LB's all-time Cardinal tourney got me thinking about the best season any player has had in Cardinals history.  The organization has its share of great seasons, but which season was the best in the Teams history?  Anyway, I thought it would be fun to discuss which the best is.  I compiled a list of some of the best seasons I knew of using the following criteria:

1.  I searched through all seasons franchise history, including those posted in the American Association (1883-1891).  I even found one other St Louis seasons worth mention.
   
2.  No more than one season is listed for any one player.  This isn't a problem on most any player except Hornsby.  Any of three seasons could be considered his best and it didn't make sense to take so many voting slots with one player.
   
3.  I paid attention to players that are remembered primarily for their years in a St. Louis uniform and had their best years in St. Louis.  Again this is a matter of practicality to narrow the field.  
   
4.  I thought of MVPs and Cy Young as automatic nominees, but there are simply too many to properly list.  Besides, is it even debatable whether any of Frank Frisch`s season are comparable to any of Rogers Hornsby three best years?
   

On to the nominees:

Bob Caruthers  "Parisian" Bob is mostly remembered as one of the finest pitchers of the 1880s, baseball's first transatlantic holdout and one of the most deserving nineteenth century players not in the HoF.  1886 wasn't his finest pitching season for the Browns as he won more games, pitched 100 more innings and posted an ERA a quarter-run better for the 1885 pennant winners.  In fact, in 1886 he may not have even been the best pitcher in the AA.  However was the league's best hitter posting a .975 OPS and 200 OPS+ in addition to his 30 wins and a 2.32 ERA (2nd in the league).  He also went 2-1 on the mound to help St Louis win its first World Championship.

Bob Caruthers- 1886, P-RF
30-14/ 387ip/ 2.32era/ 148era+/ 1.056whip
87g/ 317ab/ .334avg/ .448obp .527slg 200ops+










Tip O'Neill.  Really, surprising little has been written about Tip O'Neill.  He is perhaps most famous for his namesakes: many Irish-American born in the late 1800's were named after James Edward "Tip" O'Neill, including former speaker of the house, Tip O'Neill.  St. Louis' first big star was also the most feared hitter of his day and famous for his ability to endlessly foul tip pitches until he got one to his liking or was walked (which he didn't like to do).  In fact he was so feared as a batter that by some accounts he was the first (and second) recipient of an intentional walk in baseball history during the 1886 World Series.  Even so, Tip O'Neill's 1887 season stands out as perhaps the most amazing season by a batter ever.  That year O'Neill led the league in EVERY offensive category except stolen bases and walks.  You name it he led it: avg: .435, obp: .492, slg: .691, hits: 225, doubles: 52, triples: 19, homeruns: 14, rbis: 123, runs: 167.  Unfortunately for O'Neill and the Browns, he didn't hit too well in the 1887 World Series but he did manage to break up what would have been a no-hitter in game six with a ninth inning two-out single.

Tip O'Neill-1887, LF
124g/ 527ab/ .435avg/ .490obp/ .691slg / 211ops+










It would be a long time until another player had a truly remarkable season for St Louis.  The owner of the Browns, Chris Von der Ahe, started selling his players, mostly to Brooklyn, after 1887.  After winning the pennant again in 1888 and losing the World Series to the Giants, St. Louis would have to wait nearly 40 years for another championship and another star.  During the 1890s several future HoFers passed though St Louis and the team was pretty good in 1899, the year after we merged with the Cleveland Spiders, but for the most part our best players were past their prime or remembered better for their work on other teams.  In particular Jesse Burkett had an awesome seasons for St. Louis (181ops+ in 1901), but his heyday really came several years before in Cleveland.  The story was the same during the early part of the 20th century.  Several future HoFers played for the Cardinals, but they are more remembered for other roles.  Then in 1915 a couple of promising rookies came to town...










George Sisler.  Okay, this one doesn't count since he played for the American League Browns, but he posted some awesome seasons from 1920-1922.  Everyone knows Rogers Hornsby hit .400 over five years, but how many people realize Sisler did it over 3 years (.3997 from 1920-1922)?  Anyway, 1920 was his finest year in my opinion, even though it wasn't his MVP season.  He hit .407 with 19 homeruns (a career high) and racked up 257 hits in 154 games, a record that stood for 84 years until Ichiro Suzuki bested it with 262 in 2004.  Also of note to quantify Sisler's greatness: in 1922, he hit .420, the second highest batting average ever posted in the AL (and the highest in the AL under modern rules).

George Sisler-1920, 1st base (Browns, American League)
154g/ 631ab/ 257h/ .407avg/ .449obp/ .632slg/ 181ops+










Rogers Hornsby.  The hardest part of this selection is to know which year to pick.  From 1921 to 1925 not only did the Rajah bat over .400, but he also posted an ops+ of 203 over that period.  His power and productivity topped out in 1922 with 450 bases and 42 homeruns.  His average and ops+ reached a peak of .424 and 222 in 1924.  However, he reached his slugging peak in 1925 (.756), winning his 2nd Triple Crown and first MVP.  Ironically, Hornsby didn't achieve post season glory until a year later when he had an off-year, posting only a .316 average and a 124 ops+.  But he managed St. Louis to our first World Championship in 40 years, tagging Babe Ruth out at second to seal the deal in the ninth inning of game seven..

Rogers Hornsby-1925, 2nd base
138g/ 504ab/ .403avg/ .489obp/ .756slg/ 210ops+










Dizzy Dean.  Dean's career wasn't long, but he had an awesome peak.  1934 was his MVP season when he became the last man in the NL to win 30 games.  That year he and his brother Paul went 4-1 in the World Series in a seven game win against the Tigers.

