St. Louis Cardinals’ Top 20 Hitters

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#18 – OF George Hendrick

While on the surface this spot may seem a little bit of a questionable player, Hendrick definitely was one of the Cardinals’ great hitters of all time in terms of wRC+. Hendrick played for the Cardinals from 1978-1984 posting a career slash line of .294/.345/.470 with a wRC+ of 125 in his time with the Cardinals. Hendrick doesn’t have the jump out at you great seasons that some of the other guys on this list.

However, what Hendrick does have is consistency, in four out of the seven seasons he played in St. Louis he averaged at least a .340 OBP with the three other seasons coming in at .323, .324, and .337.

Hendrick was fortunate enough to get to play in the 1982 World Series team and managed to come up with nine hits and five RBI, good enough for a .321 average. Hendrick’s best season as a Cardinal can be plucked from either his 1981 season or his 1983 season. In both of those seasons he had a wRC+ of 136.

In 1981, Hendrick slashed .284/.356/.485 with 40 extra base-hits (19 homers, 18 doubles, and three triples), driving in 61. However, his 1983 season probably takes the cake as he finished with a .318/.373/.493 with 54 extra base-hits (33 doubles, 18 homers, and three triples), driving in 97.

This was while playing in 144 games versus the 101 games he had in 1981. Regardless of the season you pick, a wRC+ of 125 and two seasons above 135 is what put him here on this list.

Next: Ed Konetchky