The St. Louis Cardinals all-time best starting lineup based on WAR

Putting together an all-time starting lineup with a franchise as rich in history as the St. Louis Cardinals isn't always easy. Though it can be fun. The banter of back and forths about which one of the steller third-baseman you want to start over the other, Ken Boyer or Scott Rolen. There's the debate of Ted Simmons vs Yadi. How do you narrow down a gluttonous outfield to three?
Obviously, you can debate and argue about who you would want to start in an all-time lineup based on peak seasons, and fan favorites, but what if we used WAR?

Ask Edwin Starr in 1969 what WAR is good for and he might will tell you "absolutely nothing". Fast forward to 2010 and Sean Smith had come up with a formula to calculate how many wins above a replacement level player one player had over the other, WAR. It is now commonly used today in sports to quantify how valuable a player is. Using Baseball-references WAR formula, and candidly statistical information on players as well, we here at RedbirdRants came up with the all-time starting lineup for the Birds on the Bats.

A few quick disclaimers though before we dive in. I will only be talking about games the players listed played in their career in a Cardinals uniform. Some may have gone off to play for other teams but those stats have been omitted or separated off. This lineup will include a DH (designated hitter) since the NL (National League) now has the DH implemented. That will be based on who has the highest WAR overall among the players not listed in the starting lineup. Also, I will be positioning players defensively based on where they spent most of their games played, or what makes the most sense with the players in the starting lineup. There may be a few surprises or omissions, but that's the fun part.

Here is the Cardinals all-time best starting lineup based on WAR

So without further ado, we start behind the plate where a lion leads the pack.

Catcher: Ted Simmons, 45 WAR

I know, I know, a surprise right out of the gate. Many pundits, experts, players, and managers alike have raved about how Yadier Molina had so many intangibles that made his value hard to quantify, but in this list Ted Simmons had a higher WAR.

A member of the 2020 National Baseball Hall of Fame, Ted Simmons played for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1968-1980. During this time he played over 1,400 games behind the plate for the Cardinals while being named to six all-star teams, winning one Silver Slugger, and finishing as high as sixth in M.V.P. voting one year (1975). He was a rare treat: A true offensive first catcher hitting both for power and average. Oh, and a switch hitter too.

Acquiring the nickname "Simba" because of his long hair resembling a lion's mane, Simba had the ferocity of a lion as well. He averaged .298 as a Cardinal in his career while wacking over 20 home runs in a season five different times for a total of 172 in a Cardinals uniform (2nd All-time for Catchers in Cardinals history). He was also an RBI machine with six seasons with 90 or more runs batted in, for a total of 929 in his Cardinals career (2nd all-time for catchers in Cardinals history). He did most of this damage while batting fourth in the lineup as a catcher. Something you don't regularly see, especially back then.

Although Simba was a force to be reckoned with for the Cardinals through the 1970s, this was also an abnormal period in Cardinals' history where St. Louis only made the playoffs once during Simmons' time with them. That was his rookie year in 1968 when the Cardinals lost to the Detroit Tigers in the World Series 4 games to 3 and Ted had not even been included on the postseason roster. Simmons was traded after the 1980 season to the Milwaukee Brewers along with Rollie Fingers in a six-person trade where he played for five seasons, before retiring with Atlanta in 1988. Ted Simmons never did get that elusive World Series ring.

Next: A starting first baseman who shouldn't be too much of a surprise.

First Base: Albert Pujols, 88.8 WAR

Drafted in the 13th round of the '99 Draft by the Cardinals, Albert Pujols spent just one season in the minors before bursting onto the scene in 2001. Winning Rookie of the Year, a Silver Slugger, being named to his first of eleven All-Star teams, and finishing fourth in MVP voting, you knew he was special. Maybe we didn't know he was going to be 703 home runs (4th all-time MLB), and over 2,200 RBIs (2nd all-time MLB) special, but we knew something was up.

Albert Pujols was the definition of an embarrassment of riches all-in-one ball player. Only four players in the history of baseball have had 10+ seasons of a .300 batting average, 30+ HRs, and 100+ RBIs. Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Albert, and Manny Ramirez. Of those cats, "The Machine" is the only one to start his career doing such.

Over his 12 seasons with the Cardinals, 2001-2011, 2022, Albert lead with his bat and glove, and was a champion in his work ethic and leadership true and through. In the 1,814 games that he put on the Cardinals uniform, Pujols's average season was .326/.417/.614 slash line with 39 home runs and 116 RBIs. That's insane. He won three MVP awards, in 2005, 2008, and 2009 (and easily could have won four more if it wasn't for Bonds and Ryan Howard). Albert also nabbed two gold gloves in his prime at first base in 2006 and 2009 to go along with six Silver Slugger awards.

