photo: Bruce Sutter
The St. Louis Cardinals lost Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter to cancer. A stats comparison to 2021 show improvements in team offense and pitching but a decline in defense. Our history feature recaps retired slugger Albert Pujols’ home run feats in 2017 and 2018.
Hall of Fame reliever Bruce Sutter passes away
Cardinal Nation received some sad news on Thursday, October 13, as it was announced that former St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher and Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter passed away at the age of 69.
Sutter, whose number 42 is one of dozen or so numbers that have been retired by the Cardinals, died while in hospice care for cancer. The veteran of the 1982 World Champion Cardinals team spent four seasons in St. Louis, from 1981 through 1984. The reliever was acquired on December 9, 1980 from the Cubs in exchange for Leon Durham, Ken Reitz and a player to be named later.
In his final season with St. Louis, Sutter tied the then MLB record for saves in a single season with 45. He led the NL in saves for four consecutive years, two with the Cubs and two with the Cardinals. Sutter’s claim to fame was the split-fingered fastball.
Sutter won the NL Cy Young Award in 1979 and was a six-time All Star, twice as a Cardinal. In 2006 in his 13th year of eligibility, he was the first relief pitcher to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. As such, Sutter was also part of the 2014 inaugural class of the Cardinals Hall of Fame.
Sutter was in attendance at 2022 Opening Day festivities on April 7 but was unable to attend the 40th anniversary of the 1982 Championship Team on August 13 because of his illness.
Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. expressed condolences to the Sutter family on behalf of the Cardinals organization in a statement following the news of his death. DeWitt said, “Bruce was a fan-favorite during his years in St. Louis and in the years to follow, and he will always be remembered for his 1982 World Series clinching save and signature split-fingered pitch. He was a true pioneer in the game, changing the role of the of the late inning reliever.”
Bruce Sutter will truly be missed by all of Cardinal Nation.
2022 St. Louis Cardinals Scorecard
The end of the Cardinals season is usually a time for reflection on what was good and what was bad about the season. It is also a time to speculate on who on the roster will be returning for 2023 and who may be looking for other employment. Here is one such reflection and speculation.
Starting with the good, the first reflection is that the Cardinals won the NL Central Division handily and the organization should be celebrated for that accomplishment. After losing out to the Brewers in 2021, the bounce back to the top of the Division was the first goal.
There were clear improvements by the offense over the season (despite the slowdown at the end). In 2021, the Cardinals offense had a team wRC+ of 97 and a team OPS of .725. By comparison, the 2022 team had a wRC+ of 114 and an OPS of .745.
Among the top five performers in each season (400 PA minimum), the average wRC+ for 2021 was 123.4, while the average for 2022 was 133, nearly 10 runs higher. Of those five performers, three were repeater – Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, and Dylan Carlson. Tommy Edman and Brendan Donovan rounded out the 2022 five, while Tyler O’Neill and Harrison Bader were the other two in 2021.
The average OPS for the 2021 team top five was .832 while for the 2022 team it was .813. The difference was that the OBP for the 2022 team was much higher, but the slugging was lower, indicating that the 2022 team created more runs by getting on base rather than by power (though total home runs for the two teams were almost identical, 197 in 2022 to 198 in 2021). The 2022 team struck out less and walked more than in 2021.
The pitching in 2022 was also improved over 2021. Team ERA in 2022 was 3.79, while in 2021 it was 4.00. The 2022 pitching staff walked fewer batters, 3.07/9 innings in 2022 as compared to 3.86/9 in 2021. Team FIP in 2022 was 3.94 compared to 4.30 in 2021. While pitchers in 2022 walked fewer opposing hitters they also struck out fewer hitters than in 2021 (7.38 K/9 in 2022 and 7.78 K/9 in 2021). The pitching staff induced more ground balls and gave up less home runs in 2022 as compared to 2021.
These are all good omens for the future if this trend continues.
Now for the bad. The defense was worse in 2022 than in 2021. The team was down significantly in the two metrics most often cited, Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) and Outs Above Average (OAA). The 2022 team had 70 DRS as compared to the 2021 team which compiled a DRS of 81. In OAA the difference was 24 for 2022 and 52 for 2021.
In RAA, (Runs Above Average) which is fielding runs prevented, the 2022 team prevented 18 runs above average while the 2021 team prevented 41 runs above average. So while the 2022 team scored more runs on offense, they prevented significantly less runs on defense.
This difference is likely the result of the fluctuating outfield in 2022, as the infield defense in 2022 was mostly the same in both years with some variation in position. Injuries to both Tyler O’Neill and Harrison Bader, plus the trade of Bader to the Yankees on August 2 is the most obvious difference in the outfield. The 2022 outfield was unstable for the second half of the season, and it showed.
Nevertheless, the Cardinals won the NL Central Division despite their defensive shortcomings, and the numbers here are not cited for the purpose of claiming the ultimate outcome in the postseason was due to defense. It was clear that the offense lost steam at the end and made a difference in what transpired.
