Yesterday, I presented summaries of the five previous seasons since 1920 in which the St. Louis Cardinals improved in the standings from second place one year to first the next.
Since this is an equal-opportunity blog, today’s post covers the opposite case. Of course, there are more places then one to fall in the standings, but I will note every occurrence. There are seven such seasons in total.
The Cardinals slid from second to third three times:
1991-92
1974-75
1939-40
There was a pair of declines from second to fourth:
1971-72
1936-37
The largest drop from second the next season was to fifth. This elevator ride straight down occurred twice, both during the Stan Musial years.
1957-58
1949-50
Taking each of the seven seasons, starting with the most recent…
1992: third place. Manager Joe Torre’s Cardinals actually declined by just one win from year to year, 84 to 83. The 1992 team had added a proven offensive performer in Andres Galarraga to replace Pedro Guerrero at first base, but The Big Cat flopped. Following the season, he was sent to Colorado where he revived his career as a member of the Blake Street Bombers.
The second base jinx was a good representation of the 1992 season. Geronimo Pena broke his clavicle after tripping over a glove during spring training and the Secret Weapon, Jose Oquendo, went down with a dislocated shoulder on Opening Day.
No Cardinals regular hit .300 that year, though Ray Lankford led the club in most major offensive categories. Bob Tewksbury won 16 games and posted a 2.16 ERA. Lee Smith saved 43 games.
1975: third place. After falling just short the two previous years, the Cardinals finished 10 ½ games out in Red Schoendienst’s second-to-last season at the helm. Heading into the year, Torre had been traded to the Mets and Jose Cruz was sold to Houston.
Ted Simmons paced the offense with a .332 average and 100 RBI while Bob Forsch won 15 games with a 2.68 ERA. Bob Gibson concluded his Hall of Fame career, given permission to return home in mid-September.
1972: fourth place. Owner Gussie Busch ordered the trades of pitchers Steve Carlton and Jerry Reuss. Simmons refused to sign a contract and played without one. That pretty much says it all.
Gibson remained, winning 19 games with a 2.46 ERA. Torre dropped from 137 RBI in his 1971 MVP season to 81, but still led the punchless lineup.
1958: fifth place. Despite Musial and Ken Boyer leading the offense, the 1958 team stumbled out of the gate at 3-14 and finished last in the National League in runs scored. The Cardinals won just 72 games, finishing in fifth.
Teenage sensation Von McDaniel had injured his shoulder in spring training and would never pitch again. “Sad” Sam Jones led the staff with 14 wins and a 2.88 ERA. Musial collected his 3000th hit on May 13 and Curt Flood played his first of 12 seasons as a Cardinal.
1950: fifth place. After winning 96 games in 1949 and finishing just 1 ½ games out, the 1950 team was in first place as late as July 24 before collapsing to just 78 wins in total. Their .510 mark was the worst showing by a Cardinals club since 1938 and foreshadowed a decade in which the team would post five losing seasons.
Despite having won the World Series in his first season in 1946 and not having a losing record in any year, manager Eddie Dyer resigned in October before owner Fred Saigh could fire him. Marty Marion would manage the club in 1951.
1940: third place. In a bridge period between the Gas House Gang of the 1930’s and what would become the Cardinals’ most successful decade, the 1940 team entered the season as the favorite, but came out of the chute at 15-29 and never recovered. In June, Future Hall of Famer Billy Southworth became the third manager of the season.
Johnny Mize’s 43 home runs stood as the team record for over a half-century until Mark McGwire came along. Star outfielder Ducky Medwick was essentially sold to the Dodgers in June.
1937: fourth place. In a reminder that one superstar performance does not ensure team success, Medwick had a season for the ages. Joe posted the last Triple Crown in the National League – .374 average, 31 home runs and 154 RBI. Dizzy Dean’s toe injury in the All-Star Game contributed to the team’s underachievement and sent his career on a slide. The team dropped from 87 wins in 1936 to 81.
It was manager Frankie Frisch’s last full season at the helm. Shortstop Leo Durocher was traded to the Dodgers after the season.
Loading ...Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.
I hate being a pessimist but I can see the Cardinals dropping to third or even fourth this year. This is not entirely about Waino being gone either. Even with Waino I saw our chances of winning the division as less than 50/50. Our defense has declined precipitously and the health of Berkman and Freese are questionable. Theriot imo adds nothing to our offense and subtracts from our defense. If Berkman goes down, our offense will be no better than last year and our defense will be worse. Add to that the loss of Waino and you have 3rd or 4th place staring you in the face.
I can understand your pessimism, but don’t shun the positives either
We had quite a few rookies last year, and now Craig, Jay, Garcia each have valuable experience and SHOULD be better for it. Jay will be valuable on the basepaths and as a PH (he hit quite well as a PH last year), Craig showed what he could do with AB’s at the end of the year, and Garcia, well, he had a fantastic year for a rookie. While our Bench is still young, they are better than last year, no Winn, no Miles, no Stavinoha 9 Irons. Albert is Albert. Matt has been consistent in his career. Skip “should” rebound offensively, save a repeat of last April. Westbrook did very well for us and his style of pitching should keep the ball on the ground (Yes, I agree, our infield defense did take a few hits this off season, but not drastically, I think Theriot can make the routine throw to 1B and not plant it 9 rows up in the stands)
AND, whether you like him or not, TLR seems to THRIVE in these adverse conditions. History says so. Will it happen again? Who knows, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it does. So chin up, Crdswmn, it might not be as bleak as you think. Let a few things go, you’ll feel better:)
GO CARDS!!!