But, if you ask anyone who knew him or played with him, his drive to win was what made him who he was. Albert helped usher in a new wave of Cardinals baseball, one of winning, to lead the Cardinals to eight postseason appearances in his twelve years as a Bird. He was just as good in the postseason as he was in the regular season as well with a .319 avg, 19 HRs, and 54 RBIs in 88 games. He was the captain leading the charge to three World Series appearances the Cardinals made it to, and ultimately winning it all in 2006 and 2011 respectively. I could go on and on singing the praises of the future Hall of Famer, but I think you get the point.

After the magical 2011 season, Albert decided to go out west where he signed a 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels that took him through the 2012-2021 seasons. His skill set ultimately fell off as age and injuries caught up with him to the point that the Angels flat-out cut him halfway through 2021, only for the Dodgers to sign him and bring some new life into the legend.

Pujols then went on to sign a one-year contract in 2022, back where it all began with the Cardinals, and finish his career with style. He swatted a ridiculous 24 home runs and slugged .550 at the ripe age of 42 in his swan song season. My personal favorite stat of Albert Pujols is that in his 22-year major league career, he never struck out more than 93 times in a season. There will never be another Albert Pujols, and that's why he's mans first base on our all-time team.

Next: Second Base is a man who managed and played at the same time

Second Base: Rogers Hornsby, 91.5 WAR

Playing 13 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals from 1915-1926, and once more for half of '33. 1942 National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Rogers Hornsby arguably paved the way for what it meant to "be a Cardinal". He was Albert before Albert. Musial before Musial. He was a 5-11, 175-pound second baseman that could hit a baseball a country mile.

Hailing from Winter, Texas, Rogers Hornsby had some of the most absurd stat lines you will ever see not only for a second baseman, but for any player in baseball history. He hit over .400 in three separate seasons, had over 200 hits in five different seasons, and slugged over .700 twice! Mr. Hornsby, often called by umpires around the league because of the respect he commanded, earned an MVP of his own (1925) and the elusive Triple Crown twice in his Cardinals career ( 1922, 1925). 1922 might be one of the most incredible statistical seasons you can find batting .401 with 42 home runs, and 152 RBIs to go along with 43 doubles, 250 hits and, 141 runs scored. Think about that. His .424 batting mark in 1924 is a 20th-century National League record. The man was born to hit a baseball.

Not only did he hit like a maniac, the Cardinals organization and Branch Rickey were endeared with Hornsby enough to name him player/manager halfway through the 1925 season. Rogers then went on to lead the Cardinals to their first-ever World Series victory, 4 games to 3, in an all-time classic over the New York Yankees in 1926 by tagging out Babe Ruth trying to steal 2nd base in the bottom of the ninth.

Hornsby and the team parted ways in 1926 citing his stubborn nature and at times overbearing personality. He then went on to play for the New York Giants, Boston Braves, and rival Cubs before returning in 1933 to St. Louis. He played half a season in Cardinals' red before being released midseason and signed by the St. Louis Browns as a player/manager where he would finish his career in 1937.

Although Hornsby played the better part of 1915-1919 as the SS for the Cardinals, his 991 games at second base when he took over full-time in 1920 puts "Rajah" atop the second base WAR list. In fact, it doesn't even really come close as Frankie Frisch comes in second at 33.8.

Next: An eleven time All-star third baseman

Third Base: Ken Boyer, 58 WAR

Did you know that Ken Boyer was originally signed as a pitcher? Yep! In 1949 the St. Louis Cardinals signed the Missouri native as a pitcher and in only his second season in the minors the third baseman at the time got injured and Boyer took over, showed he could hit, and that was the last time he saw the mound for the Cardinals.

He earned himself the nickname "The Capitan" by being a cornerstone, and a key contributor to the Cardinals throughout the late 1950s and the better part of the 1960s as well (1955-1965). Ken Boyer was an 11x All-star, five-time gold glover, and the 1964 NL MVP and World Series Champion. Boyer had double-digit home runs in every one of the 11 seasons he played with the Cardinals, including eight with 20+, and eclipsed 90+ RBIs in 8 of the 11 seasons as well, including two with 100+.

The late Mike Shannon had this to say about Boyer when asked by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 2009. "He wasn't flashy. Everything he did, he did smoothly. He just did the job. And if you look up his stats, those are pretty good stats. He was like the Clydesdale of third basemen. He was a great big, strong guy who had a lot of grace. He was the prototype third baseman."