Compared to the other teams, injuries were not a major factor for the 2022 Cardinals. In fact, according to data compiled by Man Games Lost, the Cardinals had the fewest player games missed due to injury in all of MLB. St. Louis was in the middle of the pack in 2021.
MLB 2022 regular season, Bottom 5, games missed by injured players and IL
STL 608
TOR 616
MIL 625
ARI 631
BAL 693https://t.co/Yh0kuFC1gD— Man Games Lost MLB (@ManGamesLostMLB) October 13, 2022
Now to the speculation. It is likely that most of the roster with which the Cardinals ended 2022 will return in 2023. Though Nolan Arenado has an opt out, the chances that he will exercise it are low. Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina are retiring and will definitely not be back. Adam Wainwright’s return is to be decided.
Of the remainder, the most likely to not return are outfielder Corey Dickerson and infielder Paul DeJong. Dickerson was signed for only 2022 and there has been no indication that the Cardinals intend to bring him back. DeJong is likely gone for performance reasons though he has one more guaranteed year left on his contract (plus club options for two additional years). Lefty starter Jose Quintana is a free agent but may be brought back if a deal can be worked out. The remainder of the players on the 2022 roster are under team control for at least one more year, many for longer unless traded, waived or non-tendered. The latter could be a possibility given the team is slated to have 11 players eligible for arbitration.
The 2022 Cardinals made improvements from the previous year and if the trends continue, the team should continue to get better.
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
There are no transactions to report.
Injury Report
There are no new injuries to report.
Looking Ahead
At the end of the postseason, the offseason begins with free agency becoming official five days after the conclusion of the World Series. The Cardinals have three potential free agents and one player with an opt out. Pitchers Adam Wainwright and Jose Quintana, and outfielder Corey Dickerson will be free agents as of the fifth day following the end of the World Series. Third baseman Nolan Arenado will also be a free agent on that date if he exercises his opt out provision. He is not expected to do so, but it is a possibility.
The Cardinals have exclusive negotiation rights for the return of their free agents during the five-day window following the World Series. It is expected that Wainwright will either re-sign with the Cardinals or retire. There is a possibility that the Cardinals will also attempt to re-sign Quintana. It is unknown whether the team has any desire to sign Dickerson.
Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina will also be free agents, but both have announced their intention to retire and will not be returning.
Blast from the Past
In this installment of our series on the career home run record of Cardinals great Albert Pujols, we look at his 2017 and 2018 seasons with the Angels.
Following is each season with totals for each and further details about the home runs hit.
2017 season
This was Albert Pujols’ 17th major league season. Pujols hit 23 home runs in 2017, including two games with two home runs.
Pujols’ first home run of 2017 (#592) was hit on April 9 against the Seattle Mariners at Angels Stadium. The Angels beat the Mariners 10-9. The long ball was a solo shot in the ninth inning against reliever Casey Fien.
The final home run hit by Albert in 2017 (#614) was hit at Angels Stadium off Cleveland reliever Joe Smith on September 20. It was a solo shot in the eighth inning. The Angels lost to the Indians 6-5.
Further details on the 23 home runs hit by Pujols in 2017.
- Twenty-one of the 23 home runs were hit off right-handed pitchers. Two were hit off left-handers.
- Of the 23, 13 were hit at home and 10 on the road.
- Albert hit four home runs against the Houston Astros.
- Pujols hit two home runs off Oakland pitcher Kendall Graveman.
- Albert hit two home runs each at Rangers Ballpark, Rogers Centre, and Minute Maid Park.
- Locations of the 17 home runs were, Up the Middle (14), Pulled (8) and Opposite Field (1).
- Long balls by month: April (3), May (5), June (3), July (5), August (5), September (2).
- Type: Fly Balls (18), Line Drives (5).
2018 season
In his 18th major league season and seventh season with the Angels, Albert hit 19 home runs. He had one game with two home runs.
Pujols’ first 2018 home run (#615) came on March 29 against the Athletics at Oakland Coliseum. It was a solo home run in the sixth inning against reliever Kendall Graveman. The Angels lost to the Athletics 6-5.
His final home run of 2018 (#633) was hit at Rangers Ballpark on August 18 in the second inning against Texas starter Martin Perez. It was a solo home run. The Angels beat the Rangers 11-7.
Further details on his 2018 home runs.
- Pujols hit 13 home runs against right-handed pitchers and six against left-handers.
- He hit 10 home runs at home and nine on the road.
- Albert blasted four home runs against Seattle Mariners pitching.
- Pujols hit 19 home runs off 19 different pitchers.
- Two long balls each were hit at Rangers Ballpark and Oakland Coliseum.
- The locations of the home runs were: Pulled (11), and Up the Middle (8).
- Long balls by month: March (1) April (4), May (2), June (5), July (5), and August (2).
- Type of the home runs: Fly Ball (15), Line Drive (4).
The next installment will look at Pujols’ 2019 and 2020 seasons with the Angels.
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