Overview: Pitching and defense, that is the name of the saintly game. We have come to the conclusion that the best way to preach our Word to the masses is by deflecting their team's hitting and causing their driven orbs to fall lightly into our fielders' hands, and then pushing just enough of our own runs across to be victorious. A 2-0 victory means just as much in the standings as a 14-5 one, after all, but only the former will cause people to look back upon the game as a turning point in their lives. We were nearly victorious in this aim last year despite losing some of our less saintly men, and we feel we can only be better in the years to come. That was our third 2nd place finish in 5 years. The bridesmaids will become the brides soon. Just you wait.
Pitching
Mike "Saint" Hebert
Code:
Year Team Age G W L IP H R ER HR BB SO CG Sh ERA
1900 Saint Louis - AA 29 46 24 19 363.1 386 170 132 0 103 125 22 4 3.27
1901 Saint Louis - NL 30 12 2 4 62.1 80 47 32 0 19 23 3 0 4.62
1902 Saint Louis - NL 31 37 23 13 319.0 296 118 77 0 87 89 33 3 2.17
Mike Hebert was dispatched to the minor leagues for much of 1902 and told to find a way to control his fast pitch, for to the Cardinals control is a virtue. He returned a changed man, and we can only suppose there will be more of this in the future.
Trevor Munzie
Code:
Year Team Age G W L IP H R ER HR BB SO CG Sh ERA
1901 Saint Louis - NL 20 23 13 10 196.2 207 105 65 5 67 92 21 2 2.97
1902 Saint Louis - NL 21 35 24 10 302.2 261 104 75 4 73 55 33 4 2.23
Trevor Munzie is not like most young phenoms. He lacks a blinding "cyclone" style out pitch, preferring to spread the divine glory of the assist and the put-out to the men behind him. He is still a highly effective player, though, and the fact that he does not expend himself on any one batter allows him to complete nearly every game that he starts.
Dan Hanson
Code:
Year Team Age G W L IP H R ER HR BB SO CG Sh ERA
1900 Saint Louis - AA 21 26 7 6 83.1 104 62 40 2 46 21 1 0 4.32
1901 Saint Louis - NL 22 5 3 2 41.1 44 23 12 0 28 21 3 1 2.61
1902 Saint Louis - NL 23 35 15 17 290.2 252 124 77 3 130 77 29 3 2.38
If Dan Hanson has a fault, it is that he lacks the kind of oratory skills that Trevor Munzie and Saint Herbert possess. Rather than deliver a stunning speech before each game that moves his teammates to score enough runs behind him to win, he rather hopes that they'll do well. We think this is a skill he will acquire over time.
Gianfrocco "The Love Hunter" Amocacci
Code:
Year Team Age G W L IP H R ER HR BB SO CG Sh ERA
1901 Saint Louis - NL 26 4 0 0 4.1 4 3 1 0 1 2 0 0 2.08
1902 Saint Louis - NL 27 29 15 10 227.1 168 81 45 4 72 62 22 3 1.78
Amocacci, whose name literally does mean "the hunter of love" in his native Italian, quickly became a fan favorite with his "all or nothing, deus vult" attitude. He might have been the most effective pitcher on the team when he did pitch, although it took him a month or so to get settled into the rotation.
Coffey O'Malley
Code:
Year Team Age G W L IP H R ER HR BB SO CG Sh ERA
1900 New York - NL 30 65 23 14 340.1 321 126 91 10 105 93 15 0 2.41
1901 New York - NL 31 12 5 6 102.1 109 46 36 3 21 33 9 1 3.17
1901 Cincinnati - NL 31 19 12 6 159.0 191 102 80 4 65 49 15 1 4.53
1901 Total - NL 31 31 17 12 261.1 300 148 116 7 86 82 24 2 3.99
1902 Saint Louis - NL 32 19 6 7 135.2 135 72 62 4 57 41 12 0 4.11
For every man who finds the right way, it is necessary to point out those who have gone down the wrong path. We expected good things from Coffey O'Malley, who was 40-26 in the 2 years leading up to 1902. Sadly, he proved himself unable to keep his fast ball or his slow ball from meandering their way outside of the strike zone and as such was relegated to occasional relief appearances by July.
