November 08, 2006

The Greatest Cardinals Of All Time

FROM STAN THE MAN to Country Slaughter, we had a Hoot picking Gibby and the rest of the Cardinals' greats. How good is this team? Eight players have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, nine have had their numbers retired, and this rarefied roster has a combined 87 All-Star Game appearances

A ROSTER FOR THE AGES

La Russa's biggest challenge: figuring out the batting order

C TED SIMMONS
His 1,704 hits are the most by any catcher in club history

1B ALBERT PUJOLS
Has never finished lower than fourth in the MVP voting since his rookie season of 2001

2B ROGERS HORNSBY
Led NL in batting seven times and finished second in two other seasons

SS OZZIE SMITH
His 13 Gold Gloves are the most by any shortstop

3B KEN BOYER
The Captain's number 14 was retired by the Cardinals in '84

OF LOU BROCK
Had 14 steals and a .655 slugging percentage in three World Series

OF ENOS SLAUGHTER
Four World Series titles including two with the Cards ('42 and '46)

OF STAN MUSIAL
Franchise's greatest player (page 70)