Five most disappointing Cardinals seasons since 1961

The 2023 St. Louis Cardinals' season has been extremely tough to watch. The team isn't playing well at all, big-name players were shipped off at the deadline, the players who are left seem to be rotating through the Injured List, and managerial/front-office mismanagement has been frustrating, to say the least.

From the Tyler O'Neill situation to Willson Contreras's benching to a record consistently below .500, fans are starting to feel like this may be the worst season in St. Louis history, let alone franchise history. The stadium is getting more and more empty with each home series, and the reasons to watch and root for the team are dwindling by the day.

For as abysmal as this season is, the team has had worse seasons before. The franchise dates back to 1882 when the St. Louis Brown Stockings played in the American League. The Brown Stockings were eventually shortened to just the Browns from 1883-1898, followed by the Perfectos for one year. In 1900, the team received the name "Cardinals" and found a home in the National League. For 123 years, the franchise name has remained the same outside of some divisional realignment.

Due to this long history, it is feasible to assume that there have been seasons as bad or worse as 2023. In order to make this exercise relevant, only seasons since the Integration Era (ended in 1961) will be evaluated. From this point on, the color barrier was officially broken and the game could include the best of the best players from across the world.

Let's take a look at the five most disappointing seasons in Cardinals' history since 1961.

1978 Season

Going by strictly win-loss percentage, the 1978 season is the worst season in franchise history since 1961. That year, the team went 69-93, finished 5th in the division (the Mets finished last), and were 21 games behind the Phillies for first place. The team finished nearly .040 points behind its Pythagorean win-loss (record based on run differential) and had one of the lowest attendance rates of the decade (1,278,215 attendees).

The season did not start off well, as the team fired its manager, Vern Rapp, after only 28 games. He had a 7-11 record. Jack Krol was the interim manager for only two games, and Ken Boyer finished the season as manager, going 61-81 and finishing the season. Another lowlight from the season would be Tom Seaver's no-hitter against the Cardinals on June 16th. Perhaps the worst aspect of the season would be its individual performances. Only one player in the entire team was recognized with an award: Keith Hernandez won a Gold Glove. No other players received an award of any kind that year.

The Cardinals ranked 21st in the majors in batting average, grounded into the 8th most double plays, and had the 24th-worst OPS+ that year. The league had only 26 teams at this time. On the pitching side, the team was about average in all major categories: 17th in ERA+, 12th in ERA, 23rd in home runs allowed, and 5th in strikeouts.

Teams such as the Cubs (3-15 against), Giants (3-9 against), and Padres (3-9 against) all had the Cardinals' number that particular year. Despite big-name players such as Lou Brock, Keith Hernandez, Ted Simmons, Gary Templeton, and Bob Forsch, the 1978 Cardinals played terribly. This season presented the worst win-loss percentage since 1894, and the team struggled to make it back to the postseason for a few more years.

2023 Season

Slowly but surely, the 2023 Cardinals are sneaking up on the 1990 Cardinals and 1978 Cardinals for the worst winning percentage in franchise history since 1978. The 2023 season has been abysmal to watch. It started off rough with player disputes, nagging injuries, and underperformance from the pitching staff and defense. While the offense has been as stout as ever, it hasn't been enough to make up for the holes in the other facets of the game.

Once-MVP players such as Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado aren't themselves this year. Goldschmidt's OPS+ is 20 points below his career average, and the advanced defensive metrics are not fond of Arenado this year. Furthermore, the much-maligned pitching staff from the offseason has performed about as poorly as expected. Currently, players who were figured to be the 8-10 starters are now slotted in at the 3-5 spots in the rotation. Adam Wainwright has not been himself, and it has been sad to see him go out like this.

The team has a 55-72 record this year, and they are projected to finish 15-20 games below their preseason projections. It is fully plausible that the Cardinals finish with less than 70 wins this year, as their current record has them on pace to win exactly 70 games.