Everyone Else
Code:
Name Age G W L IP H R ER HR BB SO CG Sh ERA
(none)
Catcher and First Base
Scott Syrett C(98)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1900 Saint Louis - NL 28 129 468 137 16 3 0 49 61 27 35 0 .293
1901 Saint Louis - NL 29 108 391 102 17 3 1 44 30 24 51 0 .261
1902 Saint Louis - NL 30 101 385 98 9 1 0 44 25 8 31 0 .255
Do not look for Scott Syrett to deliver 5 hits in a lopsided blow-out victory. Syrett is more the type who approaches each game with a kind of stoic calm, whose ability to stay in this league is predicated on avoidance of mistakes. It may be time for another to take the majority of catcher starts for this team, but that is no knock on Syrett.
Horst Verhaar C(43)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1900 Cleveland - AA 23 20 71 16 2 1 2 10 11 5 6 0 .225
1901 Saint Louis - NL 24 34 124 29 3 1 0 11 13 6 22 0 .234
1902 Saint Louis - NL 25 54 184 45 10 1 0 24 15 6 20 0 .245
Verhaar might just be positioning himself to take over the starting job. He has beatifically raised his average by 10 points each of the last two seasons and in addition he set a career high by throwing out a full 40.3% of all baserunners rude enough to steal on the Cardinals.
Paul "No Comment" Woolcock 1B(115)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1900 Saint Louis - AA 29 104 356 128 17 7 2 55 52 16 22 8 .360
1901 Saint Louis - NL 30 140 570 189 33 17 3 69 83 28 72 28 .332
1902 Saint Louis - NL 31 122 502 128 19 4 1 52 59 18 44 35 .255
After years of being the kind of players teams held their nose for in the field so they could take advantage of his hitting talents, Woolcock finally appeared to have found a position suited for him. Sadly, he may be the kind of person who needs "drama" in their lives; he chose to be very average with the bat following four seasons in which he did not once hit under .332. In the last month, Woody Randles had taken over his position.
Everybody Else
Code:
Player Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
(none)
Infield
Dave "Dominicani" Bulwer 2B(93)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1900 Saint Louis - AA 29 154 628 191 21 13 8 69 127 125 6 0 .304
1901 Saint Louis - NL 30 116 422 124 19 10 2 42 69 82 7 57 .294
1902 Saint Louis - NL 31 94 369 105 17 6 6 43 79 60 4 65 .285
Just having the Dominicani in the lineup for a whole year might be enough to push this team over the top. Bulwer suffered a knee injury last year that forced him to miss almost 2 months of time, but he came back even better than before. Was it divine intervention? That is between us and our clergy-men.
Woody Randles 3B(62), 2B(39), 1B(27), SS(12)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1900 Washington - AA 25 142 524 143 16 10 10 56 74 67 35 16 .273
1901 Washington - AL 26 139 531 160 28 12 11 78 115 111 19 9 .301
1902 Saint Louis - NL 27 137 506 153 21 9 13 80 86 104 17 19 .302
Randles was nothing if not earnest. He never once complained, even as the requirements of the team had him play all around the infield. He was best at first base, decent at second, not good at third, and awful at shortstop. Next year we expect him to have a single role, even if it means trading somebody else.
John "The Primary" Acton 3B(79)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1900 Washington - AA 29 142 535 126 20 6 8 62 69 48 33 2 .236
1901 Washington - AL 30 7 5 1 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 .200
1901 Chicago - AL 30 106 393 104 22 6 4 46 61 36 35 1 .265
1901 Total - AL 30 113 398 105 23 6 4 48 61 37 35 1 .264
1902 Saint Louis - NL 31 90 279 54 10 1 4 29 27 43 18 1 .194
Some critics have said that it was the Primary, John Acton, who was responsible for the team not getting over the hump last year. They don't understand how badly Woody Randles played the position. Do not get us wrong, the man tried, but he was simply not suited for 3rd base. Acton kept the defense in the game, even if his bat was, shall we say, "holy".
