injury required Tommy John surgery (rare at the time for a position player) and forced Carpenter to redshirt. The setback coincided with weight gain and uncertainty about his professional future.

That adversity proved formative. Carpenter recommitted himself physically and mentally, reshaping both his body and approach. By the end of his college career, he had rewritten portions of TCU’s record book, finishing second in school history in hits and doubles while setting marks for games played and at-bats. Despite those accomplishments, he entered the 2009 draft with little leverage and signed with St. Louis for a modest bonus.

Carpenter advanced rapidly through the Cardinals system, earning Organizational Player of the Year honors in 2010 after batting .316 at Double-A Springfield. By 2011, he was in Triple-A Memphis, posting a .417 on-base percentage before making his major league debut that June. Although he appeared in just seven games that season, he received a World Series ring when the Cardinals defeated the Texas Rangers.

His first extended opportunity arrived in 2012, when injuries opened roster space. Carpenter filled in primarily at first base and quickly made an impression, including a four-hit, five-RBI performance against the Chicago Cubs. In that year’s postseason, he homered off Matt Cain during the National League Championship Series after entering the game for an injured Carlos Beltrán, underscoring his ability to contribute in high-leverage moments.

Carpenter’s breakout came in 2013. Shifted to second base, he emerged as the Cardinals’ everyday leadoff hitter and one of the most productive players in the National League. He led Major League Baseball in hits (199), doubles (55), and runs scored (126) while batting .318 with a .392 on-base percentage. That performance earned him his first All-Star selection, a Silver Slugger Award (the first ever by a Cardinals second baseman) and a fourth-place finish in MVP voting. St. Louis captured the National League pennant that season before falling to the Boston Red Sox in the World Series.

The Cardinals rewarded Carpenter with a long-term extension in 2014, and he continued to anchor the top of the lineup while rotating between second base, third base, and first. His offensive profile, marked by elite plate discipline, high walk totals, and consistent extra-base power, became a defining feature of the Cardinals’ identity throughout the decade.

Carpenter was especially impactful in October. Across his postseason career, he appeared in 56 playoff games, hitting six home runs and driving in 21 runs. During the 2014 National League Division Series, he delivered multiple key at-bats against Clayton Kershaw, including a home run and a bases-clearing double that helped swing the series in St. Louis’ favor. That postseason is also remembered for Matt Adams’ decisive homer in Game 4, with Carpenter frequently setting the table in front of him.

His peak power season arrived in 2018, following an early slump that saw his average dip below .150 in May. Carpenter responded with one of the most dramatic midseason turnarounds in franchise history. On July 20 at Wrigley Field, he authored one of the greatest single games ever by a Cardinal: three home runs, two doubles, 16 total bases, and seven RBIs in a 5-for-5 performance against the Cubs. He finished that season with career highs in home runs (36) and slugging percentage, earning MVP consideration and national recognition.

From 2013 through 2018, Carpenter consistently ranked among league leaders in walks and on-base percentage while also providing increasing power. He topped 20 home runs in three separate seasons and led the National League in doubles twice. Defensively, he logged significant innings at three infield positions, giving St. Louis flexibility as rosters evolved.

By 2019, however, injuries and declining production began to take their toll. Back and shoulder issues limited his effectiveness, and the shortened 2020 season proved particularly challenging. After Carpenter hit just .169 in 2021, the Cardinals declined his option, making him a free agent for the first time in his career.

His journey then took him through several organizations. After a brief stint in the Texas Rangers’ system, Carpenter reinvented himself with the Yankees in 2022, delivering a surprising surge of power that included a franchise record for home runs in a player’s first 30 games. He followed that with a season in San Diego before being released in late 2023.

In January 2024, Carpenter returned to St. Louis on a one-year contract. Though used primarily in a reserve and mentoring role, he provided veteran leadership to a younger roster and finished the season batting .234 with four home runs.

Over 14 major league seasons, Carpenter compiled a .259 batting average with 179 home runs, more than 1,250 hits, and nearly 700 RBIs. His Cardinals tenure alone included 159 homers, 308 doubles, and a .366 on-base percentage, placing him among the franchise’s most productive hitters of the modern era. Remarkably, he spent his entire career on winning teams, with St. Louis finishing above .500 in all 12 of his seasons with the club.

In May 2025, Carpenter formally announced his retirement. He expressed gratitude for the opportunity to play for multiple organizations while emphasizing how meaningful his years in St. Louis had been.

Eligible for the Cardinals Hall of Fame beginning in 2028, Carpenter leaves behind a legacy defined by adaptability, positional versatility, and one of the most disciplined offensive approaches of his generation. From a lightly recruited college senior to a cornerstone of multiple postseason teams, his career traced an arc that mirrored much of the Cardinals’ success in the 2010s – steady, professional, and consistently competitive.

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The Cardinals had led the National League Central Division for most of May, but in June they went just 10-17 and slid into a tie for third place, eight games behind the division-leading Brewers. By the end of August, the Cardinals were 12 games behind Milwaukee. If they were to qualify for the playoffs, they would need to do so as a wild-card team.

The Dodgers, who were 1 ½ games behind the Giants in the NL West, held the first wild-card position and a 15-game lead over the Cardinals, leaving only the second wild-card within easy striking distance. For that, the Cardinals would need to pass the Reds, Padres, and Braves and hold off the Phillies.

On September 10, following a 4-2 loss to the Reds, the Cardinals trailed the Padres and Braves by 3 ½ games and the Reds by 3 games. They were just ½ game ahead of the Phillies and one game ahead of the Mets. With approximately three weeks remaining in the season, it was going to take a strong finish to reach the postseason.

A “strong finish” didn’t begin to describe it.

Saturday, September 11

Fittingly, the Cardinals’ history-making win streak began with a comeback at Busch Stadium.

After starting pitcher Miles Mikolas was touched up for four runs in the third inning, the Cardinals slowly worked their way back. Nolan Arenado hit an RBI triple and a two-run homer, Paul DeJong added a solo shot, and the Cardinals’ bullpen threw four scoreless innings in a 6-4 win.

“Nobody gave up. Nobody felt down,” Arenado said.[1]

Sunday, September 12

A day after the Cardinals’ bats picked up their starting pitcher, the St. Louis hurlers led the way in a 2-0 win over the Reds.

Trade deadline acquisition J.A. Happ threw 5 1/3 scoreless innings before Luis Garcia, T.J. McFarland, Genesis Cabrera, and Giovanny Gallegos combined for 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief as the Reds managed just five hits for the game.

Arenado’s two-run, first-inning homer proved the difference.

Now, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch declared, the pursuit of the wild card was “a horse race.”[2]

“Around the stretch they come,” Cardinals manager Mike Schildt said. “They know we’ve got good closing speed.”[3]

Monday, September 13

With their third consecutive victory, the Cardinals officially had a win streak on their hands.

In a game that pitted 40-year-old Adam Wainwright against 41-year-old Mets starter Rich Hill, the Cardinals posted four runs in the ninth inning to cruise to a 7-0 victory.

Paul Goldschmidt hit his 25^th home run of the season and six different Cardinals drove in runs in support of Wainwright, who scattered four hits and three walks over six innings and lowered his ERA to 2.88. McFarland, Alex Reyes, and Kodi Whitley each threw scoreless innings of relief.

Tuesday, September 14

It took a wild win for the Cardinals to move into a wild-card spot.

After the Mets’ Javier Baez homered in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra innings, the Cardinals needed all three runs they scored in the 11^th to hold off the Mets in a 7-6 win.

In the 11^th, with Yadier Molina opening the inning at second base, Edmundo Sosa hit an RBI single and Andrew Knizner followed with a two-run single to give St. Louis a 7-4 lead.

The Mets, however, didn’t go easily, as Pete Alonzo smacked an RBI double and scored on an error three batters later. With runners on first and second, however, Kwang Hyun Kim got Albert Almora to ground out to second base to end the game and earn his first save of the season.

Tyler O’Neill hit his 26^th homer of the season and finished with three RBIs, and Reyes earned his eighth win of the year with a scoreless inning of relief. With the win, the Cardinals moved ½ game ahead of the Reds for the second wild-card position.

“We’ve been waiting to bust out all year,” O’Neill said. “This is crunch time.”[4]

Wednesday, September 15

The Cardinals completed their three-game sweep of the Mets behind the strength of a five-run first inning.

Harrison Bader, Goldschmidt, Arenado, and Edmundo Sosa each homered and Jon Lester earned the 199^th win of his career as the Cardinals picked up an 11-4 victory. Altogether, the lineup produced 16 hits, including eight for extra bases.

“Ultimately, the best baseball is when you’re going it all together,” Schildt said. “You’re getting the hitting, consistent at-bats. You’re getting the quality pitching. It’s just about doing it all together at one time.”[5]

Friday, September 17

Back at Busch Stadium, the Cardinals continued their winning ways with an 8-2 series-opening victory over the Padres. With their sixth straight win, they tied their season high.

Dylan Carlson homered twice – including a grand slam – and Mikolas threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings as the Cardinals led the entire way, scoring four runs in the eighth to put the game out of reach. O’Neill’s first-inning home run gave him 27 for the year.

The win marked Mikolas’s first since 2019. Surgery to repair a flexor tendon in his pitching arm had forced him to miss the 2020 season, and he had just been reactivated from the 60-day injured list in August.

“I took a nice sage bath the other night,” he said.[6]

Meanwhile, excitement started to build as the Cardinals’ win streak reached six games.

“No one knows where the best stretch of Cardinals baseball we have watched this season is headed,” wrote St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Ben Frederickson. “No one knows why the clubs that could have stomped it out before it ever started spent the past weeks dissolving like Tums dropped into battery acid. All we can know for sure is that the focus now is fully back on this season. This postseason. Not the offseason. Not next season. And considering the way things were headed, that’s worth some celebration, isn’t it?”[7]

Saturday, September 18

It took a three-run, eighth-inning rally for the Cardinals to extend their win streak to seven games.

Padres starter Yu Darvish was dominant for seven innings, holding the Cardinals to just three hits while striking out nine. Meanwhile, Wainwright allowed just two runs over his even innings, allowing RBI singles by Tommy Pham and Victor Caratini in the fourth inning.

With reliever Emilio Pagan in the game and the Padres leading 2-0, the Cardinals finally struck in the eighth. Bader led off with a double to left field and scored on a sacrifice fly by Tommy Edman. After Goldschmidt drew a walk, O’Neill homered to left field to give St. Louis a 3-2 victory.

Justin Miller earned the win with a scoreless eighth inning and Gallegos earned his ninth save of the season. Wainwright struck out two batters to finish with 1,999 for his career.

