21st Century World Series Champions, Ranked: 2006 Cardinals Are No. 25
Among the 25 World Series champions since 2000, how did the 2006 Cardinals land in this spot?
[25 World Series Champs Since 2000, Ranked: The Full List]
In 2006, Albert Pujols had one of the best seasons of his career. He slashed .331/.431/.671 with 49 homers, leading the majors in slugging percentage. Scott Rolen was his usual masterful self at third base and added plenty at the plate, too. Utilitymen Scott Spiezio and Chris Duncan hit well, while shortstop David Eckstein fielded fine but struggled at the plate. Veteran center-fielder Jim Edmonds was still productive, but at age 36 was slowing down.
Let’s speed things up: Things aren’t great on offense when your 10th-ranked hitter by WAR is a starting pitcher, as was the case with the ‘06 Cards. Mark Mulder hit .280/.400/.480 in 36 plate appearances, and that created a ton of value given NL pitchers batted .132/.167/.175 overall.
More 2006 Cardinals in a nutshell: Mulder was a better hitter than a pitcher. He had a 7.14 ERA across 17 starts. That was just kind of how the middle and back-end of the rotation went for this team, with Anthony Reyes posting a 5.06 ERA in 17 starts and Jeff Weaver at 5.18 across 15 starts. They were both better than Jason Marquis, who led the NL in losses with 16 owing to a 6.02 ERA. Chris Carpenter was his usual self with a 3.09 ERA in 221.2 innings, and Jeff Suppan was above-average — and therefore the team’s second-best starter — in his 190.
The bullpen was significantly better, with Jason Isringhausen closing games, and a slew of relievers successfully supporting him. The star of the pen was rookie Adam Wainwright. He would throw 75 innings with a 3.12 ERA while striking out well over three times as many batters as he walked. Wainwright is responsible for the most significant memory most people have of the 2006 postseason, too — one that still haunts Mets fans.
In the bottom of the ninth in Game 7 of the NLCS, Wainwright was on the mound to close it out. Carlos Beltran came to the plate with two outs. Beltran had hit .275/.388/.594 with New York that season, his best in the majors to that point and also afterward, thanks to 41 homers and 95 walks to go along with a Gold Glove.
As he came to the plate, the TV announcer said that Beltran had "murdered" Cardinals pitching in his two postseasons against St. Louis, as a member of the Astros in 2004 and with the Mets that fall. Here, the bases were loaded with two outs, with the Cardinals up two runs. The first pitch was a called strike fastball. The second was a curveball that Beltran fouled off. The third? A gorgeous curveball on the corner that locked up Beltran, who struck out looking. It was the end of the Mets’ season, and the true beginning of Wainwright’s excellent career.
It was also a sign that nothing could stop this 83-win team, two years after the Cardinals' 105-win 2004 club had been swept by the Red Sox in the World Series.
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