1971 St. Louis Cardinals season

This article is about the Major League Baseball team. For the National Football League team, see 1971 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season.

1971 St. Louis Cardinals
Division	Eastern Division
Ballpark	Busch Memorial Stadium
City	St. Louis, Missouri
Record	90–72 (.556)
Owners	August "Gussie" Busch
Managers	Red Schoendienst
Television	KSD-TV
Radio	KMOX (Jack Buck, Jim Woods)
Seasons

The 1971 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 90th season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 80th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 90–72 during the season and finished second in the National League East, seven games behind the eventual NL pennant and World Series champion Pittsburgh Pirates.

Offseason

• October 5, 1970: Dick Allen was traded by the Cardinals to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Ted Sizemore and Bob Stinson.
• October 20, 1970: Carl Taylor and Jim Ellis were traded by the Cardinals to the Milwaukee Brewers for Jerry McNertney, George Lauzerique, and Jesse Huggins (minors).

Regular season

The Cardinals scrapped their traditional buttoned jerseys for T-shirt style uniform tops, and would keep them until they switched back in 1992.

Third baseman Joe Torre won the MVP Award this year, batting .363, with 24 home runs and 137 RBIs. Pitcher Bob Gibson won a Gold Glove this year, and threw a no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 14.

Season standings

NL East

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Pittsburgh Pirates	97	65	.599	—	52‍–‍28	45‍–‍37
St. Louis Cardinals	90	72	.556	7	45‍–‍36	45‍–‍36
Chicago Cubs	83	79	.512	14	44‍–‍37	39‍–‍42
New York Mets	83	79	.512	14	44‍–‍37	39‍–‍42
Montreal Expos	71	90	.441	25½	36‍–‍44	35‍–‍46
Philadelphia Phillies	67	95	.414	30	34‍–‍47	33‍–‍48

Record vs. opponents

1971 National League record Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MON	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL
Atlanta	—	5–7	9–9	9–9	9–9	7–5	7–5	8–4	4–8	11–7	7–11	6–6
Chicago	7–5	—	6–6	5–7	8–4	8–10	11–7	11–7	6–12	9–3	3–9	9–9
Cincinnati	9–9	6–6	—	5–13	7–11	7–5	8–4	5–7	5–7	10–8	9–9	8–4
Houston	9–9	7–5	13–5	—	8–10	4–8	5–7	8–4	4–8	10–8	9–9	2–10
Los Angeles	9–9	4–8	11–7	10–8	—	8–4	5–7	7–5	4–8	13–5	12–6	6–6
Montreal	5–7	10–8	5–7	8–4	4–8	—	9–9	6–12	7–11	6–5	7–5	4–14
New York	5–7	7–11	4–8	7–5	7–5	9–9	—	13–5	10–8	7–5	4–8	10–8
Philadelphia	4-8	7–11	2–10	3–9	5–7	6–10	5–13	—	6–12	4–8	6–6	7–11
Pittsburgh	8–4	12–6	7–5	8–4	8–4	11–7	8–10	12–6	—	9–3	3–9	11–7
San Diego	7–11	3–9	8–10	8–10	5–13	5–6	5–7	8–4	3–9	—	5–13	4–8
San Francisco	11–7	9–3	9–9	9–9	6–12	5–7	8–4	6–6	9–3	13–5	—	5–7
St. Louis	6–6	9–9	4–8	10–2	6–6	14–4	8–10	11–7	7–11	8–4	7–5	—

Opening Day starters

• Matty Alou
• Lou Brock
• José Cardenal
• Joe Hague
• Julián Javier
• Jerry Reuss
• Ted Simmons
• Ted Sizemore
• Joe Torre

Notable transactions

• June 8, 1971: Keith Hernandez was drafted by the Cardinals in the 42nd round of the 1971 Major League Baseball Draft.
• June 11, 1971: Leron Lee and Fred Norman were traded by the Cardinals to the San Diego Padres for Al Santorini.
• June 15, 1971: Mike Torrez was traded by the Cardinals to the Montreal Expos for Bob Reynolds.

Roster

1971 St. Louis Cardinals
Roster
Pitchers 43 Rudy Arroyo 34 George Brunet 32 Steve Carlton 40 Bob Chlupsa 22 Reggie Cleveland 28 Moe Drabowsky 45 Bob Gibson 36 Santiago Guzmán 37 Dennis Higgins 39 Al Hrabosky 46 Mike Jackson 35 Frank Linzy 47 Fred Norman 31 Harry Parker 48 Daryl Patterson 49 Jerry Reuss 37 Bob Reynolds 34 Al Santorini 44 Don Shaw 42 Chuck Taylor 48 Mike Torrez 21 Stan Williams 36 Chris Zachary		Catchers 15 Jerry McNertney 23 Ted Simmons 19 Bob Stinson Infielders 16 Jim Beauchamp 10 Bob Burda 12 Joe Hague 25 Julián Javier  1 Ted Kubiak 27 Dal Maxvill 29 Milt Ramírez 11 Dick Schofield 41 Ted Sizemore  9 Joe Torre		Outfielders 17 Matty Alou 20 Lou Brock  1 José Cardenal 38 José Cruz 37 Leron Lee 26 Luis Meléndez 24 Jorge Roque		Manager  2 Red Schoendienst Coaches  8 Vern Benson 14 Ken Boyer  3 George Kissell 33 Barney Schultz

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
2B	Ted Sizemore	135	478	126	.264	3	42
3B	Joe Torre	161	634	230	.363	24	137
RF	José Cardenal	89	301	73	.243	7	48
1B	Joe Hague	129	380	86	.226	16	54

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Matty Alou	149	609	192	.315	7	74
Julián Javier	90	259	67	.259	3	28
Luis Meléndez	88	173	39	.225	0	11
Jerry McNertney	56	128	37	.289	4	22
Bob Stinson	17	19	4	.211	0	1
Milt Ramírez	4	11	3	.273	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Steve Carlton	37	273.1	20	9	3.56	172
Bob Gibson	31	245.2	16	13	3.04	185
Reggie Cleveland	34	222	12	12	4.01	148

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Al Santorini	19	49.2	0	2	3.81	21
Santiago Guzmán	2	10	0	0	0.00	13

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Don Shaw	45	7	2	2	2.65	19
Rudy Arroyo	9	0	1	0	5.40	5
George Brunet	7	0	1	0	5.79	4
Fred Norman	4	0	0	0	12.27	4
Bob Chlupsa	1	0	0	0	9.00	1

Awards and honors

• Lou Brock, National League Stolen Base Leader, 64
• Joe Torre, National League Most Valuable Player
• Joe Torre, Hutch Award

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Tulsa Oilers	American Association	Warren Spahn and Gary Geiger
AA	Arkansas Travelers	Texas League	Jack Krol
A	Modesto Reds	California League	Roy Majtyka
A	St. Petersburg Cardinals	Florida State League	Joe Cunningham
A	Cedar Rapids Cardinals	Midwest League	Bobby Dews
Rookie	GCL Cardinals	Gulf Coast League	Tom Burgess

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Arkansas

External links

• 1971 St. Louis Cardinals
• 1971 St. Louis Cardinals team page at www.baseball-almanac.com