The St. Louis Cardinals’ 1982 season was the team’s 101st season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 91st season in the National League. Making up for the previous year’s near-miss, the Cardinals went 92-70 during the season and won their first-ever National League East Division title by three games over the Philadelphia Phillies.
They defeated the National League West champion Atlanta Braves in three straight games to claim their first NL pennant since 1968. From there, they went on to win the World Series in seven games over the American League champion Milwaukee Brewers. It was the Cardinals’ first World Championship since 1967, and their last until they opened the current Busch Stadium in 2006.
Debuts
- Willie McGee May 10
- John Stuper June 1
- Jeff Keener June 8
- Jeff Lahti June 27
- Kelly Paris September 1
Transactions
October 21, 1981: Bob Sykes was traded by the Cardinals to the New York Yankees for Willie McGee.
October 23, 1981: Jeff Little was traded by the Cardinals to the Minnesota Twins for Mike Kinnunen.
November 20, 1981: Silvio Martínez and Lary Sorensen were traded by the Cardinals to the Cleveland Indians as part of a three-team trade. The Philadelphia Phillies traded Lonnie Smith to the Cardinals. The Indians traded Bo Díaz to the Phillies. The Phillies sent a player to be named later to the Indians. The Phillies completed the deal by sending Scott Munninghoff to the Indians on December 9.
December 10, 1981: Sixto Lezcano, Garry Templeton and a player to be named later were traded by the Cardinals to the San Diego Padres for Ozzie Smith, Steve Mura and a player to be named later. The deal was completed on February 19, 1982, with the Padres sending Al Olmsted to the Cardinals and the Cardinals sending Luis DeLeón to the Padres.
December 29, 1981: Joaquín Andújar was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals.[
First baseman Keith Hernandez and shortstop Ozzie Smith won Gold Gloves this year.
World Series
World Series: St. Louis Cardinals (4) defeated Milwaukee Brewers (3)
World Series Game 1 Played on Tuesday, October 12, 1982 (N) at Busch Stadium II
MIL A 2 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 4 - 10 17 0 STL N 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 3 1
BOX+PBP WP: Caldwell (1-0) LP: Forsch (0-1) HR: Simmons (1)
World Series Game 2 Played on Wednesday, October 13, 1982 (N) at Busch Stadium II
MIL A 0 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 - 4 10 1 STL N 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 1 x - 5 8 0
BOX+PBP WP: Sutter (1-0) LP: McClure (0-1) HR: Simmons (2)
World Series Game 3 Played on Friday, October 15, 1982 (N) at County Stadium
STL N 0 0 0 0 3 0 2 0 1 - 6 6 1 MIL A 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 - 2 5 3
BOX+PBP WP: Andujar (1-0) LP: Vuckovich (0-1) SV: Sutter (1) HR: McGee 2 (2), Cooper (1)
World Series Game 4 Played on Saturday, October 16, 1982 (D) at County Stadium
STL N 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 - 5 8 1 MIL A 0 0 0 0 1 0 6 0 x - 7 10 2
BOX+PBP WP: Slaton (1-0) LP: Bair (0-1) SV: McClure (1)
World Series Game 5 Played on Sunday, October 17, 1982 (D) at County Stadium
STL N 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 - 4 15 2 MIL A 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 2 x - 6 11 1
BOX+PBP WP: Caldwell (2-0) LP: Forsch (0-2) SV: McClure (2) HR: Yount (1)
World Series Game 6 Played on Tuesday, October 19, 1982 (N) at Busch Stadium II
MIL A 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 1 4 4 STL N 0 2 0 3 2 6 0 0 x - 13 12 1
BOX+PBP WP: Stuper (1-0) LP: Sutton (0-1) HR: Hernandez (1), Porter (1)
World Series Game 7 Played on Wednesday, October 20, 1982 (N) at Busch Stadium II
MIL A 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 - 3 7 0 STL N 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 2 x - 6 15 1
BOX+PBP WP: Andujar (2-0) LP: McClure (0-2) SV: Sutter (2) HR: Oglivie (1)