Brian Roadley SS(115), 2B(1)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1902 Saint Louis - NL 26 116 368 63 9 4 1 37 38 12 34 7 .171
The 26-year old Roadley finally got a chance to play in the majors, but his first may have also been his last. In addition to not hitting at all, he really wasn't that terrific with the glove either.
Everybody Else
Code:
Player Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
Roger DeMowbray 32 56 88 15 5 0 0 5 7 3 7 3 .170 SS(49), 3B(2), 2B(2)
Cal Roddis 29 7 29 7 0 0 0 2 2 0 2 1 .241 2B(5), SS(1)
Outfield
Galimberto Eccelino LF(94) NL Gold Glove LF
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1900 Philadelphia - NL 29 131 386 88 18 4 8 39 61 45 31 11 .228
1901 Philadelphia - NL 30 17 26 10 0 2 0 1 7 4 4 1 .385
1901 Saint Louis - NL 30 20 56 14 4 0 1 11 7 5 7 0 .250
1901 Total - NL 30 37 82 24 4 2 1 12 14 9 11 1 .293
1902 Saint Louis - NL 31 105 354 83 12 9 6 54 62 58 24 9 .234
Eccelino was expected to be a good clutch hitter who could occasionally play in the field but turned out to be precisely the opposite. Pressed into regular duty, he continued to fail to provide hits - this is the same man, remember, who scored 150 runs in 1899 - but shined the glove in such a great manner that despite only playing in the field 2 out of 3 games he won the league Gold Glove award.
Cooley Wellwood LF(48), RF(2)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1900 Saint Louis - AA 29 101 135 46 8 1 0 25 16 11 12 1 .341
1901 Saint Louis - NL 30 55 186 48 9 5 1 25 28 18 12 7 .258
1902 Saint Louis - NL 31 81 223 60 16 0 1 25 20 14 19 2 .269
Wellwood and Eccelino provided an excellent "platoon" combination in 1902 - Wellwood played when the team needed an offensive spark, Eccelino when the defense would be the name of the game. Although the team would likely be better served by having one man in there at all times, the club has more pressing needs at the moment.
Fred Jacobsen CF(108)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1900 Philadelphia - NL 24 115 498 123 13 11 8 39 90 37 48 50 .247
1901 Philadelphia - NL 25 71 301 74 10 2 11 34 53 27 35 21 .246
1901 Saint Louis - NL 25 43 169 34 2 3 1 8 23 19 29 11 .201
1901 Total - NL 25 114 470 108 12 5 12 42 76 46 64 32 .230
1902 Saint Louis - NL 26 110 409 71 10 6 8 37 53 29 30 34 .174
Only 27 years of age, Fred Jacobsen is at a crossroads. He fielded daintily enough to earn his 5th consecutive Gold Glove in center field, but he hit so poorly even we had to take notice. Can he ever learn to bat? In St. Louis, we can always hope that a leopard can change his spots. It will take lots and lots of prayer.
Dace MacSporran CF(48), RF(1), LF(1)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1901 Saint Louis - NL 23 24 109 35 2 2 0 10 16 4 8 7 .321
1902 Saint Louis - NL 24 57 150 33 7 3 0 15 22 5 17 13 .220
MacSporran was hitting .351 in the minors and had done well in a September call-up the year before, so the Cardinals expected that he would provide the spark that Jacobsen lacked. Strangely, he did not hit well in the majors. That could be due to his feeling overmatched in center (he played right field before this year), but whatever it is, if he can fix the issue the CF job is his.
Toby Mudd RF(138)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1900 Saint Louis - AA 24 103 235 67 6 2 3 36 37 31 13 1 .285
1901 Saint Louis - NL 25 110 419 126 20 2 4 54 54 39 39 6 .301
1902 Saint Louis - NL 26 140 577 191 19 6 5 81 92 35 38 12 .331
With so many players around him floundering at the plate, it was wonderful to see Toby Mudd make the transition from solid starter into star. Leading the entire National League in hits with 191, he finished a close 2nd to Pittsburgh's Johnston Long in average and was among the top 10 in both runs scored and runs batted in. With him and Dave Bulwer anchoring this lineup, these Cardinals cannot go wrong.
Everybody Else
Code:
Player Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
(none)