The St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...

 season was the team's 56th season in St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

 and the 46th season in the National League

National League

The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

. The Cardinals went 81-73 during the season and finished 4th in the National League.

Offseason

At the start of January 1937, general manager Branch Rickey

Branch Rickey

Wesley Branch Rickey was an innovative Major League Baseball executive elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967...

 named Robert L. Finch vice president of all Cardinals minor league baseball teams. Their star pitcher, Dizzy Dean

Dizzy Dean

Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He was the last National League pitcher to win 30 games in one season. Dean was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953....

, spent the preseason in a contract dispute, even threatening to quit baseball. He finally signed for an estimated $24,000 on March 19.

Regular season

As the season was set to begin, the Cardinals were considered the favorites to win the National League

National League

The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

 and face the New York Yankees

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

 in the 1937 World Series

1937 World Series

The 1937 World Series featured the defending champion New York Yankees and the New York Giants in a rematch of the 1936 Series. The Yankees won the Series in five games for their second championship in a row and their sixth in fifteen years. It also broke a tie that they had reached in 1936, with...

.

Outfielder Joe Medwick

Joe Medwick

Joseph Michael Medwick , nicknamed "Ducky", was an American Major League Baseball player. A left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals during the "Gashouse Gang" era of the 1930s, he also played for the Brooklyn Dodgers , New York Giants , and Boston Braves...

 won the MVP Award this year, batting .374, with 31 home runs and 154 RBIs. Conversely, Dizzy Dean

Dizzy Dean

Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He was the last National League pitcher to win 30 games in one season. Dean was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953....

 battled injuries, staged a mid-game strike, engaged in multiple fights and was even suspended for a time. Dean finished with a 13-10 record and only one win after the All-Star Break and was named the "biggest bust of the year" by an Associated Press

Associated Press

The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...

 poll after the season.

Season summary

The Cardinals started their season strongly, winning seven of their first eight games and jumping out to a 1½-game lead by the end of April. They were in second place as late as June 27, just half a game out of first place with a record of 35-24. However, they never rose any higher, spending the rest of the year in either third or fourth place, ending the season by losing six of eight and with their largest deficit of the year of 15 games out of first place.

Roster

1937 St. Louis Cardinals
Roster
Pitchers		Catchers Infielders		Outfielders		Manager Coaches

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
OF		156	633	237	.374	31	154

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
	17	32	7	.219	0	4

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
	27	197.1	13	10	2.69	120

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
	14	0	3	0	3.71	20
	4	0	0	0	4.00	6
	1	0	0	0	∞	0

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Columbus (AA), Cedar Rapids, Mobile, Jacksonville, Springfield, Albuquerque, Duluth

Midland club folded, July 9, 1937