The St. Louis Cardinals’ All-Time 28-Man Roster

Oct 22, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter is interviewed during practice the day before game one of the 2013 World Series against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Image Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

#2 Starting Pitcher – Chris Carpenter

I may be in the minority here and it may be my age showing, but aside from Gibson there hasn’t been a starting pitcher more valuable than Chris Carpenter. If you missed my top ten Cardinals’ free agents of all time, in which Carpenter was listed, please check that out. Had carpenter not missed so much of his career to injury we could be talking about a potential Hall of Fame caliber pitcher here. But, due to the fact that Carpenter only pitched in six complete seasons for the Cardinals and four uninspiring complete seasons with the Blue Jays, Carpenter will just be a very good pitcher.

Carpenter’s numbers as a Cardinal won’t blow you away, as he finished his career in St. Louis at 95-44 with an ERA 3.07 and an ERA+ of 116. However, where Carpenter stands out the most is looking at some of his individual seasons as a Cardinals’ pitcher. Carpenter had one of the greatest seasons in team history in 2009, as he went 17-9 with a 2.24 ERA, 182 ERA+, and a 5.5 fWAR. Not quite as great as Bob Gibson’s 1968 season, but as we mentioned before that’s a tough season to match. However, Carpenter was good enough to etch his name in Cardinals’ history that season by winning the Cy Young award.

However, Carpenter had already begun to do that before that season, as with Carpenter, you have to bring up his postseason numbers. Carpenter finished his postseason career 10-4, with a 3.00 ERA and two World Series rings. The most impressive postseason games came in 2011, when he out-dueled former teammate and good friend Roy Halladay, and impressively pitched in three World Series games that year, notably winning Game 7 on short rest.  Carpenter also shut down the Tigers through eight innings en route to the 2006 World Championship. This makes Carpenter worth having as my #2 starter on this roster.

Next: Starting Pitcher #3 - Steve Carlton