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

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.
3-2-5-4-2-8-6 double play! pic.twitter.com/YtNDNW5ZLM
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) September 25, 2021
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