In preparing my recent article on Scout.com, “2008 Batavia Muckdogs: Team of the Decade”, I wanted to put that club’s .622 winning mark into proper perspective within the history of the Cardinals organization’s participation in the league and across the rest of the Cardinals system in recent years.
Trying to find all the necessary information in one place proved to be quite frustrating as bits and pieces were all over internet and printed sources, at times presented in different formats.
As a result, I decided to prepare a spreadsheet to include the won-loss record, place in the divisional standings, manager’s name and post-season results (if any) of the Cardinals farm clubs at the top six levels over the last quarter century.
I am going to roll out this work in a series of articles following this one, one for each of the six levels. They will be filed under each team in the archives as a semi-permanent record.
Consider this report a preview with the big picture presented along with some of the bests and worsts across the Cardinals organization over both the last ten and the last 25 years.
Now, I know the Cardinals preach player development over winning baseball, but the reality is that some club is going to win every game. My contention is that over the long haul, better players should win more games. The results show the Cards have been slightly behind the curve.
Over the last quarter century, the teams at the Cardinals’ top six levels in aggregate lost 98 more games than won. Yet because that is on a base of over 19,000 games, the win percentage is still 49.7%.
Taking the most recent ten years, the results have not been as good, .483, despite the cumulative 60 games over .500 mark of .543 the six clubs put together in 2008.
That is because the system had just two other winning years in the last ten, 2004 and 2002. In fact, only one of the six affiliates is over .500 for the last decade. Perhaps the 2008 system-wide results indicate a general change in direction.
St. Louis Cardinals minor league records by season – 1984 through 2008
| Yrs. | 84-08 | 99-08 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 |
| Pct. | 0.494 | 0.483 | 0.543 | 0.481 | 0.499 | 0.492 | 0.520 |
| W | 8704 | 3385 | 376 | 337 | 348 | 347 | 364 |
| L | 8918 | 3618 | 316 | 364 | 349 | 358 | 336 |
| Yrs. | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 |
| Pct. | 0.454 | 0.509 | 0.423 | 0.472 | 0.442 | 0.506 | 0.459 |
| W | 317 | 357 | 298 | 331 | 310 | 357 | 323 |
| L | 381 | 345 | 407 | 371 | 391 | 348 | 380 |
| Yrs. | 1996 | 1995 | 1994 | 1993 | 1992 | 1991 | 1990 |
| Pct. | 0.501 | 0.479 | 0.538 | 0.545 | 0.514 | 0.412 | 0.456 |
| W | 351 | 396 | 449 | 456 | 429 | 341 | 384 |
| L | 350 | 431 | 386 | 380 | 405 | 487 | 458 |
| Yrs. | 1989 | 1988 | 1987 | 1986 | 1985 | 1984 | |
| Pct. | 0.521 | 0.508 | 0.567 | 0.559 | 0.504 | 0.505 | |
| W | 437 | 424 | 382 | 476 | 422 | 432 | |
| L | 402 | 411 | 317 | 363 | 415 | 424 |
Now here are some highlights (and lowlights). I’ll be back soon to cover each club in detail.
St. Louis Cardinals minor league system – last ten years (1999-2008)
| Last ten years (1999-2008) | Level | Mark | Record | Years | Club |
| Overall record | system | 0.483 | 3385-3618 | 1999-2008 | |
| Winning seasons | system | three | 02,04,08 | ||
| Best single season | system | 0.543 | 376-316 | 2008 | |
| Worst single season | system | 0.423 | 298-407 | 2001 | |
| Best single season | club | 0.622 | 46-28 | 2008 | Batavia Muckdogs (SS-A) |
| Worst single season | club | 0.331 | 47-95 | 2001 | New Haven Ravens (Double-A) |
| Best cumulative record | club | 0.509 | 702-676 | 1999-2008 | Quad Cities/Peoria (A) |
| Worst cumulative record | club | 0.448 | 300-370 | 1999-2008 | Johnson City Cardinals (SS-R) |
| Most winning seasons | club | six | Quad Cities/Peoria (A) | ||
| Most losing seasons | club | seven | Johnson City Cardinals (SS-R) | ||
| Current winning season streak | club | five | 2004-2008 | Quad Cities/Peoria (A) | |
| Current losing season streak | club | none | |||
| Most playoff appearances | club | five | 02,4,5,6,7 | Quad Cities/Peoria (A) | |
| Most playoff appearances – season | system | two | 02,4,5,6,7,8 | (done six times) | |
| Most league championships | club | one | 5-way tie: Mem/TN/PB/QC/Bat | ||
| Fewest playoff appearances | club | none | 1999-2008 | Johnson City Cardinals (SS-R) | |
| Fewest league championships | club | none | 1999-2008 | Johnson City Cardinals (SS-R) |
St. Louis Cardinals minor league system – last 25 years (1984-2008)
| Last 25 years (1984-2008) | Level | Mark | Record | Years | Club |
| Overall record | system | 0.497 | 9524-9622 | 1984-2008 | |
| Winning seasons | system | 14 | |||
| Best single season | system | 0.567 | 476-363 | 1987 | |
| Worst single season | system | 0.412 | 341-487 | 1991 | |
| Best single season | club | 0.737 | 56-20 | 1992 | Hamilton Redbirds (SS-A) |
| Worst single season | club | 0.331 | 47-95 | 2001 | New Haven Ravens (Double-A) |
| Best cumulative record | club | 0.523 | 1805-1646 | 1984-2008 | Quad Cities/Peoria/Springfield1 (A) |
| Worst cumulative record | club | 0.481 | 1722-1860 | 1984-2008 | Memphis/Louisville (Triple-A) |
| Most winning seasons | club | 16 | Quad Cities/Peoria/Springfield1 (A) | ||
| Most losing seasons | club | 17 | Bat/SC/NJ/GF/Ham/Erie (SS-A) | ||
| Most playoff appearances | club | 12 | Quad Cities/Peoria/Springfield1 (A) | ||
| Most playoff appearances – season | system | four | 1987, 1994 | (done twice) | |
| Most league championships | club | four | 84,85,95,00 | Memphis/Louisville (Triple-A) | |
| Fewest playoff appearances | club | three | 92,94,08 | Bat/SC/NJ/GF/Ham/Erie (SS-A) | |
| 86,87,94 | Johnson City Cardinals (SS-R) | ||||
| Fewest league championships | club | none | 1984-2008 | Johnson City Cardinals (SS-R) |
| Former affiliates | Abbr. | Lvl. | Years |
| Louisville Redbirds | Lou | AAA | 1982-1997 |
| Tennessee Smokies | TN | AA | 2003-2004 |
| New Haven Ravens | NH | AA | 2001-2002 |
| Arkansas Travelers | Ark | AA | 1966-2000 |
| Potomac Cannons | Pot | A-Adv | 1999-2002 |
| Prince William Cannons | PW | A-Adv | 1997-1998 |
| St. Petersburg Cardinals | StP | A-Adv | 1947-1996 |
| Peoria Chiefs | Peo | A | 1995-2004 |
| Madison Hatters | Mad | A | 1994 |
| Springfield (IL) Cardinals | Spr1 | A | 1982-1993 |
| Savannah Cardinals | Sav | A | 1984-1995 |
| Macon Redbirds | Mac | A | 1983 |
| State College Spikes | SC | SS-A | 2006 |
| New Jersey Cardinals | NJ | SS-A | 1994-2005 |
| Glens Falls Redbirds | GF | SS-A | 1993 |
| Hamilton Redbirds | Ham | SS-A | 1988-1992 |
| Erie Cardinals | Erie | SS-A | 1981-1987 |