Cardinals' Top Five Relief Pitchers

Here is Anne Rogers’ ranking of the top 5 relief pitchers in Cardinals history.

St. Louis Official Site

Curt Simmons Was One Of Best Bargains For Cardinals

The Phillies gave up on Curt Simmons and the Cardinals benefited.

RetroSimba

Why Cubs Accused Cardinals Of Having Scoreboard Spy

On a rainy St. Louis Sunday in 1961, the Cubs became convinced the Cardinals had someone inside the Busch Stadium scoreboard who was stealing the signs of catcher Sammy Taylor.

RetroSimba

Cardinals Threw Roadblock On Dodgers' 1959 Pennant Path

Facing the Cardinals in the last week of the season during the heat of a pennant race, the Dodgers started Sandy Koufax, used a record number of pinch-hitters and rallied for three runs in the ninth on Frank Howard’s home run, but still lost.

RetroSimba

Dick LeMay: Consistent Winner In Cardinals' System

Dick LeMay was a pitcher who impressed Carl Hubbell, earned a complete-game win in his first major-league start against Bob Gibson and was the ace on Cardinals minor-league teams managed by Warren Spahn.

RetroSimba

Dominic Leone Makes A Strong Case As Cardinals Closer

It’s been fun to watch the parade of Cardinals closers walk in from the bullpen through the decades. All of the different personalities, backgrounds, body types and specialty pitches. Turn up the pressure, crank up the noise, make the stadium shake. Give them the baseball, wait for the adrenaline rush, put the first batter in the box, and get the cold beverages ready as they secure the 25th, 26th and 27th outs to seal the win with a hiss.

The Athletic

Polo Grounds Was A Haven For Stan Musial

In the last game the Cardinals played against the Giants at the Polo Grounds in New York, Stan Musial delivered a performance worthy of Broadway.

RetroSimba

How Bob Gibson Brought Out The Best In Bob Bruce

Over a two-year period, when he lost far more than he won, Astros pitcher Bob Bruce prevailed in a series of duels with Cardinals ace Bob Gibson.

RetroSimba

Von McDaniel & His Sizzling Start With Cardinals

When Von McDaniel joined his brother, Lindy, on the 1957 Cardinals staff and began shutting down opponents, comparisons were made to another sibling pitching duo in St. Louis lore, Dizzy and Paul Dean.

RetroSimba

How Cardinals Got To Be Somewhere In Swamps Of Jersey

On a trip to Brooklyn, the Cardinals took a detour to Jersey City and played as if they were lost.

RetroSimba

The Story Of The Final Game At Original Busch Stadium

The final day of baseball at the original Busch Stadium, formerly known as Sportsman’s Park, featured a melancholy mix of star power and nostalgia, with an unusual twist at the end.

RetroSimba

Did Trevor Rosenthal Have Best Season Ever By A Cardinals Closer?

On Wednesday evening, wedged into that small window of time between the end of Game 1 of the World Series and the start of Game 2, Major League Baseball will present its reliever of the year awards to the top closers in the National League and American League. The awards, named for Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera, respectively, do not have a list of finalists for us to dissect, though it’s a safe (save?) bet that Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal received consideration for the NL award.

Bird Land

The Short, Intriguing Cardinals Career Of Frank Barnes

Perhaps the most significant achievement in the Cardinals career of pitcher Frank Barnes is that he was chosen to be the pinch-runner for Stan Musial after the St. Louis slugger got his 3,000th hit.

RetroSimba

What You Should Know About Frank Robinson, Cardinals

My favorite story from spring training 2014 has been Orioles manager Buck Showalter assigning a Baltimore prospect to write a report on the career of Frank Robinson after the minor-league player admitted he was clueless about the Hall of Fame slugger who became baseball’s first black manager.

RetroSimba

Cardinals Collapse Part Of Larry Jackson's Painful 1961

When the Cardinals yielded 10 runs to the Phillies June 21, it marked the first time in 50 years and only the second time in franchise history that St. Louis lost by surrendering double-digit runs to an opponent after holding them scoreless for the first six innings.

Retro Simba

How Rare Is Fernando Salas 44-Pitch Save?

The last time I wrote about new St. Louis Cardinals closer Fernando Salas here, his then-perfect 10-for-10 record in save opportunities was quickly ended.

The Cardinal Nation Blog

Fernando Salas: Fastest Cardinal To 10-For-10 In Saves

When St. Louis Cardinals reliever Fernando Salas picked up his tenth save in ten opportunities on Tuesday night at Busch Stadium against San Francisco, he joined two others in a tie for the sixth-longest perfect save run to begin a Cardinals season.

The Cardinal Nation Blog

As Ryan Franklin Leaves Closer Role, He Should Get Out Cheers, Not Boos

Ryan Franklin pitched 304 games in the major leagues before earning his first career save, for the Cardinals on Sept. 4, 2007.

Sports Page

Cardinals Nearly Traded Bob Gibson To The Washington Senators

The recent death of former big-league first baseman R.C. Stevens prompts me to tell the story of how the Cardinals almost dealt Bob Gibson to the Washington Senators.

Retro Simba

Dusty Baker Survived Cubs, So Watch Out, Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals complete their big series against the Cincinnati Reds this afternoon, and no matter how the game goes, or, for that matter, the rest of the season, baseball fans ought to tip their caps to Reds manager Dusty Baker.

STL Today