“I just found out I only needed one strikeout to get to 2,000,” Wainwright said. “If I had known that, I would have started pumping stuff into the dirt to get some swings and misses. I thought I needed a couple more.”[8]

Sunday, September 19, 2021

One day after coming from behind to beat the Padres, the Cardinals needed to fight of a San Diego rally to come away with an 8-7 victory and complete their second consecutive series sweep.

The Cardinals jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning as Fernando Tatis Jr. misplayed a fly ball, Sosa hit an RBI double, and Bader drove in two with a double of his own. The Padres, however, fought back. Even after the Cardinals scored two in the fifth inning to extend their lead to 7-3, the Padres scored three runs in the eighth to pull within 8-7.

Gallegos proved up to the task in the ninth. Striking out two of the three batters he faced, he earned his 10^th save of the season and dropped his ERA to 3.27.

More importantly, the win marked St. Louis’s eighth straight and gave the Cardinals a three-game lead for the second wild-card spot.

“Huge, huge series,” Happ said. “That’s definitely an understatement, but we definitely have a … ways to go yet.”[9]

Monday, September 20

The Cardinals’ ninth consecutive victory marked the 200^th win of Lester’s career.

The recently acquired veteran held the Brewers to two runs over six innings and Whitley, McFarland, and Luis Garcia combined for three scoreless innings of relief in the 5-2 win. Arenado hit a two-run homer in the first inning and Molina drove in a pair of runs.

“I don’t think people realize how hard it is to have winning streaks over four, five, six games,” Lester said. “They don’t happen a lot. Now that we’re at nine, hopefully we can keep going.”[10]

Tuesday, September 21

The Cardinals’ win streak reached double digits thanks to five shutout innings from Jake Woodford and another strong performance from the bullpen.

With Brandon Woodford on the mound for the Brewers, O’Neill and Edman each drove in runs and the Cardinals’ bullpen again came through, allowing a single run over four innings. Reyes and Cabrera each threw scoreless innings of relief before a sacrifice fly by Willy Adames cut the Cardinals’ lead to 2-1.

That proved to be plenty for Gallegos, who earned his 11^th save of the season as the Cardinals reached 10 consecutive wins for the first time since 2001. It marked just the 13^th time the Cardinals had won 10 consecutive games in franchise history.

“It’s hard to capture because I don’t plan on being done with it,” Shildt said.[11]

Wednesday, September 22

After their pitching led them to victories in the first two games of the series, it was the offense’s turn in a 10-2 win over the Brewers. O’Neill and Goldschmidt each homered and the Cardinals totaled 15 hits, including seven for extra bases.

Milwaukee starter Brett Anderson lasted just 1 2/3 innings, allowing six runs – two earned – over that span. Goldschmidt and Bader each had three hits to pace the Redbird attack.

Despite the lopsided win, the victory was marred by Arenado’s early exit with back tightness just a few innings after he dove over a tarp to make a catch in foul territory.

“Just wanted to get him out of there – precautionary,” Shildt said. “We’ll evaluate it. There’s always some concern. It felt better after the game than it did when he got taken out. That’s encouraging.”[12]

Thursday, September 23

The Cardinals concluded their sweep of the Brewers by erasing a five-run deficit to rally for an 8-5 win.

Wainwright – who entered the game one strikeout shy of the milestone – struck out the 2,000^th batter of his career in the fourth inning, joining Bob Gibson as the only pitchers to strike out 2,000 batters during their tenure with the Cardinals. Though Wainwright emerged with his place in history, the game proved to be a struggle, as the Brewers posted a four-run first inning. Wainwright left the game after four innings with Milwaukee leading 5-0.

As they had throughout the win streak, however, the bullpen picked up their starter. Kwang Hyun Kim threw two scoreless innings and McFarland, Garcia, and Garcia each threw one to give the St. Louis offense a chance to rally back.

Molina got the Cardinals on the board in the fifth with an RBI single. In the seventh, the Cardinals scored four runs to tie the game, including a two-run homer by Goldschmidt. In the eighth, Arenado scored on a passed ball and Molina added a sacrifice fly to give St. Louis the lead, and one inning later Goldschmidt added his second home run of the night to make the final score 8-5.

At 12 games, their win streak was now the longest by a Cardinals team since 1982 and tied for the second-longest in franchise history, trailing the 14-game win streak that took place July 2-18 in 1935.

Friday, September 24

On Friday, September 24, the Cubs had two opportunities to end the Cardinals’ win streak. They couldn’t do it, and as a result, the Cardinals tied the franchise record.

Goldschmidt and O’Neill each hit their 30^th home runs of the season and Jose Rondon added a two-run shot as the Cardinals won the first game of the double-header 8-5.

In Game 2, Lars Nootbaar hit two homers, O’Neill hit his second homer of the day, and Bader added a solo blast in a 12-4 win. Molina hit the 400^th double of his career to drive in the first two runs of the game.

Saturday, September 25

Another 8-5 win extended the Cardinals’ win streak to 15 games. Bader, O’Neill, and DeJong each homered, Lester threw five innings, and the bullpen held the Cubs to just one run in four innings of work.

The Cubs led 4-2 after they scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth, but the Cardinals rallied for three runs in the seventh and three more in the ninth to continue their win streak.

“Everyone is stepping up,” Wainwright said. “New heroes every day.”[13]

“It’s the complete elation of knowing every time we come to the field that we’re going to win,” McFarland said. “It’s that confidence. It’s almost that motivation. Every time we come to the field we’re expecting to win. We’re rising to the occasion.”[14]

Sunday, September 26

With their 16^th consecutive win on September 26, the Cardinals also completed their fourth consecutive series sweep.

Once again, the Cardinals came from behind after Chicago took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth. Goldschmidt and Bader each hit two-out, solo home runs and Cardinals played small ball in the ninth, scoring on a wild pitch and an RBI groundout.

Woodford allowed two runs over 5 1/3 innings before Andrew Miller, Whitley, Cabrera, and Gallegos held the Cubs scoreless the rest of the way. Gallegos’s scoreless ninth inning was good for his 14^th save.

Tuesday, September 28

With a 6-2 win over the Central Division-leading Brewers, the Cardinals’ win streak reached 17 games. Even more importantly, they clinched their third consecutive playoff berth.

Wainwright improved to 17-7 on the season by holding Milwaukee to two runs over six innings, and McFarland, Garcia, and Gallegos combined for three scoreless innings of relief. Carlson, Rondon, and Arenado each hit solo home runs.

“There’s no reason to stop,” Wainwright said. “We feel dangerous.”[15]

Conclusion of the Season

Ultimately, the Cardinals’ win streak was the product of luck, skill, and a well-rounded team getting strong performances on defense, from their bullpen, and from their offense. Goldschmidt, Arenado, and O’Neill each reached 30 home runs for the season, and Goldschmidt and Bader were especially potent throughout the winning streak.

Finally, on September 29, the streak came to an end, as the Milwaukee staff held the Cardinals to just three hits. Adrian Houser threw five shutout innings before Brent Suter, Brad Boxberger, and Aaron Ashby combined for four no-hit innings.

The Cardinals went 2-2 over the final four games of the regular season; however, their 17-game surge placed them seven games ahead of Cincinnati for the second wild-card spot. Though the Dodgers beat St. Louis 3-1 in the one-game wild-card playoff, the Cardinals saw what they could accomplish during their incredible September run.

“Attitude is everything. Success is contagious. Luck favors the prepared,” Mikolas said. “There are a dozen cliches that could describe the way our winning streak went, but the best way to describe it is teamwork and having everyone pushing toward a common goal will win out.”[16]

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[1] Rick Hummel, “Arenado Caps Cardinals’ Rally,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 12, 2021.

[2] Rick Hummel, “Birds Back In Business,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 13, 2021.

[3] Rick Hummel, “Birds Back In Business,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 13, 2021.

[4] Derrick Goold, “One Wild Cards Win,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 15, 2021.

[5] Derrick Goold, “Cardinals Put On A Show,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 16, 2021.

[6] Rick Hummel, “Mikolas picks up win, Carlson hits two HRs,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 18, 2021.

[7] Ben Frederickson, “Redbirds making this a September to remember,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 18, 2021.

[8] Rick Hummel, “O’Neill homer in eighth helps Birds win again,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 19, 2021.

[9] Rick Hummel, “Some Wild Developments,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 20, 2021.

[10] Ryan Herrera, “Cards roll to 9^th straight in Lester’s 200^th W,” MLB.com, September 20, 2021, https://www.mlb.com/news/jon-lester-gets-200th-win-for-cardinals-in-playoff-hunt.

[11] Derrick Goold, “A Perfect 10: Redbirds roll on,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 22, 2021.

[12] Derrick Goold, “Cards crank it up to 11,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 23, 2021.

[13] Derrick Goold, “A Roll For The Ages,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 26, 2021.

[14] Derrick Goold, “A Roll For The Ages,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 26, 2021.

[15] Derrick Goold, “Cards win 17^th in row, clinch playoff slot,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 29, 2021.

[16] Derrick Goold, “Run Is Done For Cards,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 30, 2021.

The post How the Cardinals’ 17-game win streak got them into the 2021 playoffs first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

The five-time all-star and three-time World Series champion had been in St. Louis for less than two months when he reached the milestone. Just ahead of the trade deadline, the Cardinals sent outfielder Lane Thomas to the Nationals to acquire the veteran righthander. At age 37, Lester was just 3-5 with a 5.02 ERA in 16 starts for Washington, but the Cardinals needed Lester and fellow newcomer J.A. Happ (who was acquired in a separate deal) to fill an innings void left by injuries to Miles Mikolas and Jack Flaherty.

“I didn’t even look at the stats or what he did in Washington,” Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado said. “I don’t have to look at that when it comes to Jon Lester. I think everyone kind of feels the same way. When you get a pitcher like him, you know he’s gonna give you everything he has, and he’s gonna keep you in ballgames. I feel like he’s better on better teams, and teams that are in it, I feel like that’s where he thrives. That’s just who he is. It’s pretty fun to be a part of, because nothing’s too big for him.”[1]

Lester certainly appeared to be rejuvenated by his arrival in the Cardinals’ playoff race. After losing his Cardinals debut on August 3, Lester won each of his next three decisions, including his September 15 start against the Mets when he allowed just two runs over six innings. That victory was No. 199 for his career and put him on the precipice of joining Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke as the only active players with 200 wins.

As Lester sought to become the 119^th pitcher in MLB history to reach 200, the Cardinals were as hot as they had been in years. With the series opener at the NL Central-leading Brewers on September 20, 2021, the Cardinals sought their ninth consecutive win.

