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5 best St. Louis Cardinals starting pitchers since 1967

By Russ Robinson

ST LOUIS, MO - OCTOBER 19: (L-R) Former pitcher Bob Gibson, former pitcher Bruce Sutter and Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals throw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to Game One of the MLB World Series against the Texas Rangers at Busch Stadium on October 19, 2011 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MO - OCTOBER 19: (L-R) Former pitcher Bob Gibson, former pitcher Bruce Sutter and Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals throw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to Game One of the MLB World Series against the Texas Rangers at Busch Stadium on October 19, 2011 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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MILWAUKEE, WI – APRIL 16: A St. Louis Cardinals cap and glove rest on the step to the dugout during the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park on April 16, 2014 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WI – APRIL 16: A St. Louis Cardinals cap and glove rest on the step to the dugout during the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park on April 16, 2014 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images) /

5. John Tudor

John Tudor will always be remembered in Cardinals lore as having one of the best seasons a pitcher ever had … and still not win a Cy Young.

Tudor came to St. Louis before the 1985 season in a trade with the Pirates, which sent veteran outfielder George Hendrick to Pittsburgh. The Massachusetts native spent five seasons in a Cardinals uniform.

It was in 1985, the left-hander had one of the great seasons in Cardinals history. Starting the season 1-7, Tudor went on a 20-1 run and finished the year with a 1.93 ERA. He also had a  league leading 10 shutouts and WHIP of 0.938. Additionally, he threw for 275 innings and had 14 shutouts.

However, he finished second to Doc Gooden of the New York Mets in the Cy Young Award balloting. Nevertheless, he helped propel the Cardinals to 101 wins and into the 1985 World Series.

While Tudor was never able to come close to matching his 1985 performance, he was still a steady presence in the Cardinals rotation by maintaining low ERAs, and helped lead the Cardinals to another NL Pennant in 1987. Nonetheless, injuries ended up limiting his playing time during his later years in St. Louis.

When Tudor’s Cardinal career ended, he had an impressive 62-26 record, a 2.52 ERA, and a ERA+ of 146. His ERA and .705 winning percentage leads all Cardinals pitchers with minimum 750 innings pitched.

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