The Day The Browns Became League Champions

Chet Laabs produced pipes to help win a war and home runs to help win a pennant.

RetroSimba

How Browns Achieved Record-Setting Start In 1944

Though the Cardinals were two-time defending National League champions, the American League Browns became the darlings of the St. Louis sports scene early in the 1944 season.

RetroSimba

Surge At The Six-Spot Could Signal End Of The Glove-First Shortstop

As an All-Star shortstop in the 1970s and `80s, Larry Bowa recalls having a clear job description:

Fox Sports

Cardinals' History Began With Cleveland's Heartbreak

As if to add immolation to insult, the shaky-kneed National League scheduled the Cleveland Spiders’ 1899 opener at St. Louis against the newly christened, smartly garbed, but strangely familiar St. Louis Perfectos.

Bird Land

The Hall Of Fame Case: David Eckstein

David Gritcake Eckstein. Sorry, his actual middle name is Mark, but after years of watching him and listening to people talk about him, I forgot that wasn't his actual name. While Eckstein finished with plenty of respectable numbers -- 1,414 hits, 123 stolen bases, two years leading the league in hit-by-pitches -- he also tallied only 35 career home runs and .701 OPS in 1,311 Major League games.

Cut4

Matt Adams Makes History In Cardinals Extra Inning Triumph

Matt Adams’ two home run performance Wednesday night made baseball history.

KMOV

How Marty Marion Won MVP By One Point

Marty Marion of the Cardinals was the first shortstop to win the National League Most Valuable Player Award _ and he did it by the narrowest of margins.

Retro Simba

Whitey Herzog: The Pride Of New Athens

They would always wait. Maybe they'd play catch, or bottle caps. Maybe they'd kill time by trading cards, or arguing over who was better, Ted Williams or Stan Musial. Maybe, if they were lucky, the Washington Senators were playing the Browns in St. Louis, and Sens pitcher Mickey Haefner was holding court at his house just beyond center field.

STL Today

Better Than I Thought: Marty Marion

I’ve long felt that Marty Marion was wildly overrated. Maybe it’s because he won an award he didn’t really deserve. “Slats” won the 1944 NL MVP with a OPS+ of 91. No, you read that right. Marion was a negative at the plate and still won the MVP Award. Who says the BBWAA doesn’t value defense? At least back then, apparently they did. In Marion’s case, I thought that it might be to the extreme.

Play A Hard Nine

The League Award: 1931-69

To the surprise of no one, Albert Pujols won his third MVP award this year. Since entering the majors, Pujols has more or less been in the award-winning business, and those MVPs will count nicely toward a Hall of Fame induction. (I could be presumptuous here, but as Albert's about to enter his 10th season, I can't imagine him not making it off his accomplishments to date.)

The Hardball Times

You Could Look It Up: On Droughts & Drafts

On Monday, Kevin Goldstein wrote about a talent drought as far as the lack of prospective left-side infielders coming into the minor leagues in recent years. While Kevin’s article suggests that this may be the result of systemic changes in the way young players are treated before turning pro, it is also true that such fluctuations in the player supply have happened before. In the 1980s it was catchers; for a brief period it seemed as if the future of backstopping was going to look like Ron Karkovice and not Joe Mauer, so few were the attractive prospects at the position.

Baseball Prospectus

Prospectus Hit & Run: The Bleeding Edge Of A Whole New Hall Game

The Baseball Hall of Fame announced its 2008 Veterans Committee voting results, and for the first time since 2001, the VC—which has changed constitutions several times since then—elected a new member to the Hall. Alas, that player was not longtime Cubs third baseman Ron Santo, who has long been stumped for in this space and elsewhere. Instead, it was Joe Gordon getting the call, the second baseman for the Yankees (1938-1943, 1946) and Indians (1947-1950).

Baseball Prospectus

Joe Torre Up For 2009 Hall Of Fame Class

Contemporary baseball fans know Joe Torre as a manager, a wildly successful one in his last two incarnations. And since a fan born on the day of Torre's last Major League at-bat is already in his or her 30s, that perception is understandable.

Cardinals Official Site

Snuffy Stirnweiss

The stat lines just leap out at you, aggressively commanding attention and respect:

The Hardball Times

Joe Torre, The Player, Among 10 Finalists For Hall

Former Cardinal Joe Torre, a Hall of Fame manager by any stretch of the definition, is one of 10 former players announced this afternoon as finalists for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame through the new veterans’ selection process.

Birdland

Vern Stephens Among 10 Finalists For Hall

Ten former major-league players, all of whom began their careers before 1942 and (excuse the editorial comment) none more deserving than Joe Gordon, are finalists for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and the list includes former St. Louis Browns shortstop and All-Star Vern Stephens.

Birdland