In many ways, 1924 was a year like 2010 would later turn out to be for the St. Louis Cardinals.
That season featured an amazing individual performance by a Cardinals hitter, a future Hall of Famer. Rather than Albert Pujols, I am referring to Rogers Hornsby.
To this day, “Rajah’s” .424 batting average remains the National League single-season record. He also paced the NL in walks with 89 which led to a .507 on-base percentage that was the highest in the league during the 20th Century. His domination included a slugging percentage of .696 that was also first in the league, as were his 227 hits, 43 doubles, 121 runs and 373 total bases.
Amazingly, Hornsby finished second in the NL Most Valuable Player voting to Brooklyn pitcher Dazzy Vance, who won 28 games along with a 2.16 ERA.
Sadly, also like 2010, the 1924 Cardinals lacked a consistent group of offensive players backing up Hornsby, other than first baseman Jim Bottomley. The club had particular weaknesses at third base and the outfield.
Bottom line, those Cardinals, managed by another future Hall of Famer, Branch Rickey, finished with a losing record and in sixth place in the National League.
One way they got there was by not performing well in low-scoring games. In fact, the 1924 Cardinals had a 7-56 record when scoring three or fewer runs. That .111 winning percentage is the team’s worst since at least 1920.
The 2010 Cardinals, at 7-52, .119, have the second-lowest winning percentage in that 90-year period. In other words, just four more losses when scoring three or fewer runs would tie them with Hornsby’s and Rickey’s 1924 club.
Two recent Tony La Russa-managed clubs also finished in the worst six. 2008 is third at .121 and 2007 is sixth at .154. Not surprisingly, both those teams missed the playoffs.
On the other hand, 2009 was 13th-best since 1920 with a 25-52, .325 mark.
St. Louis Cardinals, winning percentage when scoring three or fewer runs, 1920, present
| Year | G | W | L | Pct. |
| 1924 | 63 | 7 | 56 | 0.111 |
| 2010 YTD |
59 | 7 | 52 | 0.119 |
| 2008 | 66 | 8 | 58 | 0.121 |
| 1925 | 47 | 6 | 41 | 0.128 |
| 1999 | 55 | 8 | 47 | 0.146 |
| 2007 | 78 | 12 | 66 | 0.154 |
| 1938 | 64 | 10 | 51 | 0.156 |
| 1976 | 78 | 13 | 65 | 0.167 |
| 1948 | 58 | 10 | 47 | 0.172 |
| 1995 | 68 | 12 | 56 | 0.177 |
| 1978 | 90 | 16 | 74 | 0.178 |
| 1953 | 60 | 11 | 47 | 0.183 |
| 2000 | 49 | 9 | 40 | 0.184 |
| 1990 | 87 | 16 | 71 | 0.184 |
| 1998 | 65 | 13 | 52 | 0.200 |
| 1975 | 73 | 15 | 57 | 0.206 |
| 1961 | 76 | 16 | 59 | 0.211 |
| 1984 | 84 | 18 | 66 | 0.214 |
| 1957 | 56 | 12 | 44 | 0.214 |
| 1951 | 65 | 14 | 51 | 0.215 |
| 1955 | 64 | 14 | 50 | 0.219 |
| 1980 | 77 | 17 | 60 | 0.221 |
| 1960 | 67 | 15 | 52 | 0.224 |
| 1972 | 83 | 19 | 64 | 0.229 |
| 1959 | 74 | 17 | 57 | 0.230 |
| 1929 | 52 | 12 | 40 | 0.231 |
| 1983 | 73 | 17 | 56 | 0.233 |
| 1954 | 51 | 12 | 39 | 0.235 |
| 1997 | 80 | 19 | 61 | 0.238 |
| 1971 | 63 | 15 | 47 | 0.238 |
| 1920 | 71 | 17 | 53 | 0.239 |
| 1965 | 79 | 19 | 60 | 0.241 |
| 1993 | 66 | 16 | 50 | 0.242 |
| 1958 | 82 | 20 | 62 | 0.244 |
| 1950 | 73 | 18 | 55 | 0.247 |
| 1991 | 81 | 20 | 61 | 0.247 |
| 2006 | 60 | 15 | 45 | 0.250 |
| 1970 | 72 | 18 | 54 | 0.250 |
| 1962 | 72 | 18 | 54 | 0.250 |
| 1956 | 76 | 19 | 55 | 0.250 |
| 1932 | 68 | 17 | 49 | 0.250 |
| 1923 | 60 | 15 | 44 | 0.250 |
| 1996 | 67 | 17 | 50 | 0.254 |
| 2003 | 59 | 15 | 44 | 0.254 |
| 1988 | 90 | 23 | 67 | 0.256 |
| 1977 | 70 | 18 | 52 | 0.257 |
| 2001 | 62 | 16 | 46 | 0.258 |
| 1947 | 58 | 15 | 41 | 0.259 |
| 1974 | 73 | 19 | 54 | 0.260 |
| 1986 | 92 | 24 | 68 | 0.261 |
| 1922 | 46 | 12 | 34 | 0.261 |
| 1926 | 65 | 17 | 46 | 0.262 |
| 1994 | 49 | 13 | 36 | 0.265 |
| 1985 | 60 | 16 | 44 | 0.267 |
| 1935 | 52 | 14 | 38 | 0.269 |
| 1937 | 59 | 16 | 43 | 0.271 |
| 1969 | 92 | 25 | 67 | 0.272 |
| 1963 | 73 | 20 | 53 | 0.274 |
| 1939 | 51 | 14 | 36 | 0.275 |
| 2002 | 64 | 18 | 46 | 0.281 |
