20 Year Anniversary: The 2004 St. Louis Cardinals

Nothing is more magical than October baseball. The weather is chilly, the towels are waving in the crowd, the adrenaline is pumping, and the nerves are stinging. As a baseball fan, you wish for nothing more than for your team to reach the Fall Classic to be a part of baseball history. 2004 was the pinnacle moment for St. Louis Cardinals fans. In a baseball season that is regarded as one of the best seasons in the sport's history, the Cardinals were very much a part of the story.

The St. Louis Cardinals were coming off of what many in the organization regarded as a disappointing season. The team went 85-77 in 2003 and finished third in the National League Central. But the organization had many high points that laid the foundation for future success for years to come. The Cardinals had the first full season of their superstar trio. Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds, and Scott Rolen made the fearsome tandem that put the whole league on notice. For those who are too young to remember this era of Cardinals baseball: welcome to the MV3.

The Cardinals would finish the year out with much promise to build off of. It started by trading J.D. Drew and Eli Marrero in the off-season in a five-player deal that landed the Cardinals starting pitcher Jason Marquis, relief pitcher Ray King, and a prospect by the name of Adam Wainwright. The Cardinals were just getting started. They traded away Tino Martinez which moved Albert Pujols over to first base. They signed Reggie Sanders to take over left field. They further shored up the rotation by signing veteran pitcher Jeff Suppan. Reunions were made when John Mabry and Ray Lankford were signed in free agency. Another depth piece signed was reliever Julian Taveraz. The final move was trading for second baseman Tony Womack to replace fan favorite Fernando Vina during 2004 spring training. These seem like minuscule transactions that mean nothing to the average fan, but this laid the foundation for what was to come.

The 2004 regular season was one for the ages. The Cardinals dominated the National League with a record of 105-57 finishing with the top record in all of Major League Baseball. In the National League, the Cardinals finished first in runs, hits, batting average, slugging percentage, and OPS. The pitching staff led the National League in wins, saves, and runs allowed.

Four of the five starters finished with 15 or more wins and all five pitchers averaged 192.46 innings pitched. Matt Morris, Jason Marquis, Woody WIlliams, Jeff Suppan, and Chris Carpenter were as reliable of a staff as you could ask for going into October.

But the season's highlight was the MV3. Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds, and Scott Rolen had a season for the ages. Pujols slashed .331/.415/.657/1.072 (173 OPS+) with 51 2B, 46 HR, and 123 RBI. Edmonds slashed .301/.418/.643/1.061 (171 OPS+) with 38 2B, 42 HR, and 111 RBI. Rolen slashed .314/.409/.598/1.007 (158 OPS+) with 32 2B, 34 HR, and 124 RBI. The unstoppable trio finished 3rd, 4th, and 5th in NL MVP voting.

Going into postseason play, the Cardinals were relying on a trade deadline acquisition to take the team to the next level. Future Hall of Famer Larry Walker the Redbirds as the veteran clubhouse presence and he most certainly served his role. Walker during the 2004 postseason slashed .310/.398/.760/1.158 with 4 2B, 6 HR, and 11 RBI in 58 AB. Larry Walker's career was very short donning the Birds on the Bat, but he won over the city of St. Louis in his time here.

2004 postseason was not an easy road for the Redbirds. The Cardinals would take care of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 4 games in the NLDS. They won games 1 and 2 with mirrored scores of 8-3 at Busch Stadium. The Dodgers' only victory would come in Game 3 before Jeff Suppan won the series in Game 4. This was not an easy series to take differing from the series results. The Dodgers were the NL West champions with a record of 93-69 and the lights do not shine brighter anywhere else other than at Dodger Stadium. But the 2004 Cardinals were built to dominate and that's what they did.

The Cardinals would go on to face division rivals the Houston Astros in the 2004 NLCS. This series became an all-time classic between two powerhouse teams. The Astros were star-studded with names like Roger Clemens, Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Jeff Kent, Lance Berkman, Andy Pettitte, Roy Oswald, and Brad Lidge. The biggest name of them all would be one of the most dangerous bats in MLB postseason history. Carlos Beltran tied the single postseason home run record with 8 and tied the most consecutive games with a homer with 5. To this day, it is almost impossible to find a player with more intimidation at the plate than 2004 Carlos Beltran. With the Cardinals down 3-2 in the series versus this titan of a roster, it set the stage for the October moment.

Before you knew about David Freese in Game 6, the Cardinals had another magical night in Game 6. With the game tied in the bottom of the 12th inning, Jim Edmonds would clutch up and hit a moonshot into the Busch Stadium October night sky to win the game and force a Game 7. In a long and nerve-wracking game, Cardinals fans got to experience movie-made magic that became a core memory for young Cardinals fans like myself at that time. How ironic that this moment was duplicated to a much greater level in 2011.

Game 7 was nothing short of drama the following night. Jim Edmonds created more October highlight reels but this time with his glove. Edmonds made a full leap dive catching a line drive in the gap with his back facing home plate. This is the lasting image of the 2004 season that is ingrained in most fans' brains. It stands to this day as one of the best catches in MLB history.

But the drama did not end there, as Albert Pujols would tie the game in the 6th inning with an RBI double that set the stage for the last leg of the MV3 in Scott Rolen. Rolen was struggling most of the 2004 postseason and was way overdue for a big moment. That moment came when he hit a two-run home run off of Roger Clemens to give the Cardinals the lead. The Cardinals would go on to win the game and the series in one of the best League Championship Series the game has ever seen. The only downside is the ALCS in 2004 took the throne as the greatest League Championship Series in MLB history.

The incredible 2004 journey would end shortly after with the Cardinals facing the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox just defied the laws of physics and overcame a 3-0 deficit to their arch-rivals the New York Yankees. While the Cardinals and Astros were having a picture-perfect series, the Red Sox and Yankees gave fans a memory that will last generations. The Red Sox became invincible and would not let anything prevent them from breaking the curse that had haunted the franchise for 86 years. The Cardinals lost the series in 4 games and the magical season was over.

As we reflect on the 2004 season twenty years later. Do not forget about this team simply because they did not win the World Series. This is arguably the greatest team in St. Louis Cardinals history and became the blueprint for the future. Resulting from this framework was a World Series championship in 2006 and 2011. Those would not have been possible without the 2004 St. Louis Cardinals. Many have to thank this team for creating their fandom for baseball and their enduring passion for Cardinals baseball. I am lucky to say I was one of those kids in 2004 and I will forever cherish this team.