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 44th 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 34th 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 77-76 during the season and finished 4th in the National League.

Regular season

Early in the 1925 season, second baseman Rogers Hornsby

Rogers Hornsby

Rogers Hornsby, Sr. , nicknamed "The Rajah", was an American baseball infielder, manager, and coach who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball . He played for the St. Louis Cardinals , New York Giants , Boston Braves , Chicago Cubs , and St. Louis Browns...

 was named player-manager of the Cardinals, replacing Branch Rickey

Branch Rickey

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

, whose professorial style of managing had gone over the heads of most of his players. Immediately after taking over, Hornsby told his fellow players, "Let's cut this baloney and just play ball." They went 64-51 the rest of the way.

The 1925 season also brought Hornsby's second triple crown

Triple crown (baseball)

In Major League Baseball, a player earns the Triple Crown when he leads a league in three specific statistical categories. For batters, a player must lead the league in home runs, run batted in , and batting average; pitchers must lead the league in wins, strikeouts, and earned run average...

. He posted a .403 batting average

Batting average

Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

 with 39 home run

Home run

In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...

s and 143 RBI

Run batted in

Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...

. He was named the National League's Most Valuable Player

MLB Most Valuable Player Award

The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award is an annual Major League Baseball award, given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers Association of America...

, having barely missed the award in . His .756 slugging percentage that year is the highest in the National League during the 20th century.

Roster

1925 St. Louis Cardinals
Roster
valign="top" | Pitchers		valign="top" | Catchers Infielders		valign="top" | Outfielders Other batters		valign="top" | 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
2B		138	504	203	.403	39	143

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
	54	187	51	.273	0	18
	22	71	22	.310	0	4
	13	41	12	.293	1	6

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

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
	17	40	2	4	6.30	13
	3	10	0	1	8.10	3

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

Records

• Rogers Hornsby, National League record, Best slugging average by a second baseman, (.756).
• Rogers Hornsby, Major league record, Highest batting average
  Batting average
  Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
  
   in a five season span (.402 average from 1921 to 1925)

Farm system