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

Top 5 third base Seasons in Cardinals history

1. Scott Rolen - 2004

.314/.409/.598 with 34 homers and 124 RBIs; 9.2 WAR

2004 Scott Rolen is the best third base season for a Cardinals player ever and one of the best third base seasons for a player on ANY franchise. He was one of the top offensive performers in the league that year and the best defensive player. Rolen helped the Cards to a title in 2006 and eventually made the Hall of Fame — despite a torrent of backlash from some.

2. Ken Boyer - 1961

.329/.397/.533 with 24 homers and 95 RBIs; 8 WAR

1961 was quite a year for baseball, with Maris and Mantle chasing Ruth. Boyer's season goes a little under the radar in contrast to those legends, but there was no finer third baseman at the time. (I'll give Eddie Mathews proper praise and say he was the equal to Boyer in the early '60s, but the 1950s is all Mathews.) While Boyer won the MVP in 1964, his '61 season is my choice between the two. He was remarkably consistent in the power department, but this season would be the high-water mark for Ken in batting average and on-base percentage. Ken could flash the leather as well! Maybe not in the same category as his younger brother, Clete, but one of the best in the NL.

3. Nolan Arenado - 2022

.293/.358/.533 with 30 homers and 103 RBIs; 7.7 WAR

It seems like a long time ago when Arenado was this good with the bat, but it's actually not far back! The Gold Glove third baseman looks to stay in St. Louis this year despite all the rumors. If he can recapture some of the offensive magic from 2022, that might not be such a bad thing! In 2022, Arenado proved that his power numbers from Colorado weren't just due to the altitude. Goldschmidt won the MVP this season, but there's not really a great case for him over Nolan, especially when you consider Arenado's defensive contributions.

4. Joe Torre - 1971

.363/.421/.555 with 24 homers and 137 RBIs; 5.9 WAR

Nobody would confuse Joe Torre with Nolan Arenado at third base defensively. Torre wasn't good. But he wasn't bad...wait, actually he was. Terrible defensively. This is all about his offense! After splitting time at catcher and third in 1970, Torre made the move to the hot corner full-time. Having a reprieve from the demands behind the plate allowed Torre's offensive game to explode. Torre was always a good offensive catcher, but 1971 would result in a league-leading .363 average — Torre's previous high was .325. Torre captured MVP honors, but the Cards couldn't edge out the eventual World Champion Pirates for the pennant.

5. Whitey Kurowski - 1947

.310/.420/.544 with 27 homers and 104 RBIs; 6.1 WAR

Sometimes there are players who have such wonderful backstories and careers, it's surprising you don't hear more about them throughout baseball culture. Whitey Kurowski is 100% one of these guys! Short but sweet career — basically 7 full seasons. He was a cornerstone player for 3 Cardinals championships, and then his career ended prematurely. Even making the majors was miraculous due to a condition that left him with a right throwing arm several inches shorter than his left. His disability led to health issues later in his career that forced an early retirement. Incredible individual!