The St. Louis Cardinals baseball organization is second to the New York Yankees in regards to consistently producing winning teams. The Cardinals long, storied history is predominately known for the hitters and fielders that have worn the uniform with the likes of Rogers Hornsby, Stan Musial, Lou Brock, Ozzie Smith, and Albert Pujols being the big names. What has been generally overlooked is the excellent pitching that has helped the Cardinals win 10 World Series titles, 17 National League Pennants, and 11 Divison Titles.
Coming in at number five on the St Louis Cardinals all times win list with 144 is Bill Doak. Doak was born January 28, 1891, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He played 11 years with the St. Louis Cardinals and is among the Cardinals' top ten in eight pitching categories, with his 32 shutouts second behind Bob Gibson.
Bill Sherdel is 4th on the list with 153 wins. Sherdel was a tough left-handed pitcher that played fifteen seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Braves. Besides ranking 4th in wins, Sherdel is 3rd in games pitched (465), 4th in innings pitched (2450.7), 5th in games started (242), 8th in complete games (144), in Cardinals franchise history.
3rd on the Cardinals all-time wins list is Bob Forsch with 163 wins. In a 16-season career, Forsch is one of the very few pitchers, and the only Cardinal, to throw more than one no-hitter. The first came against the Philadelphia Phillies in 1978, and the second happened in 1983 against the Montreal Expos.
Jesse Haines ranks 2nd on the Cardinals all-time wins list. Haines born in Clayton, Ohio in 1893 and pitched for the Cardinals from 1920 to 1937. He retired from the Cardinals in 1937 with 210 wins. He is also the first Cardinal pitchers to toss a no hitter when he blanked the Boston Braves in 1924.
With 251 wins, Bob Gibson is first on the all time St. Louis Cardinals wins list. From 1963-1970 Gibson was quite possibly the most dominating pitcher in the game, posting a record of 156-81 during that span. Gibson was also awarded, Cy Young Awards in 1968 and 1970, World Series MVP Awards in 1964 and 1967 and 8 Gold Glove Awards.
1968 was the year of Bob Gibson. He would finish the season with an incredible 1.12 ERA, 13 shutouts, and at one point a streak of 47 consecutive scoreless innings. Due to a weak Cardinals offense that season he would only post a 22-9 record, losing five 1-0 decisions. The Cardinals would go on to face the Detroit Tigers in the 1968 World Series. In Game 1 of the series, Gibson struck out 17 Tigers, setting a World Series single game record that has yet to be broken. The Cardinals would unfortunately go on to lose the Series 4 games to 3.
In 1981 Bob Gibson had his #45 retired by the St. Louis Cardinals which coincided with his election to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.
The tradition of solid pitching in St Louis continues on into the 21st century with Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright who each have a strong shot at breaking the top five wins list before their careers are over.
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