St. Louis Cardinals All-Quarter Century Team

We are almost one-fourth of the way through the 21st century. It's wild to think that we've already seen nearly 25 baseball seasons come and go.

Jayson Stark of The Athletic recently published an MLB All-Quarter Century Team that highlighted the best players in the league since the 2000 season. Hall of Famers like Derek Jeter, Adrian Beltre, and David Ortiz made the cut along with future Hall of Famers like Mike Trout, Aaron Judge, Max Scherzer, and Clayton Kershaw.

Two former Cardinal legends also made the team: first baseman Albert Pujols and catcher Yadier Molina. The Cardinals were second to only the New York Yankees with two players on the team.

This inspired me to conjure up the St. Louis Cardinals All-Century Team.

Recently, I made an All-John Mozeliak team. This team consisted of players acquired by current president of baseball operations John Mozeliak. You can find that story here.

Some of these names may be duplicates, but there will certainly be new names. Without further ado, let's put together the best Cardinals since 2000.

Here is the St. Louis Cardinals All-Quarter Century team.

Infielders

Catcher - Yadier Molina

This was an easy choice. Molina easily surpasses all qualified catchers during this time. He's been one of the best catchers in all of baseball since the turn of the century.

Molina was a key member of two World Series teams; he was the best to ever defend behind home plate, and he was able to manage a pitching staff unlike any other catcher. While Yadi's bat may have lagged slightly behind his contemporaries, he was still a solid hitter for his position.

It would be unimaginable to put together a Cardinals team that includes the best players since 2000 and not have Yadier Molina on the roster. This was an easy choice.

First base - Albert Pujols

Speaking of easy choices.

Albert Pujols has been hands down the best first baseman for the Cardinals since 2000. His .326/.417/.614 slash line is otherworldly. He slugged 469 home runs with the club, and he walked more than he struck out as a Cardinal. Pujols accumulated 83.3 fWAR while wearing the Birds on the Bat, and he'll be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when the time comes.

Had Albert spent his entire career with the Cardinals, he would likely be mentioned with only Stan Musial as the greatest to ever play for the organization.

Second base - Kolten Wong

Things get a bit more confusing here. Fernando Vina played a strong second base for the Cardinals in the first four years of the 2000s and won two Gold Gloves, but he was there for only four years. Matt Carpenter is an option, but the bulk of his playing time was at third base rather than second base. Newer players like Brendan Donovan could be options.

I think the best option would be Kolten Wong. Wong played eight years in St. Louis, and he finished his time with a .261/.333/.384 slash line, two Gold Gloves, and an MVP-20 finish in 2019. Wong recently announced his retirement, and there's a chance he becomes a Cardinals Hall of Famer when the time comes.

Second base hasn't been as exceptional as catcher and first base were, but Kolten Wong is no slouch at the Keystone.

Third base - Scott Rolen

Isn't this a fun one?

At third base, the Cardinals have had Scott Rolen, David Freese, Matt Carpenter, and Nolan Arenado since the year 2000. That's quite an assortment of star players. However, one stands above the rest: Scott Rolen.

Before I break down Rolen's numbers, I want to first give some recognition to Matt Carpenter and Nolan Arenado. Marp slashed .261/.370/.438 as a third baseman with 77 home runs and 159 doubles, both great numbers. Carpenter also attended three All-Star Games, won a Silver Slugger, and received MVP votes in three different seasons as a Cardinal. What he lacked in defensive prowess, he made up for in offensive firepower.

Nolan Arenado has hit 111 home runs as a Cardinal with a .268/.326/.463 slash line. Arenado has also driven in 387 runners in half as many plate appearances as Matt Carpenter. Arenado has attended three All-Star Games since coming to St. Louis; he's won two Gold Gloves, one Silver Slugger, and he finished third in MVP voting in 2022.

Scott Rolen played only 661 games with the Cardinals, but he made the most of his time. He slashed .286/.370/.510 with 111 home runs, 453 RBIs, and a 128 wRC+. Counting the 2002 season when Rolen was traded to the Cardinals, he won four Gold Gloves, went to four All-Star Games, and finished fourth in MVP voting (2004). Rolen was a formidable player during the early 2000s.

Most importantly, Scott Rolen was able to do something Arenado and Carpenter couldn't do: win a World Series while with the Cardinals.

Shortstop - Edgar Renteria

This was a bit of an easy choice too, but I find it necessary to mention Paul DeJong and Jhonny Peralta as other strong shortstops since 2000. Masyn Winn is fast on his way to becoming one of the best shortstops this century, too.

Edgar Renteria, who will be enshrined in the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame later this year, was a great shortstop for the Cardinals during the first part of this century. He finished his time in St. Louis with a .293/.350/.425 slash line, 60 home runs, 111 stolen bases, and 288 runs batted in.

Renteria was a three-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glove recipient, and three-time Silver Slugger as a Cardinal.