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St. Louis Cardinals: Looking back at our 2021 bold predictions

Harrison Bader #48 of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrates with Dylan Carlson #3 and Tyler ONeill #41 after defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 during the game at PNC Park on September 20, 2020 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
Harrison Bader #48 of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrates with Dylan Carlson #3 and Tyler ONeill #41 after defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 during the game at PNC Park on September 20, 2020 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 15: Tommy Edman #19 of the St. Louis Cardinals in action against the New York Mets at Citi Field on September 15, 2021 in New York City. The Cardinals defeated the Mets 11-4. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 15: Tommy Edman #19 of the St. Louis Cardinals in action against the New York Mets at Citi Field on September 15, 2021 in New York City. The Cardinals defeated the Mets 11-4. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

Tommy Edman leads the team in WAR

I’ll be honest. This was my favorite bold prediction. In many ways, Tommy Edman has been one of the most valuable players on the Cardinals. He’s moved around the lineup, played multiple positions and leads the NL in games played (155).

Looking at WAR, Edman comes in fifth. Paul Goldschmidt leads the team at 6.2, Tyler O’Neill is next at 5.7 (that would have been quite the bold prediction), Nolan Arenado is third at 4.4, and Harrison Bader– despite missing a quarter of the season– is third at 3.9.

A fantastic season from Tommy should be applauded. Despite this prediction missing by a few wins, I still give it a good score.

Prediction Score: 8 out of 17 wins in a row

Cardinals will win eight gold gloves

The stats support that the Cardinals have one of the best defenses in baseball. Fielding Bible has them fourth in MLB in defensive runs saved. Baseball Reference has the Cardinals second in both Defensive Runs Saved Above Average and Defensive Efficiency. Very few teams can pull off this play.

Gold gloves, however, are given out individually. Harrison Bader, Paul Goldschmidt, and Tyler O’Neill are the favorites at their respective positions. Nolan Arenado has a few more errors than usual, but it looks likely that he’ll win as well. That’s four winners – can we still get to eight?

Yadier Molina deserves another piece of hardware, but it’s always tough to win when you’re up against defensive-minded catchers from around the league. Tommy Edman has moved around a fair amount, and with Kolten Wong at second base, a win there would be unlikely. The Paul DeJong/Edmundo Sosa combination at shortstop probably will fall short, too, as will Dylan Carlson in right.

Maybe Adam Wainwright gets a win? Either way, it looks like six gold gloves would be the max. The spirit of the prediction – a dominant defense – was true, but unfortunately the lofty number eight was a bit too high.

Prediction Score: 9 out of 17 wins in a row

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