The St. Louis Cardinals’ 50 greatest players

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#50 Curt Simmons SP

One of the crazy things about this list is that there are so many good players on this team, that it’s almost not fair that someone had to finish last. However, that is not at all indicative of how good Curt Simmons was with the Cardinals from the years of 1960-1966.

Simmons was traded to the Cardinals in the middle of the 1960 season from the Philadelphia Phillies, after having compiled an fWAR of 33.4 in 13.5 seasons with the club. Simmons then went on to pitch for the Cardinals for seven years, posting a record of 69-58 with an ERA of 3.25 and a very reliable FIP of 3.47.

Simmons helped contribute to the Cardinals 1964 World Series Championship, posting a 18-9 record, with a 3.43 ERA that year. He then made two starts in the World Series, allowing just four runs on 11 hits in his 14.1 innings. This left him with a record of 0-1 in that series.

However, that wasn’t Simmons’ best year as a Cardinal. The year before in 1963, Simmons went 15-9, with a 2.48 ERA (2.81 FIP) and 5.1 fWAR. That year hitters had a .235 average against him, posting the best K/9 of his Cardinals’ career of 4.91.

While Simmons is not the greatest Cardinals’ pitcher, he is still one of the greatest players to ever play for this team.

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