We are halfway through the regular baseball season and there are a few teams that have started pulling ahead. The San Francisco Giants are once again pulling ahead in this even year. The Cleveland Indians are making a surprising appearance at the top of their division. Both Texas teams are dominating. Even the Chicago Cubs are hanging on to a gradually diminishing lead. But another team has been thriving in the shadows of the NL Central: the St. Louis Cardinals. As a die-hard Cards fan I have high hopes that we will continue to head in the winning direction, but I understand why most people hope they don’t. We always win! Over the past two decades, St. Louis has become an unstoppable winning machine. No one likes a team that is always good against all odds. So here are 11 reasons -- like the 11 World Series wins -- you should probably hate the Cardinals.
1. Their farm system continually provides great players.
Year after year, the Memphis Redbirds keep pumping out amazing players that nobody has ever heard of until they start topping the stats. To name a few, infield wizard Matt Carpenter, outfield slugger Stephen Piscotty, outfielder Jeremy Hazelbaker and potential Rookie-of-the-Year shortstop Aledmys Diaz.
2. They have the best defensive catcher in baseball.
I know most people would argue that Buster Posey deserves this title, but while Posey has the strength at bat, Yadier Molina has been running the Cardinals from behind the plate for over a decade. Since becoming the Cardinals every day catcher, he has managed to tame a pitching rotation made up of mostly rookies into a well-oiled machine, nearly eliminated base-stealers and was instrumental in two World Series wins. On top of that, he has seven All-Star game appearances and eight Golden Gloves Awards. And those are only his noted accomplishments. No one holds a team together from behind the plate better than Yadi.
3. They boast 11 World Series wins.
Second only to the New York Yankees, the St. Louis Cardinals almost always seem to be winning. Championship No.12 can't be too far off...
4. Injuries don't stop them.
Remember last year when half the Cardinals starters were injured and everyone expected them to finally do terribly? Somehow they managed to have the best record in baseball for all, but the first few weeks of the season and nabbed 100 wins.
5. They are post-season experts.
Of the last 15 years, the Cardinals have been present in the playoffs 12 times. Need I say more?
6. Player loss doesn't slow them down.
After they lost Albert Pujols after the 2011 season, everyone thought the Cardinals would lose the next season. They made it all the way to NLCS that year. (I still love Pujols though.)
7. They thrive in the underdog position.
The Cardinals have the uncanny knack of winning when nobody thinks they will. The 2015 season for one. Even better, take the 2011 season, they barely made it to the playoffs and that was the year they clinched their 11th championship.
8. They don't rely on superstars to get their wins.
Few teams rely simply on the team as a whole to win. But the Cardinals have no big-name player to come in and save the day. Everyone is good and everyone does their part. The Cardinals embody the phrase, "There is no 'I' in 'team'."
9. They make surprising trades that always benefit them.
A few years ago the Cardinals traded two young promising players for one over-the-hill pitcher, Lackey. Lackey gave St. Louis two superb years while the traded players struggled. Jedd Gyorko was the product of a trade with the San Diego Padres, and he's hit a homerun in the past five games against his former team. Similarly Randal Grichuk was the product of a trade. So was legendary Cardinals all-star Lou Brock.
10. The fans are the "best in baseball."
I get it. This seems pretentious. But look at it from our point of view: no game sells less than 40,000 tickets, the fans are fiercely loyal, our team is great and they represent us well, the fans are well-mannered and don't boo (except Jason Heyward, that pompous traitor), and we have one of the most loyal group of players out there.
11. You can never really count them out.
Who knows when the Cardinals will win their next World Series? Could be this year, could be next. While nobody knows for sure, you can bet the St. Louis Cardinals will give any team a run for their money and that 12th championship isn't too far off.