Dizzy Dean-1934, P
30-11/ 311ip/ 2.66era / 159era+/ 1.165whip










Joe Medwick.  The Cardinals 3rd and last Triple Crown winner was also the last Triple Crown winner in the NL.  Like most triple-crown winners his achievement was serendipitous.  He achieved his career high in homeruns, 31, at the same time the NL's power output dipped.  Had he played in the AL, he would have been 7th.  And as good as he was, there was another Cardinal nearly as good, Johnny Mize.  I assume Mize and his 172ops+ was hitting behind Ducky and thus helped impel Medwick to amazing season.  Pepper Martin hit pretty well that year to posting a 125ops+.  So how did we finish 4th that year?  Look no further than the pitching which was 6th in the NL.

Joe Medwick-1937, LF
156g/ 633ab/ .374avg/ .414obp/ .671slg/ 180ops+










Mort Cooper.  Despite selling Medwick and Mize the previous couple of years, the Cardinals reached their pinnacle in wins in 1942.  Musial had a typical season in his sophomore year (151ops+) and Enos Slaughter had perhaps his best season (156ops+), but it was Mort Cooper that won the MVP with his 22-7 record, 279ip and 1.78 era.  And by the way, Mort's brother, Walker Cooper, had a pretty decent season as backstop with a 115ops+.

Mort Cooper-1942, P
22-7/ 279ip/ 1.78era/ 192era+/ .987whip










Stan Musial.  Musial had a number of great seasons and won the MVP 3 times, but there is no doubt as to his greatest season.  In 1948 Musial nearly equaled Tip O'Neill's feat of leading the league in everything possible; he only missed it (and the Triple Crown) by one rained out home run.  To be exact, Musial led the league avg (.376), obp (.450), slg (.702), runs (135), hits (230), doubles (46), triples (18), rbi (131).  Despite this however, the Cardinals finished second to the Dodgers, led by Jackie Robinson.  We wouldn't integrate until 1959.

Stan Musial-1948, LF
155g/ 611ab/ .376avg/ .450obp/ .702slg/ 200ops+










Bob GibsonTwenty Years after Musial posted one of the most amazing seasons ever, Gibson would do the same except instead of creating runs, he prevented them.  Gibson's era of 1.12 was the lowest posted since Mordecai Brown's 1.04 in 1906 and the lowest ever in a season with 300+ innings pitched.  I guess everybody know what happened in the World Series that year: Despite Gibson's heroics, the Cardinals lost in seven.  I am not old enough to have watched it there but recall reading something about a center fielder and slick grass.  Then again, that sounds familiar...

Bob Gibson-1968, P
22-9/ 305ip/ 1.12era/ 258era+/ .853whip










Mark McGwire.  Really I was hoping to avoid this selection, but there is no getting around it.  The year McGwire hit 70 homeruns he was by most any measure monstrously productive.  His ops+ of 217 stands only behind Hornsby's 222 in 1924 for the all-time leader.  His 70 home runs easily top the leader boards as do his 162 walks.

Mark McGwire-1998, 1st base
159g/ 509ab/ .299avg/ .470obp/ .752slg/ 217ops+  










Albert Pujols.  This might be the hardest selection to make for a number of reasons.  First I'd like to think that Pujols best years are still ahead of him.  Second, if we compare him at first base, he may not look so hot compared to McGwire.  Lastly, even more so than Hornsby, his seasons have all been so great that it is hard to single one out.  But since I have to, I'll go with 2003.  It is a bit of an odd selection, since it is the one year he didn't make the post-season, but it was his batting title year and he posted a high for ops+.

Albert Pujols-2003, 1st base
157g/ 591ab/ .359avg/ .439obp/ .667slg/ 189ops+










Jim Edmonds  This is another tough call for me, just because I am not sure when its all said and done how Edmonds career will look when view in the light of the slugfest that was the 1990s and early 2000s.  But in any case, if you are Cardinals fan, gold glove center fielders with an ops+ seventy-five percent better than the league don't come around- well, ever until Edmonds.  2004, easily Edmonds' best season, was such an amazing year not only for him, but for the whole team.  We had guys in the middle on the line-up posting ops+ of 145 (Walker), 175 (Pujols), 173 (Edmonds), 160 (Rolen).  Makes me wonder how we lost to Boston.  

Jim Edmonds-2004, CF
153g/ 498ab/ .301avg / .418obp/ .643slg/ 173ops+










Well there you have it... that is my list.  Apologies to the great seasons and players I didn't elaborate on, including, but not limited to:

Silver King-1888,.. P, 45-21/ 586ip/ 1.64era/ 199era+/ .896whip
John Tudor-1985,... P, 21-8 / 275ip/ 1.93era/ 183era+/ .938whip

Jim Bottomley-1928, 1st base, 149g/ 576ab/ .325avg/ .402obp/ .628obp/ 163ops+
Frank Frisch-1930,. 2nd base, 133g/ 540ab/ .346avg/ .407obp/ .520slg/ 119ops+
Johnny Mize-1939,.. 1st base, 153g/ 564ab/ .349avg/ .444obp/ .626slg/ 176ops+
Ken Boyer-1961,.... 3rd base, 153g/ 589ab/ .329avg/ .397obp/ .533slg/ 135ops+
Joe Torre-1971,.... 3rd base, 161g/ 631ab/ .363avg/ .421obp/ .555slg/ 171ops+
Willie McGee-1985,. CF,...... 152g/ 612ab/ .353avg/ .384obp/ .503slg/ 148ops+
Jack Clark-1987,... 1st base, 131g/ 419ab/ .286avg/ .459obp/ .597slg/ 176ops+
Scott Rolen-2004,.. 3rd base, 142g/ 500ab/ .314avg/ .409obp/ .598slg/ 160ops+

So, what do you think?
So, what do you think?