St. Louis Cardinals: The 2017 Cardinals Hall of Fame Class

Pepper Martin, was a part of the Cardinals from 1928-1944, but didn’t play in 1929, 1941, 1942, or 1943. He had a thirteen-year major league career, all of which with the Cardinals. He was a four-time All-Star and a two-time World Series Champion. The World Series teams he was a part of with the Cardinals were the 1931 and 1934 teams, winning the Cards’ second and third titles.

Let’s not forget how big he was for the Cardinals in their two World Series runs in the thirties. His World Series numbers are off the charts: a .418 average in sixty plate appearances and he also had twenty-three hits in the World Series total, and don’t forget his .467 on-base percentage. These stats speak for themselves.

His best single season in St. Louis included 189 hits and an average of .316, nearing his career average of .298. He also finished fifth in MVP voting that season, which was the 1933 season. If we talk about advanced stats, he had a WAR of 5.2 overall in 1933 and an oWAR of 5.3 in that season, offensively speaking.

Martin, was quite fast himself; his size helped with that, as he was only 5’8″ and 170 pounds in his playing days. He had 146 stolen bases in his seasons with the Cardinals. Back to the advanced statistics, he had a career WAR of 17.6 total.

Many people likely forget about how good Pepper Martin actually was for the St. Louis Cardinals organization, most of that because he played in the thirties and a couple seasons in the forties. But he was a key part to many good Cardinals teams, including two of the Champion teams.

I think that he deserves this a lot, and is one of the key Cardinals in the team’s history. Although he has passed, it is great to see him get the recognition he deserves.