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2004 St. Louis Cardinals season

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2004 St. Louis Cardinals
National League Champions
National League Central champions
DivisionCentral Division
BallparkBusch Memorial Stadium
CitySt. Louis, Missouri
Record105–57 (.644)
OwnersWilliam DeWitt, Jr.
ManagersTony La Russa
TelevisionFox Sports Midwest
(Joe Buck, Dan McLaughlin, Al Hrabosky)
KPLR
(Ricky Horton, Bob Carpenter, Rich Gould)
RadioKMOX
(Mike Shannon, Wayne Hagin, Bob Ramsey)
← 2003 Seasons 2005 →

The St. Louis Cardinals 2004 season was the team's 123rd season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 113th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 105-57 during the season, the most wins of any Cardinals team since 1944, and the first Cardinal team to win 100 or more games since 1985, and won the National League Central division by 13 games over the NL Wild-Card Champion Houston Astros. In the playoffs the Cardinals defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 3 games to 1 in the NLDS and the Astros 4 games to 3 in the NLCS to reach their first World Series since 1987. In the World Series the Cardinals faced the Boston Red Sox and were swept 4 games to 0. It was the final World Series played at Busch Memorial Stadium. Because the American League had home-field advantage as a result of winning the All-Star Game, Busch Memorial Stadium was where the Curse of the Bambino died.[1]

Catcher Mike Matheny, third baseman Scott Rolen, and outfielder Jim Edmonds won Gold Gloves this year.

The 2004 St. Louis Cardinals were the first team to lose the World Series to a "Moneyball" style team roster on the side of the Red Sox.

Offseason

Regular season

Opening Day starters

  • Jim Edmonds
  • Ray Lankford
  • Mike Matheny
  • Matt Morris
  • Albert Pujols
  • Édgar Rentería
  • Scott Rolen
  • Reggie Sanders
  • Tony Womack[6]

Summary

Acquired via trade from the Colorado Rockies on August 6, 2004, Larry Walker, customarily the Rockies' number three hitter, became the Cardinals' number two hitter.[7] The Cardinals already had Edmonds, Pujols and Rolen in the 3 through 5 spots.[8] Walker made his Cardinals debut on August 7, playing the New York Mets, and appeared as a pinch-hitter and struck out in the seventh inning. He drew a walk from Mike Stanton in the ninth inning and scored the game-winning run on a Yadier Molina single.[9]

Season standings

National League Central

NL Central
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
St. Louis Cardinals 105 57 .648 — 53‍–‍28 52‍–‍29
Houston Astros 92 70 .568 13 48‍–‍33 44‍–‍37
Chicago Cubs 89 73 .549 16 45‍–‍37 44‍–‍36
Cincinnati Reds 76 86 .469 29 40‍–‍41 36‍–‍45
Pittsburgh Pirates 72 89 .447 32½ 39‍–‍41 33‍–‍48
Milwaukee Brewers 67 94 .416 37½ 36‍–‍45 31‍–‍49


