3 highlights during the Cardinals stretch of winning seasons

The 2011 World Series

2011 was a special year in St. Louis. The Cardinals had missed the playoffs the previous year after an 86-76 finish, but were determined to right the ship.

They overcame the loss of Adam Wainwright, who had Tommy John surgery, as well as a 10.5 game deficit in the Wild Card race. They battled back to win the NLDS against the Phillies and manhandled the Brewers in the NLCS.

Next up was a meeting with the Rangers in the World Series. After the team traded wins in each of the first four games, the third of which included three home runs by Albert Pujols, Texas won Game 5 and the series returned to St. Louis with the Cardinals needing to win two in a row to keep their championship dreams alive.

Game 6 was a wild and wacky game, and the Cardinals were forced to show some of their trademark resilience, falling to within one strike of elimination twice. Thankfully, David Freese and Lance Berkman came through in the clutch, which set up Freese's walk-off homer in the 11th inning.

The next night, the Cardinals got a gem from Chris Carpenter and nailed down their 11th World Series title, with Freese, the St. Louis native, earning MVP honors.