My Top Five Favorite Cardinals Hall of Famers

Hey baseball fans!

The 2013 World Series week has officially started! This year’s contenders are the Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals. Considering that I’ve already done a top five favorite Red Sox HoFers post, I decided that the time is right to post my top five Cards Hall of Famers of all time. Now, remember, this is my post of top five favorites, not top five greatest according to me. Keep that in mind when you read my picks because you might be surprised.

Number Five:  Ozzie Smith
Why?  The man known for his fielding cracks this list because of his outstanding overall play. The 15-time All Star and 13-time Gold Glover got over 2,600 career hits and is defined by his NL Pennant-winning walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth in Game Five of the 1985 NLCS to send the Cards to the World Series for the second time in four years (1982).

Number Four:  Lou Brock
Why?  When I play baseball, considering my size, I don’t aim to hit homers. I love getting singles and stealing second, third, and sometimes even home. There are a couple of people in Cooperstown that come to mind when I say this, but the only one who played for the Cardinals was Larcenous Lou Brock. A member of the 3,000 hits club and 900 steals club, the six-time All Star stole a record 14 bases in World  Series play. He places second in career steals with 938 and batted .293 lifetime in the ’60s and ’70s.

Number Three:  Rogers Hornsby
Why?  To put it simply, Rajah is my favorite second baseman of all time and I’m sure that a lot of people agree. He was 70 hits away from joining the 3,000 hits club but he was still one of the greatest second baseman of all time. The two-time MVP won the Triple Crown twice and batted .424 in 1924. His .358 career batting average is second all time. The reason he is not number one? He was very stubborn and got traded a lot. A fan favorite is someone who was loyal to a team and Hornsby wasn’t exactly that at the end of his Cardinal career.

Number Two:  Bob Gibson
Why?  Hoot was one of the greatest pitchers of his time. During his career in the ’60s and ’70s, Gibson won over 250 games, had a career ERA below three, and once had an ERA of 1.12 (1968)! The two-time  Cy Young  Award winner and MVP winner is also in the 3,000 strikeouts club and struck out 92 batters in nine World Series appearances. The reason Bob isn’t number one, you ask? Simple, only one “Man” is worthy of that spot.

Number One:  Stan Musial
Why?  Stan was awesome: 475 homers, 3,630 hits, a batting average of .331, and was a HUGE fan favorite in St. Louis. The 24-time All Star (second all time) won three MVPs during his career. He batted under .300 in his career in just three seasons and is considered one of the best players to ever play the game. I think it is certainly safe to say that Stan is definitely the right “Man” for this spot because he is my favorite Cardinals Hall of Famer in baseball history.

Well, those are my picks. If you disagree, leave a comment saying your picks. Anyway, thanks for reading this post. I hope you enjoyed it and check back in a couple of days for more of “all the buzz on what wuzz.”