What Happened to the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals? Part 1: Infielders

SS Ryan Theriot

Background

Like Skip Schumaker, Ryan Theriot was not known for his power at the dish, but rather for his ability as a contact hitter. Unlike Schumaker, however, Theriot started and played the majority of his career outside of St. Louis, and actually for the archrival Chicago Cubs. That was until 2010 when in his sixth major league season he got exchanged to the Dodgers at the trade deadline. Over that six-year span, he slashed .284/.348/.356. Following the end of the season, Theriot was traded for the second time in half a year, this time to the St. Louis Cardinals.

In a statement regarding the offseason acquisition, Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak had high praise for the former Dodger. “Ryan is a perfect complement to our roster. He’s a highly competitive player with a winning approach to the game. We expect him to be a key contributor to our middle infield.”

This assessment proved to be correct, as Theriot proceeded to go on an impressive 20-game hit streak spanning from mid-May to early June. He finished the regular season slashing a serviceable .271/.321/.342.

His biggest contribution during the postseason push came in the divisional series, where he came up big with six hits through games two and three.

Post-2011 Career

Theriot was not brought back to the Cardinals for the 2012 season, and instead signed a 1-year, $1.25 million deal with the San Fransisco Giants. Here he saw moderate success, but definitely not what he had with the Cardinals and certainly not with the Cubs.

Despite this, Theriot is ingrained as a critical member of the Giants’ dynasty of the early 2010s. Coming into Game 4 of the 2012 World Series, The Giants were just one win away from securing their second championship in three years, having dominated the Detroit Tigers in the three games prior. Game 4 was different, however, and the Tigers took their death struggle into extras with the score tied 4-4. This deadlock would not last for long as Theriot, who had gone hitless in his prior three at-bats, kicked off the top of the 10th with a single to right. Advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt, Theriot was driven in by Marco Scutaro for the go-ahead RBI, which would ultimately secure the Giants the game, and with that another World Series championship.

As this was Theriot’s last appearance in a major league game, he went out on top, becoming the sixth player in MLB history to ever win two consecutive World Series championships with two separate teams.