2015 St. Louis Cardinals’ Season Review: Surprises

Oct 10, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals players stand for the national anthem before game two of the NLDS against the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Well, here we are the season is over. It really is unfortunate that we are going to be without Cardinals’ baseball for the next 5-6 months. It is even more unfortunate to have your season end against your bitter rivals. Even worse for me with so many friends and family members that are fans of said rivals.

With that said, let’s move into offseason mode!

Without a doubt, this was one of the most unique seasons I have ever witnessed. We saw a team go through so much this season and it all started about a year ago, when they lost a teammate in a tragic fashion. To work through that had to be hard on the team, especially for the guys who played with him in the minors. John Mozeliak had to move on and try to replace his prized prospect and that he did with the acquisition of Jason Heyward.

Then we had the injuries, oh the injuries, the injuries that wound up being too much for the Cardinals to overcome in the postseason. However, the club was able to work through those injuries and win an MLB best 100 games. Kudos, to Mike Matheny and John Mozeliak for working through the injuries.

I want to go ahead and split this review into a few different areas. I want to talk about surprises, top performers, disappointments, and a piece on where the team goes from here.

With that said, let’s go ahead and tackle this season’s surprises.