photo: Don Denkinger, Todd Worrell, Tommy Herr
The awards season is underway and free agency nears, the latter a pivotal time for the St. Louis Cardinals. Our history segment revisits the Cardinals in the post season during the 1980’s.
News and Notes for the Cardinals offseason
This section will feature offseason news items each week that do not require extensive coverage.
- Cardinals’ third baseman Nolan Arenado was announced as one of four finalists for the National League Silver Slugger Award at third base. Arenado is in line for his sixth such award in his career.
Arenado was not a finalist for the Gold Glove Award this season, which ended his career-long streak of 10 consecutive Gold Gloves.
The Silver Slugger Award winners will be announced on Thursday, November 9 on MLB Network at 5 pm CT.
- Tommy Edman, the only Cardinal Gold Glove finalist, lost out to the Padres Ha-Seong Kim for the utility player Gold Glove. Edman was a finalist in 2022 for the same award and lost to teammate Brendan Donovan. Edman has a Gold Glove at second base, won in 2021.
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
Katie Woo of The Athletic reported that the Cardinals intend to add at least “two high-leverage” relief arms to the roster this offseason.
The Cardinals have previously been linked to the upcoming Japanese free agent pitcher Yuki Matsui. There have also been rumors that the Cardinals will make a play for a reunion with Jordan Hicks, who was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays at the deadline. The Cardinals were unable to reach an agreement to extend Hicks contract prior to the trade.
Other high powered relief pitchers on the market include Josh Hader, Aroldis Chapman and Matt Moore from the left side. Right handers available include Joe Jimenez and Reynado Lopez. The Chicago White Sox recently declined their option on closer Liam Hendriks.
Transactions
- 11/2 RHP Drew VerHagen elected free agency.
- 11/3 The Cardinals activated 3B Brendan Donovan from the 60-day injured list.
- 11/3 The Cardinals activated RHP Wilking Rodriguez from the 60-day injured list.
- 11/3 The Cardinals activated LHP Packy Naughton from the 60-day injured list.
- 11/3 The Cardinals activated RHP Guillermo Zuniga from the 60-day injured list.
- 11/3 The Cardinals activated CF Dylan Carlson from the 60-day injured list.
The 40-man roster is now at 38 players. Details here:
St. Louis Cardinals Organization Roster Matrix – 2023 Short-Season
Injury Report
From John Denton of MLB.com:
“Gold Glover Brendan Donovan, who had ligament repair & stabilization surgery in August, posted earlier today on IG that he is in Week 2 of his throwing program. The second-year standout, who hit .284 with 11 HRs in 95 games, is expected to be ready for Spring Training.”
Looking Ahead
The World Series is over and the offseason has officially begun. The exclusive window for teams to negotiate with their free agents ends on Monday, November 6. The Cardinals have just one free agent, reliever Drew VerHagen.
After the window concludes, free agents may negotiate and sign with any other team. This is also the period in which teams may make eligible free agents the Qualifying Offer. The QO is believed to be in an amount around $20.5 million. The Cardinals will certainly not make the QO to VerHagen.
The annual MLB GM Meetings are scheduled this week, from November 7-9 in Scottsdale, AZ.
Two important dates on the schedule following the GM Meetings are November 14 and November 17. November 14 is the deadline for teams to add eligible minor league players to the 40 man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 draft.
November 17 is the non-tender deadline. Players on the 40-man roster with less than six years of major league service must be tendered a contract by this date. Should a player not be tendered a contract, he immediately becomes a free agent. The Cardinals have not indicated whether any players will be non-tendered.
The awards season continues this month. The first is the Gold Glove Awards. Tommy Edman was a finalist for the utility position. The winners were announced on Sunday and Edman did not win the award, which went to Ha-Seong Kim of the Padres.
Silver Slugger Award winners will be announced on November 9. Nolan Arenado is the only Cardinal finalist (top three finisher).
Finalists for the AL and NL Manager of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player and the Cy Young Award will be announced on November 6. The Cardinals will likely be shut out.
Blast from the Past
The Cardinals did not make the postseason in 2023, finishing in last place, 20 games under .500. The reasons for that have already been hashed over and the historically bad season analyzed in every quarter. After the postseason proceeded without the Cardinals, the Blast from the Past will make a U-turn, and rather than bemoan the lost season, will celebrate those seasons in which the Cardinals did play in October.
