St. Louis Cardinals’ Top 20 Hitters

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#12 – OF Enos Slaughter

Enos Slaughter is another of the St. Louis Cardinals’ long list of illustrious Hall of Famers, and his bat was a big reason why he earned a spot there. Over thirteen seasons with the Cardinals between 1938 and 1953 (he missed three years while serving the United States during World War II), Slaughter hit .305/.384/.463 with 146 home runs, which was good for a 129 wRC+.

While his power wasn’t as imposing as some of his contemporaries’, his impressive contact and on-base skills more than made up for any shortcoming in that department.

In his time with St. Louis, Slaughter made 10 consecutive All-Star games from 1941 to 1953, and he earned Most Valuable Player votes eight separate times, although he never won the award. His best season came in 1942, when he slashed .318/.412/.494 and placed second in the MVP voting while posting a career high 161 wRC+.

Looking back on Enos Slaughter’s career, it’s fascinating to see how little he did exceptionally well. While he was an adequate base runner, and had reasonable power, really, his most impressive attribute was his consistent ability to hit and get on base by any means available. The fact that he’s gone down as one of the Cardinal greats tells you just how good he was at doing just that.

Next: Mr. Seinfeld

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