Red October: The St. Louis Cardinals Win Their Tenth World Series Championship

As pitcher Adam Wainwright blew strike three past Detroit hitter Brandon Inge, the St. Louis Cardinals became the 2006 World Series Champions. The victory capped off what many have considered an improbable postseason. After the team had held on to win the National League Central Division title with a win-loss record of 83-78 during the regular season, no one gave them a chance of reaching the World Series, let alone winning.

All of the so-called "experts" said the Cards would not get past the San Diego Padres in the National League Divisional Series. Then, after St. Louis downed the Padres three games to one, the experts said the New York Mets would make short work of the Redbirds. After they lost Game 6 and allowed the Mets to tie the series at three games apiece, I had begun to write off the Cardinals. But after seeing St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina put the Cards ahead of New York with a home run in the ninth inning, and then watching Wainwright throw the final strike past Carlos Beltran, I became a believer again.

As St. Louis entered the World Series, the experts once again said the Cardinals would not have a chance against the American League champions, the Detroit Tigers. They predicted the Tigers would sweep the Redbirds in four games, just as the Boston Red Sox had done in 2004. Everyone said the Cards would be overwhelmed by Detroit's offense. And with the Cardinals hurting on pitching much of the season, no one believed the St. Louis pitching staff would be able to contain the Detroit hitters.

When it was all said and done, the Cardinals had won the series four games to one. In five games, Detroit had scored all of eleven runs to St. Louis' twenty-two. The Tigers' offense had not been as dominant as predicted. And the Cardinals starting pitchers stepped up their game and delivered from the mound. I was truly blown away by rookie Anthony Reyes, who retired 17 consecutive Detroit batters in Game 1. Cy Young Award winner Chris Carpenter pitched eight solid innings in a 5-0 shutout in Game 3. Jeff Suppan delivered a strong performance in Game 4. And then there's Jeff Weaver. Weaver, who had been one of the goats for the New Yankees in their 2003 World Series loss to the Florida Marlins, found redemption in Game 5 as he pitched 8 innings and gave up two runs on four hits in a 4-2 victory.

Shortstop David Eckstein was named the World Series MVP. Eckstein had started series without a hit in his first eleven at-bats. But then he stepped up and delivered with three doubles and a single in Game 4, and drove in two runs in Game 5. Eckstein finished the series 8 for 22, with four runs batted in and two runs scored. This was Eckstein's second world series victory, having been a part of the Anaheim Angels' 2002 championship team. Eckstein is now the first NL shortstop to win the World Series MVP award, and the fourth shortstop ever to win the award.

Several other players played important roles in the Cardinals' victory. Center fielder Jim Edmonds was 6 for 17 with 4 RBI's. Catcher Yadier Molina was 7 for 17 with three RBI's and 7 runs scored. Third baseman Scott Rolen was 8 for 19 with with two RBI's, including a solo home run in Game 1. First Baseman Albert Pujols was 3 for 15 with 2 RBI's. Both of those runs were scored on a two-run homer Pujols hit in Game 1.

Friday night's win brought the Cardinals their first World Series championship in twenty-four years. Their last World Series title came in 1982 when they beat the Milwaukee Brewers in seven games. Since then, the Redbirds and their fans have had to endure heartbreaking series losses in 1985, 1987 and 2004. This also only the second time a major league team has opened a new stadium and won the World Series in the same season. The New York Yankees accomplished that feat in 1929.

The Cardinals have now won ten World Series titles in seventeen appearances. They have the most World Series
championships of any National League team. Only the Yankees have won more championships than St. Louis. The Redbirds won their first World Series title in 1926, beating the Yankees four games to three. This was the third time the Cardinals and Tigers have faced off in the Fall Classic. St. Louis won the first meeting in 1934 in seven games, and then blew a three games to one lead, losing to the Tigers in seven.

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa joined Sparky Anderson as only the second manager in major league history to win World Series titles with teams in both the American and National Leagues. La Russa had previously won with the Oakland Athletics in the 1989 World Series. He accepted the managerial job with the Cardinals in 1996, making it his mission to guide the team to its tenth World Series championship. After eleven seasons and 1,851 games, La Russa has accomplished that mission.

The St. Louis Cardinals have finished a wild and improbable postseason with a World Series championship. They did it when they weren't supposed to, silencing the experts and the naysayers in the process. During the broadcast of Game 5, a group of fans were shown holding a banner which red "The experts are idiots." I won't be so hard on the "experts," although I will say it certainly was fun to see them proven wrong. Red October has been most enjoyable with a World Series win for the Cardinals, and I look forward to seeing them try to repeat next season.