In the 23rd feature of an extensive series, we will take a look at the top 10 home run hitters of every Major League Baseball franchise. Here we feature the St. Louis Cardinals. The franchise includes the St. Louis Browns from 1892 to 1898, and the St. Louis Perfectos in 1899.
10) Ted Simmons
The Hall of Fame catcher from Highland Park. Michigan had 172 home runs from 1970 to 1980. The six-time All-Star had 26 home runs in 1979, which set the Cardinals record for most home runs in a season by a Cardinals catcher, which still stands today.
9) Yadier Molina
Another catcher, Molina of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, had 176 home runs with St. Louis from 2004 to 2022. He had a career-high 22 home runs with the Cardinals in 2012. Molina’s 176 home runs are the most by a Cardinals catcher all-time. Molina’s biggest home run of his career came in game seven of the 2006 National League Championship Series. Molina hit a two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning, in a 3-1 Cardinals win over the New York Mets. The dinger broke a 1-1 tie and sent the Cardinals to the 2006 World Series.
8) Jim Bottomley
The Hall of Fame first baseman from Oglesby, Illinois had 181 home runs with St. Louis from 1922 to 1932. He led the National League in home runs with 31 in 1928. That year he also was named the National League Most Valuable Player.
7) Rogers Hornsby
The Hall of Fame infielder from Winters, Texas had 193 home runs with St. Louis from 1916 to 1926 and again in 1933. Hornsby led the Major Leagues with 42 home runs in 1922, and was the National League Most Valuable Player award winner in 1925, when he led Major League Baseball with 39 home runs. During the 1922 season, Hornsby became the first player ever to hit 40 home runs and have a .400 batting average (batting average of .401, which led the National League). The 42 home runs in 1922 was a National League record at the time.
6) Mark McGwire
The first baseman from Pomona, California is number one on the Oakland Athletics’s list and sixth on the Cardinals. The remarkable statistic is that McGwire hit 220 home runs with St. Louis from 1997 to 2001. McGwire led the Majors with 70 home runs in 1998 and 65 home runs in 1999. McGwire is one of only two players in Major League history with 70 home runs in a season. The other is Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants, who hit 73 hone runs in 2001.
5) Ray Lankford
The centerfielder from Los Angeles, California had 238 home runs with the Cardinals from 1990 to 2001. He had a career-high 31 home runs as a National League All-Star in 1997, and matched that total again in 1998. Known for his speed and power, Lankford has the Cardinals franchise record for most seasons with 20 home runs and 2o stolen bases (five).
4) Jim Edmonds
The centerfielder from Fullerton, California had 241 home runs with the Cardinals from 2000 to 2007. He had career highs in home runs with Cardinals (42) in 2000 and 2004. A National League All-Star in 2000, he also had 39 home runs as an All-Star in 2003, and 29 home runs as an All-Star in 2005. When the Cardinals won the 2006 World Series, Edmonds hit a home run in game two of the National League Championship Series, a 9-6 Cardinals win over the New York Mets.
3) Ken Boyer
The third baseman from Liberty, Missouri had 282 home runs with the Cardinals from 1955 to 1965. The seven-time All-Star had a career-high 32 home runs with the Cardinals in 1960. When the Cardinals won the 1964 World Series, Boyer had 24 regular season home runs and was the National League Most Valuable Player. In the 1964 postseason, a series the Cardinals won in seven games against the New York Yankees, Boyer hit a grand slam in game four of the World Series, a 4-3 Cardinals win. In eight seasons Boyer was with St. Louis, Boyer had a minimum of 20 home runs.
2) Albert Pujols
The first baseman from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic had 469 home runs with the Cardinals from 2001 to 2011 and 2022. A 10-time National Leaguer All-Star with St. Louis, Pujols hit 37 home runs as the National League Rookie of the Year in 2001. By 2002, Pujols became the first player to have a .300 batting average, 30 home runs, 100 runs scored and 100 runs batted in during each of his first two seasons. He had 41 home runs as the National League MVP in 2005, a career-high 49 home runs in 2006, had 37 home runs as the National League MVP in 2008, 47 home runs (which led Major League Baseball) as the National League MVP in 2009, and 42 home runs (which led the National League) in 2010. Pujols hit four home runs with the Cardinals in the 2004 National League Championship Series against the Houston Astros, a series where Pujols was named NLCS MVP. In 2006, the year the Cardinals won the World Series in five games over the Detroit Tigers, Pujols hit three postseason home runs. Pujols’s home runs came in game one of the 2006 National League Divisional Series, a 5-1 Cardinals win over the San Diego Padres, a 4-2 Cardinals win over the New York Mets in game five of the National League Championship Series, and in a 7-2 Cardinals win over the Detroit Tigers in game one of the World Series. In 2011, the year the Cardinals won the World Series in seven games over the Texas Rangers, Pujols hit five home runs. He hit three dingers in a 16-7 St. Louis win over the Texas Rangers in game three of the World Series, a two-run shot in a 12-3 Cardinals win over the Milwaukee Brewers in game two of the National League Championship Series, and one home run in a 12-6 Cardinals win over the Brewers in game six of the NLCS. Pujols is one of three players ever to hit three home runs in a World Series game. The other two are Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson.
1) Stan Musial
The Hall of Fame outfielder and first baseman from Donora, Pennsylvania had 475 home runs with the Cardinals from 1941 to 1963. The 20-time All-Star had 13 home runs as the 1943 NL MVP, 16 home runs as the 1946 NL MVP, and a career-high 39 home runs as the 1948 NL MVP. On May 2, 1954 in two Cardinals games against the New York Giants, Musial set a record for most home runs in a doubleheader with five. On July 8, 1962, Musial at the age of 41, became the oldest player in Major League Baseball history to hit three home runs in a game in a 15-1 Cardinals win over the New York Mets. When the Cardinals won the 1944 World Series in six games over the St. Louis Browns, Musial hit a home run in game four of the series, a 5-1 Cardinals win.
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