The St. Louis Cardinals’ 50 greatest players

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#38 Harvey Haddix SP

The inclusion of Haddix here is largely due to the fWAR he compiled in such a short time. In his first year as a Cardinal, Haddix only pitched in seven games, with six of them being starts. He totaled a 2-2 record and a 2.79 ERA (3.01 FIP), all being worth a 0.8 fWAR.

However, it’s what he did the next three seasons that put him on this list. In his “rookie” season in 1953, Haddix went 20-9 with a 3.06 ERA (3.40 FIP), while leading the league with six shutouts, and being nominated to the all star team. In this 1953 season, Haddix posted a 5.5 fWAR.

The very next season, Haddix got even better going 18-13, with a 3.57 ERA. His FIP was even better this year at 3.21, and Haddix was once again an All-Star, as he led the league in K/9 at 6.4. As a result of these numbers, Haddix posted an even better fWAR of 5.7.

Haddix posted a 3.58 FIP and 3.8 fWAR in his next season. Unfortunately, that was his last full season as a Cardinal, as he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies after a rough start to his 1955 campaign. So, in total Haddix was 53-40, with a 3.65 ERA (3.38 FIP), making the All-Star team in each of his three full seasons.

Overall, he was worth a 16.1 fWAR through mainly three and a half seasons (if that). Haddix went on to post a total of 23.6 fWAR with the Phillies, Reds, Pirates, and Orioles for the rest of his career. Had he not been traded away, we certainly could be talking about Haddix much higher.

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