- Stan Musial is the franchise leader in bWAR.
- Cardinals players have won the MVP Award in 21 seasons.
- Only two Cardinals have won the NL Cy Young award.
With 11 World Series titles and 19 pennants, the Cardinals are regularly a popular choice regarding Major League Baseball odds of winning the World Series.
From rule-altering pitchers to iconic hitters, many of the game’s greats feature among the best St. Louis Cardinals players of all time.
Best St. Louis Cardinals Players of All Time
| Rank | Player | Position | Cardinals Years |
| 1 | Rogers Hornsby | Second Baseman | 1915-1926, 1933 |
| 2 | Stan Musial | First Baseman/Left Fielder | 1941-1963 |
| 3 | Albert Pujols | First Baseman | 2001-2011, 2022 |
| 4 | Bob Gibson | Starting Pitcher | 1959-1975 |
| 5 | Yadier Molina | Catcher | 2004-2022 |
1. Rogers Hornsby
Rogers Hornsby had a bWAR over 91 in just 13 seasons as a Cardinal. Only Mark McGwire can better his 177 OPS+. Hornsby led the National League in OPS seven times during his Cardinals tenure and completed two Triple Crowns.
A World Series winner in 1926, Hornsby was not just a star of his generation, but arguably the greatest second baseman in MLB history. Even though his counting stats don’t match Musial’s, Hornsby has a compelling case as the best St Louis Cardinals player ever.
2. Stan Musial
Placing Stan The Man anywhere other than first in these rankings was a big call. Hornsby’s production was just that much better than Musial, who is only joint-sixth in OPS+ as a Cardinal.
Over his 22-year career, Stan Musial had exactly 1,815 hits at home and 1,815 hits on the road 🤯pic.twitter.com/HGYL7yvqBF
— Baseball’s Greatest Moments (@BBGreatMoments) February 3, 2024
Musial had seven top-two MVP finishes, winning the award three times. A 24-time All-Star and three-time World Series winner, he had absolutely everything as a hitter.
With over 470 homers and north of 3,600 hits, Musial is among the greatest baseball players ever. Only seven players have a better career bWAR.
3. Albert Pujols
Even with only 12 years as a Cardinal, including his farewell 2022 campaign, Albert Pujols is only narrowly outside the top three in franchise bWAR. Pujols has the fourth-best OPS+ in Cardinals history and had eight top-three MVP finishes in St. Louis.
The moment Albert Pujols joined the 700 Home Run Club!
(via @MLB)pic.twitter.com/RLUAg9pgNA
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) September 24, 2022
Of course, he also won MVP on three occasions. Pujols led the majors in OPS three times as a Cardinal, combining elite contact with plate discipline and monstrous power. Of his 11 career All-Star nods, 10 were during his time with the Cardinals.
4. Bob Gibson
Bob Gibson was so dominant at his peak that MLB was forced to lower the pitching mound and decrease the strike zone. Gibson won Cy Young and MVP in 1968. Even after the “Gibson Rules” were introduced, he proved almost unhittable, winning a second Cy Young in 1970.
He has the most innings pitched, most strikeouts, highest bWAR, and most shutouts among Cardinals pitchers.
While others have superior rate statistics, Gibson had to be the top pitcher in these rankings. He won the World Series MVP twice and received nine All-Star nods.
5. Yadier Molina
This is where it got trickier. Enos Slaughter, Ozzie Smith, Ted Simmons, Lou Brock and others had a claim to fifth. It is Yadier Molina who rounds out this list, however.
Molina has the second-most defensive bWAR among all catchers in MLB history. His 96 career OPS+ is nothing special, but it was enough to make him a solid lower-order bat while providing all-time great defence behind the plate.
Following the first pitch, Yadier Molina received a standing ovation for becoming the first catcher ever to catch 2,000 games for one team. 👏 pic.twitter.com/ZnJTj8DC6Y
— MLB (@MLB) April 14, 2021
The Bayamon native shut down the running game unlike any other catcher in the 21st century. A nine-time Gold Glove winner, 10-time All-Star and four-time Platinum Glove winner, Molina was integral in two World Series wins and was an ironman behind the plate, which helped the Cardinals remain consistently competitive.