The 1977

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

season was the team's 96th season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 86th season in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

. The Cardinals went 83–79 during the season and finished third in the

National League East The National League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. Along with the American League Central it is one of two divisions to have every member win at least one World Series title. The division was created when the National Leag ...

, 18 games behind the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

Vern Rapp Vernon Fred "Vern" Rapp (May 11, 1928 – December 31, 2015) was a Major League Baseball manager and coach. A career minor league catcher and a successful skipper in the minors, Rapp had two brief tours of duty as a big league manager. Minor Lea ...

took over as the Cardinals' manager this year, after the twelve-year reign of their longtime manager Red Schoendienst. On August 29, Cardinals left-fielder

Lou Brock Louis Clark Brock (June 18, 1939September 6, 2020) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He began his 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the 1961 Chicago Cubs but spent most of it as a left fielder for the St. Louis ...

broke the modern-day stolen base record, by stealing bases 892 and 893 in a game against the

Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL pennan ...

in San Diego.

Offseason

* October 20, 1976:

Willie Crawford Willie Murphy Crawford (September 7, 1946 – August 27, 2004) was a professional baseball outfielder. He played with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1964–1975), St. Louis Cardinals (1976), Houston Astros (1977) and Oakland Athletics (1977) of Major ...

, John Curtis and Vic Harris were traded by the Cardinals to the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...

for Mike Caldwell, Dave Rader and John D'Acquisto. * November 6, 1976: Bill Greif, Ángel Torres and

Sam Mejías Samuel Elías Mejías '' ay-hee'-ahs' (born May 9, 1952) is a former backup outfielder in Major League Baseball who played from through for the St. Louis Cardinals (1976), Montreal Expos (1977–78), Chicago Cubs (1979) and Cincinnati Reds (1979 ...

were traded by the Cardinals to the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in ...

for Pat Scanlon, Steve Dunning, and

Tony Scott Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was an English film director and producer. He was known for directing highly successful action and thriller films such as '' Top Gun'' (1986), '' Beverly Hills Cop II'' (1987), ''D ...

.Pat Scanlon page at Baseball Reference
/ref> * November 6, 1976:

Lee Richard Lee Edward "BeeBee" Richard September 18, 1948 - August 6, 2023 is a former Major League Baseball infielder. Playing career He played all or part of five seasons in the majors, between and , for the Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals. H ...

was released by the Cardinals. * November 21, 1977:

Luis DeLeón Luis Antonio DeLeón Tricoche (born August 19, 1958, in Ponce, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched all or parts of seven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between and . He was the co- closer for ...

was signed as an amateur free agent by the Cardinals. * December 6, 1976:

Roger Freed Roger Vernon Freed (June 2, 1946 – January 9, 1996), was an American professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, Montreal Expos, and St. Louis C ...

was selected by the Cardinals from the

in the rule 5 draft. * January 11, 1977: Jesse Orosco was drafted by the Cardinals in the 7th round of the

1977 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1977 Major League Baseball draft. Other notable Selections ''*'' Did not sign Background The White Sox surprised some when they passed on right-handed pitcher Bill ...

, but did not sign. He would later pitch for the club in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

. * February 28, 1977: Mark Covert (minors) was traded by the Cardinals to the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

for

Buddy Schultz Charles Budd Schultz (born September 19, 1950), is a former Major League Baseball player who played pitcher from 1975–1979. He played for the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals. Schultz holds the NCAA record for most strikeouts in a game. On ...

. * March 24, 1977: Tom Walker was released by the Cardinals. * March 28, 1977:

Bill Caudill William Holland Caudill (born July 13, 1956) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Caudill was one of the top closers in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to . Early years Caudill attended Aviation High School in Redondo Beach, C ...

was traded by the Cardinals to the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

for Joel Youngblood.Joel Youngblood page at Baseball Reference
/ref> * March 30, 1977: Doug Clarey was traded by the Cardinals to the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...

for

Benny Ayala Benigno Ayala Felix (born February 7, 1951) is a former Major League Baseball player who had a 10-season career from to . He played outfield, first base, and designated hitter. He played for the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals both of the N ...