This series looks at the Cardinals in the postseason by decade. The period from 1900-1920 was a tough two decades for the St. Louis franchise. It wasn’t until Sam Breadon purchased the Cardinals in 1917 that they began the ascent into the successful franchise it is today.
From 1920 until the present, the Cardinals made the postseason 32 times. In only two decades since then they have not made a single postseason appearance – the 1950s and the 1970s. In all other decades but one they made the playoffs multiple times.
The fifth installment in this series looks at the decade of the 1980s. Beginning in 1967, MLB added the Championship Series to the postseason. Following the Cardinals last appearance in the World Series in 1968, the organization did not make the postseason again until 1982. The Cardinals made the postseason three times in the 1980s – 1982, 1985 and 1987. They won one World Series and lost the other two.
When the two leagues were reorganized in 1969, the AL and the NL were divided into two divisions each. Four teams were added, two in the AL (Kansas City Royals and Seattle Pilots), and two in the NL (Montreal Expos and San Diego Padres).
The Cardinals were put in the NL East Division, along with the Philadelphia Phillies, Montreal Expos, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, and New York Mets. The Cardinals remained in the NL East in 1982.
The 1982 team was owned by Gussie Busch. The GM was Joe McDonald. The manager was Whitey Herzog.
The team finished in first place in the NL East with a record of 92-70, three games ahead of the Phillies.
The future Hall of Famers on the team were Herzog, Jim Kaat, Ozzie Smith, and Bruce Sutter.
The Cardinals played the Atlanta Braves in the Championship Series. They swept the Braves in three games. The MVP of the series was catcher Darrell Porter.
The 1982 squad faced the Milwaukee Brewers in the World Series. The Brewers were then in the AL and were originally the expansion Seattle Pilots in 1969. (The Pilots moved to Milwaukee in 1970). The Cardinals won the Series 4-3.
The Cardinals won Games 2, 3, 6, and 7. Because St. Louis and Milwaukee are both brewery towns, the media nicknamed the Series “The Suds Series”.
St. Louis next went to the postseason in 1985. The 1985 team was owned by Busch. The GM was Dal Maxvill. The manager was Herzog.
The 1985 Cardinals finished in first place in the NL East with a record of 101-61. They were three games ahead of the Mets.
The future Hall of Famers were Herzog and Smith.
The 1985 team played the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS. They won the series 4-2. The Cardinals advanced to the World Series against the Kansas City Royals.
The Cardinals were defeated by the Royals 4-3. This series is infamous for a blown call at first base in Game 6. The Cardinals had a 3-2 series lead entering Game 6. With a 1-0 lead in the ninth inning of that game, the Royals Jorge Orta grounded a ball between second base and first. First baseman Jack Clark fielded the ball and threw it to pitcher Todd Worrell for the out. Worrell touched the base before Orta, but first base umpire Don Denkinger called Orta safe. There was no replay in 1985, but video showed Orta was clearly out. The situation deteriorated from there and the Cardinals lost the game. The Royals trounced the Cardinals in Game 7, handing St. Louis the World Series loss.
The Cardinals won Games 1, 2, and 4 and should have won Game 6 but for the blown call.
The final trip to the postseason for the Cardinals in the 1980s was in 1987. The 1987 team was owned by Busch. The GM was Maxvill and the manager was Herzog.
The 1987 Cardinals finished in first place in the NL East with a record of 95-67. They were again three games ahead of the Mets.
Future Hall of Famers on the 1987 team were Herzog and Smith.
The Cardinals played the San Francisco Giants in the 1987 NLCS. They defeated the Giants 4-3. Despite St. Louis winning the series, the Series MVP was Jeffrey Leonard of the Giants.
The Cardinals advanced to the World Series against the Minnesota Twins. They lost the series 4-3. This was the first World Series to be (partially) played indoors. It was also the last World Series with day games.
The Cardinals won Games 3, 4, and 5, all played at Busch Stadium. For the Series, the Cardinals were without their best slugger, Jack Clark. Third baseman Terry Pendleton suffered a rib cage injury and the switch hitter could only bat left handed.
Next week’s installment showcases the 1990s, in which the Cardinals made the postseason only once and did not make it to the World Series.
The final decades from 2000-2022 will be broken down into four installments because there were 16 postseason appearances during that time.
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