Record vs. opponents

2004 National League record

Source: [1]
Team AZ ATL CHC CIN COL FLA HOU LA MIL MTL NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL AL
Arizona — 2–4 4–2 3–3 6–13 3–4 2–4 3–16 3–3 0–6 3–4 1–5 2–4 7–12 5–14 1–5 6–12
Atlanta 4–2 — 3–3 2–4 4–2 14–5 3–3 4–3 4–2 15–4 12–7 10–9 4–2 3–3 4–3 2–4 8–10
Chicago 2–4 3–3 — 9–8 5–1 3–3 10–9 2–4 10–7 3–3 4–2 3–3 13–5 4–2 2–4 8–11 8–4
Cincinnati 3–3 4–2 8–9 — 3–3 4–2 6–11 4–2 10–8 4–2 3–3 3–3 9–10 2–4 3–3 5–14 5-7
Colorado 13–6 2–4 1–5 3–3 — 1–5 1–5 8–11 2–4 2–4 1–5 5–3 2–4 10–9 8–11 1–5 8–10
Florida 4–3 5–14 3–3 2–4 5–1 — 3–3 3–3 4–2 11–8 15–4 12–7 1–5 4–2 2–5 2–4 7–11
Houston 4–2 3–3 9–10 11–6 5–1 3-3 — 1–5 13–6 2–4 2–4 6–0 12–5 2–4 2–4 10–8 7–5
Los Angeles 16–3 3–4 4–2 2–4 11–8 3–3 5–1 — 3–3 4–3 3–3 1–5 6–0 10–9 10–9 2–4 10–8
Milwaukee 3–3 2–4 7–10 8–10 4–2 2–4 6–13 3–3 — 5–1 2–4 0–6 6–12 2–4 1–5 8–9 8–4
Montreal 6–0 4–15 3–3 2–4 4–2 8-11 4–2 3–4 1–5 — 9–10 7–12 4–2 1–6 1–5 3–3 7–11
New York 4–3 7–12 2–4 3–3 5–1 4–15 4–2 3–3 4–2 10–9 — 8–11 1–5 1–6 4–2 1–5 10–8
Philadelphia 5-1 9–10 3–3 3–3 3–5 7–12 0–6 5–1 6–0 12–7 11–8 — 3–3 5–1 2–4 3–3 9–9
Pittsburgh 4–2 2–4 5–13 10–9 4–2 5–1 5–12 0–6 12–6 2–4 5–1 3–3 — 3–3 5–1 5–12 2–10
San Diego 12–7 3–3 2–4 4–2 9–10 2–4 4–2 9–10 4–2 6–1 6–1 1–5 3–3 — 12–7 2–4 8–10
San Francisco 14–5 3–4 4–2 3–3 11–8 5–2 4–2 9–10 5–1 5–1 2–4 4–2 1–5 7–12 — 3–3 11–7
St. Louis 5–1 4–2 11–8 14–5 5–1 4-2 8–10 4–2 9–8 3–3 5–1 3–3 12–5 4–2 3–3 — 11–1


Transactions

Game log

2004 St. Louis Cardinals Game Log (105–57)
April: (12–11)
May: (15–12)
June: (19–9)
July: (20–5)
August: (21–7)
September: (16–12)
October: (2–1)

Postseason Game Log

2004 St. Louis Cardinals Postseason Game Log (7–8)
NLDS: (3–1)
NLCS: (4–3)
World Series: (0–4)

Roster

2004 St. Louis Cardinals
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

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
C Mike Matheny 122 385 95 .247 5 50
1B Albert Pujols 154 592 196 .331 46 123
2B Tony Womack 145 553 170 .307 5 38
SS Édgar Rentería 149 586 168 .287 10 72
3B Scott Rolen 142 500 157 .314 34 124
OF Ray Lankford 92 200 51 .255 6 22
OF Jim Edmonds 153 498 150 .301 42 111
OF Reggie Sanders 135 446 116 .260 22 67

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
John Mabry 87 240 71 .296 13 40
Marlon Anderson 113 253 60 .237 8 28
Roger Cedeño 95 200 53 .265 3 23
So Taguchi 109 179 52 .291 3 25
Héctor Luna 83 173 43 .249 3 22
Larry Walker 44 150 42 .280 11 27
Yadier Molina 51 135 36 .267 2 15
Cody McKay 35 74 17 .230 0 6
Colin Porter 23 35 11 .314 1 2
Bo Hart 11 13 2 .154 0 2

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Matt Morris 32 202 15 10 4.72 131
Jason Marquis 32 201.1 15 7 3.71 138
Woody Williams 31 189.2 11 8 4.18 131
Jeff Suppan 31 188 16 9 4.16 110
Chris Carpenter 28 182 15 5 3.46 152

