3 highlights during the Cardinals stretch of winning seasons

For the first time since 2007, the Cardinals will have a season in which they will not finish with a winning record. Their stretch of non-losing seasons will also likely come to an end soon.

Ever since John Mozeliak took over as general manager after the '07 season, the Cardinals have not finished .500 or below. So far in Mozeliak's tenure, the Cardinals have won six NL Central titles, two National League pennants, and a World Series title. St. Louis has also reached the postseason 10 times.

All of that will change this year, however. Mozeliak has never had a losing season during his tenure. But the Cardinals stretch of 15 consecutive winning seasons has officially come to a disappointing end.

Still, as they always say, don't be sad because it's over. Smile because it happened. I'm in no way saying that Cardinals fans don't have every right to be frustrated by the fact that it has come to an end, especially when it was so preventable. But it is important to look back on some of the top moments from the Cardinals long stretch of winning seasons and be grateful that they happened.

There were plenty of memorable moments that took place during this incredible streak, moments that will ring true for years to come in the minds of fans.

Fans have seen a lot of great moments over the years that should be cherished forever. In this piece, we will look back on three of the best moments from 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.

The 17-game winning streak

On September 11, 2021, the Cardinals were mired in third place in the NL Central, with two teams to overcome in the NL Wild Card race. The Reds were one of those teams, and they staked out an early 4-0 lead in the second game of a three-game set between the two clubs.

The Cardinals made an epic comeback to win the game. Little did we know that it would be the start of a record-setting 17-game win streak for the Cardinals. The team was just two games over .500 before the streak began, but they began to show fight late in games and rally from deficits in order to overcome their foes.

On September 28, they picked up their 17th win in a row to improve to 88-69 on the year, while also clinching the second Wild Card in the National League with five games to spare.