4 best seasons for a closer in St. Louis Cardinals' history

Lee Smith - 1991

Lee Smith's 18-year career featured him playing for eight different teams. He spent four years in St. Louis, and his best year of his career happened to come in 1991. His 47 saves led all of baseball, and they are tied for the second most in Cardinals' franchise history with the next player on this list.

1991 was Smith's first full season in St. Louis after being traded to the Cardinals in 1990, and he didn't disappoint. He finished the season with a 2.34 ERA, 2.45 FIP, and a 1.14 WHIP. He was elected to participate in the All-Star game, he finished second in Cy Young voting to Tom Glavine of the Atlanta Braves, and he placed 8th in National League Most Valuable Player voting.

Batters had a slash line of .249/.281/.352 against Smith in 1991, and he walked just 4.3% of the men he faced. The Hall of Fame reliever blew only five saves that year, giving him a save percentage of 90.4% that year. Lee Smith appeared in only 67 games, and he finished 61 of them. He was a part of 60 of the team's 84 wins that year.

Lee Smith's innings total -- 73 -- was ample for a closer, but his save percentage narrowly being greater than 90% brings his prowess down slightly. He threw more than one inning 15 times, so he was asked to get up and down more often than his predecessor on this list. Lee Smith was a lockdown closer in 1991 for the Cardinals. They didn't make the playoffs that year, but Smith left his mark on the organization nonetheless.