Other pitchers

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Dan Haren 14 46 3 3 4.50 32
Randy Flores 9 14 1 0 1.93 7
Al Reyes 12 12 0 0 0.75 11

Relief pitchers

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Ray King 86 5 2 0 2.61 40
Julián Tavárez 77 7 4 4 2.38 48
Jason Isringhausen 74 4 2 47 2.87 71
Steve Kline 67 2 2 3 1.79 35
Cal Eldred 52 4 2 1 3.76 54
Kiko Calero 41 3 1 2 2.78 47
Mike Lincoln 13 3 2 0 5.19 14
Jason Simontacchi 13 0 0 0 5.28 3
Carmen Cali 10 0 0 0 8.59 8
Rick Ankiel 5 1 0 0 5.40 9
Josh Pearce 3 0 0 0 3.86 0
Cody McKay 1 0 0 0 0.00 0

NLDS

Main article: 2004 National League Division Series

In three playoff rounds in 2004, Walker combined to hit .293/.379/.707 with a pair of home runs in each tournament,[11] setting a franchise record for home runs hit by a left-handed batter in one postseason.[12] Walker made his playoff debut with the Cardinals in Game 1 of the NLDS versus the Dodgers, homering twice and scoring four runs in an 8−3 Cardinals win.[13] He became the first Cardinal with a multi-home run game in LDS play.[14]

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

St. Louis wins series, 3-1

Game Score Date
1 St. Louis 8, Los Angeles 3 October 5
2 St. Louis 8, Los Angeles 3 October 7
3 Los Angeles 2, St. Louis 0 October 9
4 St. Louis 6, Los Angeles 2 October 10

NLCS

Main article: 2004 National League Championship Series

In Game of the 1 National League Championship Series (NLCS) versus the Houston Astros, Walker was a home run short of hitting for the cycle.[14] The Cardinals proceeded to take a 2–0 Series lead before losing three straight in Houston. Returning home for Game 6, the Cardinals took a 4–3 lead into the ninth inning, but Houston tied it up. Jim Edmonds hit a walk-off homer in the bottom of the 12th to win the game. The next night, Albert Pujols helped St. Louis win Game 7 to clinch the series with a game tying hit. Scott Rolen brought him home on a two-run home run. Pujols was named the series MVP.

Game Score Date
1 St. Louis 10, Houston 7 October 13
2 St. Louis 6, Houston 4 October 14
3 Houston 5, St. Louis 2 October 16
4 Houston 6, St. Louis 5 October 17
5 Houston 3, St. Louis 0 October 18
6 St. Louis 6, Houston 4 October 20
7 St. Louis 5, Houston 2 October 21

World Series

Main article: 2004 World Series

When the Cardinals reached the World Series, Tony La Russa became the sixth manager to win pennants in both leagues, following Joe McCarthy, Yogi Berra, Alvin Dark, and the managers in the 1984 World Series, Sparky Anderson and Dick Williams.[15] La Russa had managed the Oakland Athletics to three straight pennants between 1988 and 1990 and winning the 1989 World Series.[15] La Russa would try to join Anderson as the only men to have managed teams to World Series championships in both leagues.[15] La Russa wore number 10 in tribute to Anderson (who wore 10 while manager of the Cincinnati Reds) and to indicate he was trying to win the team's tenth championship.[16]

The Cardinals met a what was a potent Red Sox squad fresh off four straight victories over the Yankees following an 0–3 deficit in the ALCS. A comeback in this fashion in any North American major sports league had previously occurred only in the NHL. This was the third time the two teams have faced each other in the Fall Classic, with the Cardinals winning the previous two in 1946 and 1967. The Cardinals were again without a key player for the World Series: ace pitcher Chris Carpenter, who, after going 15–5, tweaked his shoulder in September and missed the entire post-season.