Freddy Peralta, a 25-year-old right-hander coming off the first All-Star Game of his career, took the mound for Milwaukee with a 9-4 record and 2.57 ERA. After Peralta struck out Tommy Edman and Paul Goldschmidt to open the game, the Cardinals’ powerful middle of the order caught up to him (Goldschmidt, Tyler O’Neill, and Arenado each would finish the season with more than 30 homers). After O’Neill singled to center, extending his hit streak to nine games, Arenado launched his 33^rd home run of the season to left field. His two RBIs marked his 100^th and 101^st of the season.

“It’s extremely important to get out to a lead, especially against these arms and these teams that we’re facing that are good,” Arenado said, “but at the end of the day, we are just playing solid baseball regardless of whether we are scoring early or not.”[2]

The Brewers answered in the bottom of the second as Avisail Garcia and Luis Urias each homered. After Urias’s blast, Lester retired the next 10 batters he faced. The score was still tied in the top of the sixth when Yadier Molina punched a single through the left side of the Brewers’ infield to score O’Neill and give the Cardinals a 3-2 lead.

In the top of the seventh, Cardinals manager Mike Shildt pulled Lester in favor of pinch-hitter Matt Carpenter to lead off the seventh. The move worked. Carpenter doubled down the left-field line and scored on Goldschmidt’s sacrifice fly to give St. Louis a 4-2 lead. One inning later, Molina singled to left to drive in his second run of the game.

From there, the Cardinals’ bullpen locked the game down. Kodi Whitley, T.J. McFarland, and Luis Garcia each threw a scoreless inning, and Garcia’s save marked his first of the season.

“We hit a bunch of lazy fly balls,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “We didn’t put enough pressure on Lester or the bullpen. It was just a quiet night.”[3]

Lester allowed just three hits on the day while striking out two.

“What a tremendous addition. He’s done a great job,” Shildt said. “This guy’s got such heart. He’s like John Wayne. He’s got that true grit. Big, strong, silent type. That’s a heck of a milestone.”[4]

“It’s a nice round number and it looks better than 199,” Lester said. “It’s obviously awesome, but I’m kind of lacking words.”[5]

Lester was more comfortable talking about the Cardinals’ win streak, which was now up to nine games.

“That makes it even more special,” Lester said. “To add on the fact that that’s nine in a row for us — I don’t think people realize how hard it is to have winning streaks over four, five, six games. They don’t happen a lot. Now that we’re at nine, hopefully we can keep going.”[6]

The Cardinals did exactly that, extending their win streak to 17 games on their way to a one-game wild card playoff against the Dodgers.

Lester’s 200^th win proved to be the last of his career as he received no decision in his final two starts, both against the Cubs. In January 2022, he announced his retirement. After 16 big-league seasons, Lester had compiled a 200-117 record and 3.66 career ERA.

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[1] Ryan Herrera, “Cards roll to 9^th straight in Lester’s 200^th W,” MLB.com, September 20, 2021, https://www.mlb.com/news/jon-lester-gets-200th-win-for-cardinals-in-playoff-hunt.

[2] Rich Rovito, “Lester wins 200^th, Cards down Brewers for 9^th straight win,” Belleville News-Democrat, September 22, 2021.

[3] Rich Rovito, “Lester wins 200^th, Cards down Brewers for 9^th straight win,” Belleville News-Democrat, September 22, 2021.

[4] Rich Rovito, “Lester wins 200^th, Cards down Brewers for 9^th straight win,” Belleville News-Democrat, September 22, 2021.

[5] Rich Rovito, “Lester wins 200^th, Cards down Brewers for 9^th straight win,” Belleville News-Democrat, September 22, 2021.

[6] Ryan Herrera, “Cards roll to 9^th straight in Lester’s 200^th W,” MLB.com, September 20, 2021, https://www.mlb.com/news/jon-lester-gets-200th-win-for-cardinals-in-playoff-hunt.

The post How Jon Lester earned his 200th career win first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

“I had an idea coming to the park today that I was … going to lay it all out here, because I really wanted it to happen here,” Wainwright said. “The crowd was unbelievable tonight. I felt them cheering on every pitch I made, every big strikeout, we had a couple of double plays, and the crowd was just going crazy. They were on their feet all night and I felt that.”[1]

Cardinals fans certainly had every reason to go crazy, as Wainwright gave his best performance of the season, shutting out the Brewers across seven innings before handing the game off to the bullpen for a 1-0 victory and the 200^th win of his career.

“That’s as good as we’ve seen,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “If you talked to him right before the game, and if he’s being really honest, he was being held up by duct tape before the game started, and for him to go out there and do what he did is highly impressive.”[2]

The Cardinals acquired their future ace in a December 2003 trade that sent J.D. Drew and Eli Marrero to the Braves for Jason Marquis, Ray King, and Wainwright.

Wainwright’s march to 200 wins began in 2005, when the 23-year-old made a pair of relief appearances. The Cardinals used Wainwright as a reliever again in 2006, where he picked up the first two wins of his career, then earned his place in Cardinals history when he struck out Carlos Beltran to close out the NLCS.

Wainwright proved up to the task in his first season as a starter, winning 14 games with a 3.70 ERA, and in 2009 he led all of baseball with 19 wins while finishing third in the National League Cy Young Award voting and winning his first Gold Glove Award.

Despite missing the 2011 season due to Tommy John surgery, Wainwright continued to rack up victories, winning 20 in 2010, 14 in 2012, 19 in 2013, and 20 again in 2014. Injuries that kept him out most of the 2015 and 2018 seasons postponed his march to 200, as did the shortened COVID season in 2020, but after winning 17 games in 2021 and 11 in 2022, Wainwright entered what he had announced would be his final season just five wins shy of the milestone.

What followed was the Cardinals’ worst season during Wainwright’s 19 years with the club and the most challenging on-field campaign of the righthander’s career. A weight room injury suffered at the World Baseball Classic postponed Wainwright’s first start of the season until May. On May 18, Wainwright earned his first win of the season against the Dodgers despite allowing five runs over 5 2/3 innings. Five days later, he earned win No. 2 against the Reds, once again allowing five runs over 5 2/3 innings.

After two no-decisions in early June, Wainwright earned win No. 3 against the Mets on June 17. Despite a 5.56 ERA, Wainwright held a 3-1 record and seemed well on his way to 200 wins.

It would be almost three months before he earned his next win.

Wainwright lost his next three starts, including a 3 1/3-inning performance in which he allowed seven runs. After that start, Wainwright was sent to the disabled list. When he returned, however, his losing streak continued. On August 11, after he allowed eight runs in a one-inning start against the Royals, his ERA was up to 8.78. Ahead of his September 12 start against the playoff-bound Orioles, Wainwright was just 3-11 on the season and had lost his last 10 decisions.

With the season drawing to a close, however, Wainwright found reason for optimism, holding the Orioles to two runs over five innings in a 5-2 win that placed him on the cusp of history. At most, Wainwright only had three starts remaining to reach the milestone.

As it turned out, he only needed one.

Wainwright gained momentum early in the game. After allowing a one-out walk to William Contreras in the first inning, he got Carlos Santana to bounce into a 4-6-3 double play. He retired the side in order in the second, ending the inning with the 2,200^th strikeout of his career when he caught Rowdy Tellez looking.

Wainwright danced out of danger in the third. With runners on first and second and two outs, he got Contreras to ground out to Paul Goldschmidt at first base, ending the inning and maintaining the scoreless tie.

In the bottom fourth, it was Contreras’s older brother, Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras, who finally put a run on the board against Freddy Peralta, who had cruised through the first three innings. In his first season in St. Louis as the successor to Yadier Molina, Willson Contreras had battled adversity of his own, including a period in May in which the Cardinals briefly removed him from the catcher position. Despite the ups and downs, Contreras was finishing the season strong, and since September 1 he had hit .389 with four homers and 12 RBIs.

With a solo home run that was 114.7 mph off the bat,[3] Contreras reached 20 home runs for the third consecutive season.

“I know (Wainwright) has been battling a lot of stuff and he’s been pitching the best that he can this year,” Contreras said. “I’m glad that he was able to reach the 200 mark on wins. And I’m glad that I was back behind the plate for him.”[4]

From there, it was up to Wainwright and the Cardinals’ bullpen to make Contreras’s home run stand up. Wainwright retired the side in order in the fifth, then got Santana to ground into another inning-ending double play in the sixth.

Brewers outfielder Mark Canha opened the seventh with a single to center field, prompting a mound visit from Marmol. After a brief conversation, Marmol stuck with Wainwright, who retired Willy Adames, Tellez, and Josh Donaldson in order.

They proved to be the final outs of Wainwright’s career. As he walked off the mound for the final time, Cardinals fans gave him a standing ovation.

“I didn’t want to tip my hat or anything because I didn’t know if I was done,” Wainwright said, “but I did feel that crowd and it was a special walk off.”[5]

Lefthander John King took the mound in the eighth. Like Wainwright before him, he benefited from a ground-ball double play, but when Sal Frelick singled, Marmol turned to Helsley to record the final four outs of the game.

“They came to me in the bullpen down there and they were like, ‘Hey, could you give us one plus if we need you?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll do whatever I can. I’ll give you whatever I’ve got to help Waino get to 200,’” Helsley said. “I was just happy to go out there and execute and help him get it.”[6]

Helsley struck out William Contreras to end the eighth, then retired the side in order in the ninth for his 12^th and most important save of the season.

“For sure, you know what’s at stake,” Helsley said. “You’re thinking about it all day. It was a close game. You’re thinking you’re going to be in there. I was definitely on edge most of the game and praying to the Good Lord above that he’d help me nail it down for him.”[7]

Though none of Wainwright’s 93 pitches exceeded 88 mph,[8] he held the Brewers to just four hits and two walks over seven innings.

“For at least a night, I was a real pitcher out there,” Wainwright said. “The guy I want to be. Seven innings, shutout, a couple of hits. Got through a couple of tough at-bats out there and made adjustments, worked in and out, up and down. For tonight, I was me.”[9]

With three strikeouts in the game, Wainwright moved past David Wells for 65^th all-time among big-league pitchers. Only Bob Gibson’s 3,117 strikeouts ranked higher in Cardinals history.

“He just kept guys off balance,” Marmol said. “He didn’t have what he had last time as far as the (velocity) being there, but there weren’t a whole lot of comfortable swings or hard-hit balls for the most part. He went through that lineup and was in control the whole time. It was just fun to watch him out there competing.”[10]

For his part, Wainwright admitted that this one meant a bit extra, and compared it to that 2006 strikeout of Beltran in the NLCS.

