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St. Louis Cardinals award winners and league leaders

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The St. Louis Cardinals, a professional baseball franchise based in St. Louis, Missouri, compete in the National League (NL) of Major League Baseball (MLB). Before joining the NL in 1892, they were also a charter member of the American Association (AA) from 1882 to 1891. Although St. Louis has been the Cardinals' home city for the franchise's entire existence, they were also known as the Brown Stockings, Browns, and Perfectos.

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In 134 seasons, the franchise has won more than 10,000 regular season games and appeared in 27 postseasons while claiming 12 interleague championships and 23 league pennants. Eleven of the interleague championships are World Series titles won under the modern format since 1903; 19 of the league pennants are NL pennants, and the other four are AA pennants. Their 11 World Series titles represent the most in the NL and are second in MLB only to the New York Yankees' 27.

The first major award MLB presented for team performance occurred with the World Series champions in 1903, and for individual performance, in 1911 in the American League with the Chalmers Award. The first major award which the National League presented for individual performance was the League Award in 1924, the predecessor of the modern Most Valuable Player Award (MVP). Rogers Hornsby earned the League Award in 1925 making him the first winner of an MVP or its equivalent in franchise history. The following season, the Cardinals won their first modern World Series. They won the first World Series Trophy, following their 1967 World Series title, which, before that year, the World Series champion had never received any kind of official trophy.

National League Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award

Major League Baseball (MLB), with voting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA), first presented the modern MVP award to one player each in the American and National League in 1931. Voting is accomplished with two writers from each city containing an MLB club, of whom each fills in a ballot with the names of ten players, ranking each from first to tenth. The BBWAA began polling three writers in each league city in 1938 and reduced that number to two per league city in 1961. One of the MVP award's predecessors was the League Award, which the National League awarded via of voting process in a similar fashion to that of the BBWAA from 1924 to 1929.

16 different Cardinals players have won the award a total of 20 times. Stan Musial and Albert Pujols are the only players to have won multiple times, each having won three times. Pujols is the only Cardinals player to have won in consecutive seasons, from 2008–2009. The most consecutive seasons a Cardinals player has won the award is three, which occurred from 1942–44 between Mort Cooper, Musial, and Marty Marion. Typically awarded to position players, Cardinals pitchers who have won an MVP award are Cooper, Dizzy Dean, and Bob Gibson. At least one Cardinals player has won the award in each completed decade since the League Award was given except in the 1950s.

League Award (1924–29)

  • 1925 – Rogers Hornsby
  • 1926 – Bob O'Farrell
  • 1928 – Jim Bottomley

    • Cy Young

  • 1968 – Bob Gibson
  • 1970 – Bob Gibson (2)
  • 2005 – Chris Carpenter

    • Rookie of the Year

  • 1954 – Wally Moon
  • 1955 – Bill Virdon
  • 1974 – Bake McBride
  • 1985 – Vince Coleman
  • 1986 – Todd Worrell
  • 2001 – Albert Pujols

    • Manager of the Year

  • Whitey Herzog (1985)
  • Tony La Russa (2002)

    • Triple Crown (NL): Batting

    See: Major League Baseball Triple Crown#Batting
  • 1887 – Tip O'Neill (American Association)
  • 1922 – Rogers Hornsby
  • 1925 – Rogers Hornsby (2)
  • 1937 – Joe Medwick

    • Hank Aaron Award

    MLB baseball introduced this award in 1999 to recognize the top hitter in each league.

  • Albert Pujols [2] (2003, 2009)

    • World Series Most Valuable Player Award

    The World Series Most Valuable Player has been awarded since 1955.

  • Bob Gibson [2] (1964, 1967)
  • Darrell Porter (1982)
  • David Eckstein (2006)
  • David Freese (2011)

    • National League Championship Series (NLCS) Most Valuable Player Award

    Starting in 1977, MLB created the NLCS Most Valuable Player Award to recognize the top player of that season's NLCS.

  • Darrell Porter (1982)
  • Ozzie Smith (1985)
  • Albert Pujols (2004)
  • Jeff Suppan (2006)
  • David Freese (2011)
  • Michael Wacha (2013)

    • Platinum Glove Award

    Main article: Gold Glove Award

    Introduced in 2011 by Rawlings, the Platinum Glove is fan-voted award conferred annually to single out the top-fielding player from all Gold Glove winners in each league.

  • Yadier Molina [4] (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015)

    • Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award

    See explanatory note at Atlanta Braves award winners and league leaders.
    Team (at all positions)
  • (2012)
  • (2013)

    • Silver Slugger Award series

    Hillerich & Bradsby, the manufacturer of Louisville Slugger baseball bats, first awarded the Silver Slugger in 1980.

    MLB Comeback Player of the Year (NL)

  • Chris Carpenter (2009)
  • Lance Berkman (2011)

    • Roberto Clemente Award

  • Ozzie Smith (1995)
  • Albert Pujols (2008)
  • Carlos Beltrán (2013)

    • MLB All-Century Team (1999)

  • Bob Gibson
  • Rogers Hornsby
  • Mark McGwire
  • Stan Musial

    • DHL Hometown Heroes (2006)

  • Stan Musial — voted by MLB fans as the most outstanding player in the history of the franchise, based on on-field performance, leadership quality and character value

    • MLB All-Time Team (1997; BBWAA)

    Cardinals award winners include those who played the highest amount of games in their career with the Cardinals.

