MLB Network's "Hot Stove" names Cardinals franchise favorites

The St. Louis Cardinals are one of the most historic franchises in Major League Baseball and all of sports. The 11-time World Series champions have a luxurious and deep history that spans every era of the game. MLB Network's daytime show Hot Stove recently has been listing their franchise favorites across all 30 teams.

This list has been misunderstood online whereas fans believe this is their all-time greats list. Franchise favorites is simply the hosts listing their favorite players from each franchise and building a team around the idea. Matt Vasgersian, Harold Reynolds, and guest Rick Ankiel created their list for the Cardinals and presented them on Tuesday's broadcast.

Matt Vasgersian

Vasgersian is one of the most recognizable names and voices in MLB. He has had an extensive career in broadcasting that has provided him with quite the insight across the league. His favorite Cardinals players listed are a nice mix of deserving superstars and underrated players from the franchise's history.

The big names mentioned were Albert Pujols, Ozzie Smith, and Lou Brock. These three players could be penciled in for anyone's list and are considered franchise all-time greats. But what makes this segment intriguing are the influential players who do not receive enough recognition. Vasgersian listed players such as Tim McCarver, Fernando Vina, Matt Carpenter, Matt Holliday, and George Hendrick in his starting nine. Vina is the most fascinating choice, as he had a 12-year career playing for four different teams. He is most notable as being a Milwaukee Brewer, but arguably his best season came with the Cardinals. In 2000, Vina posted a 3.2 WAR, winning a Gold Glove award playing second base. He was nowhere near franchise-altering like Rogers Hornsby, but he was a good player for his four seasons in St. Louis.

Harold Reynolds

Reynolds is a former player who played during the Whitey Herzog era of Cardinals baseball, which has some impact on his choices during this segment. For the most part, he listed players who would be regarded as popular choices amongst Cardinals fans. He has Albert Pujols, Ozzie Smith, Stan Musial, and should-be Hall of Famer Jim Edmonds, Lou Brock, and Mark McGwire.

His other selections are very slept-on picks, as these players were very good during their Cardinals careers. He has Joe Torre at catcher, who was the 1971 league MVP, posting a slash line of .363/.421/.555 (.976) with 34 2B, 24 HR, and 137 RBI. Tommy Herr is at second base, who was an integral piece to the Herzog-era Cardinals teams. Terry Pendleton is at third base, which aligns well with Reynolds, given they were contemporaries playing in the same era. Pendleton did not win the MVP with the Cardinals, but he produced at the highest clip with the Cardinals. Over seven seasons, he posted 15.1 WAR with 155 2B, 44 HR, 442 RBI with a slash line of .259/.308/.356 (.664). His peak performance is no doubt with the Atlanta Braves, where he pushed his game to star status. But the bulk production in St. Louis should not be disregarded, given the team's history of strong third basemen in Ken Boyer, Scott Rolen, and Nolan Arenado.

Rick Ankiel

Guest on the show Rick Ankiel provided his list coming from the perspective of someone close to the Cardinals organization.

This list is definitely the most obscure of the three, but Ankiel understood the assignment. He has a great mix of true stars in the game, great players from the organization, and players who have utmost respect from Cardinals fans, given their contributions to the organization. The big names that highlight his list are Mark McGwire, Scott Rolen, and Ozzie Smith. These players were bigger than their roles and are viewed as such amongst all of MLB.

The next wave of players listed were great in St. Louis and feel admirable to be listed by Ankiel. He listed Ray Lankford, Willie McGee, and Matt Holliday, who all were stars during their Cardinals tenure. McGee was one of the faces of Whiteyball and took home the 1985 MVP. Holliday was a powerful force during the 2010s and is now a red jacket member as a Cardinals Hall of Famer. Ray Lankford is the player who deserves his roses here. While the Cardinals struggled to win during the 1990s, Lankford was a hidden star during the steroid era.

During this segment, studio guest Keith Costas made a comparison of Lankford to Christian Yelich, who are eerily similar. Yelich is a league MVP who is considered one of the superstar faces of the game from 2018 to the current day. Lankford sometimes feels lost in history, and the new age of fans do not understand the levels of value Lankford brought during his Cardinals tenure. To round out Ankiel's list, he had Adam Kennedy at 2nd base and Chris Duncan in right field. Kennedy was drafted by the Cardinals and would make a return after his postseason success with the Angels during the mid-2000s. Chris Duncan was a key role player for the Cardinals which led to the 2006 World Series championship.