“Tonight, for me, this is tied for first,” he said.[11]

“Having to work as hard as I had to work for it made me savor it that much more. There was a time where I really wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to keep going, or if they were going to let me keep going. … That’s one of the most fun games I’ve ever pitched in my whole life.”[12]

With 200 career wins, Wainwright joined rarefied air. Only Gibson (251) and Jesse Haines (210) had more wins while wearing the birds on the bat, and only five other active players had reached the milestone. The next closest active player was Johnny Cueto with 144.

“I think in today’s game it means a lot,” said Wainwright’s former teammate Chris Carpenter. “It goes well with all different adjectives for what it means. It means one has longevity, shows he’s been a winner, shows he’s been good, shows he’s been healthy, shows he’s been consistent. All of the above. It’s a neat number. Does it represent all of his career? No. It is a neat number.”[13]

No. 200 proved to be the final game of Wainwright’s career. Admitting that he had battled pain all season long, the Cardinals announced a few days later that he would be limited to pinch-hitting opportunities in his final days.

“When you think of the St. Louis Cardinals, you think of Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright for the last 20 years,” Helsley said. “Him pushing for his 200^th win is obviously a huge ordeal, and he’s just been a great role model for all of us in here, pitchers and position players alike.”[14]

In The Athletic, beat writer Katie Woo wrote about the legacy Wainwright was leaving behind after almost two decades in St. Louis.

“Wainwright’s impending retirement brings with it the end of a generation,” she wrote. “He is the last household name of the mid-200os era, which introduced franchise staples like Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina, and Chris Carpenter. He is a fan favorite, and his career will undoubtedly end with a red jacket, enshrined in the organization’s hall of fame. He pitched most of the season hurt, wear and tear chipping away at his ability. But he never quit until he delivered for himself and for the city, one more time.”[15]

Enjoy this post? Find similar stories listed by decade or by player.

[1] Katie Woo, “In otherwise lost season, Adam Wainwright’s 200^th win was what St. Louis needed,” The Athletic, September 19, 2023, https://theathletic.com/4878798/2023/09/19/cardinals-adam-wainwright-fans-200/.

[2] “Cards’ Adam Wainwright wins 200^th game with gem vs. Brewers,” ESPN.com, September 18, 2023, https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/38435862/cards-adam-wainwright-wins-200th-game-gem-vs-brewers.

[3] Derrick Goold, “200 for Wainwright!” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 19, 2023.

[4] “Cards’ Adam Wainwright wins 200^th game with gem vs. Brewers,” ESPN.com, September 18, 2023, https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/38435862/cards-adam-wainwright-wins-200th-game-gem-vs-brewers.

[5] “Cards’ Adam Wainwright wins 200^th game with gem vs. Brewers,” ESPN.com, September 18, 2023, https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/38435862/cards-adam-wainwright-wins-200th-game-gem-vs-brewers.

[6] Lynn Worthy, “Wainwright might not make another start for Cardinals,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 20, 2023.

[7] Lynn Worthy, “Wainwright might not make another start for Cardinals,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 20, 2023.

[8] Katie Woo, “In otherwise lost season, Adam Wainwright’s 200^th win was what St. Louis needed,” The Athletic, September 19, 2023, https://theathletic.com/4878798/2023/09/19/cardinals-adam-wainwright-fans-200/.

[9] Katie Woo, “In otherwise lost season, Adam Wainwright’s 200^th win was what St. Louis needed,” The Athletic, September 19, 2023, https://theathletic.com/4878798/2023/09/19/cardinals-adam-wainwright-fans-200/.

[10] “Cards’ Adam Wainwright wins 200^th game with gem vs. Brewers,” ESPN.com, September 18, 2023, https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/38435862/cards-adam-wainwright-wins-200th-game-gem-vs-brewers.

[11] “Cards’ Adam Wainwright wins 200^th game with gem vs. Brewers,” ESPN.com, September 18, 2023, https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/38435862/cards-adam-wainwright-wins-200th-game-gem-vs-brewers.

[12] Katie Woo, “In otherwise lost season, Adam Wainwright’s 200^th win was what St. Louis needed,” The Athletic, September 19, 2023, https://theathletic.com/4878798/2023/09/19/cardinals-adam-wainwright-fans-200/.

[13] Derrick Goold, “200 for Wainwright!” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 19, 2023.

[14] Jeff Jones, “Wainwright joins Gibson, Haines in Cardinals’ 200-win club,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 20, 2023.

[15] Katie Woo, “In otherwise lost season, Adam Wainwright’s 200^th win was what St. Louis needed,” The Athletic, September 19, 2023, https://theathletic.com/4878798/2023/09/19/cardinals-adam-wainwright-fans-200/.

The post How Adam Wainwright earned his 200th win first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

The move came just 23 starts into Contreras’s tenure as the team’s catcher. With Contreras batting third and serving as the designated hitter on the day of the club’s announcement, the Cardinals fell 6-5 to the Tigers in 10 innings, extending their losing streak to eight games and dropping them to a National League-worst 10-24 record.

“One thing I want to make super clear, we are not losing ball games because of Willson Contreras,” manager Oliver Marmol said. “This is a guy that’s putting in an amazing amount of work to be able to … become more familiar with our pitches, but also how we do things.”[1]

The Cardinals were clearly finding wins difficult to come by in their first season since Molina’s retirement. Following the retirement of the 10-time all-star and nine-time Gold Glove Award winner, the Cardinals made clear that their top offseason priority was to sign a starting catcher. That search led them to Contreras, whose contract represented the largest free-agent deal given by the Cardinals to a player from outside their organization.

While Contreras had earned three previous all-star nods behind the strength of his offense, he appeared committed to meeting the Cardinals’ defensive expectations. Even as Cardinals pitchers such as Miles Mikolas and Adam Wainwright left spring training to play in the World Baseball Classic, Contreras declined the opportunity to play for his native Venezuela so he could work with his new teammates.

Reports from spring training also indicated that Contreras was making adjustments at the team’s request, including changes to his hand positioning as he received the ball and setting up closer to the plate. At the time he was removed from the position, FanGraphs.com stats showed that he had 2.8 defensive wins above replacement to that point in the season, good for sixth in the majors.[2]

In the days before the Cardinals’ announcement, Contreras even set up a video call with Molina to discuss how he could help the Cardinals’ pitching staff turn around its early-season struggles.

“He told me to trust my game, trust my feelings, and call pitches with a reason,” Contreras said. “I take the losses personally because I came here to win.”[3]

Nonetheless, the decision to move Contreras out from behind the plate was made after discussions between Contreras, Marmol, and president of baseball operations John Mozeliak.[4] The same day they announced Contreras’s new role, the Cardinals called up Tres Barrera from Triple-A to back up Andrew Knizner.

“It’s tough. It’s tough,” Contreras said. “Like I said, I’m an employee and I know that my primary position is catcher. If they want me to DH more, I can do nothing about it but be the best hitter I can be.”[5]

In the days following the Cardinals’ announcement, it became clear that Contreras’s situation was fluid. Though the team initially indicated that Contreras would see time at both designated hitter and as a corner outfielder, Mozeliak walked that back in an interview with The Athletic.

“We won’t have him in the outfield,” he said. “I know that came out yesterday, but after talking with him, it’s basically going to be more in the DH role right now. And there’s light at the end of the tunnel to get back behind the plate.”[6]

The idea that Contreras could return to catching duties also represented a change. Just one day earlier, when asked whether the Cardinals hoped to return Contreras behind the plate, Marmol said, “Not necessarily.”[7]

As the Cardinals sought to clarify their plans moving forward, they faced criticism from local and national pundits.

“If you are chairman Bill DeWitt Jr., how can you not be wondering how the biggest free-agent contract ever given to a player from outside the organization has reached such a precipitous place so soon?” St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Ben Frederickson wrote. “Sorry, but I don’t like it. It feels panicked for a team that keeps saying no one should panic, and too heavily based on the opinions of pitchers who just may not be good enough. It feels unfair to Contreras, like blame is being shoveled toward the new face in the clubhouse.”[8]

Contreras’s former manager with the Cubs, Joe Maddon, was equally perplexed.

“He caught a World Series team and did it really well,” Maddon told the MLB Network. “It’s about conversation. I don’t know what is behind this particular move. I know they’re missing Yadier. I understand that. However, Willson is good. He’s real good. He listens. He’s very coachable. … To just bump him out of that role right now after being signed like he has, I just don’t get all that, but I don’t have all the information. I think Willson is very good. I’ve argued on his behalf in the past. There’s no reason to believe he’s not going to catch that team well.”[9]

Even as the Cardinals attempted to convince the public that they weren’t blaming Contreras for their struggles, they had to admit that a team that entered the season with postseason aspirations was off to one of the worst starts in baseball. In fact, only Oakland and Kansas City had worse records at the time of Contreras’s position change.

“You’ve got to have confidence with people in certain roles, that’s what it comes down to,” Mozeliak said. “We’ll be patient, but look, again, this has not gone how we would have thought. You’ve got to remind yourself it’s a long season, but it’s certainly gotten off on the wrong foot. … I do (still believe in Contreras). But some of the things we expect, some of the things about the game we’ve become accustomed to, I think he realizes it’s going to require more preparation. Now the question is, can that happen? I guess we’ll have to find out.”[10]

After the Cardinals snapped their eight-game losing streak with a 12-6 win over the Tigers on May 7, Contreras met with starting pitchers Jack Flaherty and Wainwright, who both told him that they looked forward to him returning behind the plate.

“No catcher in the history of the game has thrown the pitch and caught it too,” Wainwright said. “I definitely think you’re going to see Willson and our pitching staff settle in and be great moving forward. I really do believe that.”[11]

It was a challenge Contreras was eager to accept.

“This is the team I chose, and I chose this team for a reason,” Contreras said. “We have the talent to compete and get back to where we need to be. I’m still here. I know they made a decision. That won’t change who I am. That won’t change how I give my best to help this team win. It takes time. I know I can catch. You can get frustrated about it, or you can work. If you watch from a different perspective it’s going to take a little time, but I’m the catcher of this organization.”[12]

Throughout the next week, which included a road trip to play Contreras’s former team, the Cubs, he served as the Cardinals’ designated hitter. In the opener at Wrigley Field, Conteras drove in a pair of runs and scored another in a 3-1 victory. Two days later, he added an RBI single in a 10-4 loss.

On Friday, May 12, Marmol declined to give a timetable for when Contreras might return to the catching position, or to give specifics on the areas in he was working on.

“We’re making progress every day and sticking to our plan of getting him back to the point where we get him back there,” Marmol said.[13]

The following day, however, Marmol announced that Conteras would be behind the plate to catch Flaherty when the Cardinals opened their series against the Brewers on Monday, May 15. In total, Conteras’s removal from the position had lasted just over a week.