Speaking of the 1964 World Series the Cardinals were trailing 3-0 against the Yankees in game 4 when Boyer smacked a go-ahead sixth-inning grand slam to prevent his team from going 3 games to 1 down. He was a leader and a true Cardinal. After he was traded to the Mets after the 1965 season, Boyer spent time with the Mets, White Sox, and Dodgers before eventually retiring in 1969. He later returned to coach and manage in the Cardinals minor league system in the 1970s before taking over the big league club from 1978 to 1980.

Sadly he passed of lung cancer in '82 at the young age of 51. He's the only non-Hall-of-Famer to have his number retired on the Busch stadium wall.

Next: A Wizard.

Shortstop: Ozzie Smith, 65.9 WAR

Ozzie Smith's baseball story is one against the odds. Smith wasn't born into a family of athletes, was the second of six children in his family, and due to living conditions where his family lived in the early 60s ( LA), his family would find themselves sleeping on the floor at times to avoid stray bullets at night. Oh, and his first glove growing up was reportedly a brown paper bag wrapped around his left hand. But none of this stopped him from becoming a National Baseball Hall-of-Famer, and what would eventually be the greatest defensive shortstop the game has ever seen.

After attending Cal Poly University on a partial scholarship in the mid-70s, Smith was eventually drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 4th round of the amateur draft of '77. Ozzie would finish second in the Rookie-of-the-Year voting for the 1978 season and pick up his first two Gold Gloves in the 1980 and '81 season respectively to go along with his first all-star selection. The Cardinals then put together a package to acquire Smith in December of 1981. After a bit of reluctance at first to leave San Deigo, the "ballet-like performer at Short" the late Rick Hummel once said, Smith accepted the trade to St. Louis, settled in, and the rest was history.

He played the rest of his 19-season career in St. Louis spanning from 1982-1996. In 1982, the first season in St. Louis, he won another Gold Glove, was selected to the all-star team, and helped lead the charge to bring home the 9th World Series banner in Cardinals history 4-3 over the Milwaukee Brewers. "The Wizard", he quickly became known for because of his magic-like defense, would go on to produce countless memories for Cardinal and baseball fans alike throughout the 1980s and early 90s. "He corked one into right down the line" in the 1985 NLCS en route to an eventual NLCS MVP and World Series appearance for the Cardinals. Then there were countless plays like this or this.

Smith wasn't known for his bat. Heck, he totaled 28 home runs for his career with a season-high of six coming in 1985. He produced a 7.3 WAR in 1989 while only hitting two home runs. All in the end Ozzie would win a Gold Glove every season he played from 1980-1992 for 13 in total. He would also be selected to the NL All-star team every year from 1981-1992 and again from 94-96 for a total of 15 all-star selections. Every single one of his 1990 major league games with the Cardinals was at shortstop. I was just too young to have the treat to watch The Wizard, but those who got to say it was something special. He patrols SS on our All-time WAR list.

Next: The Man.

Left Field: Stan Musial, 126.6 WAR

Though Musial played most of his games at 1B, 1016, Pujols played more. Therefore he starts in LF in this lineup where he played 929.

"Here stands baseball's perfect warrior. Here stands baseball's perfect knight." That is what it reads on his statue outside of the third base gate at Busch Stadium. Words of former commissioner Ford C. Frick upon Stans's eventual retirement in 1963. If you're familiar with Cardinals baseball, you're familiar with Stan Musial. Truly if you're familiar with baseball in general, you should be familiar with "The Man". It's no surprise to find Stan Musial at the top of this list of All-time WAR leaders for the Cardinals. After all, he did play his entire 22-year MLB career, from 1941-1962, with the Birds across his chest.

1969 Hall of Fame inductee, Stan Musial was a 24x all-star, 7x batting champion, 3x MVP, and most importantly a 3x World Series champion. In his 22-year MLB career, he hit over .300 in 18 of those seasons. Of his 3,630 career hits, he had 1,815 hits at home and 1,815 hits on the road. Stan's highest single-season WAR was in 1948 (11.3) and it was truly something remarkable. His slash line was a ridiculous .376/.450/.702 to go along with 39 HRs and leading in a number of other categories: Runs, hits, doubles, triples, and RBIs.

Though he was one home run off from securing the Triple Crown, he did win the NL MVP that season. With Musial, the Cardinals won 105+ games every year from 1942-1944 and didn't finish below 2nd once in the 1940's capturing three World Series Championships in 1942, 1944, and 1946 claiming four pennants in total.

Not only was his on-the-field play something to behold, but he was regarded as a fan favorite off the field too due to his scandal-free character. For one he missed the entire 1945 season serving in the military. He would often be seen doing magic tricks for the kids or playing his harmonica for fans. Later in life Musial also received the presidential medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the country, signifying as President Obama called "the best of those we aspire to be.". Stan sadly passed in January 2013.

