5 in 50- The St Louis Cardinals

Continuing my 5 in 50 series, today’s team is the St Louis Cardinals. This will be a list of the top 5 greatest players for the Cardinals in the last 50 years. The criteria are as follows: Player must have been part of team for at least 5 full seasons. Both regular season and post season success will be measured (statistical leaders, awards, et). Players on this list can be from any position. Multiple players at the same position can be included. I’ll list the major accomplishments for each player only for the team they are selected.

Here is my list of the top 5 greatest Cardinals players in the last 50 years.

5. Keith Hernandez (1974-1983): 1979 NL MVP and NL batting champion. 6-time gold glove winner. 1982 World Series champion.

4. Chris Carpenter (2004-2012): 2005 NL Cy Young award winner. Finished twice in top 3 Cy Young voting. 10-4 in post season. 2-time World Series champion.

3. Yadier Molina (2004-2021): 9-time gold glove winner. 2-time World Series champion.

2. Ozzie Smith (1982-1996): 11-time gold glove winner. 1987 NLCS MVP. 1982 World Series champion.

1. Albert Pujols (2001-2011): 3-time NL MVP. 2-time NL home run champion. 2004 NLCS MVP. 2-time World Series champion.

Honorable mention to Ted Simmons, Adam Wainright, Willie McGee, Scott Rolen, Jim Edmonds

Notes. Mark Mcguire did not play a full 5 seasons with the Cardinals. The great Lou Brock was at the tail end of his career and did not make the list. This was a tricky list to put together. The Cardinals have a deep history and are filled with great players who have won MVPs, Cy Youngs, and other various awards. Picking # 4 and 5 were tough. So many great players to choose from. It came down to Hernandez and Simmons for me at #5. Hernandez won an MVP, batting title and gold glove. Simmons was a great hitter, but never won any awards. For #4, I picked Chris Carpenter over Adam Wainright. Although Wainright is played longer for the team, Carpenter accomplished more during his time with the Cardinals. And Carpenter’s post season numbers (including 3-0 in the World Series) added to his impact. Molina is a great catcher who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame someday. Smith is a Hall of Famer who is one of the greatest defensive players of all time.  Finally, Pujols played 11 seasons for the Cardinals. In each of those seasons he was one of the best players in baseball. Besides winning 3 MVPs, he finished in the top 5 MVP voting in 7 other seasons (and finished 9^th in his only season out of the top 5).

Next up I move to the National League West and the Arizona Diamondbacks

5 in 50- The Pittsburgh Pirates

Continuing my 5 in 50 series, today’s team is the Pittsburgh Pirates. This will be a list of the top 5 greatest players for the Pirates since in the 1972 season. The criteria are as follows: Player must have been part of team for at least 5 full seasons. Both regular season and post season success will be measured (statistical leaders, awards, et). Players on this list can be from any position. Multiple players at the same position can be included. I’ll list the major accomplishments for each player only for the team they are selected.

Here is my list of the top 5 greatest Pirates players in the last 50 years.

5.  Bill Madlock (1979-1985): 2-time batting champion. 1979 World Series champion.

4.  Andrew McCutcheon (2009-2017): 2013 NL MVP, finished 3 times in top 5 MVP voting.

3.  Dave Parker (1973-1983): 1978 NL MVP, 2-time NL batting champion. 1979 World Series champion.

2.  Willie Stargell (1972-1982): 1979 NL MVP. 1979 NLCS MVP and World Series MVP.

1.  Barry Bonds (1986-1992): 2-time NL MVP. 3-time gold glove.

Honorable mention to Andy Van Slyke, Doug Drabek, Kent Tekulve, John Candelaria

Notes.  The Pirates had some terrific players in their history. It’s hard to argue with anyone on this list. Madlock is often overlooked as one of the great hitters. He won an additional 2 batting titles with the Cubs and is the only player with at least 4 batting titles not inducted into the Hall of Fame. McCutcheon was the best player the Pirates have had since Bonds left. Parker is another player who should be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Stargell had a terrific Hall of Fame career who had one of the greatest seasons ever in 1979. He had the MVP sweep, winning the regular season MVP, League Championship Series MVP, and World Series MVP in the same season. Finally Bonds as a Pirate is how all baseball fans want to remember him. Pre-steroids, great all-around player who did it all who was on his way to the Hall of Fame.

Next up I move to the National League West and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

 

5 in 50- The Milwaukee Brewers

Continuing my 5 in 50 series, today’s team is the Milwaukee Brewers. This will be a list of the top 5 greatest players for the Brewers since in the 1972 season. The criteria are as follows: Player must have been part of team for at least 5 full seasons. Both regular season and post season success will be measured (statistical leaders, awards, et). Players on this list can be from any position. Multiple players at the same position can be included. I’ll list the major accomplishments for each player only for the team they are selected.