“We have felt really good about the progress that we’ve made, and it lines up really well for him to catch on Monday with Jack on the mound,” Marmol said.[14]

The Cardinals won the game 18-1 as Flaherty struck out 10 batters over seven shutout innings.

Unfortunately, the win did not represent a turning point in the Cardinals’ season, as they limped to a 71-91 record and last place in the National League Central Division, 21 games behind the champion Brewers.

For the season, Contreras appeared in 97 games at catcher, including 89 starts, and finished with eight errors for a .989 fielding percentage. He also threw out 14 of 56 would-be base stealers for a 25% caught-stealing rate.

According to Fangraphs.com’s defensive value stats, for the 2023 season Contreras provided 12.5 offensive runs above average but was 5.0 runs below average defensively. The same stat had rated Contreras as 3.5 runs above average defensively in 2021 and 0.4 runs below average defensively in 2022.

If the Cardinals were concerned, however, they didn’t demonstrate it with their roster construction heading into the 2024 season. Both Knizner and Barrera were released during the offseason, leaving Contreras as the clear starting catcher with rookie Ivan Herrera slated to make his first opening-day roster as the backup.

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[1] Jeff Jones, “What Cardinals’ catcher promotion means for Contreras,” Belleville News-Democrat, May 7, 2023.

[2] Derrick Goold, “What recasting Contreras reveals about pitching woes,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 7, 2023.

[3] Derrick Goold, “What recasting Contreras reveals about pitching woes,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 7, 2023.

[4] Derrick Goold, “What recasting Contreras reveals about pitching woes,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 7, 2023.

[5] Derrick Goold, “What recasting Contreras reveals about pitching woes,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 7, 2023.

[6] Katie Woo and Ken Rosenthal, “Exclusive: Cardinals’ John Mozeliak on why Willson Contreras’ move to OF is off,” The Athletic, May 7, 2023, https://theathletic.com/4496561/2023/05/07/cardinals-john-mozeliak-willson-contreras.

[7] Ben Frederickson, “The Redbirds should back up, not over, Contreras,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 9, 2023.

[8] Ben Frederickson, “Cardinals pin their hopes on stunning move,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 7, 2023.

[9] Ben Frederickson, “The Redbirds should back up, not over, Contreras,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 9, 2023.

[10] Katie Woo and Ken Rosenthal, “Exclusive: Cardinals’ John Mozeliak on why Willson Contreras’ move to OF is off,” The Athletic, https://theathletic.com/4496561/2023/05/07/cardinals-john-mozeliak-willson-contreras.

[11] Derrick Goold, “Contreras, amid turmoil: ‘I’m the catcher,’” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 9, 2023.

[12] Derrick Goold, “Contreras, amid turmoil: ‘I’m the catcher,’” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 9, 2023.

[13] Lynn Worthy, “Nootbaar could see potential of Yoshida during WBC,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 13, 2023.

[14] Lynn Worthy, “Cards rally again,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 14, 2023.

The post Willson Contreras is no longer a catcher: May 6, 2023 first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

On June 17, 2023, the Cardinals announced that the hero of the 2011 World Series, who just a month earlier had been elected to the Cardinals Hall of Fame, had respectfully declined induction.

“This is something that I have given an extreme amount of thought to, humbly, even before the voting process began,” Freese said in a statement. “I am aware of the impact I had in helping the team bring great memories to the city I grew up in, including the 11^th championship, but this honor means more to me.

“I look at who I was during my tenure, and that weighs heavily on me. The Cardinals and the entire city have always had my back in every way. I’m forever grateful to be part of such an amazing organization and fan base then, now, and in the future. I’m especially sorry to the fans that took the time to cast their votes. Cardinal Nation is basically the reason why I’ve unfortunately waited so long for this decision and made it more of a headache for so many people. I feel strongly about my decision and understand how some people might feel about this. I get it. I’ll wear it. Thank you for always being there for me, and I am excited to be around the Cardinals as we move forward.”[1]

Freese had been elected to the Cardinals Hall of Fame via a fan vote that drew more than 40,000 ballots.[2] Freese had been the top vote getter from a pool that included Joaquin Andujar, Steve Carlton, Matt Morris, and Edgar Renteria.

Without Freese, the Class of 2023 consisted of Max Lanier, the Red Ribbon Committee choice, and Jose Oquendo, the owners’ selection. At the induction ceremony, the Cardinals also honored Scott Rolen, who had recently been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

“I know David well, and I can hear his thought processes behind that, and I know his heart behind it,” said Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright, the only member of the 2023 Cardinals roster remaining from 2011. “I think it’s incredibly genuine. It’s a huge honor. On one side, you have to realize that fans voted for that because that’s two moments – really a whole postseason – that he delivered that was unlike anything we’ve almost ever seen. One or two of the biggest moments in Cardinals history. You have to recognize that, and he does. I also know where he’s coming from with his heart when he says looking at the other players and their career there, and I feel like I don’t belong. I know what he’s saying because if you take those couple of moments out, he’s thinking he doesn’t belong there. I just don’t know if you can minimize those two moments.”[3]

In their statement regarding Freese’s decision, the Cardinals made clear that there was no ill will between the team and player, and that Freese would continue to appear at Cardinals events.

“Although we are disappointed that David has declined to be inducted into our Hall of Fame, we respect his decision and look forward to celebrating his great Cardinals career in other ways going forward,” Cardinals president Bill DeWitt III said. “He is always welcome at Busch Stadium.”[4]

Freese’s professional career began as a ninth-round draft pick of the Padres in 2006. On December 14, 2007, he was traded to the Cardinals for Jim Edmonds, and in 2009, the graduate of Lafayette High School made his MLB debut for the Cardinals, appearing in 17 games.

In 2010, Freese opened the season as the Cardinals’ opening-day third baseman. Limited by a June ankle injury that required two surgeries, Freese hit .296 with four homers and 36 RBIs in just 240 at-bats.

In 2011, Freese again opened the season as the starting third baseman and hit .297 with 10 homers and 55 RBIs despite a broken left hand that forced him to miss 51 games. That postseason, Freese emerged as a star.

In Game 4 of the NLDS, the game in which the Rally Squirrel made its appearance, Freese hit a two-run homer off Roy Oswalt that proved to be the game-winner in a 5-3 Cardinals victory. Freese’s hot hitting continued against the Brewers in the NLCS, as he went 12-for-22 with three homers and nine RBIs, posting a .545/.600/1.091 batting line on his way to NLCS MVP honors.

Of course, nothing topped Freese’s performance in Game 6 of the World Series. With the Rangers leading 7-5 with two outs in the ninth inning, Freese hit a two-run triple to tie the game and halt the Rangers’ championship celebration. Two innings later, he led off the bottom of the 11^th inning with a walk-off home run that sent the Cardinals to Game 7 and the World Series title.

Freese followed up his 2011 heroics with an All-Star season in 2012, batting .293 with career highs in home runs (20) and RBIs (79). In 2013, he helped the Cardinals win another National League pennant, this time batting .262 with nine homers and 60 RBIs.

That December, the Cardinals traded Freese and reliever Fernando Salas to the Angels for Randal Grichuk and Peter Bourjos. In five seasons with the Cardinals, Freese totaled 44 homers, 237 RBIs, and posted a .286 batting average.

“Those memories will never be diminished if he doesn’t feel like he’s worthy of it,” Wainwright said. “I certainly understand what he’s saying. If he had been given more time here, he probably would have earned his way there anyway. I love Dave. I know the heart he has. He’s doing this because he knows that players who are in there were great players for a long time.”[5]

In reflecting upon the former star’s decision, St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Ben Frederickson alluded to Freese’s battles with depression and anxiety during his tenure as a Cardinals player.

“Freese has been candid in the past about the depression and anxiety he dealt with long before he became a Cardinals postseason hero, and how the baseball fame he found in his hometown hurt instead of helping problematic drinking that endangered his life and others,” Frederickson wrote. “Freese became a player so many wanted to be, but a person he did not like. That’s a very hard place to exist.

“Freese’s story got happier, fortunately. He found a fresh start after he was traded. He got help sorting out the feelings that were influencing his actions. He made big changes. He found peace, found comfort, found meaning far beyond the World Series highlights that don’t define him. … If joining the ranks of the red coats didn’t make that life better, or if it threatened to stir up things Freese is happy to have put in his past, then he made the right call, one that should not just be respected, but applauded.”[6]

Give the gift of Cardinals history! The Trades That Made The St. Louis Cardinals is available now on Amazon.

[1] Jeff Jones, “David Freese declines induction into St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame,” Belleville News-Democrat, June 19, 2023.

[2] Jeff Jones, “David Freese declines induction into St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame,” Belleville News-Democrat, June 19, 2023.

[3] Derrick Goold, “Nootbaar’s return should improve defense,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 19, 2023.

[4] Jeff Jones, “David Freese declines induction into St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame,” Belleville News-Democrat, June 19, 2023.

[5] Derrick Goold, “Nootbaar’s return should improve defense,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 19, 2023.

[6] Ben Frederickson, “If Freese is at peace, he should be applauded,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 20, 2023.

The post Why David Freese declined the Cardinals Hall of Fame first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

“Everybody cried,” Rolen said. “We’re an emotional family. When we get happy or whatever, that’s how it comes out. My son, it caught him a little off guard, and he got real emotional. Then the first thing he did is he asked me if I wanted to play catch with him. It’s 30 degrees here, and it’s going to snow like 12 inches tomorrow, and my son and I were in the driveway playing catch about 10-15 minutes after we got the phone call.”[1]

On January 24, 2023, Rolen became the player with the lowest first-year voting percentage (10.2% in 2018) to reach the 75% required to earn induction from the Baseball Writers Association of America balloting. Rolen received just 43 of 422 possible votes in 2018, placing 16 players ahead of him in that year’s total. Over the years, however, Rolen’s total steadily increased, rising to 17.2% in 2019, 35.3% in 2020, 52.9% in 2021, and 63.2% in 2022.

In 2023, he received 297 of 389 votes, good for 76.3%. Rolen was the only player to earn BBWAA election on that year’s ballot, as first baseman Todd Helton received 72.2% of the vote, closer Billy Wagner earned 68.1%, outfielder Andruw Jones earned 58.1%, and outfielder Gary Sheffield earned 55.0%. Former Cardinal outfielder Carlos Beltran earned 46.5% of the vote.

At CooperstownCred.com, Chris Bodig suggested that Rolen may have seen his vote totals climb as voters paid closer attention to advanced statistics such as wins above replacement (WAR).[2] Rolen posted a career WAR of 70.1, which compared favorably with that of the other candidates who were not suspected of steroid use.