Stan Musial stands 1st in many Cardinals all-time records still to this day. Hits (3630), home runs (475), Doubles (725), Triples (177), Runs (1949), RBIs (1951), BB (1599), and games played (3026). Many people wonder what it would have been like if Albert would have stayed and played his entire 22-year career with the Cardinals and if he would have been able to catch and surpass Stan on some or many of these records. Though we will never know that, one thing is for sure, Stan Musial did stay, and the things he did helped make the St. Louis franchise what it is today.

Next: A center field flooding.

Center Field: Curt Flood, 42.3

After playing only 8 games for the Cincinnati Reds from 1956 through 1957, the Cardinals traded for Curt Flood before the start of the 1958 season stuck him in Center Field, and watched him fly. Even though Flood's best season in WAR was 1963 with 5.8, Flood still beat out Jim Edmonds on our list here for starting center fielders by less than 5 points. Flood was nowhere near the bat Edmonds was, but, he played in St. Louis longer (1958-1969) and thus tallied up the needed stats and seasons to put him at the top of the all-time centerfield WAR list. He wasn't particularly bad either.

Flood put up respectable numbers throughout the 1960's batting .293 during his tenure with the Cardinals, being selected to three all-star teams, and winning seven consecutive gold gloves from 1963-1969. He helped lead a 1960's Cardinals flock that included, Ken Boyer, Orlando Cepeda, Bob Gibson, and Mike Shannon. Together they captured two World Series championships (1964, 1967) and one other NL Pennant in 1968.

What Curt Flood may be best known for though is his efforts in helping shape the major league free agency as we know it today. In the offseason of 1969, the Cardinals decided to trade Flood along with other players to the Philadelphia Phillies for All-Star Dick Allen. The only thing was, Flood refused to go. He sued MLB, sat out the 1970 season, and ultimately put a fork in his professional baseball career. Although Flood didn't win the case, he didn't care as much in the end because it helped pave the way for players to come to have rights of their own and not be viewed as "property of a team".

Give his HBO documentary a watch. "The Curious Case of Curt Flood".

Next: A country boy who could hit

Designated Hitter: Yadier Molina, 42.3 WAR

So, how do we determine who bats as a DH in your all-time WAR lineup? Well, here we decided to give it to the next highest-ranking WAR leader that didn't crack the starting lineup. Just a few ticks below Simmons's career 45 WAR with the Cardinals, and tied with Curt Flood for 8th highest at 42.3, Yadier Molina.

Ted Simmons may have had the bat and the peak that Yadi did not, Molina had the longevity and the career. Yadi spent his entire 19-year career in a St. Louis Cardinals Uniform from 2004-2022. He was even drafted in the 4th round of the 2000 amateur players draft by the Cards and spent the third most games for the Cardinals in franchise history at 2,224 right behind Lou Brock at 2,289, and Musial's impressive 3,026. He endeared the hearts of millions and defined what it meant to be a Cardinal for the early part of this century.

Molina wasn't known for his bat early on batting a putrid .216 for the entirety of the 2006 season, he did have one of the biggest home runs in Cardinals postseason history and his career in Game 7 of the NLCS. This helped lead the Cardinals to their first World Series victory since 1982.
Molina once again helped lead the improbable 2011 Cardinals to their most recent 2011 World Series Championship as well. He was a leader and a winner. He did find success and consistency with his offense as his career went on. He eventually captured his one and only Silver Slugger award in 2013 as he hit .319 for the year in a season where he finished 3rd in the MVP voting while also winning a Gold Glove and being named to one of his 10 all-star teams. He also hit more than 20 home runs twice, once in 2012, and another in 2018.

He was known for his glove, and arm, winning nine Gold Gloves and arguably deserved to win a few more. Even before he made his major league debut there are stories of then Cardinals catcher Mike Matheny spotting Molina on a backfield in spring training and realizing immediately that Molina would soon take his job. Molina would often make the difficult plays routine and was universally cited as being a calming presence behind the plate and very few runners ever dared to run on him.

In the end, the future Hall-of-Famer Molina ranks 1st in games caught, 1st in home runs by a catcher, and 1st in our hearts. A leader like him is why he will be DHing in our All-time WAR team

Next: What would our line-up look like?

Our Lineup

Well, I can't lay out all these names without giving a go at what the lineup itself would actually look like. I'm not going to breakdown each decision but just for funs sake let's roll the boys out there for an evening game in this order:

1. Enos Slaughter RF
2. Stan Musial LF
3. Albert Pujols 1B
4. Rogers Hornsby 2B
5. Ken Boyer 3B
6. Ted Simmons DH
7. Curt Floyd CF
8. Yadier Molina C
9. Ozzie Smith SS

What would your lineup be? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter!