The Cards Over The Last 32 Seasons - First Base

Moving on to the next position on the diamond, we reach first base. First base is a position that hasn't seen much stability over the last three decades. Since Keith Hernandez was traded, the Cardinals have had 13 different players as the primary first basemen for one season. That's with Albert Pujols holding the position for 8 years. Only one other player has been starter for more than 3 years in between him and Hernandez. Recall that stats are expressed as per 162 averages.

Herzog Era: 6 1st basemen

Best: It's a two-horse race between Keith Hernandez and Jack Clark. They have the longevity (3 years as starter apiece), and none of the others really come close in production, either. So which to pick? Clark averaged more runs (99 to 94), Hernandez more hits (181 to 150). Hernandez has the edge in doubles, triples, and stolen bases (big edge there, 18 to 2), but Clark has a three to one edge in homers, and twice as many walks. He posted a .935 OPS to Hernandez' .846. Still, Hernandez has a slight edge in WAR, 5.8 to 5.7, which suggests a) the weaker offensive environment of the early '80s and b) that he gets a big bonus from his defense.

Philosophically, though, one would lean towards Clark. Hernandez ended up being traded, either because of a drug issue or because he wasn't totally on board with Herzog's demands on him. Clark was apparently expected to resist being moved to first from the outfield, yet ultimately accepted the change. Which would be a nod towards Clark. Still, I'd pick Keith Hernandez. He only missed out on being starter for 4 seasons under Herzog because he was traded partway through '83, meaning George Hendrick wound up with the most innings at first, and Clark had durability issues. In three years with the team, he played less than two full seasons worth of games. His production is impressive for how much time he missed, but being able to stay on the field matters.

Worst: Bob Horner. Horner was the first attempt at replacing Clark after the front office dicked around to long resigning him after '87. Horner's season (and career) ended before the 4th of July in '88, but at the time he was only on pace for 8 HRs, and a .703 OPS. Given the down year offense experienced in '88, that's still a 102 OPS+, which is slightly better than the 101 David Green produced in 1984. But Horner's season only translates to a 0.5 WAR, while Green's is a 1.5, because Green was a better than average gloveman (Horner was slightly below average, and Green had speed Horner couldn't match (on pace for 5 triples and 22 SBs, versus 3 and 0, respectively, for Horner). The other option might be Pedro Guerrero, whose 1989 was outwardly impressive, except he was horrific defensively (about two wins below average at first, which is a win worse than Lance Berkman was in right field last year). His 1990 wasn't anything great, either, but he was still worth an average of 1.6 WAR.

Torre Era: 4

Best: Gregg Jefferies. There's really no competition. Guerrero had a poor showing in his two seasons (well season and a third). Andres Galarraga was a disaster, and Zeile was the starter for a third of the '95 season, at which point he was traded and Torre was fired. Which shouldn't be seen as a slight against Jefferies. Even if he wasn't much defensively (about equal to Horner), he was worth on average 4.6 WAR over his two years as starter. A lot of that is batting average (.335), but he drew a fair number of walks (.401 OBP, 71 walks/162), and mostly doubles power (.487 SLG, 34 doubles to 19 HRs). He also averaged 38 stolen bases per 162 games. So he wasn't bad, he just doesn't have any decent competitors to distinguish himself against.

Worst: Pedro Guerrero, over the third of '90 Torre coached and 1991, was worth -0.1 WAR. Andres Galarraga, in the part of 1992 he actually played, produced at a rate of -0.7 WAR. He was outhit by both Ozzie Smith and Luis Alicea. He's also the guy the Cardinals received for giving up Ken Hill, just as Hill apparently decided to become an All-Star caliber pitcher. Salt in the wound wins it for Andres Galarraga.

LaRussa Era: 5

Best: Albert Pujols. Period. I was going to describe how McGwire doesn't stack up, but he doesn't, unless you just really love dingers. In which case, go somewhere else.

Worst: Well, it's either Mabry in '96 or Dmitri Young in '97. They have equivalent 0.4 WARs. Mabry's batting average and isolated power are better, Young walks at a better rate. Young only had part of the season to be starter before McGwire showed up, so perhaps he would have turned his season around. Eh, Mabry always bugged me for some reason, so let's hear it for John Mabry.