The St. Louis Cardinals did what no one thought possible on Friday, beating the Texas Rangers in Game 7 of the 2011 World Series for the franchise’s 11th title.
The Cardinals had no business being in this World Series, let alone the playoffs. They were a team that didn’t have enough good starting pitching, were below average defensively and had no speed in their lineup.
St. Louis trailed the Atlanta Braves in the National League wild card race by 10 and-a-half games with 32 games remaining on the schedule. They trailed the Braves by three games with five to play. And they didn’t earn their playoff berth until the last day of the season.
Once the Cardinals made it to the playoffs, no one expected them to get past Philadelphia. They trailed the Phillies – the team with a vaunted pitching staff and baseball’s best record – 1-0 and 2-1 in the National League Division Series.
St. Louis won the NLDS by beating the Phillies on the road with Roy Halladay on the mound for Philadelphia. Chris Carpenter pitched a complete game three-hit shutout to put the Cardinals in the National League Championship Series.
The Cards would face the Milwaukee Brewers, a team that won the NL Central division by six games over St. Louis. The Brewers and Cardinals split their regular season series 9-9 and it was no secret that the club’s didn’t like one another.
The Cardinals trailed the Brewers 1-0 in the NLCS after Jaime Garcia imploded and gave up a 5-2 St. Louis lead. But the Redbirds would overcome that Game 1 loss and took the series from Milwaukee in six games to win their 18th National League pennant.
The 2011 World Series would pit the Cards against the Texas Rangers, a team that won 96 games during the regular season.
The American League champs were considered the favorites to beat the Cardinals because of their better starting pitching, a strong bullpen and a lineup that could score runs in bunches.
St. Louis trailed the Rangers 3-2 in the World Series as the teams went back to Busch Stadium for at least one more game.
The Cardinals trailed the Rangers five times in Game 6 and were one strike away from losing the series in back-to-back innings. And yet, St. Louis won Game 6 on a David Freese home run in the bottom of the 11th to force a Game 7.
On Friday night, the Cardinals sent Carpenter to the mound on three days rest. After a shaky first inning in which he gave up two runs, it looked like the Cardinals improbable run would come to an end.
After Rangers’ starter Matt Harrison got two quick outs in the bottom half of the first inning, he walked the next two batters to bring Freese to the plate.
Just as he has done throughout the postseason, Freese came up big and lined a double into right field to tie the game 2-2. With the Busch Stadium crowd roaring, everyone was again reminded of the magic that had become the Cardinals season.
Carpenter survived another two innings without his best stuff then settled down and shut the Rangers out leading into the top of the seventh. By then, St. Louis had taken a 5-2 lead and their 11th World Series title seemed inevitable.
Jason Motte came in to finish things off in the ninth, getting three straight outs to complete the Cardinals’ unlikely journey to a World Series title.
That’s why a case can be made that these Cardinals pulled off the greatest comeback in MLB history.
There are other legitimate candidates, such as the 1914 Boston Braves, or the 1978 New York Yankees.
But no team had ever won it all after being 10 and-a-half games out of a playoff spot as late as August 24.
No team, that is, until the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals.
For a team that I picked to finish fourth in their division this season, St. Louis clearly exceeded all expectations. They’ve also made me eat a serious amount of crow over the past two months.
The Cardinals did the undoable, and they did it in ways that we’re likely never to see again. That makes this team and this season one of the most magical in modern baseball history.
Congratulations St. Louis. See you again at spring training.
