Cardinals are Good but Not Great
The Cardinals are having issues getting back to the top excellence they put out in 1934. They are still a good team and are close to the top, but they can’t seem to get it back.
Major League Record on Opening Day
The 1936 season is their 55th year in St. Louis and 45th year in the National league. This season begins on April 14 with a major league record as Eddie Morgan becomes the first player to hit a pinch hit home run in his first at bat in the major leagues. Ironically, it is his only home run he hits in his short 39 game career. (BOXSCORE)
Johnny Mize Debut
Another debut takes place as Johnny Mize, on April 16, gets into the game. (BOXSCORE) In his first at bat, he will strike out as a pinch hitter for pitcher Paul Dean. As history will tell us, he will do much better as he plays.
Cardinals Make All Star Game Impact
Two Cardinal players will make an impact in the All Star game in Boston on July 7th. Dizzy Dean will pitch three innings of scoreless baseball and become the winning pitcher as Joe Medwick drives in the winning run and the NL wins 4-3.
This season saw Joe Medwick set a record (that stands for about 75 years) as he hit 64 doubles on the year.
Walter Alston- First and Only At Bat
The Cardinals send Walter Alston to the plate to hit for Johhny Mize , as he was ejected, and the future manager strikes out in his only at bat in the major leagues on September 27. (BOXSCORE)
The Cardinals finish tied for second place with a 87-67 record.
Some numbers from the season:
The catcher, Spud Davis and he only produced 99 hits for the year and Leo Durcoher, shortstop, batted .286.
The batting stars were first baseman Johnny Mize with 136 hits, .329 average, 19 home runs and 93 RBI’s and Joe Medwick with 18 homers, 138 runs batted in and a .351 batting average.
Pepper Martin hits .309 with 11 home runs and Terry Moore added 47 runs batted in. The team scored 795 runs and allowed 794 for the season.
The highest paid player was Dizzy Dean at $22,165 followed by Paul Dean at $10,000.
During the regular season the 1936 St. Louis Cardinals scored the most runs (17) on July 5, 1936 versus the Cincinnati Reds. The most runs scored against them (22) was played on July 29, 1936 versus the Brooklyn Dodgers.