2022 Cardinals Hall of Fame Induction Class of Three Announced

photo: Charles Comiskey, Julian Javier, Matt Holliday

St. Louis Cardinals press release

The St. Louis Cardinals announced that Matt Holliday, Julián Javier and Charles Comiskey will be inducted into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame. It is the eighth induction class since the team dedicated the Cardinals Hall of Fame with an inaugural class on Opening Day in 2014. An enshrinement ceremony will be held at Ballpark Village during Hall of Fame Weekend presented by Edward Jones on Saturday, August 27.

Chosen by the fans, Matt Holliday was the top vote-getter in the Cardinals Hall of Fame online balloting presented by Edward Jones. This year’s ballot also included Cardinals legends Steve Carlton, George Hendrick, Matt Morris and Edgar Renteria. Cardinals fans cast nearly 30,000 votes over the six-week voting period.

The Red Ribbon Committee, a group comprised of 14 St. Louis baseball experts, elected Julián Javier as a veteran player for induction using a secret ballot process. Javier, the first Dominican player to appear for the Cardinals, was the club’s starting second baseman for 12 seasons from 1960-1971 known for his speed and defense. The two-time World Series Champion and two-time All-Star hit .346 across 15 World Series games, third-best in franchise history.

For the first time since 2016, the Cardinals also elected to make an organizational selection who has been an important figure in St. Louis baseball history, choosing former St. Louis Browns player-manager Charles Comiskey for induction. Comiskey, who played first base starting with the Browns inaugural year of 1882 and later added responsibility as the team’s full-time manager late in the 1884 season, led the club to four straight American Association pennants from 1885-88 and captured the 1886 World’s Championship, defeating the National League’s Chicago White Stockings four games to two in a prelude to the modern-day World Series.

“Selecting members for induction into the Cardinals Hall of Fame is one of our organization’s greatest traditions,” said Bill DeWitt Jr., Cardinals Chairman and CEO. “We thank the thousands of fans and our Red Ribbon Committee who cast their votes for this year’s induction class and congratulate Matt Holliday, Julián Javier and the Comiskey family on this tremendous honor. We look forward to celebrating the achievements of these remarkable players with Cardinals Nation during our induction ceremony in August.”

All 47 members of the Cardinals Hall of Fame are permanently enshrined in the Cardinals Hall of Fame Gallery presented by Edward Jones located on the second floor of Cardinals Nation in Ballpark Village, outside the entrance to the Cardinals Museum. The Hall of Fame Gallery is free and open to the public. Fans can visit cardinals.com/HOF for more information. #CardsHOF

A description of each Inductee’s career as a Cardinal/Brown follows:

Matt Holliday (USA TODAY Sports Images)

Matt Holliday (Modern Era Player — Fan Selection)

  • Years: 2009 – 2016
  • .293/.380/.494, 1048 H, 237 2B, 156 HR, 616 RBI, 573 R, 447 BB (982 Games)

Matt Holliday made an immediate impact upon joining the Cardinals a week before the trade deadline in 2009, hitting .606 (20-for-33) with 3 HR and 10 RBI in his first nine games in St. Louis, including two four-hit performances. After becoming a free agent at the end of that season, the Cardinals re-signed the slugging outfielder to the largest free agent contract in franchise history. Holliday followed up with three straight All-Star appearances from 2010-12 (and another selection in 2015), a Silver Slugger Award in 2010 and a World Series championship in 2011. He led the Cardinals in OPS for three consecutive seasons from 2012-2014 and received MVP votes in five of his eight seasons in St. Louis. He smacked an emotional pinch-hit home run in his penultimate at-bat for the Cardinals, sending the home crowd into a frenzy that cumulated with a standing ovation. Holliday ranks third all-time among Cardinals outfielders in career home runs and is tied for third among all players in postseason games played (61).

Julian Javier

Julián Javier (Veteran Era Player — Red Ribbon Selection)

  • Years: 1960 – 1971
  • .258/.297/.355, 1450 H, 345 XBH, 494 RBI, 719 R, 134 SB (1578 Games)

Known for his speed and defensive range, Julián Javier was a stalwart at second base for the Cardinals during the club’s three World Series appearances in the 1960s. Acquired via trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 28, 1960, “Hoolie” would make his Major League debut the very same day and became the first Dominican-born player to appear for the Cardinals. A two-time All-Star, Javier started the 1963 Midsummer Classic that featured an all-Cardinals starting infield with Bill White, Dick Groat and Ken Boyer. A skilled bunter, the 12-year Cardinal also had an uncanny ability to produce in clutch moments, hitting three home runs in 1-0 games (sixth-most in MLB history) and producing a .346 batting average across 15 World Series games, third-best in franchise history. The two-time World Series champion blasted a three-run homer in the sixth inning of Game 7 of the 1967 World Series to help the club secure its eighth title in franchise history.

Charlie Comiskey (Getty Images)

Charles Comiskey (Organizational Selection)

  • Years: 1882-1889, 1891
  • .273/.299/.353, 1194 H, 244 XBH, 814 R, 689 RBI, 333 SB (1034 Games)
  • St. Louis Browns Managerial Record: 562-272 (.674), 4 Pennants Before joining the National League in 1892, the St. Louis Browns were inaugural members of the American Association beginning in 1882.

Signed by Browns owner Chris von der Ahe to play first base, Charlie Comiskey eventually took over as a fulltime player/manager at 25 years of age towards the end of the 1884 season. The unequivocal team leader piloted the Browns to four straight American Association pennants, winning at least two-thirds of his games in each season between 1885-88. Comiskey’s Browns defeated the National League’s Chicago White Stockings (led by Hall of Fame player/manager Cap Anson) four games to two in the 1886 World’s Championship Series staged between the two leagues in a prelude to the modern-day World Series. Heralded as a solid defender, “The Old Roman” is widely credited as being one of the first players not to hug the first base bag, but rather played closer to second base, enabling him to field more ground balls and having the pitcher cover first base. His finest offensive season came in 1887 when he hit .335, scored 139 runs, drove in 103 and stole 117 bases, all career single-season highs, in 125 games. Elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939, Comiskey played an integral part in the founding of the American League in 1901 and was the sole owner of the Chicago White Sox from 1900 until the time of his death in 1931.

Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum

The 8,000-square-foot St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum on the second floor of Cardinals Nation in Ballpark Village celebrates the rich history of baseball in St. Louis and the legacy of one of baseball’s most storied franchises. Since its creation in 2014, the Cardinals Hall of Fame presented by Edward Jones, has inducted 47 former Cardinal players, coaches and executives. The Cardinals’ museum collection is the largest team-held collection in baseball and is second only to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in terms of size with over 22,000 memorabilia items and hundreds of thousands of archived photos. Fans can learn more about the museum at cardinals.com/museum.

Brian Walton’s take

Holliday’s selection was widely expected as the recency of his contributions gave him a leg up on the other Modern Era candidates who were on this year’s ballot – George Hendrick, Matt Morris, Edgar Renteria and Steve Carlton.

George Hendrick, Matt Morris, Edgar Renteria, Steve Carlson

Javier’s choice as the Veteran Era inductee is an acknowledgement that defense and championships matter, too.

I am most pleased that the DeWitts have returned to making Ownership selections. I am doubly pleased that they are not stuck to the 1892 date as the official start of the franchise. While Comiskey is more known as the long-time owner of the White Sox, he was a crucial member of the team in its early pre-Cardinals years.

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Brian Walton can be reached via email at brian@thecardinalnation.com. Follow Brian on Twitter.

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