St. Louis Cardinals History: All the Cardinal rookies to make the All Star team

Harvey Haddix - 1953

Haddix was the first rookie pitcher to be named an All-Star in Cardinals history. He was 8 innings shy of losing his rookie status in 1952 after appearing in 7 games for the Cardinals. In 1953, the 27-year-old rookie became a mainstay in the Cardinals rotation, earning an All-Star bid in his first full season, despite a 4.10 ERA, which is pretty high for an All-Star. He did not play in the game that was played at Crosley Field.

Unlike the first two rookie All-Stars for the Cardinals, Haddix was able to have a productive career after being an All-Star for the first time. He finished the 1953 season with a 20-9 record in 36 appearances ( 33 starts) with a 3.06 ERA ( he had a 2.08 ERA in the second half) in 253 innings pitched. That year he led the league in shutouts with 6, finished 2nd to Jim Gilliam of the Dodgers in the Rookie of the Year voting, and he even received some MVP votes.

He would be an All-Star in the next two seasons with the Cardinals, then after 4 starts with the team in 1956, he was traded to the Phillies along with Ben Flowers and Stu Miller in exchange for Murry Dickson and Herm Wehmeier. His Cardinal career finished with a 53-40 record and a 3.65 ERA in 127 games, and he made the All-Star team every full season he was in St.Louis.

Luis Arroyo - 1955

The Cardinals drafted Arroyo out of the Minor League draft in 1949, and 6 years later the Puerto Rican-born left-hander was voted an All-Star in his first season in the big leagues.

In Arroyo's first 18 appearances in the big leagues, he won 7 games and had a 3.19 ERA in 87+ innings. Arroyo did not appear in the All-Star game in which ended up being one of the best All-Star games in history. Played at County Stadium, the home of the Milwaukee Braves, the National League was trailing 5-0 going into the bottom of the 7th, they tied the game in the 8th, then won the game 6-5 on a 12th-inning walk-off home run by Stan Musial.

Arroyo struggled in the second half in 1955, having a 5.40 ERA in 12 starts, finishing his first full season with an 11-8 record and a 4.19 ERA. The Cardinals did not keep him around past his first season, right after the 1956 season started, they traded Arroyo to the Pirates for pitcher Max Surkont. After a few seasons with the Pirates and Reds, spending most of his time transitioning to a reliever, he ended up with the Yankees where he became a late-inning threat.

In 1960, Arroyo ended up with the Yankees and he became their closer, helping them win 3 straight AL pennants, and 2 straight World Series championships in 1961 and 1962, recording 43 saves in those three seasons combined.