Rolen, who became the 18^th third baseman elected to the Hall of Fame, was joined in the Class of 2023 by Veterans Committee selection Fred McGriff.

“There was actually never a point in my life that I thought I was going to be a Hall of Fame baseball player,” Rolen said.[3]

Rolen grew up in Jasper, Indiana, and occasionally attended Cardinals games at Busch Stadium.

“How could you not be a Cardinals fan?” he says. “I saw them play in the World Series against the Brewers and the Royals.”[4]

In high school, Rolen starred in both baseball and basketball. As a senior, he was named Indiana’s Mr. Basketball and was named to the state all-star team. Ultimately, however, he was an even better baseball player, and the Phillies drafted him out of high school in the second round of the 1993 draft.

At his induction ceremony in July 2023, Rolen told the audience that a few weeks after the Phillies drafted him, he was appearing in the high school all-star game between Indiana and Kentucky. Due to baseball, however, he hadn’t played basketball in months. Nervous about the upcoming game, he went to his father and told him that everyone who was going to appear in the contest was better than him. He couldn’t shoot, and he was out of basketball shape.

“You told me what you can’t do,” Ed Rolen told his son. “What can you do?”

Rolen replied that he could rebound, play defense, and outhustle everyone on the court. “Well, do that then,” his father said.

Rolen never forgot those words, he said, and he tried to bring that attitude to his baseball career.

“‘Well, do that then,’ put me on this stage today,” Rolen said. “I now know this mindset is an intentional mindset that effort never takes a day off.”[5]

Rolen made his major-league debut in 1996 and appeared in 37 games that season. The following year, he won the Rookie of the Year Award with a .283 batting average, 21 homers, and 92 RBIs. At season’s end, he signed a four-year, $10 million contract.

Rolen continued to emerge as a star, winning his first career Gold Glove Award in 1998 while hitting 31 homers and driving in 110 runs. He hit 26 homers in each of the next two years and won a second Gold Glove in 2000, but the Phillies struggled and manager Terry Francona was replaced by Larry Bowa ahead of the 2001 campaign.

Rolen and Bowa soon butted heads. In June, Bowa blamed the middle of his lineup – particularly the cleanup hitter Rolen – for a series loss to the Red Sox.

“It was three, four, and five,” Bowa said, “but Pat (Burrell) has picked us up when I’ve hit him fifth. If the No. 4 guy (Rolen) even makes contact in either Boston loss, we sweep the series. He’s killing us.”[6]

In August, Dallas Green, the Phillies’ former manager who was then serving as an executive assistant for the team, criticized Rolen in a radio interview.

“Scotty is satisfied with being a so-so player,” Green said. “He’s not a great player. In his mind, he probably thinks he’s doing OK, but the fans in Philadelphia know otherwise. I think he can be greater, but his personality won’t let him.”[7]

“I don’t feel as welcome in this organization as I have in the past,” Rolen said in response.[8]

That lack of welcome may have been why Rolen turned down a seven-year, $90 million extension with options and incentives that could have made the deal total 10 years and $140 million. When Rolen arrived at spring training in 2002, he addressed his decision to decline the contract offer.

“Quite honestly, I’m an idiot for not signing that contract,” Rolen said. “My mind tells me that I should have signed that contract. The chance to make $140 million, that’s just incredible.

“But as stupid as I thought I was for not signing the contract, I’m trying to do the right thing. I play this game to compete. I think that ownership expects us to go out there every day and give everything we have. We expect that of ourselves. The fans expect us to be passionate on the field. Philadelphia is the sixth-largest market in the game, and I feel that for the last however long, the organization has not acted like it. There’s a lack of commitment to what I think is right. I’m not seeing that their No. 1 goal is to put a winning team on the field. That’s my No. 1 goal, and that’s why I put a uniform on every day.”[9]

Realizing that they may not be able to re-sign Rolen when his contract expired after the 2002 season, the Phillies traded Rolen, Doug Nickle, and cash to the Cardinals for Placido Polanco, Bud Smith, and Mike Timlin. In St. Louis, he joined Albert Pujols and Jim Edmonds as the “MV3.”

“The biggest thing about St. Louis – there were just seasoned professionals, veterans, there at the time that you could really learn from overnight,” Rolen said. “They had been around. They competed together for a long time. That was a great thing in my career that I think I was ready for.”[10]

Rolen enjoyed arguably the best season of his career in 2004 as he posted career highs with a .314 batting average, 34 homers, and 124 RBIs while leading the Cardinals to the National League championship. He hit the game-winning home run in Game 7 of the NLCS to send St. Louis to the World Series.

“Rolen’s the perfect baseball player,” Milwaukee Brewers manager Ned Yost said that year. “It’s his tenacity, his preparation, the way he plays. He tries to do everything fundamentally sound. And he puts the team first – there’s no fanfare with him.”[11]

In 2005, Rolen’s career was forever changed when a May collision with Hee-Seop Choi resulted in a serious shoulder injury. Rolen attempted to rehab the injury and returned in June, but the pain returned, and he was forced to undergo season-ending surgery.

Rolen returned in 2006 to lead the Cardinals to another National League championship, batting .296 with 22 homers and 95 RBIs. By the postseason, however, his shoulder was flaring up, and he hit just .091 in the NLDS and .238 in the NLCS. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa chose to remove Rolen from the starting lineup for Game 4 of the NLDS and Game 2 of the NLDS, a decision Rolen strongly disagreed with. In 2007, the relationship between the two soured further, and Rolen asked to be traded. The Cardinals obliged, sending Rolen to Toronto for third baseman Troy Glaus in January 2008.

In 2014, Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said that Rolen was the only player he regretted trading.[12]

Rolen played 1 ½ seasons in Toronto before the Blue Jays traded him to the Reds for Edwin Encarnacion, Josh Roenicke, and Zach Stewart. In Cincinnati, Rolen was reunited with general manager Walt Jocketty, who had now traded for Rolen twice – once in St. Louis and then in Cincinnati.

Rolen spent the final 3 ½ seasons of his career in Cincinnati, and though age and his shoulder injury limited his playing time, he provided the leadership Jocketty was seeking.

“I loved playing with him,” Joey Votto said. “I learned so much. If any player is lucky enough to have a role model and a teammate like him, they’re as lucky as it gets. I shaped my career, my effort, and my work in his mold.”[13]

After the 2012 season, Rolen announced his retirement. Over 17 seasons, including six in St. Louis, he hit .281 with 2,077 hits, 316 homers, and 1,287 RBIs. In addition to his Rookie of the Year Award, Rolen won a Silver Slugger in 2002, made seven All-Star Games, and won eight Gold Glove awards. He also had a World Series ring from the 2006 Cardinals.

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[1] Bobby Nightengale, “Rolen reflects,” Cincinnati Enquirer, January 26, 2023.

[2] Chris Bodig, “Scott Rolen’s Path To The Hall of Fame: A WAR Story,” Cooperstown Cred, https://www.cooperstowncred.com/scott-rolens-hall-of-fame-case-a-matter-of-war/.

[3] Derrick Goold, “Rolen leads Cardinals ’06 champs into Hall,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 25, 2023.

[4] Tom Verducci, “He’s the Perfect Player,” Sports Illustrated, July 12, 2004, https://vault.si.com/vault/2004/07/12/quothes-the-perfect-playerquot-a-no-nonsense-star-who-does-it-all-scott-rolen-embodies-the-cardinal-virtues-in-st-louis-and-first-place-is-nice-too.

[5] Derrick Goold, “Rolen praises family in Hall speech,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 24, 2023.

[6] Bill Conlin, “Great Scott? Not,” Philadelphia Daily News, June 13, 2001.

[7] Paul Hagen, “Rolen stung by Green’s comments,” Philadelphia Daily News, August 9, 2001.

[8] Paul Hagen, “Rolen stung by Green’s comments,” Philadelphia Daily News, August 9, 2001.

[9] Bob Brookover, “Rolen: Phils don’t have will to win,” Philadelphia Inquirer, February 17, 2002.

[10] Derrick Goold, “Rolen leads Cardinals ’06 champs into Hall,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 25, 2023.

[11] Tom Verducci, “He’s the Perfect Player,” Sports Illustrated, July 12, 2004, https://vault.si.com/vault/2004/07/12/quothes-the-perfect-playerquot-a-no-nonsense-star-who-does-it-all-scott-rolen-embodies-the-cardinal-virtues-in-st-louis-and-first-place-is-nice-too.

[12] Rick Hummel, “Mozeliak: The only player I regret trading,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 5, 2014.

[13] Bobby Nightengale, “Rolen reflects,” Cincinnati Enquirer, January 26, 2023.

The post How Scott Rolen became a Hall of Famer first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

Given the rumors swirling around the possible availability of Rockies all-star third baseman Nolan Arenado and the breathless scouting reports surrounding Liberatore, the Cardinals could either flip Liberatore to help acquire Arenado or hold onto Liberatore as a key piece of their future rotation. Either way, it seemed that the Cardinals had given up relatively little in comparison.

Then Arozarena became a key power hitter on a World Series team, an American League Rookie of the Year Award winner, and an all-star.

After defecting from Cuba in 2015, Arozarena signed with the Cardinals as an international free agent for $1.25 million. The 22-year-old split his first season with the Cardinals organization in 2017 between High-A Palm Beach and Double-A Springfield, batting a solid but not spectacular .266/.346/.437 with 11 homers and 49 RBIs in 490 plate appearances.

In 2018, Arozarena started the season back in Springfield, where he hit .396 with seven homers and 21 RBIs in just 102 plate appearances. He spent the rest of the season in Triple-A Memphis, where he faced growing pains, batting just .232 the remainder of the year (311 plate appearances).

In 2019, Arozarena broke out as a prospect and first gained the Rays’ attention. The season started ominously, as Arozarena broke his hand in spring training and opened the year on the disabled list. When he returned, he hit .358 in Memphis with an increased walk rate and a decreased strikeout rate, earning an August call-up to the big leagues.

“That injury helped me to prepare myself – to gain strength in other parts of the body,” Arozarena said. “So I think that injury actually helped me to get here.”[1]

Once he got to the majors, however, there weren’t many opportunities as Marcell Ozuna, Harrison Bader, and Dexter Fowler claimed most of the outfield playing time. Arozarena took just 23 plate appearances the remainder of the regular season, going 6-for-20 (.300) with a double and a home run.

Though he made the postseason roster, Arozarena didn’t get much more opportunity in the postseason, going 0-for-3 in the National League Division Series (NLDS) and 0-for-1 in the National League Championship Series (NLCS). In fact, Arozarena’s most notable contribution was sharing manager Mike Shildt’s profanity-laced postgame speech on Instagram after the Cardinals won a decisive Game 5 against the Braves to advance to the NLCS.

