Cardinals minor league history being made

Rarely if ever do I  use this blog platform for the sole purpose of pointing to an article on the main The Cardinal Nation site, but today is a bit different.

Memphis Redbirds celebration, 09/06/10 (Jon Seals/The Cardinal Nation)Memphis reaching the playoffs on the final day of the 2010 minor league season put an exclamation point on a historically-good regular season for the St. Louis Cardinals organization, with the post-season still ahead for four clubs and one championship already won.

Having maintained a detailed database of the results across the Cardinals minor league system going back to at least 1966 allows me to put this season into a perspective that few others can – because the data does not readily exist in one place.

Please go and check out the full article, but here is the Cliff’s Notes version in three, quick points.

One has to go back 45 years, to 1966, to find a season in which the aggregate won-loss percentage of the Cardinals minor league system was better than its 2010 mark of .569.

With five teams in the playoffs this year, the Cardinals have the most clubs active following the regular season since at least 1966.

Not since at least 1966 have the Cardinals seen more than two of their affiliates win their respective leagues. In 2010, the Cards already have one championship on the books and four more opportunities still to be played out.

Those who bash the Cardinals system will point out that the relative dearth of high-impact prospects, but in a way, doesn’t that make these winning baseball teams all the more extraordinary?

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