The biggest division deficit the Cardinals have ever overcome in September to make the playoffs

September baseball always brings fans a months-long amount of intensity and pure excitement. Despite the season being a 162-game marathon, it seems that almost every year there is division races and playoff races that aren't decided until the final day of the regular season.

The St. Louis Cardinals have had some very fun Septembers in recent memory. Edging out not one, but two division foes to win the NL Central in both 2013 and 2015, the division going down to game 162 in 2019. the farewell tour for Albert Pujols in 2022 where we saw him surpass the 700-home run plateau, and of course who can forget the electrifying run that was 2011.

2011 saw the Cardinals 6 games back of the Braves with 19 games left, then they went on a surge, passed the Braves on the last day of the season, then continued to fight on adversity in the postseason, beating the 100+ game winning Phillies, beating the Brewers who won the Central that year, and beating the Rangers in the World Series despite being down to their final strike twice.

That year in particular was a run to the Wild Card, but what is the Cardinals' biggest deficit that they've overcome to win their division? As it stands on September 10, the Cardinals are 11 games behind the Brewers with 19 games left in the season. This current team would have to find that magic potion that this franchise has found several times in the past to somehow steal the division away.

This current deficit would be the biggest the Cardinals have ever overcome to win the division this late into the season, what is the largest deficit ever conquered by the Cardinals? You'd have to go back six decades.

The St. Louis Cardinals were 7.5 games back in the National League on September 1 in the 1964 season

On August 31, 1964, the Cardinals' six-game winning streak came to an end after being on the losing end of a 12-3 drubbing at the hands of the Dodgers that brought the Cardinals' record to 71-59. They were not just 7.5 games out of first place, but they were in 4th place overall in the NL going into September 1. This was back when there was no division series or championship series, the top team in each league faced off in the World Series, everybody else was eliminated.

So not only did the Cardinals have to erase a 7.5-game deficit, they had to leapfrog over 3 different teams in the process, and with just one month to do so, their chances of accomplishing this were slim to none.

One advantage the Cardinals had at their disposal was that there was no interleague play in 1964, so they only had to face National League teams, and the most effective way to gain ground in the standings is to defeat the teams that are ahead of you, and there were opportunities a plenty to do that.

Going into September of ‘64, the Cardinals were in the middle of a 15-game home stand, they were 6-1 on the extended home stretch going into the final month. 

They began the month by taking 2 out of 3 games against both the Milwaukee Braves and the Cubs, but they didn’t gain any ground. 6 games into September they were still 7.5 games behind the Phillies, tied for 3rd place with 26 games left. 

The 15-game home trip ended with a doubleheader versus the Reds, who were in second place at the time, if the Cardinals swept the twin bill they would’ve moved into a second-place tie, and that’s what they did.

Thanks to a pinch-hit single by Tim McCarver in the bottom of the 9th the Cardinals won game one 3-2, and a game-winning hit by Curt Flood in the bottom of the 9th of game 2, the Redbirds swept the doubleheader, winning both games 3-2 on walk-offs, moving into a tie for 2nd. The Cardinals went 12-3 on the 15-game home stand, 6 of the 12 wins were on walk-offs and they were in a three-way tie for second place (The Giants also had the same record as St. Louis and the Reds), and 6.5 games out with 24 to play.

On the 9th of September, the Cardinals started an 18-game road trip and it began with the first-place Phillies, they split the 2 games so the deficit stayed at 6.5 games with 22 games left. After taking two of three yet again from the Braves and Cubs, the Cardinals were able to clear the Reds and Giants to take sole possession of 2nd, but they were still 6 games out with 16 games left going into Cincinnati for a three-game set. 

Taking a step back in the slim progress they've made, the Cardinals dropped 2 of 3 against the Reds including the rubber match where they let a 6-0 lead slip away. They only lost half a game on the Phillies but they were now tied with the Reds for second, 6.5 games out with 13 games left, the deficit seemed insurmountable.

Time was running out, they needed a miracle to happen along with some serious help. After splitting a two-game set with the last-place Mets, they headed to Pittsburgh for a five-game set, their last road series of the regular season. Entering that series they were five games out and tied for third with the Giants, with just 11 games remaining.

The Cardinals did their part in Pittsburgh, winning all 5 games of the series, outscoring the Pirates 24-8. Meanwhile, the Giants lost two of three to the Cubs, the Reds swept the Mets, and then the Phillies who had a stranglehold on the National League, all of a sudden were in their worst slump of the season. The Phils got swept at home by the Braves, and on September 27, saw themselves one game out of first place, and just half a game ahead of the Cardinals, heading to St. Louis for a series that could not possibly be more pivotal for both teams.

In Game 1, the Cardinals defeated the Phillies 5-1, allowing them to jump Philadelphia in the standings, and putting them just one game behind the Reds, who did not play that day. Game 2 saw the Cardinals victorious again winning 4-2, and along with the Reds losing 2-0 to Pittsburgh, put the Birds in a tie for first with Cincinnati with four games left. The conclusion of the three-game set with the Phillies resulted in another Cardinal winner, and the Reds on the same day lost 1-0 in 16 innings to the Pirates, which put the Cardinals in sole possession of first place with just 3 games to go.

What is ironic about this sensational comeback to swipe the division lead away from the Reds and Phillies, is that right after they claimed first place they had their first multi-game losing streak in the month of September, and it came against the Mets, who lost 109 games in 1964. When the Cardinals fell in the first game 1-0 and in the second game 15-5, it kept the Reds and Phillies hopes alive as the three teams were separated by one game going into the final day of the regular season.

The Phillies and Reds were facing off against each other in Game 162, and the game was a laugher. 10-0 was the final in favor of the Phillies, which put them and the Reds at 92-70 records, if the Cardinals found a way to lose again to the last-place Mets, the National League would've ended in a three-way tie. But for once throughout this entire month of baseball, the Cardinals controlled their destiny.

There were some tense moments in the Cardinals' final regular season game, they were trailing the Mets 3-2 after 4 and a half innings, but the bats came to life after that. The Cardinals had three separate three-run innings after they were trailing, cruising to an 11-5 win and clinching the NL pennant. The storied comeback was officially complete. What is now known as the "Phold of '64" The Phillies, who had led the division since Opening Day, were now not going to play in the World Series.

The magic did not go away from the '64 Cardinals during the World Series as they were able to defeat the Yankees in the World Series 4 games to 3, in a series they were trailing at one point two games to one, and losing Game 4 by a score of 3-0 going into the 6th inning. The resiliency and competitiveness of the 1964 Cardinals is truly remarkable, and a run that was etched in the record books as one of the most improbable seasons in baseball history.