Cardinals All-Quarter Century Team after 25 years of historic baseball

Let's take a trip down memory lane building the best possible Cardinals team from the last 25 years.
MLB 2005: Cincinnati Reds at St. Louis Cardinals
MLB 2005: Cincinnati Reds at St. Louis Cardinals | Sporting News Archive/GettyImages
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Infield

Catcher: Yadier Molina

This one needs no explanation. Yadier Molina is a future Hall of Famer and one of the greatest catchers to ever live, and he caught a mind-boggling 19 of the 25 seasons the Cardinals played this century thus far.

First Base: Albert Pujols

Arguably the greatest right-handed hitter of all-time, Pujols ranked first among all Cardinals hitters this century in AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, wRC+, HR, RBI, R, and fWAR among many other categories. The Machine put up one of the best stretches of baseball we have ever seen in the 2000s, and one of the greatest "what ifs?" in baseball history if what his career would have looked like had he remained with the Cardinals. Pujols is the star of this team and will anchor this fearsome lineup.

Second Base: Matt Carpenter

Fourth among all Cardinals position players in fWAR since 2000, Matt Carpenter was a staple of the St. Louis lineup for the 2010s, morphing his game based on whatever the Cardinals needed from him offensively and defensively. The best season of his career came in 2013, though, as he manned second base for the first time in his career and posted a 7.2 fWAR season while leading MLB in doubles with 55. He turned into a power hitter late in his career, but I think we'll take the young, high on-base and doubles machine of Carpenter on this team.

Third Base: Scott Rolen

The Cardinals had two(!!!) of the greatest all-around third basemen in MLB history play for them since 2000, but the nod here goes to Scott Rolen, who was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame and was part of the iconic MV3 alongside Pujols and Jim Edmonds in the 2000s. Rolen was masterful at the hot corner, winning three Gold Gloves with St. Louis, and was one of the most feared hitters in the game as well. If Nolan Arenado had better 2024 and 2025 campaigns for St. Louis, he may have been able to push Rolen for this spot.

Shortstop: Edgar Renteria

If we make this list again in a few years, I would not be surprised at all to see Masyn Winn in this spot, but for now, Edgar Renteria holds down the fort at the Cardinals' shortstop. Renteria played six seasons with the Cardinals, and his 2003 season saw him post a 6.3 fWAR while playing great defense and posting a 128 wRC+.

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