The 3 greatest infields in St. Louis Cardinals history

What was the greatest infield in St. Louis Cardinals history? Did it include Ozzie Smith, Scott Rolen or Nolan Arenado?

In December, Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith announced on KMOX “a celebration at Ballpark Village” featuring the entire 1982 St. Louis Cardinals infield. The event will take place on Feb. 17 and will reunite Smith (SS), Keith Hernandez (1B), Tommy Herr (2B) and Ken Oberkfell (3B).

“I don’t think people talk about it as much as it should be talked about,” Smith said. “But that was probably – certainly, for me – one of the best infields every assembled.”

Many Cardinals fans would probably agree with Smith. And it would be hard to argue with, considering this infield had arguably the two best at their position in baseball history. Between Smith and Hernandez, there are a combined 24 Gold Gloves won during their careers, with both winning Gold Gloves in 1982.

Diving deeper into their accomplishments in 1982, Hernandez led the NL among first basemen in Putouts, Total Zone Runs and Range Factor. He was second in Double Plays Turned and third in Assists.

Smith’s accomplishments in 1982 were even more impressive. The Wizard led the NL among shortstops in Assists, Total Zone Runs, Range Factor,and Fielding percentage. He was second in Double Plays Turned and third in Putouts.

Additionally, Herr and Oberkfell were no slouches at their positions either. In 1982, Oberkfell led all NL third basemen in Field Percentage (.972) and Total Zone Runs (8). He was also second in Range Factor, third in Double Plays turned and third in assists at third base. In 1982, Herr was first in Total Zone Runs (14), second in Range Factor, third in Double Plays turned (97) and third in Fielding Percentage (.987) among NL second basemen.

Of course, we shouldn’t forget about catcher Darrell Porter. In 1982, Porter provided solid, if not spectacular defense. However, during games, he was essential in executing manager Whitey Herzog’s game plan while handling the pitching staff. He also won the NLCS and the World Series MVP in 1982.

Finally, to put some icing on this infield, Smith led the NL with a 3.5 Defensive WAR. Meanwhile, Herr came in seventh in the NL with a 2 Defensive WAR.

So, was the 1982 Cardinals infield one of the greatest of all time? That’s an unfair question, and would be hard to prove or disprove.

How about the greatest infield in St. Louis Cardinal history? Still hard to prove, but a little more manageable to look at.

Let’s take a look at two other impressive Cardinal infields and compare to 1982.

Will the 2021 infield be legendary?

The 2021 Cardinals infield was pretty impressive, especially if you saw the wild double play they pulled off on the Cubs on September 25 during the 17 game winning streak. This group featured three Gold Glove winners and had future Hall of Fame catcher Yadier Molina behind the plate.

Nolan Arenado’s first year as the Cardinals third baseman saw some jaw dropping defensive moments. The nine-time Gold Glove winner, led all NL third baseman during 2021 in Putouts, Double Plays Turned and Range Factor. He was also second in Fielding Percentage, fourth in Total Zone Runs and second in Assists. In one of the newer defensive analytics, Outs Above Average (OAA), he came in 4th among all third basemen in baseball(10).

Paul Goldschmidt won his fourth Gold Glove in 2021. Goldschmidt led all NL first basemen in Assists, Double Plays Turned and Fielding Percentage. He was second in Putouts, Total Zone Runs, and fourth in Range Factor. His 6 OAA is third among all first baseman across baseball.

One of the more surprising developments of 2021 was the emergence of Tommy Edman at second base, who won a Gold Glove. Edman led all second basemen with a 13 OAA. The closest to him? Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jean Segura, who finished second with nine OAA. Among NL second basemen he was third in Range Factor and Fielding Percentage.

9-time Gold Glover Yadier Molina is still one of the best in the game. In 2021, he was 10th in Defensive WAR for all NL players. Additionally, he led NL catcher in Double Plays Turned, was second in Caught Stealing and Caught Stealing Percentage, thirdd in Assists, fourth in Total Zone Runs and Fielding Percentage.

Offensively, the shortstop position was a point of frustration in 2021. However, defensively, the tag team of Paul DeJong and Edmundo Sosa was solid. Neither player was a defensive liability. DeJong’s OAA (5) and Sosa (4) put them 10th and 11th among shortstops.

So which one is the best?

Sometimes comparing eras is unfair. Differences in turf can make a difference in results. For example, the 1982 Cardinals played on a very fast astroturf, which is very different than what the 2004 and 2021 played on.

Analytics are also hard to compare. Baseball today relies on analytics which weren’t available or used in previous eras, especially in 1982. For example, I used analytics from Baseball Reference for all three teams. However, many now use Statcast and for defensive purposes, OAA is now preferred.

Regardless, in spite of all the analytics available to us, picking the best infield in St. Louis Cardinals history is still more subjective than objective. Therefore, I understand that opinions will vary.

But to answer the question, I agree with Ozzie Smith. The 1982 infield was one of the greatest ever assembled.