Your pessimism is meaningless at this point CRD……give it up…………….
there will likely be plenty of time to wallow in it come June………………..
No, really…………give the kids a chance……..things I’m seeing;
Albert is dark, brooding………independent…….. all good signs……. he may be in the mood to champions some youngsters…………. Jay, is likely to bury Berkman if he is allowed…. he may find an appetite……watch that……
Craig’s back is to the wall…..look for him to respond someway. We have a backup catcher that will challenge……..thats good………we still have plenty of pitching to support a competitive offense………… No matter what the appearance………everyone in this division has issues, and plenty of them………… whose hungry is the question……….. Oddly enough, the Wainwright setback redefines our self image………It could be for the best……. until the playoffs of course.
Hi, WestCoast. What do you mean Craig’s back is to the wall? That sort of confused me. Do you mean with having to back up 3b or even start at 3b?
It means Westie is covering his bases – “he will respond someway.” Westie’s way of trying to sound smart while saying something that no matter how it turns out he can claim to be right and have predicted it. Aprelude to another post full of “I”‘s.
He has exhausted his “placement privileges” T8……….. he has dominated AAA….no where to go but to another team…………. he has always tried to do too much. Now, he better do something least he is swept away………… He needs to play his own game…….not the game that is left to him. Every Cardinal rookie sees that a few home runs around here can make you “PR fodder”…
I’m just seeing the box scores……looks like Berkman showed up. Some of the boys are hungry anyway.
Brazilian……….you can’t handle the sitting next to you on the bench……..be still.
Thanks, WestCoast, I just wasn’t following at first. You know, almost every time I saw Craig bat last year he was typically hitting liners, just that they never found grass. Instead they found leather. From what I read the Cards like him, well McGwire raves about him, but that could be company line jargon, but I lean towards face value on that one.
Jay allowed to bury Berkman? You know better!
Laird will challenge who? Yadi? What are you smokin’ today?
Berkman can’t help him self unless he can hold a position………. If Jay is hitting 300, they will be reticent to put a wheel chair out there…………… If Berkman starts feeding, and can field, he will likely be our best player.
If Molina doesn’t hit………. and he has one less “hero to throw to him”…….. he will start to lose playing time. A desperate Tony can’t carry “pouters”………. if Pujols starts to sulk, Molina will follow………… the guy has a very delicate ego. Maybe Molina runs a few out….maybe he starts responding…….hell, then he is the best……………….show me says I……
Well, I can’t see the game, but I’m seeing updates. Puma went deep in the 2nd inning. And Allen Craig’s back is certainly against the wall at 3B. Jeez, missed a back hand stab, knocked down a shot but couldn’t get to the ball in time and had a double bounce over his head down the line. Again, haven’t seen any of it, so I can’t say if any were or could have been outs.
Oh, and that all happened in the top of the 1st for Craig.
Where are you all seeing these updates on the games?
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2011_02_28_flomlb_slnmlb_1&mode=gameday
Thanks
PD says Waino surgery went “very well”, recovery time “could” be 12-15 months. No word on success, but success is tied to “return” in 12-15 months.
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/cardinal-beat/article_8db72e96-4371-11e0-8dda-0017a4a78c22.html
Get Well, Adam, and may it be a safe, speedy, and clean recovery.
Ever heard a club official say a surgery didn’t go well?
Something like, “Yeah, you know what, guys? We botched this one. Sorry. He’ll probably never pitch again. Our bad.”
I have not.
Really.
Except with TJ surgery, it’s not only about the surgery. It’s about the rehab; it’s about the setbacks in rehab; it’s about the time it takes for the elbow to pretend the tendon is a ligament, and no longer a tendon. It really is a grueling process and I tip my hat to any pitcher that has to go through it.
Good news is most of them do make it back. It’s just not always on the 12-15-18 months timetable, depending on how the body responds, and everyone responds a little differently.
Anytime Paletta operates, a patient that wakes up at the end has to be a happy customer.
Herko……I have no reason to believe Paletta isn’t a fine doctor/surgeon………….. I do believe he does what he’s told.
I’ll go one step further. He seems to be a fine surgeon for TJ surgery. I wouldn’t have the same confidence though in his skills as a sports medicine doctor when it comes to diagnosis though.
I do believe he does what he’s told.
Hopefully, Tony will put Craig back at 3rd tomorrow. He needs to play everyday to have a chance.
Nobody got hurt, good.
Craig has not been afflicted by injuries. He is ready to do it all over again tomorrow.
Lefty Valdes started today. Makes for a hot time at the hot corner.
It goes without saying Berkman souldn’t be leading off the second, hitting solo shots.
The big two are back to work……. if Berkman starts feeding, I hope good things become of it. I’ll say it again….. AP batting 4th is going to make it allot tougher on opposing pitchers…..as I see it.
Just can’t hep but think that Holiday and AP should be separated somehow. For Holidays sake. Just my preference……….
Just a word….. Berkman’s longevity is unknown……..but he came here as a career opportunity. 1st base is his likely destination if he stays healthy…………… he is just negotiating salary/yrs at this point…. just another one of the “contract year players” …………. I hope he gives Chris Carpenter some life, and Holiday too.