Two moments that truly ended the golden age of Cardinals Baseball

reHistorically, the Cardinals are the gold standard of the National League. They've won 11 World Series titles, the most in National League History and second only to the Yankees' 27 titles. They've also won 19 National League pennants and 12 NL Central titles, while earning five wild card berths.

And while there have been a lot of great moments over the years, even some recently, it has been quite a long time since the Cardinals have won a World Series, much less been to one. Hopefully, this rebuild will work out in their favor and usher in a new era of great Cardinals baseball, but the previous golden age has long passed, and these two moments in franchise history ultimately contributed heavily to that.

1. Passing on Terry Francona

After the Cardinals won their most recent World Series title in 2011, Tony La Russa then decided to walk away, forcing the Cardinals to begin a search for a new manager. They ultimately landed on beloved former catcher Mike Matheny, and it was a popular move at first.

However, Terry Francona had just been let go by the Red Sox after a historic collapse, but his track record preceded him. He won two World Series titles managing the Red Sox, including 2004 when Boston swept the Cardinals. He was available and had interest in managing again, but the Cardinals ultimately passed.

Matheny did well in his first few years as the team's manager, but things started to go south in 2015 after the Cardinals lost the NLDS to the Cubs. They then missed the postseason three straight years, and Matheny was ultimately fired in 2018.

Now, blaming the manager isn't always fair. They aren't the ones that put together a roster, but Francona was ultimately picked up by the Guardians, and he won three American League Manager of the Year awards and even took them to the World Series in 2016. The Cardinals have only won one playoff series since 2015.

The safer bet would have been to hire Francona and have his championship pedigree instead of going for somebody with no managerial experience at any level.

2. Losing Albert Pujols

This may get mixed reactions, and I understand why. The immediate effects were pretty minimal. The Cardinals went out and signed Carlos Beltran to fill the hole, and he was a two-time All-Star in St. Louis. Not only that, but signing Pujols forced the Angels to give up a draft pick to the Cardinals, which they used to draft Michael Wacha, who was the 2013 NLCS MVP and played a big role in getting the team back to the World Series.

By 2014, reality began to set in. The Cardinals had good offensive players, but nobody that could even come close to replicating what Pujols did for 11 years. Oscar Taveras' death certainly played a role, but not having Pujols forced the Cardinals to chase offense in trades, and one trade in particular, the Marcell Ozuna deal, ultimately broke the pitching pipeline.

Yes, Pujols declined with the Angels. His numbers there were nowhere near what they were in St. Louis. His production would certainly have declined even if he stayed with the Cardinals, but beyond just that, his leadership was missed, and I don't think it's any coincidence that when he came back in 2022, the offense improved.

Just having that presence around would have been huge for the Cardinals, and they probably could have beaten the Giants in the 2012 and 2014 NLCS matchups if Pujols were still around.

I realize this is a hot take, but I believe it would have worked out for the better if the Cardinals had matched the offer the Angels gave him. I know it's a lot of money, but you just can't replace somebody like Pujols, no matter how hard you try, and that goes far beyond his production.

The Cardinals haven't won a title since Pujols left either.

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