How have veteran Cardinals teams performed historically?

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This article is part one of a two-part series exploring the St. Louis Cardinals' average player age breakdown. In this piece, I will be looking at the team's average pitcher age. Next, I will analyze the team's average age for their batters.

The St. Louis Cardinals will have one of, if not the, oldest rotation next year in baseball. After signing Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn, and Kyle Gibson, John Mozeliak created one of the most veteran and experienced starting pitching staffs in team history.

The team's five projected starting pitchers according to FanGraphs Roster Resource have an average age of 35.02 years. That would easily make them the oldest rotation in baseball next year. Once you throw in the projected relievers next year, the age significantly decreases to 31.12 years. The average age of a reliever for 2024 is 28.68 years.

While the bullpen is relatively young with players such as Andre Pallante, Zack Thompson, and JoJo Romero, the starting rotation is quite experienced. Age can be beneficial or detrimental to a team; on one hand, these pitchers have loads of experience to draw upon. They also have been able to hone their skills and develop their craft. Alternatively, they have a lot of mileage on their bodies. Weariness, fatigue, and injuries are more likely to occur in older players.

I was curious to see how other rotations and pitching staffs with an advanced age fared in St. Louis Cardinals' history. Baseball-Reference provides information about teams of old including the average age for batters and pitchers. The average pitcher age of 31.12 years is tied for the fourth oldest pitching corps in franchise history. Only the 1927,1928, and 1929 teams had older staffs, and the 2003 staff had the exact same average age.

Keep in mind that there is no direct correlation between pitcher age and team success. For example, the youngest staff in 1888 ended up losing the World Series that year. The 2011 St. Louis Cardinals had the tenth-oldest pitching staff, and they won the World Series. It is a general crapshoot, but we can parcel out some important qualities in pitching staffs when analyzing average age.

1929 St. Louis Cardinals

The oldest pitching staff in franchise history belongs to the 1929 team; their average age was 32.3 years for pitchers. The staff allowed 806 runs in 154 games, and they finished the season with a 78-74 record, 4th in the National League.

Only one starting pitcher, Grover Alexander (who happened to be forty-two), had an ERA below 4.00, and the entire team's ERA was 4.66 for the season. The bullpen was significantly younger than the rotation, but it still featured six pitchers on the wrong side of thirty. This pitching staff was nothing to write home about, and you would be hard-pressed to identify one of the players on this roster based solely on familiarity.

1928 St. Louis Cardinals

The previous season featured a pitching staff with an average age of 32.1, marginally younger than the 1929 team. It seems logical that each consecutive season sees the pitching staff getting slightly older assuming the players remain the same. The 1928 St. Louis Cardinals finished the season 95-59, and they placed first in the National League; they lost in the World Series to the New York Yankees.

Most of the starting pitchers remain the same; Bill Sherdel, Grover Alexander, Jesse Haines, and Clarence Mitchell remain, and Hal Haid, Syd Johnson, and others are still in the bullpen. The main difference between 1928 and 1929 isn't the personnel but rather the performances. The team ERA was 3.38, and only Flint Reim of the starting staff had an ERA greater than 4.00 (4.14). The veteran pitchers on this year's team went out and did their job, unlike in 1929.

1927 St. Louis Cardinals

In ascending order, the late 1920's had the three oldest pitching staffs in franchise history. The 1927 team checks in as the third-oldest staff with an average pitcher age of 31.4 years. This year's team went 92-61, finished second in the National League, and did not make the playoffs due to the limited format at the time. This team's winning percentage of .601 is one of the best in franchise history.

The players are still similar to the 1928 and 1929 rosters, except they are all one year younger. Jesse Haines (thirty-three) and Grover Alexander (now a spring chicken at forty) led the rotation with sub-3.00 ERAs; Art Reinhart and Hernan Bell led the bullpen in innings pitched and ERA. The team's ERA this year was 3.57, another spectacular year. Regardless of age, the success of the pitching staff between 1927 and 1929 was dependent upon pitcher performance. The pitchers were virtually the same, their ages were within error of each other; the primary difference lies in how well those veterans performed.

2003 St. Louis Cardinals

Ah, the modern era. The 2003 St. Louis Cardinals were very much a transition team. Marc McGwire and the dismal teams of the 1990s were gone, and Albert Pujols was still very early in his career, so early in fact that he was the team's primary left fielder at the time. The average age for a pitcher on this team was 31.2, the same as the projected age for the 2024 Cardinals. The team finished 85-77, and they missed the playoffs entirely.

Three starting pitchers were thirty or older at the time (Woody Williams, thirty-six; Brett Tomko, thirty; and Garrett Stephenson, thirty-one), so the starting rotation wasn't overly aged. The bullpen, on the other hand, featured multiple pitchers over thirty. Jason Isringhausen was exactly thirty, Jeff Fassero was forty, Cal Eldred was thirty-five, and Steve Kline was also thirty. Team ERA finished at 4.60, and three starters had ERAs north of 4.50.

The 2024 St. Louis Cardinals' pitching staff is littered with veterans, particularly in the starting rotation. When analyzing the team's history, it is clear that pitchers older than thirty are able to succeed and lead a team. Last year, Miles Mikolas, Lance Lynn, and Kyle Gibson all had ERAs above 4.70; should they repeat those performances, our veteran players may lead the team to an early offseason. If they can all turn back the clock and pitch using their guile and experience, the team could have a great season.

Pitchers in their thirties aren't a recipe for disaster; Major League Baseball has featured ample veteran teams that succeeded. Let's hope a starting rotation with an average age just over thirty-five can lead the 2024 St. Louis Cardinals to success.

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