Though Arozarena remained unpolished as a professional ballplayer, the Rays saw the potential for an everyday outfielder.

“Our staff saw adjustments that led to more contact and more impact,” Rays general manager Eric Neander said. “Usually there’s give and take between contact and impact, but that Randy improved both in 2019 gave us the confidence to raise him to an everyday profile that contributes on both sides of the ball.”[2]

In Martinez, the Rays saw another opportunity. The 30-year-old made his major-league debut with St. Louis in 2016, then hit .309/.379/.518 with 14 homers and 46 RBIs in 2017. In 152 games in 2018, he hit .305/.364/.457 with 17 homers and 83 RBIs.

In 2019, however, Martinez’s playing time and numbers dipped, as he hit .269/.340/.410 with 10 homers and 42 RBIs in 373 plate appearances. Though his overall numbers declined, Martinez continued to feast on left-handed pitching, batting .329/.397/.600 against southpaws.

“In a pursuit of upgrading our lineup against left-handed pitching, he’s someone that really fits us well,” Neander said. “We believe the numbers that he put up last year are not representative of who he is as a hitter and we believe he is closer to what we saw the two prior years.”[3]

From the Cardinals’ perspective, trading Arozarena and Martinez would clear playing time in the outfield. With Fowler in left field and Bader in center, the Cardinals still had Tyler O’Neill, Lane Thomas, and left-handed prospect Justin Williams competing for playing time in left field. Additionally, the team’s top prospect, switch-hitting outfielder Dylan Carlson, was expected to arrive in the majors in 2020.

Of course, the real prize was the 6-foot-4 Liberatore, whom the Rays drafted 16^th overall in 2018 out of Mountain Ridge High School in Glendale, Ariz. Baseball America ranked him the fifth-best left-handed pitching prospect in the game while praising his mid-90s fastball, curveball, and changeup, calling him “as safe a bet as a teen pitching prospect can be.”[4]

At the time of the trade, Liberatore was the No. 3 prospect in the Rays’ system, trailing only Wander Franco and Brendan McKay. He immediately became the Cardinals’ top pitching prospect.[5]

“We are extremely excited to be adding a top pitching prospect in Matthew Liberatore to our organization, and this trade also helps us to create more opportunity in the outfield for players like Tyler O’Neill, Lane Thomas, and others,” Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said in a team statement.[6]

At just 20 years old, Liberatore was still years away from the majors, but fans and the media saw how he could immediately impact the big-league club.

“Liberatore becomes an attractive chip that could go into an Arenado swap or stay to offset the loss of another hurler,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Jeff Gordon wrote. “As colleagues Derrick Goold and Ben Frederickson have explained in detail, completing an Arenado deal would be tricky for a host of reasons. But with Liberatore added to the Cardinals’ assets, it suddenly became more feasible.”[7]

“Most trades are judged by answering two questions. Who did the Cardinals get? Who did the Cardinals give up?” Frederickson wrote. “Thursday night revolved around a third. When will the Cardinals flip Liberatore for Arenado?”[8]

In the Belleville News-Democrat, columnist Scott Wuerz suggested that the Cardinals could package Liberatore and fellow prospect Nolan Gorman to obtain Arenado.

“I really liked Arozarena,” he wrote. “He could fly and seemed like a guy who had the potential to bat at the top of the order and rack up doubles and triples. But Arozarena was too slight to ever be a feared slugger and, like they say, you’ve got to give up something of value to get value in return.”[9]

It would be more than a year before Arenado was traded to St. Louis, and when he was, Liberatore was not part of the package. Instead, the Cardinals sent pitcher Austin Gomber and four prospects to the Rockies to obtain the franchise third baseman.

Liberatore did not pitch in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down minor-league baseball, and when he returned to action in 2021, the Cardinals assigned him to Triple-A Memphis, where he posted a 4.04 ERA in 124 2/3 innings.

In 2022 and 2023, he split time between Memphis and St. Louis, posting a 5.97 ERA in 34 2/3 major-league innings in 2022, then posting a 5.25 ERA in 61 2/3 innings with St. Louis in 2023. In 2024, Liberatore made 54 of his 60 appearances in relief, posting a 4.40 ERA.

Rodriguez played sparingly in the Cardinals’ system, appearing in 30 games in 2021 and playing in just 18 games in the Florida Complex League in 2022.

Using the second-round supplemental pick they received in the trade, the Cardinals drafted Tink Hence, a University of Arkansas commit who signed for $1.12 million.

Meanwhile, Arozarena exploded onto the scene for the Rays in 2020. After missing the Rays’ first 34 games due to a COVID-19 diagnosis, Arozarena became an everyday player for Tampa Bay, hitting .281/.382/.641 with seven homers, 11 RBIs, and four stolen bases in 23 regular-season games.

However, it was during the Rays’ World Series run that he emerged as a star. Facing the Yankees in the American League Division Series, Arozarena went 8-for-19 (.421) with three home runs, then went 9-for-28 (.321) with four homers and six RBIs against the Astros to earn American League Championship Series MVP honors. He continued his torrid hitting against the Dodgers in the World Series, going 8-for-22 (.364) with three homers and four RBIs. Altogether, he slugged 10 home runs in 69 postseason at-bats.

Arozarena proved he wasn’t a fluke in 2021, batting .274/.356/.459 with 20 homers, 69 RBIs, and 20 stolen bases on his way to Rookie of the Year honors. After another strong showing in 2022 (20 homers, 89 RBIs, and 32 stolen bases), he was selected for the 2023 all-star game. Arozarena finished the 2023 season with 23 homers, 83 RBIs, and 22 stolen bases for his third consecutive season of at least 20 homers and 20 stolen bases.

In 2024, Arozarena was batting .211 with 15 homers and 37 RBIs when he was traded to the Mariners for two prospects and a player to be named later. He hit .231/.356/.377 with five homers and 23 RBIs in 54 games with Seattle.

Martinez played in 24 games for the Rays, batting just .239 with two home runs, before they traded him to the Cubs for a player to be named later. He appeared in 10 games for the Cubs before signing as a free agent with the Mets. He spent 2021 in the Mets’ minor-league system before playing in the Mexican League.

With the supplemental first-round pick they received from the Cardinals, the Rays took Alika Williams, a shortstop out of Arizona State University, 37^th overall in the 2020 draft. In June 2023, Tampa Bay traded Williams to the Pirates for relief pitcher Robert Stephenson.

[1] Rick Hummel, “Arozarena’s special wake-up call,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 14, 2019.

[2] John Romano, “Expectations Raised,” Tampa Bay Times, January 11, 2020.

[3] John Romano, “Rays trade a top pitching prospect for offense,” Tampa Bay Times, January 10, 2020.

[4] Derrick Goold, “Cards Make Major Move,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 10, 2020.

[5] John Romano, “Rays trade a top pitching prospect for offense,” Tampa Bay Times, January 10, 2020.

[6] Jeff Jones, “Cardinals trade outfielders for lefty pitching prospect,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 11, 2020.

[7] Jeff Gordon, “Mozeliak managing Cardinals’ assets well,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 15, 2020.

[8] Ben Frederickson, “Hurdles for Arenado deal would be too high,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 10, 2020.

[9] Scott Wuerz, “Will Liberatore be rotation linchpin or valuable trade chip?” Belleville News-Democrat, January 12, 2020.

The post Why the Cardinals traded Randy Arozarena to Tampa Bay first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

The Cardinals’ final home game of the season – an October 3 contest against the Pittsburgh Pirates – had long been earmarked as a special occasion. That March, Pujols returned to the Cardinals for what he announced would be the final season of his 22-year career. Molina too had announced that 2022 would mark his final season, concluding a 19-year career in St. Louis.

When the Cardinals announced a pregame ceremony honoring the careers of Pujols and Molina, it was clear that Wainwright – who made his debut in 2005 – would play an important role, even though he was schedule to pitch that day. Wainwright had not announced whether he planned to return for 2023.

“I declined at first because I knew it was going to be in my warmup,” Wainwright said. “And I was asked again and I thought, you know what, this is a special time for those two and I feel like I owe it to them to be a part of it. I wouldn’t have done it if I was a second-year player. But I’ve been here a long time and been teammates with them a long time and felt like I ought to. I wouldn’t miss that.”[1]

“He could have done it a lot of different ways but he wanted to make sure it was special for those two guys,” said Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol, noting that Wainwright could have filmed his remarks in advance.[2]

Instead, Wainwright altered his pregame routine to be part of an on-field ceremony that saw Cardinals Hall of Famers Ray Lankford, Jason Isringhausen, and Matt Holliday in attendance to honor their former teammate. The ceremony included remarks from owner Bill DeWitt Jr., president of baseball operations John Mozeliak, Wainwright, and Pujols and Molina.

The team gifted both players with golf clubs and embroidered golf bags, plaques outlining their career accomplishments, and paintings commissioned from Puerto Rican artist Carlos Mercado. St. Louis mayor Tishaura O. Jones presented official proclamations from the city declaring that October 4 would be Yadier Molina Day and October 5 would be Albert Pujols Day. Molina, of course, wore No. 4 throughout most of his career (he wore No. 41 in 2004 and 2005) and Pujols wore No. 5 throughout his Cardinals career (he wore No. 55 with the Dodgers in 2021).

“It is extraordinary when you have the opportunity to see two young players play together and you watch their friendship become a brotherhood,” said Mozeliak, who drafted both players. “It is a special friendship that became family.”[3]

Even Pirates closer David Bednar was impressed. “How long have those guys been doing it?” he said. “To see them celebrated, it was really cool to watch.”[4]

It was a moment that seemed impossible after Pujols signed with the Angels following the 2011 season. His return, however, was just the beginning. After batting just .215/.301/.376 for a .676 OPS and an OPS+ of just 92 (8% below league average) during the first half, Pujols returned to the form so many Cardinals fans remembered.

“I’m really blessed to be back here and to finish my career where everything started for me,” Pujols said. “If you look around, the history of this organization is all about winning, from bringing guys here that can play the game and developing them in the system. … There’s no better feeling than to raise a championship trophy at the end of the year.”[5]

Pujols acknowledged his second-half resurgence in his pregame remarks.

“I have faith in the Lord, and there’s no way he brought me back to the city of St. Louis to embarrass myself,” he said.[6]

When the 40-minute ceremony concluded and the game began, Pujols continued his hot hitting. After Wainwright threw a 1-2-3 first inning, marking his record 328^th start with Molina as his catcher, Pujols got the Cardinals out to an early lead with a two-run double. Two batters later, Molina hit a sacrifice fly that scored Pujols and gave the Cardinals an early 3-0 lead.

It was as if the first inning had been scripted by the baseball gods.