Here is my list of the top 5 greatest Brewers players in the last 50 years (note the Brewers were an American League team up until the 1997 season, and then moved to the National League).

5.  Gorman Thomas (1973-1983)- 2-time AL home run leader.

4.  Cecil Cooper (1977-1987)- 2-time AL RBI leader. Finished in top 5 MVP voting 3 times.

3.  Paul Molitor (1978-1992)- .302 average for his 15 years as Brewer. Led league in runs scored 3 times.

2.  Ryan Braun (2007-2020)- 2011 NL MVP. Finished in top 3 MVP voting twice.

1.  Robin Yount (1974-1993)- 2-time MVP. Brewers all time hits leader.

Honorable mention to Teddy Higuera, George Scott, Prince Fielder, Ben Oglivie, Mike Caldwell

Notes.  The top 3 were easy selections. There were many options to choose from for #s 4 and 5. I added the guys who were key components of the Brewers 1982 pennant winning team. Thomas led the league in home runs with 39. Cooper was a model of consistency for the Brewers, hitting over .300 for 7 straight seasons (including .352 in 1980). Molitor had the 5^th longest hitting streak in baseball history with 39 games in a row in 1987). Braun was one of the best players in baseball for a 5-year period between 2008 and 2012, winning an MVP and finishing 2^nd and 3^rd in MVP voting.  Yount is 1 of only 4 players to win an MVP at 2 different positions.

Next up is the Pittsburgh Pirates.

5 in 50- The Cincinnati Reds

Continuing my 5 in 50 series, today’s team is the Cincinnati Reds. This will be a list of the top 5 greatest players for the Reds since in the 1972 season. The criteria are as follows: Player must have been part of team for at least 5 full seasons. Both regular season and post season success will be measured (statistical leaders, awards, et). Players on this list can be from any position. Multiple players at the same position can be included. I’ll list the major accomplishments for each player only for the team they are selected.

Here is my list of the top 5 greatest Reds players in the last 50 years.

5. George Foster (1972-1981) 1977 NL MVP and home run leader. 2-time home run leader.

4. Barry Larkin (1986-2004) 1995 NL MVP. 3-time gold glove award winner.

3. Pete Rose (1972-1978) 1973 NL MVP and batting champion. 1975 World Series MVP.

2. Johnny Bench (1972-1983) 1972 NL MVP and home run leader. 6-time gold glove award winner. 1976 World Series MVP.

1. Joe Morgan (1972-1979) 1975 and 1976 NL MVP. 5-time gold glove winner.

Honorable mention to Joey Votto, Tony Perez, Eric Davis, Dave Concepcion, Ken Griffey Sr.  

Notes. This is a great list of players. Take the Big Red Machine plus Barry Larkin and you have the top 5.  Selecting #5 was tough. So many options. The honorable mention list could stand up to most teams top 5. Foster deserved it based on his home run exploits (was the only player in a 24-year span to hit 50 home runs in a season). Larkin was a terrific shortstop who led the Reds to their last championship in 1990. Rose is the all-time hits leader and should be in the Hall of Fame (that’s another story). #1 and 2 were hard to rank. Both Morgan and Bench were immortals. Morgan got the nod only since he won his 2 MVPs since the 1972 season (Bench won his first of 2 MVPs in 1970).  

Next up is the Milwaukee Brewers.

5 in 50- The Chicago Cubs

Continuing my 5 in 50 series, today’s team is the Chicago Cubs. This will be a list of the top 5 greatest players for the Cubs since in the 1972 season. The criteria are as follows: Player must have been part of team for at least 5 full seasons. Both regular season and post season success will be measured (statistical leaders, awards, et). Players on this list can be from any position. Multiple players at the same position can be included. I’ll list the major accomplishments for each player only for the team they are selected.

Here is my list of the top 5 greatest Cubs players in the last 50 years.

5.  Kris Bryant (2015-2021) 2016 NL MVP and 2016 World Series champion.

4.  Andre Dawson (1987-1991) 1987 NL MVP. 2-time gold glove winner.

3.  Greg Maddux (1986-1992, 2004, 2005)- 1992 NL Cy Young award winner. 5 gold gloves.

2.  Sammy Sosa (1992-2004)- 1998 NL MVP. Finished 6 times in top 10 MVP voting. 2 time home run leader.

1.  Ryne Sandberg (1982-1997)- 1984 NL MVP. 9-time gold glove winner.

Honorable mention to Rick Sutcliff, Rick Reuschel, Anthony Rizzo, Carlos Zambrano.