From a statistical standpoint, the Cardinals are in the top 5 in OPS+, OPS, and on-base percentage. They find themselves in the top 8 in slugging percentage, batting average, and home runs. Offensively, the team has been a top-7 team in baseball. The issue, however, is in the team's ability to score runs and prevent them. The Cardinals are 14th in total runs scored, 24th in ERA, 26th in ERA+, 27th in WHIP, and have given up the 25th most runs in all of baseball.

The 2023 season has been a disappointment due to inconsistent performances, falling short of expectations, and mismanagement from the front office and field manager. It has been a tough season to watch and will go down in the books as one of the worst seasons in franchise history.

1990 Season

The 1990 season was one of transition for the franchise. The great teams of the 1980s were gone, and the mashers of the late 90s and early 2000s hadn't yet arrived. The Cardinals had many recognizable players still; Ozzie Smith won a Gold Glove at short, and Willie McGee won the batting title. Vince Coleman was stealing bases at a record-setting rate, and Ray Lankford was an up-and-coming prospect with promise. Aside from Ray Lankford, the roster was aging and on the wrong side of 30.

The 1990 Cardinals were the first team to finish last in the division since the 1918 season. The Cardinals haven't finished last in the division since 1990 (although this year may reset that track record). Also, the Cardinals finished 25 games behind the first-place Pittsburgh Pirates.

As with the 2023 season, the 1990 season struggled with finding good pitchers. Their staff as a whole ranked 20th in ERA+, 18th in ERA, and 20th in WHIP. Their FIP and HR/9 placed them in the top 3 in the league, however. In addition to below-average pitching, their offense also staggered throughout the year. The team's offense ranked 28th in OPS+, 22nd in batting average, 27th in OPS, and 29th in wins probability added. Ironically, the Yankees also found themselves at the bottom of the charts in most statistics that year.

After making it to the World Series three times in the 1980's the 1990 season started a run of poor seasons for the Cardinals. The team wouldn't make the playoffs again until 1996. Throughout the first half of the 1990's the team floated around a .500 win percentage. The 1990 season kicked off a series of underperforming teams.

2007 Season

After winning the World Series in 2006, The Cardinals experienced quite a bit of reshuffling in 2007. Jim Edmonds and So Taguchi were 37, Scott Rolen, David Eckstein, and Juan Encarnacion were on the wrong side of 30, and the rotation lost players such as Jason Marquis, Mark Mulder (injured all season), Jeff Suppan, Chris Carpenter (injured), and Jeff Weaver. Within 1 season, the entire starting rotation turned over.

An ascendant Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols in his prime were the leaders of this team. Adam Wainwright also showed promise after his stellar performances out of the bullpen during the 2006 postseason. While it wasn't expected that the Cardinals would repeat the memorable 2006 season, it was entirely possible the team would at the very least contend for the division.

Instead, the 2007 Cardinals found themselves 6 games below .500 and in third place in the division. The season started off on a bad note, as the Mets swept the Cardinals in the first series and outscored them 20-2. To make matters worse, pitcher Josh Hancock died in a car accident in late April. A dark cloud was already cast over the team before the calendar even turned to May.

On the season, they ranked 21st in OPS+ and runs scored, 19th in OPS, and 24th in OPS. While they did a good job at getting on base, the team struggled to get the big hit that year. Their run differential for the season was -104 runs. On the pitching side, the team ranked 20th in ERA, gave up the 7th most runs, had the 22nd overall ERA+, and 20th worst FIP in the league. Another area in which the 2007 Cardinals struggled was defense. They had the 28th-worst fielding percentage and gave up the 23rd most runs per game.

Between the below-average production across the board, the disappointing follow-up to a World Series season, and a lack of national recognition, the 2007 season was challenging to watch and follow. Not a single player was given an award, and Walt Jocketty was dismissed at the end of the season. John Mozeliak took over the General Manager position, and Tony LaRussa barely returned as the field manager. In a year in which the division winner only had 85 wins, the Cardinals could have easily won the division. Instead, the starting rotation pitched poorly, and the season was a lost one.