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

Compiling the Cardinals' all-time best starting lineup based on WAR created some surprising lineup choices
Albert Pujols sits at 88.8 WAR for his career as a Cardinal, but where does that rank him all-time?
Albert Pujols sits at 88.8 WAR for his career as a Cardinal, but where does that rank him all-time? / Stacy Revere/GettyImages
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Right Field: Enos Slaughter, 52.8

North Carolina native Enos Slaughter may have one of the most underrated and forgotten careers as a Cardinal. He played from 1938-1953 with the team but unfortunately lost three seasons of his prime due to time in the military in WWII from 1943-1945. The year before he left he finished 2nd in MVP voting that year, the year he returned...four years later, he finished 3rd.

Enos played over 1,800 games in a Cardinals uniform, with more than 1,500 in right field. He hit a lifetime .305 with the Cards, with over 1,100 RBIs ( leading the league in 1946 with 130), and was a huge part of the 1940s winning teams. His highest WAR season came in 1942 with a 6.8, as he helped lead the Cardinals to a World Series title that fall. That season he hit .318 with 98 RBIs while leading the league with 17 triples, 188 hits, and 298 total bases. There was also the "Mad dash home" scoring first in the 1946 World Series to help the Cardinals beat the Red Sox. He was known for his hustle and loyalty on the field but also mired with a bit of controversy too.

In 1947 when Jackie Robinson was signed to the Brooklyn Dodgers and in doing so broke the color barrier of not only baseball, but sports, Slaughter wasn't too happy. He in response tried to get the Cardinals players at the time to go on strike in protest against the signing of Robinson, one that went on to fail. On August 20, 1947, in a game against the Dodgers, Slaughter viciously spiked Jackie Robinson going into second in what many felt to be intentional.

The story of Enos Slaughter's awesome baseball ability can't be told without the other side of his questionable antics.

Though he never did get that elusive MVP, he did finish his St. Louis career with 10 all-star appearances, and three world series championships. He went on to finish his career with the Yankees winning one more World Series Championship there and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall-of-Fame in 1985. Enos starts in RF for our all-time WAR time.

Next: The Constant