The Pirates, however, were determined to play spoiler. Jack Suwinski drew a leadoff walk and Calvin Mitchell singled for Pittsburgh before Ben Gamel hit a three-run homer to right field to tie the game. An inning later, rookie shortstop Oneil Cruz singled and stole second, then scored on a sacrifice fly that gave the Pirates a 4-3 lead.

In the bottom of the third, Pujols stepped to the plate for what would prove to be the final regular-season at-bat of his career in St. Louis. Facing Roansy Contreras, a rookie righthander and fellow native of the Dominican Republic, Pujols hammered the second pitch he saw over the center-field wall.

It marked the 702^nd home run of his career and tied him with Babe Ruth for second all-time with 2,214 career RBIs. Only Henry Aaron, with 2,297, had more.

The home run gave Pujols 23 homers for the year and 17 in 153 at-bats since the all-star break.

“He always rises to the occasion in big moments,” Wainwright said.[7]

In the fourth, after Wainwright threw another 1-2-3 inning, outfielder Dylan Carlson and shortstop Paul DeJong hit back-to-back doubles to regain the lead, 5-4. Although Wainwright originally had been slated to throw approximately 50 pitches and had already thrown 61, he returned for the fifth inning with a chance to earn the win.

It wasn’t meant to be.

Pirates second baseman Ji Hwan Bae led off the fifth with a single before Cruz followed with a double. After Wainwright struck out Bryan Reynolds, Miguel Andujar hit a ground ball that scored Bae and Suwinski hit an RBI single to score Cruz.

With the Pirates leading 6-5, Wainwright’s day was over. When Marmol emerged from the dugout to relieve Wainwright in favor of left-hander Zack Thompson, Wainwright was joined by Molina and Pujols. Together, the three Cardinals legends walked side-by-side off the field.

“That was a surprise,” Wainwright said. “I thought that was cool.”[8]

After Thompson struck out Rodolfo Castro on three pitches, Wainwright’s line was complete: six earned runs on six hits and two walks in 4 2/3 innings. He finished with four strikeouts.

“I was proud to walk off the field with those guys even though I was pouting a little bit,” he said. “It still was a good moment for me to say I was teammates with two of the greatest ever. That was a cool time for Albert and Yadi and our whole team to see how St. Louis celebrates some of the greatest players, not just Cardinals, but players ever.”[9]

After the game, Marmol said he regretted not removing them one inning earlier. Wainwright wouldn’t have been eligible for the win, which requires the starter to go five innings, but he would have left the game with the lead.[10]

Wainwright had allowed just five runs over his previous nine starts against the Pirates.

“We had a really good approach,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “We did a nice job with the breaking ball, which we had not done in the past. We made him execute pitches. We made him work. That’s a challenge for a young group of players, but I thought they did a really nice job sticking to the game plan.”[11]

The Pirates added just one more run when Reynolds homered off Thompson in the seventh to make the final score 7-5. After Contreras and Pirates reliever Chase De Jong got Pittsburgh into the fifth inning, Duane Underwood Jr., Yohan Ramirez, Robert Stephenson, and Bednar combined for 4 1/3 scoreless innings. De Jong earned his sixth win of the season and Bednar earned his 19^th save.

“Really proud of our guys,” Shelton said. “There was a lot of stuff going on and we battled. You get down 3-0 early with a young group, you could go away. We didn’t. We came right back, had good at-bats, and made things happen. We ran the bases well. This was definitely a growing moment.”[12]

With a sellout crowd of 46,680, the Cardinals’ season attendance exceeded 3.32 million, far exceeding the 2.75 million the Cardinals estimated prior to the season. Vice president of ticket sales Joe Strohm credited Pujols for the difference, estimating that the legend’s return and chase for 700 home runs drew an additional 500,000 fans.[13]

St. Louis finished with 93 wins to win the National League Central Division by seven games. Though the Cardinals hosted both games of the Wild Card Series, the Phillies swept the series on their way to the National League championship. As a result, the Cardinals’ final regular-season home game proved the best farewell St. Louis could offer for Molina and Pujols – at least until they received an invitation to Cooperstown.

“As part of DeWitt’s remarks, he acknowledged the Cardinals have had at least one person in uniform who is inducted in the National Baseball Hall of Fame every year since 1909,” wrote St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Benjamin Hochman. “Pujols and Molina will be a part of that stretch when their times come, and in so doing, will be as permanently embedded in the national baseball consciousness as they are locally, legends among legends, secure in their circle.[14]

Enjoy this post? Find similar stories listed by decade or by player.

[1] Rick Hummel, “A big send-off for Pujols, Molina; Waino struggles,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 3, 2022.

[2] Rick Hummel, “A big send-off for Pujols, Molina; Waino struggles,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 3, 2022.

[3] Benjamin Hochman, “Powerful ceremony honored two greats,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 3, 2022.

[4] Jason Mackey, “Pirates play role of spoilers,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 3, 2022.

[5] Benjamin Hochman, “Powerful ceremony honored two greats,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 3, 2022.

[6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r9-4S4gu_w

[7] Rick Hummel, “A big send-off for Pujols, Molina; Waino struggles,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 3, 2022.

[8] Rick Hummel, “A big send-off for Pujols, Molina; Waino struggles,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 3, 2022.

[9] Rick Hummel, “A big send-off for Pujols, Molina; Waino struggles,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 3, 2022.

[10] Rick Hummel, “A big send-off for Pujols, Molina; Waino struggles,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 3, 2022.

[11] Jason Mackey, “Pirates play role of spoilers,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 3, 2022.

[12] Jason Mackey, “Pirates play role of spoilers,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 3, 2022.

[13] Rick Hummel, “Mikolas and Quintana set to pitch on Monday,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 3, 2022.

[14] Jeff Jones, “Cardinals’ game vs. Pirates all about Pujols, Molina, Waino,” Belleville News-Democrat, October 4, 2022.

The post Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina bid farewell: October 2, 2022 first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

On September 23, 2021, Wainwright joined the 2,000-strikeout club, whiffing Brewers infielder Luis Urias to reach the milestone in his 16^th major league season. Paul Goldschmidt homered twice and the Cardinals won their 12^th consecutive game in a streak that would reach an incredible 17 games.

“It doesn’t surprise me at all,” Matt Carpenter said of Wainwright’s 2,000^th strikeout. “It’s the kind of guy he is. His work ethic, his character, and most importantly, his competitiveness. He takes the ball every day with the expectation to not just win, but to go out and dominate.”[1]

Wainwright originally was a first-round draft pick by the Braves before he was traded to St. Louis in the 2003 trade that sent J.D. Drew to Atlanta. The three-time all-star had finished among the top three in the National League Cy Young Award balloting four times in his career and twice reached the 20-win plateau.

Along the way, Wainwright collected three seasons with more than 200 strikeouts, including a career-high 219 in 2013. At age 40, Wainwright remained capable of missing bats, as the strikeout of Urias marked his 170^th of the season. He joined Bob Gibson as the only pitchers to collect all 2,000 strikeouts with St. Louis and became the 85^th pitcher in big-league history to join the 2,000-strikeout club.

Though Wainwright entered the game one strikeout shy of 2,000, it wasn’t clear early in the game that he would last long enough to get it. Former Cardinal Kolten Wong led off the bottom of the first with a single, and with two outs, Wainwright walked Eduardo Escobar and Urias. With the bases loaded, Tyrone Taylor hit a grand slam to left field to give the Brewers an early 4-0 lead.

Wainwright retired the side in order in both the second and third innings. Then he led off the fourth inning by making history. On a 3-and-2 pitch, Wainwright’s longtime partner, catcher Yadier Molina, called for “Uncle Charlie.” Urias swung over the curveball and Wainwright had the 2,000^th strikeout of his career.

“That’s a lot of punchouts,” Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said. “It’s an impressive number. It speaks to a lot of things. Obviously, duration. You’ve got to have a strikeout pitch, or pitches. He’s got the signature curveball, but he’s got other weapons as well.”[2]

Taylor followed Wainwright’s big moment with his second home run of the game. In the fifth, Dylan Carlson tripled down the right-field line and Molina drove him home with a single to right. Later in the inning, Carpenter pinch-hit for Wainwright, ending the veteran’s historic day.

Though he only pitched four innings, allowing five runs on four hits and two walks, the day’s work gave Wainwright 200 1/3 innings for the season. It marked the first time he had surpassed 200 innings since 2014.

“It is a cool number,” Wainwright said. “It means you carried your team into the game a lot of times. That’s really what starting pitching is all about. It’s not the end-all, be-all by any stretch, but it is a cool number.”[3]

The Cardinals came back to tie the score in the top of the seventh. Edmundo Sosa started the rally with a one-out single before Harrison Bader and pinch-hitter Lars Nootbar each walked. Brewers manager Craig Counsell called upon reliever Brad Boxberger, who got Tommy Edman to ground into a force out that scored Sosa.

With Paul Goldschmidt at the plate, Edman was picked off but advanced to second on a throwing error that also allowed Bader to score. Goldschmidt then homered to left field, tying the game 5-5.

One inning later, the Cardinals claimed their first lead of the game. Nolan Arenado walked and scored on a passed ball, and Molina hit a sacrifice fly that gave St. Louis a 7-5 lead. With two outs in the top of the ninth, Goldschmidt hit his second home run of the game. Giovanny Gallegos retired the side in order in the ninth to earn his 12^th save of the season.

“They picked me up big time today,” Wainwright said. “Goldie hit some really good swings. I gave him a big old smooch on the top of his head and I don’t care who knows it.”[4]

Goldschmidt and Carlson each finished the game with three hits, and T.J. McFarland earned the win after throwing a scoreless seventh inning. The Cardinals’ 12 consecutive wins was their longest win streak since 1982 and just two shy of the franchise record of 14 set in 1935.

“It was a great team win,” Wainwright said. “I put us in a hole and they came back and won that game.”[5]

Enjoy this post? Take a look back at Adam Wainwright‘s home run in his first major league at-bat.

[1] Ryan Herrera, “Waino pads standout resume with 2,000^th K,” MLB.com, https://www.mlb.com/news/adam-wainwright-2-000th-career-strikeout.

[2] Derrick Goold, “Wainwright joins Cards’ 2K club,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 24, 2021.

[3] Derrick Goold, “Wainwright joins Cards’ 2K club,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 24, 2021.

[4] Joe Totoraitis (Associated Press), “Goldschmidt homers twice as Cards extend win streak to 12,” Belleville News-Democrat, September 25, 2021.

[5] Joe Totoraitis (Associated Press), “Goldschmidt homers twice as Cards extend win streak to 12,” Belleville News-Democrat, September 25, 2021.

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