The Cardinals are an underrated franchise. Sure they pale in comparison to the Yankees and their 27 titles, but the Cards are the only other franchise to have more than 10 titles to their own name. Their first coming in 1926 over Babe Ruth and the Yankees. Their hopes of turning that into a habit were dashed two years later when those same Yankees got revenge. Skip to 1930, the Cards were back again but this time they were stopped by the Philadelphia A's.
1931 provided another chance to establish the Cardinals as a big time franchise. Gabby Street was back to manage as his boys rolled right through the National League to a 101-53 record, 13 games beyond the 2nd place Giants, and easily claimed their second straight NL pennant. Entering their 4th World Series, the Cards would get a familiar foe in the same Athletics team that beat them a year ago.
The Athletics were in a unique position to become the first team in history to win three straight titles, but the Cardinals had no intention of letting that happen. They traded wins back and forth and brought the entire season down to Game 7 in St. Louis. The Cardinals took an early lead and brought a 4-0 lead to the 9th inning when the A's bats finally woke up, but too little too late as the Cards relied on some bullpen help to hold on 4-2 and claimed the title. The stage was now set for the Gas House Gang to make the Cardinals more memorable a few years later.
Frisch was destined to manage the Cards in their future championship run, but for '31 he was just leading the way with an MVP season. He led the NL with 28 Stolen Bases.
Coming up 5th in MVP voting, future Hall of Fame outfielder Chick Hafey led the league with a .349 Batting Average, while leading the team with 16 Home Runs and 95 RBI.
Another Hall of Fame talent, Bottomley battled Hafey for the batting title until the very end, falling just one point short with a .348 BA.
The other men leading the charge every day during the WS push. Sparky Adams led the NL with 26 Doubles while leading the team with 97 Runs while racking up MVP votes. Jimmie Wilson held his own behind the plate, leading all NL Catchers with 498 Putouts and finishing 6th in MVP voting.
Off the bench, you see a nice little mix of guys from the 1926 title run and those who would play a bigger part of the 1934 run, not to mention their contribution to the previous years pennant. Roettger began the year in Cincinnati, but got traded to St. Louis in exchange for Douthit.
Hallahan led the league with 19 Wins and pushed it over 20 when he added 2 more victories in the World Series. He also bailed the team out in the 9th inning of Game 7 when the Athletics were threatening, coming in to slam the door and get the Save in the clincher. He was a menace on the mound, leading the league with 159 Strikeouts as well as 112 Walks in addition to his MLB high 11 Wild Pitches. No other Cardinal pitcher came close to his 248.2 Inning Pitched.
Grimes bolstered his Hall of Fame credentials with 2 Wins in the World Series, including the vital Game 7.
Haines was another Cardinal destined for Cooperstown, but despite playing a vital role in their first title run in 1926, and contributing 12 Wins in 1931, he did not get in on the action that October. He'd get a last hurrah in 1934, though.
The remaining regular Starters. Johnson led the staff with a 3.00 ERA. Derringer fell just short of the lead with 18 Wins of his own.
The arms usually relied upon out of the bullpen. Lindsey was the closest thing to a "Closer" they would get, with 7 Saves.
Manager Gabby Street wasn't there to be a player as well, but late in the season with the pennant secured, it's not unusual to rest the regulars in preparation for the playoffs (or in this case, just the World Series). Street had last played almost 20 years prior, for the 1912 New York Highlanders. Still, in a late September game, Street himself would suit up to play Catcher, giving Jimmie Wilson the day off. He would fly out in his lone plate appearance, then replace himself in the top of the 4th inning with another bench player, Mike Gonzalez, to finish the game.