Making his World Series debut in Game 1, Walker collected four hits in five at bats with a home run and two doubles.[17] His four-hit outing tied a Cardinals World Series record, becoming the seventh overall and first to so since Lou Brock in 1967, also against Boston.[14]

The Cardinals were swept by the Red Sox in four games and struggled to hit, never taking a lead at any point in the series. Pujols, Rolen, and Edmonds, the normally fearsome 3-4-5 hitters for the Cardinals, were six-for-45 with one RBI. The club batted .190 with a .562 OPS overall. Walker was one of very few exceptions, batting .357 with a 1.366 OPS. His two home runs accounted for the only two hit by the entire Cardinals team.[18] In the 2004 postseason, Walker scored 21 percent (14 of 68) of Cardinals runs scored.[14]

Game Score Date
1 Boston 11, St. Louis 9 October 23
2 Boston 6, St. Louis 2 October 24
3 Boston 4, St. Louis 1 October 26
4 Boston 3, St. Louis 0 October 27

Awards and honors

Gold Gloves

Silver Sluggers

NL Comeback Player of the Year

NLCS MVP

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Memphis Redbirds Pacific Coast League Danny Sheaffer
AA Tennessee Smokies Southern League Mark DeJohn
A Palm Beach Cardinals Florida State League Tom Nieto
A Peoria Chiefs Midwest League Joe Cunningham, Jr.
A-Short Season New Jersey Cardinals New York–Penn League Tommy Shields
Rookie Johnson City Cardinals Appalachian League Tom Kidwell

LEAGUE CO-CHAMPIONS: Tennessee[24][25]

References

  1. ^ Shaughnessy, Dan (2005). Reversing the Curse. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0-618-51748-0.
  2. ^ https://www.baseball-reference.com/c/carpech01.shtml
  3. ^ J. D. Drew Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  4. ^ https://www.baseball-reference.com/b/benesal01.shtml
  5. ^ John Mabry Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  6. ^ 2004 St. Louis Cardinals Roster by Baseball Almanac
  7. ^ ESPN.com News Services (August 6, 2004). "Rockies get three prospects for Walker". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
  8. ^ Jenkins, Lee (October 14, 2004). "New no. 2 hitters aren't second-rate". The New York Times. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  9. ^ Associated Press (August 8, 2004). "Walker walks, then Molina wins it". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
  10. ^ Larry Walker Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  11. ^ Jaffe, Jay (December 15, 2016). "JAWS and the 2017 Hall of Fame ballot: Larry Walker". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
  12. ^ Miklasz, Bernie (October 13, 2014). "A closer look at Cards' homer bash". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  13. ^ Anderson, Dave (October 6, 2004). "Walker puts on show for show-me Missourians". The New York Times. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  14. ^ a b c d "Larry Walker stats, fantasy & news (Career biography)". MLB.com. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  15. ^ a b c Powers, John (October 23, 2004). "La Russa Keeping Options Open". Boston Globe. p. E7.
  16. ^ Leach, Matthew (October 28, 2006). "Cards secure 10th World Series title". MLB.com. stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com. Archived from the original on February 9, 2011. Retrieved February 21, 2011.
  17. ^ Finley, Bill (October 24, 2004). "Walker is dangerous when others give way". The New York Times. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  18. ^ "2004 World Series: Boston Red Sox over St. Louis Cardinals (4–0)". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  19. ^ a b "Baseball-Reference 2004 Season Award Index". Baseball-Reference.com.
  20. ^ Goold, Derrick (December 24, 2011). "Cardinals recast the 'MV3'". stltoday.com. Retrieved June 3, 2012.
  21. ^ a b c "Baseball-Reference NL Gold Glove Award Winners". Baseball-Reference.com.
  22. ^ a b "Baseball-Reference NL Silver Slugger Award Winners". Baseball-Reference.com.
  23. ^ "2004 League Championship Series – STL vs. HOU". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  24. ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
  25. ^ Baseball America 2005 Annual Directory
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