| 1979 | 71 | 20 | 50 | 0.282 |
| 2004 | 46 | 13 | 33 | 0.283 |
| 1928 | 53 | 15 | 38 | 0.283 |
| 1952 | 74 | 21 | 53 | 0.284 |
| 1981 | 49 | 14 | 34 | 0.286 |
| 1992 | 82 | 24 | 58 | 0.293 |
| 1936 | 51 | 15 | 36 | 0.294 |
| 1982 | 78 | 23 | 55 | 0.295 |
| 1933 | 71 | 21 | 50 | 0.296 |
| 1921 | 54 | 16 | 38 | 0.296 |
| 1987 | 57 | 17 | 40 | 0.298 |
| 1973 | 83 | 25 | 58 | 0.301 |
| 1989 | 89 | 27 | 60 | 0.303 |
| 1964 | 65 | 20 | 45 | 0.308 |
| 1940 | 64 | 20 | 43 | 0.313 |
| 1966 | 92 | 29 | 63 | 0.315 |
| 1949 | 60 | 19 | 40 | 0.317 |
| 1931 | 53 | 17 | 36 | 0.321 |
| 2009 | 77 | 25 | 52 | 0.325 |
| 2005 | 49 | 16 | 33 | 0.327 |
| 1934 | 55 | 18 | 36 | 0.327 |
| 1927 | 58 | 19 | 39 | 0.328 |
| 1945 | 63 | 21 | 42 | 0.333 |
| 1930 | 29 | 10 | 19 | 0.345 |
| 1943 | 72 | 27 | 43 | 0.375 |
| 1941 | 63 | 24 | 38 | 0.381 |
| 1946 | 70 | 27 | 43 | 0.386 |
| 1942 | 62 | 24 | 38 | 0.387 |
| 1944 | 61 | 24 | 36 | 0.393 |
| 1968 | 94 | 41 | 53 | 0.436 |
| 1967 | 63 | 28 | 35 | 0.444 |
Thanks to researcher Tom Orf for providing the table above.
Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.
Gosh……………..does that mean the team has done this before? From reading other boards you would think this season is a epic collapse of historical proportions all brought about by TLR`s ego and inability to deal with young players.Don`t forget batting the pitcher 8th and lefty/righty matchups…..and Mark McGwire as hitting coach.Get the tar and feathers out.Run them out on a rail.Burn them at the stake.Bring back Whitey,anybosy could have managed the teams TLR has had.Only 1 WS champion in 15 years……….GDamn Animal-loving drunk……….Let`s see now.did i miss anything? I almost forgot.its DeWallets fault too.
Now what will the negative nellies say when they realize seasons like this have happened before? How will the nellies deal with that fact?
BW52, all the rhetoric is, of course, silly. However, I wouldn’t fault anyone for being disappointed in the team’s performance this season. Given the team’s superb pitching and the presence of 2 legit stars on offense in Pujols and Holliday alongside Rasmus, it seems quite surprising that they couldn’t win the Central and are struggling to maintain a .500 record. It shouldn’t have happened.
Jack Clark called them “quitters” and worse: link.
Jack Clark quit on his debtors..Who gives a rats ass what Jack Hamsterhead Clark says?
Jack Clark and Bernie the mouth……………….made for each other.Which way the wind blows Bernie and Jack “I got a axe to grind” Clark.
lineup : Skip 4, Jay 9, Albert 3, Holliday 7, Rasmus 8, Molina 4, Greene 5, Lohse 1, Ryan 6
Grateful for your thoughts, Bw. Lots of crybabies out there, sobbing away. Its a wonder they don’t crash the Internet with their tears.
I enjoy and appreciate both Jack and Bernie. I’m not interested in commentators and commenters that can do nothing but parrot the party line pap.
Just because there was a comparable debacle 85 years ago means nothing.
My opinion is that this was the first attempt by Cards management to field a team were all the money goes to a small cadre. The results were poor. Maybe Mo and the field manager will get it right next year. Perhaps the Luhnow shuffle represents the beginning of that effort.
The top fifteen teams on the list, those with the poorest win percentage, includes six TLR teams. The bottom fifteen, with the best win percentage, includes only two TLR teams.
Where did this Cardinals offense come from? Are they channeling another team?
Maybe they heard Jack on the radio.
Lohse went 5 with 3 ER. Not great, but he didn’t get blown out.
Has anybody noticed that Yadi is tied with Colby for third on the team in RBI’s.
BB—Yeah, how about that.
The back of the rotation has a winning streak going.
I also notice that Whitey had 3 teams in the top 6 in the amount of low scoring games in a season.
92 times in 1986
90 times in 1988
89 times in 1989