Cardinals History: Top 5 individual seasons by a Cardinals player by position

Top 5 shortstop seasons in Cardinals history

1. Ozzie Smith - 1987

.303/.392/.383 with 0 homers, 75 RBIs, and 43 SBs; 6.4 WAR

Can I get the best defensive shortstop ever? Can you give me a season where they hit over .300 and almost had an on-base percentage of .400? Can they also have over 40 stolen bases? You can do all these things? Then sign me up! The Wizard of Oz had a few other good hitting seasons, but none that match 1987.

2. Rogers Hornsby - 1917

.327/.385/.484 with 8 homers and 66 RBIs; 9.9 WAR

Yes, Hornsby topped the second base list. (Repeat player years aren't allowed at the same position.) He started his career at SS and was an above-average fielder to go with his sterling offense...albeit not the insane numbers of later years. It also should be noted that this season was during the dead-ball era, where the average runs per game was much lower than about 5 years later. In 1917, the typical MLB player hit .249 with a .324 slugging percentage.

3. Dick Groat - 1963

.319/.377/.450 with 6 homers and 73 RBIs; 7.1 WAR

While he was perhaps known more for his time in Pittsburgh, Groat's 1963 looks better than his MVP season in 1960. Groat came in second in the MVP running to Koufax this season (fair enough) and led the Cards the following season to a title. Groat was also a basketball star at Duke University prior to joining the major leagues.

4. Bobby Wallace - 1901

.321/.351/.451 with 2 homers and 91 RBIs; 7.8 WAR

Wallace only played for the Cardinals for 3 seasons but had a stupendous season in 1901. He was one of the best defensive shortstops of his era. Wallace was a household name back then and is in the Hall of Fame, but how he was acquired by the Cardinals may receive more attention today. In 1899, the Robison brothers owned both the Cleveland Spiders and the St. Louis Cardinals (called the Perfectos that year). In an underhanded move, all of the best players on the Spiders were moved to the Cardinals to consolidate the talent between the two teams. The Cardinals' location in St. Louis made them more appealing to the Robison brothers (Cleveland just can't catch any breaks), and the move led to the dissolution of the Spiders franchise the following year. St. Louis acquired a boatload of talent besides Wallace, including Cy Young, George Cuppy, Cupid Childs, and Jesse Burkett.

5. Edgar Renteria - 2003

.330/.394/.480 with 13 homers, 100 RBIs, and 34 SBs; 5.6 WAR

One of many Marlins castoffs who became other franchises' treasure. Renteria won a World Series as a 20-year-old on the Marlins before being traded to the Cardinals. While his defensive reputation (2x Gold Glove winner) isn't supported by defensive metrics (career defensive runs saved of -20), Edgar raked during his prime, especially in 2003. He finished 4th for batting average in the NL. Usually batting sixth that season, Renteria had ample opportunities to knock in runs with Jim Edmonds, Pujols, Tino Martinez, and Scott Rolen hitting in front of him.