Rookie of the Year
This award began in 1947.
1954 Wally Moon OF – Moon finished his rookie season with a .304 batting average, 12 home runs, 76 runs batted in, and career-high numbers in runs (106), hits (193), doubles (29), and stolen bases in 151 games. He earned both the MLB Rookie of the Year and The Sporting News Rookie of the Year honors. Almost a unanimous vote, Moon won easily over Ernie Banks, Gene Conley and Hank Aaron.1955 Bill Virdon OF
Wally Moon made his debut on April 13, 1954, that date is also important because Tom Alston made his debut being the first black player to play for the Cardinals.
1955- Bill Virdon– Virdon joined the Cardinals in 1955, as the Cardinals moved Stan Musial to first base to allow Virdon to play the outfield. As a rookie, Virdon had a .281 average with 17 home runs and 69 runs batted in (RBIs). He was named the winner of the National League (NL) Rookie of the Year Award, voted on by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, beating Jack Meyer of the Philadelphia Phillies.
1974 Bake McBride OF – He finished the 1974 season with 173 base hits, 30 stolen bases, and a .309 batting average, and was named the National League’s Rookie of the Year.
1985 Vince Coleman OF -He led the National League in stolen bases in every season he played with the Cardinals (1985–1990), becoming one of just four players ever to lead his league in six consecutive seasons. The other players to accomplish this feat are Rickey Henderson, Luis Aparicio, and Maury Wills. Coleman, Henderson, Wills, and Brock are the only players to steal 100 bases in a season. Only Coleman and Henderson have three different 100-steal seasons to their credit, and only Coleman reached the total in three consecutive years.[citation needed] As the leadoff hitter for St. Louis, Coleman helped the team reach the 1985 playoffs. However, he suffered an injury prior to the fourth game of the National League Championship Series, when the automatic tarpaulin at Busch Stadium rolled over his leg during routine stretching exercises. The injury sidelined him for the rest of the postseason, and the Cardinals eventually lost a seven-game World Series to Kansas City.Following the season, Coleman became the fourth-ever unanimous selection for the NL Rookie of the Year Award.
1986 Todd Worrell RHRP – his 94 mile-per-hour fastball caught the attention of a scout for the Cardinals, who made him their first round draft pick in 1982. He was expected to be a starting pitcher, but he was moved to the bullpen in 1985, when the Cardinals called him up for the playoff race. Worrell posted a 2.91 earned run average (ERA) in 17 games at the end of the year. In the 1985 World Series, he tied a World Series record by striking out six consecutive hitters, but the Cardinals lost to the Kansas City Royals in seven games. Still considered a rookie in 1986, Worrell led the NL with 36 saves, winning the NL Rookie of the Year Award and the Rolaids Relief Man Award.
2001 Albert Pujols OF -At midseason, Pujols became the first Cardinals rookie since Luis Arroyo in 1955 to make the All-Star Game.He finished the season batting .329 (sixth in the league) with 194 hits (fifth in the league), 47 doubles (fifth in the league), 37 home runs, and 112 runs. His 37 home runs led the Cardinals, topping Jim Edmonds’ 30 and McGwire’s 29. He was named the National League (NL) Silver Slugger Award winner for the third base position, and he finished fourth in NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) voting, behind Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Luis Gonzalez and was the winner of Rookie of the Year.