Notes.  This is a list of award winners. Bryant was MVP and was instrumental in leading the Cubs to their first championship in 108 years. Dawson signed as a free agent and won an MVP his first season with the Cubs, while the team finished in last place. Maddox had his greatest success with Atlanta, but still had some terrific seasons with the Cubs winning a Cy Young award. Many will be upset with the Sosa pick being so high, but steroids or not, he had some of the greatest seasons ever by a Cubs player in their history. Hard to leave him off this list.  Sandberg’s MVP in 1984 season goes down as one of the best. He single-handedly led the Cubs to their first post season in 39 years.

Next up is the Cincinnati Reds

5 in 50- The Washington Nationals (and Expos)

Continuing my 5 in 50 series, today’s team is the Washington Nationals. This will be a list of the top 5 greatest players for the Nationals since they began in Washington in 2005. Note I separated the Expos and Nationals players since the team changed cities and the names. I have a separate list for the Expos at the bottom of this post. The criteria are as follows: Player must have been part of team for at least 5 full seasons. Both regular season and post season success will be measured (statistical leaders, awards, et). Players on this list can be from any position. Multiple players at the same position can be included. I’ll list the major accomplishments for each player only for the team they are selected.

Here is my list of the top 5 greatest Nationals players since they began in Washington in 2005.

5.  Anthony Rendon (2013-2019)- Finished in top 10 MVP voting 3 times. Led NL in doubles twice. 2019 World Series Champion.

4.  Ryan Zimmerman (2005-2021)- All time hits leader for Nationals. 2019 World Serie Champion.

3.  Bryce Harper (2012-2018)- 2015 NL MVP

2.  Stephen Strasburg (2010-2021)- Finished twice in top 5 Cy Young voting. 2019 World Series MVP.

1. Max Scherzer (2015-2021)- 2-time Cy Young award winner. Finished in top 5 voting 3 times. 2019 World Series Champion.

Honorable mention to Gio Gonzalez, Ian Desmond, Jordan Zimmerman.

Notes. For a team that has only been in existence for just over 16 years, the list is straight forward. These 5 are the best players since the franchise moved to Washington. Rendon was a key member of the 2019 championship team leading the NL in doubles and RBIs. Ryan Zimmerman has played for Washington every season since they moved in 2005. and leads the Nationals in many batting categories. Harper and Strasburg both came in with extremely high expectations. Each have met them with some degrees of success. Harper winning an MVP in 2015, and Strasburg leading the Nationals to their first championship winning the World Series MVP in 2019. And finally Max Scherzer, who solidified his Hall of Fame career during his 7 years with the Nationals.

For reference, prior to moving to Washington, the Montreal Expos had many fantastic players during their existence. Here is my list of the top 5 Montreal Expos players in their history.

5. Larry Walker

4. Tim Raines

3. Vladimir Guerrero

2. Andre Dawson

1. Gary Carter

Next up is the Chicago Cubs

5 in 50- The Philadelphia Phillies

Continuing my 5 in 50 series, today’s team is the Philadelphia Phillies. This will be a list of the top 5 greatest players for the Phillies since the 1972 season. The criteria are as follows: Player must have been part of team for at least 5 full seasons. Both regular season and post season success will be measured (statistical leaders, awards, et). Players on this list can be from any position. Multiple players at the same position can be included. I’ll list the major accomplishments for each player only for the team they are selected.

Here is my list of the top 5 greatest Phillies in the last 50 years.

5.  Cole Hamels (2006-2014)- 2008 NLCS MVP, and 2008 World Series MVP.

4. Ryan Howard (2004-2016)- 2006 MVP, 2-time home run leader, finished 3 times in top 5 MVP voting.

3. Jimmy Rollins (2000-2014)- 2007 NL MVP, franchise career leader in hits.

2. Steve Carlton (1972-1986)- 4-time Cy Young award winner. Lead NL in wins 4 times and strikeouts 5 times.

1. Mike Schmidt (1972-1989)- 3-time MVP. 1980 World Series MVP, Led NL in home runs 8 times.

Honorable mention to Chase Utley, Bobby Abreu, Curt Schilling, Larry Bowa, Bob Boone.

Notes. Take the best players from the 2008 World Championship team and the 1980 World Championship team and you have the list. For # 5, I considered Chase Utley, but selected Hamels based on his post season performance in 08 (winning both LCS and WS MVPs). Hamels, Howard, and Rollins were all integral parts of the Phillies 08 World Series championship team. Carlton and Schmidt are Hall of Famers who led the Phillies to the 80 championship. Carlton is one of the great left-handed pitchers of all time, and Schmidt is one of the greatest third baseman of all time, if not the greatest.  

Next up is the Washington Nationals.