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 73rd 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 its 63rd 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 72-82 during the season and finished 6th in the National League.

Offseason

• December 1, 1953: 1953 minor league draft
  • Brooks Lawrence
    Brooks Lawrence
    Brooks Ulysses Lawrence was a Major League Baseball All-Star pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals , Cincinnati Redlegs , and Cincinnati Reds ....
    
     was drafted by the Cardinals from the Cincinnati Reds
    Cincinnati Reds
    The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
    
    .
• December 1, 1953: Sonny Senerchia was drafted by the Cardinals from the Pittsburgh Pirates
  Pittsburgh Pirates
  The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
  
  .
• January 26, 1954: Dick Sisler
  Dick Sisler
  Richard Alan Sisler was an American player, coach and manager in Major League Baseball. A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Sisler was the son of Hall of Fame first baseman and two-time .400 hitter George Sisler. Younger brother Dave Sisler was a relief pitcher in the 1950s and 1960s with four MLB...
  
  , Eddie Erautt
  Eddie Erautt
  Edward Lorenz Sebastian Erautt was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played for the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals.-External links:...
  
   and $100,000 were traded by the Cardinals to the San Diego Padres
  San Diego Padres (PCL)
  The San Diego Padres were a minor league baseball team which played in the Pacific Coast League from 1936 through 1968. The team that would eventually become the Padres was well traveled prior to moving to San Diego. It began its existence in 1903 as the Sacramento Solons, a charter member of the PCL...
  
   for Tom Alston
  Tom Alston
  Thomas Edison Alston was a Major League Baseball first baseman who played for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1954 to 1957. A native of Greensboro, North Carolina, he stood 6'5" and weighed 210 lbs....
  
  .

Regular season

Outfielder Wally Moon

Wally Moon

Wallace Wade Moon, known popularly as Wally Moon, is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. Moon played his 12-year career in the National League for the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers...

 won the Rookie of the Year Award

MLB Rookie of the Year Award

In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is annually given to one player from each league as voted on by the Baseball Writers Association of America . The award was established in 1940 by the Chicago chapter of the BBWAA, which selected an annual winner from 1940 through 1946...

 this year, batting .304, with 12 home runs and 76 RBIs. Along the way, on April 13 Moon hit a home run in his first major league at-bat.

During the season, Tom Alston

Tom Alston

Thomas Edison Alston was a Major League Baseball first baseman who played for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1954 to 1957. A native of Greensboro, North Carolina, he stood 6'5" and weighed 210 lbs....

 became the first black player in the history of the Cardinals.

Notable transactions

• April 11, 1954: Enos Slaughter
  Enos Slaughter
  Enos Bradsher Slaughter , nicknamed "Country", was an American Major League Baseball right fielder. During a 19-year baseball career, he played from 1938–1942 and 1946-1959 for four different teams, but is noted primarily for his time with the St...
  
   was traded by the Cardinals to 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...
  
   for Bill Virdon
  Bill Virdon
  William Charles Virdon is a former outfielder, manager and coach in Major League Baseball. A premier defensive outfielder during his playing days as a center fielder for the St...
  
  , Mel Wright
  Mel Wright
  Melvin James Wright, Jr. was an American Major League Baseball pitcher, pitching coach and scout. A native of Manila, Arkansas, who attended Ouachita Baptist University, Wright threw and batted right-handed and stood 6'3" tall and weighed 210 pounds .Wright was a longtime associate of former MLB...
  
  , and Emil Tellinger (minors).
• April 30, 1954: Steve Bilko
  Steve Bilko
  Stephen Thomas Bilko , was an American professional baseball player known for his home run hitting as a minor league player during the 1950s. He was 20 years old when he broke into the big leagues on September 22, 1949, with the St. Louis Cardinals.Nat Hiken, creator of The Phil Silvers Show,...
  
   was purchased from the Cardinals by the Chicago Cubs
  Chicago Cubs
  The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
  
   for $12,500.

Roster

1954 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
CF		151	635	193	.304	12	76

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

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
	13	58	0	4	3.72	17

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
	35	158.2	15	6	3.74	72

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

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Houston