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Fun read, and a good exercise at vivaelbirdos.com today.
Here's my team (one player per year, and you can't use the same guy more than once, and they have to have actually played in the role you put them in):
1B: McGwire cheated; he's out. Hey, it's MY team. I'll go with El Hombre '06.
2B: Fernando Vina, 2001. His best season with the Cardinals (.303 BA, .775 OPS). Regretfully, this means I can't find a spot on the team for Tommy Herr.
3B: I agree with Rolen '04.
SS: I DEFINITELY agree with Ozzie Smith '87. No apologies to Edgar Renteria necessary. By 1987 Ozzie had actually declined slightly from his defensive peak in the early '80s, but he was still far and away the best defensive player in MLB. And this was his best season at the plate. I will go to my grave believing he should have been NL MVP, and the only reason he wasn't is because sports journalists are idiots who don't realize that defense is just as important as offense. Really, now...in 1987 Ozzie was the best fielder in the game, the best player on the best team in the league, and on offense he was a table-setter with an on-base pct. of nearly .400 who scored a lot of runs and also drove in a lot of runs. That's more valuable than a corner outfielder who hits 40 home runs in a hitter's park for a last-place team. It just is. I don't put too much stock in individual awards, but if I did, I would call the 1987 NL MVP award one of the greatest traveshammockeries in world history.
In my time there have been three Cardinals with truly supernatural abilities: Lou Brock (base-running), Ozzie (fielding), and Pujols (hitting). And of the three, I think Ozzie was the most supernatural. Best defensive player ever. End of story.
LF: I'm not prepared to call Pujols a left fielder, so I'll go with Lonnie Smith, 1982. Spark-plug lead-off man for a World Championship team who hit .307, had an OBP of .381 and an OPS of .815, scored 120 runs, and stole 68 bases. And he stole home in the '82 World Series, but the ump missed the call.
CF: Agree with Edmonds 2000.
RF: Agree with Brian Jordan, but I'll say '98 instead of '96. Jordan's numbers in '98 were 25 homers, 91 RBI, .316 BA, and an OPS of .902. Even so, I think that George Hendrick was better, but necessity dictates that I take other players from Hendrick's years. I also wish I could find a spot somehow for Larry Walker.
C: Agree with Darrell Porter, '83. We've had a long run of superb defensive catchers. But when's the last time one of them could hit? Porter '83 had 15 home runs and a .794 OPS--not spectacular, but not sucky either.
Rotation:
Agree wholeheartedly with John Tudor '85. Still the most incredible season I've ever seen a Cards pitcher have (sadly, I was too young to absorb much of the '68 season). Tudor started out 1-7 that year with an ERA over 3. Then for the last four months he went 20-1 with an ERA that must have been well south of 1.50, since he ended the season at 1.93. What a monster season...and he didn't win the Cy Young because Doc Gooden was even better. (Doc Gooden in 1985 was the best pitcher I have ever seen in my life.)
Carpenter '05 is another no-brainer. Second-best season I've ever seen by a Cardinals starter.
Agree with Bob Tewksbury '92. Tewksbury was sort of John Tudor Lite, a finesse pitcher with amazingly good control (at least at his peak). In 1992 Tewksbury pitcher 233 innings, yet struck out only 91 hitters. And he went 16-5 with a 2.16 ERA.
Agree also that Andujar and Morris have to be in the starting rotation, both were clearly among the five best starters of the past 25 years. But for various reasons I'm going with Andujar '84 (20-14, 3.34 ERA) although he had a better year in '82, and Morris '03 (17-9, 3.42) although his best year was 2001.
Sorry I can't squeeze in Joe Magrane '89 (18-9, 2.91 ERA).
Bench:
Oquendo, 1988. Gotta have the Secret Weapon in there, and '88 is pretty slim pickins.
Tom Pagnozzi, 1990. 1990 was the worst season the Cardinals have had in the last 25 years, so bad that Whitey Herzog quit in disgust midway through it. As backup catcher that year, Pags hit .277 in 220 at bats, although with absolutely no power. The following season, 1991, he moved into the starting lineup and won the first of his three Gold Gloves.
Milt Thompson, 1991. Thompson was one of the better fourth outfielders we've had in the last 25 years, and in '91 he hit .307 in 326 at bats and had an OPS of .810.
Willie McGee, 1997. There's no freaking way I'm leaving probably my favorite Cardinal of all time off this team. But, you can't budge Edmonds from center field. Solution: McGee was our main guy off the bench for a few seasons after he came back from exile with those California teams. He was better in '96, but still solid in '97, hitting .300 in 300 at bats.
Placido Polanco, 1999. A sentimental favorite. Hit .277 in 220 at bats.
Eduardo Perez, 2002. I still need a power-hitting pinch-hitter who can play the infield corners, and in '02 Perez hit 10 home runs. (He was better the following year, with 11 home runs and an OPS of .843.)
Bullpen:
Tom Henke, 1995. The default choice for '95, the second-worst season the Cards have had in the last 25 years. Henke had a good year, with 36 saves and a 1.82 ERA. Bruce Sutter had a better year in 1984, but the rules are that you only get to choose one closer for the bullpen.
Agree with Rick Horton '86. A solid set-up guy who was also a good spot starter.
Agree also with Mike Perez '93, just looking at his numbers, but I swear I don't even remember the guy. What is wrong with me, am I getting senile?
Dan Quisenberry, 1989. I'd rather take Magrane from the '89 team, but the rotation is too crowded. So Quiz and his funky submarine pitch are in. In '89 he appeared in 63 games as a set-up man and posted a 2.64 ERA.
T. J. Mathews, 1996. Nothing spectacular, but I like the 80 K's in 83 1/3 innings.
John Habyan, 1994. Hey, you DO have to take somebody from '94. I can't agree with Gerald Perry--the guy only batted 77 times all season. Habyan's not really any better--apparently he struck out nearly a batter per inning and had a 3.23 ERA, but I don't remember it at all.
There you go, guys, I wasted all afternoon figuring my team out. Somebody else's turn.
(Although I don't have a backup catcher, I'm sure I could get somebody to learn it.)
Maybe some day that story will have a happy ending. Ankiel had hit his sixth HR in Memphis and hiked his average to .215 last time I checked!