  • 2B: Rogers Hornsby
  • LF (Runner-up): Stan Musial

    • MLB Athlete of the Decade (2009)

  • Albert Pujols

    • Sportsman of the Year/Athlete of the Year/Pro Athlete of the Year

    Note: Normally awarded to one athlete selected from multiple sports per year since 1968.

    See: Sporting News#Sportsman of the Year
  • 1974: Lou Brock
  • 1982: Whitey Herzog
  • 1997: Mark McGwire
  • 1998: Mark McGwire

    • Most Valuable Player

    Note: Established in 1929 and discontinued in 1946.

  • 1934: Dizzy Dean
  • 1937; Joe Medwick
  • 1942: Mort Cooper
  • 1943: Stan Musial
  • 1944: Marty Marion

    • Player of the Year

    Note: Awarded to one player in all MLB since 1936.

    NL Pitcher of the Year

  • 1949: Howie Pollet
  • 1968: Bob Gibson
  • 1970: Bob Gibson
  • 2005: Chris Carpenter
  • 2006: Chris Carpenter

    • NL Comeback Player of the Year

    Note: Awarded annually to one player in each league since 1965.

    Manager of the Year Award

    Note: Established in 1936, this award was originally given annually to one manager in Major League Baseball. In 1986 it was expanded to honor one manager from each league.

    Sports Illustrated MLB All-Decade Team

  • Albert Pujols, first base (2009)

    • Best Major League Baseball Player ESPY Award

  • Mark McGwire—1999
  • Albert Pujols—2005, 2006, 2009, 2010

    • Topps All-Star Rookie teams

    See footnote and Topps All-Star Rookie Rosters

    Players Choice Awards Series

    In 1992, the Comeback Player of the Year was the first and only Players' Choice honor; others followed in subsequent years.

    Major League Player of the Year

  • Mark McGwire (1998)
  • Albert Pujols (2003, 2008, 2009)

    • Marvin Miller Man of the Year

    Note: Awarded by fellow major-league players as the Man of the Year in Major League Baseball (not one for each league), annually since 1997.
  • Eric Davis (2000)
  • Albert Pujols (2006)

    • NL Outstanding Player

  • Albert Pujols (2003, 2008, 2009)

    • NL Outstanding Pitcher

  • Chris Carpenter (2005, 2006)
  • Adam Wainwright (2009)

    • NL Outstanding Rookie

  • Albert Pujols (2001)

    • NL Comeback Player of the Year

  • Matt Morris (2001)
  • Chris Carpenter (2004, 2009)

    • MLB Insiders Club Magazine All-Postseason Team

  • 2011 – Albert Pujols (1B), David Freese (3B), Lance Berkman (OF; one of three), Chris Carpenter (SP; one of three), Jason Motte (RP)

    • Lou Gehrig Memorial Award

  • Stan Musial (1957)
  • Ken Boyer (1964)
  • Lou Brock (1977)
  • Ozzie Smith (1989)
  • Mark McGwire (1999)
  • Albert Pujols (2009)

    • Heart & Hustle Award

    Note: Awarded by the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association, annually since 2005.
  • David Eckstein (2005)
  • Albert Pujols (2009)

    • Tony Conigliaro Award

  • Chris Carpenter (2009)
  • Mitch Harris (2015)

    • Branch Rickey Award

  • Ozzie Smith (1994)

    • Ford C. Frick Award recipients

    Names in bold received the award based on their work as Cardinals broadcasters.

  • Jack Buck (1954–59, 1961–2001)
  • Harry Caray (1945–69)
  • Joe Garagiola (1955–62)*
  • Milo Hamilton (1954)

    • * Played and broadcast for the Cardinals

    Team Awards

    Note: The Cardinals were originally known as the St. Louis Brown Stockings/Browns (1882–1898) and then the St. Louis Perfectos (1899), before becoming the Cardinals in 1900.

    Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year Award

  • 1999 – Rick Ankiel

    • USA Today Minor League Player of the Year Award

  • 1999 – Rick Ankiel

    • Joe Bauman Home Run Award

  • 2002 – Iván Cruz (Memphis Redbirds)

    • National Baseball Hall of Fame

    See St. Louis Cardinals#Hall of Famers

    St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame

    See St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum

    Darryl Kile Good Guy Award

    See Darryl Kile#Memorial and footnote

    Retired numbers

    See St. Louis Cardinals#Retired numbers

    Sports Illustrated Top 20 Male Athletes of the Decade

  • 2009 – Albert Pujols (#9)

    • Associated Press Athlete of the Year

  • 1934 – Dizzy Dean
  • 1998 – Mark McGwire

    • Missouri Sports Hall of Fame

    See: St. Louis Cardinals#Inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.

    Jack Buck Award

  • 1987 – August A. Busch, Jr., former brewer, prominent sportsman, and owner of the St. Louis Cardinals
  • 1992
  • 1994 – Stan Musial, St. Louis Cardinal Hall of Famer
  • 1996 – Bill DeWitt, longtime Major League Baseball executive and former owner of St. Louis Browns
  • 2002
  • 2004
  • 2010 – Ernie Hays, former St. Louis Cardinals organist

    • References

    St. Louis Cardinals award winners and league leaders Wikipedia
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