St. Louis Cardinals Top 5 right fielders of all-time

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Last, but not least, we have our all-time right fielders. They are the last position to be accounted for, but they are a massive part of the team. This was a tough position to rank, due to the high turnover in the St. Louis Cardinals' history.

**Author's note** In an epic fail on my part, I forgot to list Hall of Famer Chick Hafey as part of Redbird Rants' list of top Left-Fielders in Cardinals History. He is one of four left-fielders in Cardinals history enshrined in Cooperstown. For Cardinals history fans everywhere, I do apologize.

This is a part of a running series on Redbird Rants ranking the top 5 Cardinals at each position. You can find the other position groups we have ranked so far below.

Top 5 Center Fielders

Now, two Honorable Mentions

Honorable Mention

Joe Cunningham (1954, 1956-61)

Joe Cunningham was a member of Fred Hutchinson's last Cardinals teams and was the regular right-fielder under Solly Hemus' managerial stint. During his Career career, he accumulated 15.9 WAR and batted over .300. Cunningham's best year in St. Louis was 1959, where he represented the Cardinals at the All-Star game and led the Majors with a .453 on-base percentage.

Andy Van Slyke (1983-1986)

Before he became an All-Star and Gold Glove-caliber center fielder with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Andy Van Slyke broke into the Major Leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals. In his four years with the Cardinals, Van Slyke batted .259/.347/.422 with an OPS+ of 114. He was the starting right fielder of the pennant-winning 1985 Cardinals team.

No. 5: J.D. Drew (1998-2003)

After the Cardinals' 73-win season in 1997, the team received the fifth-overall pick in the 1998 MLB Draft. That pick was used to select J.D. Drew played one season with the independent St. Paul Saints. This was also after Drew and the Philadelphia Phillies could not agree on a contract after the 1997 MLB Draft.

J.D. Drew would actually debut for the Cardinals in that 1998 season, as his first game was the day Mark McGwire hit no. 62. In six years, Drew accumulated 18.1 WAR and an OPS+ of 124. Unfortunately, Drew, like Van Slyke beforehand, is best remembered for what he did after he left the Cardinals.

And for being one of the greatest Phillies villains of all time.

No. 4 George Hendrick (1978-1984)

One of the heroes of the 1982 World Series team, George Hendrick comes in at #4 on this list. A former first-overall MLB Draft Pick by the Oakland Athletics and two-time All-Star with the Cleveland Indians, Hendricks was traded by the San Diego Padres in 1978 to the St. Louis Cardinals for Eric Rasmussen.

In St. Louis, Hendrick was a two-time All-Star and Silver Slugger award winner. From 1980-1983, Hendrick finished in the top 15 in MVP voting each year. In Game 7 of the World Series, George Hendrick shined on the biggest stage. First, his strong throw nailed Robin Yount advancing to third. Second, his RBI single in the sixth inning gave the Cardinals the lead for good.

No. 3 Brian Jordan (1992-1998)

A star on the 1990's St. Louis Cardinals teams, Brian Jordan led the 1996 Cardinals to the postseason for the first time since 1987. Jordan delivered two clutch home runs in that postseason. The first was off Trevor Hoffman in the NLDS Game Three, and the other was off Greg McMichael in the NLCS Game Four.

During his time in St. Louis, Jordan accumulated 20.0 bWAR and batted .291/.339/.474 with the Cardinals. His career 115 OPS+ and 6.4 Defensive WAR made him a great two-way player for the team.

No. 2 Stan Musial (1941-1944, 1946-1963)

It wouldn’t be an official All-Time outfielder list without Stan Musial now, wouldn’t it?

During his time with the Cardinals, Musial started 679 games at rightfield for the Cardinals. For five seasons of his Hall of Fame career, he was the primary right fielder for the team. Musial won his first MVP of his career in 1943 as the starting right fielder for the National League Pennant-winning team.

No. 1 Enos Slaughter (1938-1942, 1946-1953)

St. Louis Cardinals v New York Giants / Kidwiler Collection/GettyImages

Enos Slaughter remains far and away the all-time leader in rightfield starts with the St. Louis Cardinals. Not only does he have the most years starting in RF (10), but he is the only primary Cardinals right-fielder enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

In 13 years with the Cardinals, Slaughter collected over 2,000 hits and eclipsed 1300 runs batted in, even though he missed three years of his career due to military service in the Second World War. His greatest moment with the St. Louis Cardinals came in the 1946 World Series, as his “Mad Dash” from first base to home in Game 7 proved to be the winning run.

dark. Next. Exploring a Goldschmidt extension

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