. * March 31, 1977:

Ken Rudolph Kenneth Victor Rudolph (born December 29, 1946) is an American former professional baseball player. A catcher, he appeared in 328 Major League games played between – for the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants and Baltimore O ...

was purchased from the Cardinals by the

Regular season

Opening Day starters

* Héctor Cruz *

Pete Falcone Peter Frank Falcone (born October 1, 1953) is an American former professional baseball pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, and Atlanta Braves. Early years As a senior at Lafayette High School in Brooklyn, N ...

* Keith Hernandez *

Don Kessinger Donald Eulon Kessinger (born July 17, 1942) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from to , most prominently as a member of the Chicago Cubs where, he was a six-time ...

* Bake McBride *

Ken Reitz Kenneth John Reitz (June 24, 1951March 31, 2021) was an American baseball third baseman who played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed " Zamboni", he played for the St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, and P ...

Ted Simmons Ted Lyle Simmons (born August 9, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. A switch-hitter, Simmons was a catcher for most of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the St. Louis Cardinals (1968–1980), the Milwau ...

Garry Templeton Garry Lewis Templeton (born March 24, 1956) is an American former professional baseball player and minor league manager. He played as a shortstop in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, and New York Mets from 1976 t ...

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* May 17, 1977: John D'Acquisto and Pat Scanlon were traded by the Cardinals to the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

for

Butch Metzger Clarence Edward Metzger (born May 23, 1952) is an American former professional baseball player and scout. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through for the San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardin ...

. * June 7, 1977:

Mike Jeffcoat James Michael Jeffcoat (born August 3, 1959), is an American former professional baseball player and also a former coach who pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1983 to 1985, 1987 to 1992, and 1994. He played college baseball for Louisiana ...

was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 30th round of the 1977 amateur draft, but did not sign. * June 7, 1977:

Neil Fiala Neil Stephen Fiala is a former Major League Baseball player. He played in five games in the majors in September , all as a pinch hitter. He pinch-hit three times for the St. Louis Cardinals without a hit, then was traded to the Cincinnati Reds on ...

was drafted by the Cardinals in the 32nd round of the

. * June 15, 1977: Bake McBride and Steve Waterbury were traded by the Cardinals to the

for

Tom Underwood Thomas Gerald Underwood (December 22, 1953 – November 22, 2010) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. His younger brother, Pat was also a pitcher, and made his major league debut against Tom. It was the first time in major league his ...

Dane Iorg Dane Charles Iorg ( ; born May 11, 1950) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from (–) for four teams, including eight seasons spent with the St. Louis Cardinals ...

, and

Rick Bosetti Richard Alan Bosetti (born August 5, 1953) is an American former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to for the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, and Oakland Athletics. ...

. * June 15, 1977: Joel Youngblood was traded by the Cardinals to the

for Mike Phillips. * August 20, 1977:

was traded by the Cardinals to the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

for Steve Staniland (minors). * August 31, 1977:

Clay Carroll Clay Palmer Carroll (born May 2, 1941) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Cincinnati Reds dynasty that won three divisi ...

was traded by the Cardinals to the

for players to be named later. The White Sox completed the deal by sending Nyls Nyman to the Cardinals on September 2, and sending Dave Hamilton and

Silvio Martínez Silvio Ramón Martínez Cabrera is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Martínez pitched all or part of five seasons in the majors, from until , for the Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals. He was traded along with Richie Zisk from the ...

to the Cardinals on November 28.

Roster

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

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

Other batters

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

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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

Other pitchers

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

Relief pitchers

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

Awards and honors

, Lou Gehrig Award *

, National League leader,

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...

s (19)

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Arkansas, GastoniaJohnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball'', 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007

References

External links

1977 St. Louis Cardinals at Baseball Reference1977 St. Louis Cardinals team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
{{St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis Cardinals seasons Saint Louis Cardinals season

St Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...