# 1971 St. Louis Cardinals season

The 1971 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 90th season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 80th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 90–72 during the season and finished second in the National League East, seven games behind the eventual NL pennant and World Series champion Pittsburgh Pirates.

## Offseason

* October 5, 1970: Dick Allen was traded by the Cardinals to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Ted Sizemore and Bob Stinson.
* October 20, 1970: Carl Taylor and Jim Ellis were traded by the Cardinals to the Milwaukee Brewers for Jerry McNertney, George Lauzerique, and Jesse Huggins (minors).

## Regular season

The Cardinals scrapped their traditional buttoned jerseys for T-shirt style uniform tops, and would keep them until they switched back in 1992.
Third baseman Joe Torre won the MVP Award this year, batting .363, with 24 home runs and 137 RBIs. Pitcher Bob Gibson won a Gold Glove this year, and threw a no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 14.

### Season standings

vteNL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 97 | 65 | .599 | — | 52‍–‍28 | 45‍–‍37 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 90 | 72 | .556 | 7 | 45‍–‍36 | 45‍–‍36 |
| Chicago Cubs | 83 | 79 | .512 | 14 | 44‍–‍37 | 39‍–‍42 |
| New York Mets | 83 | 79 | .512 | 14 | 44‍–‍37 | 39‍–‍42 |
| Montreal Expos | 71 | 90 | .441 | 25½ | 36‍–‍44 | 35‍–‍46 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 67 | 95 | .414 | 30 | 34‍–‍47 | 33‍–‍48 |

### Record vs. opponents

1971 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL |
| Atlanta | — | 5–7 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 11–7 | 7–11 | 6–6 |
| Chicago | 7–5 | — | 6–6 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 11–7 | 6–12 | 9–3 | 3–9 | 9–9 |
| Cincinnati | 9–9 | 6–6 | — | 5–13 | 7–11 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 8–4 |
| Houston | 9–9 | 7–5 | 13–5 | — | 8–10 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 2–10 |
| Los Angeles | 9–9 | 4–8 | 11–7 | 10–8 | — | 8–4 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 13–5 | 12–6 | 6–6 |
| Montreal | 5–7 | 10–8 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 4–8 | — | 9–9 | 6–12 | 7–11 | 6–5 | 7–5 | 4–14 |
| New York | 5–7 | 7–11 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 9–9 | — | 13–5 | 10–8 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 10–8 |
| Philadelphia | 4-8 | 7–11 | 2–10 | 3–9 | 5–7 | 6–10 | 5–13 | — | 6–12 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 7–11 |
| Pittsburgh | 8–4 | 12–6 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 11–7 | 8–10 | 12–6 | — | 9–3 | 3–9 | 11–7 |
| San Diego | 7–11 | 3–9 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 5–13 | 5–6 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 3–9 | — | 5–13 | 4–8 |
| San Francisco | 11–7 | 9–3 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 6–12 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 13–5 | — | 5–7 |
| St. Louis | 6–6 | 9–9 | 4–8 | 10–2 | 6–6 | 14–4 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 7–11 | 8–4 | 7–5 | — |

### Game log

1971 St. Louis Cardinals Game Log (90–72) :
April: (13–11)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 6@ Cubs1–2JenkinsGibson39,0790–1
2April 7@ Cubs14–3CarltonHands23,2871–1
3April 10Giants4–6RebergerReussJohnson26,8411–2
4April 11 (1)Giants4–2GibsonRobertson2–2
5April 11 (2)Giants2–7MarichalCleveland27,1042–3
6April 12Astros5–4CarltonBlasingameLinzy11,2703–3
7April 13Astros4–8CulverTorrezLemaster5,1053–4
8April 14@ Dodgers7–1ReussOsteenLinzy11,6444–4
9April 15@ Dodgers1–2DowningCleveland12,6324–5
10April 16@ Padres7–1GibsonCoombs6,7825–5
11April 17@ Padres4–0CarltonPhoebus3,4626–5
12April 18@ Padres4–2TorrezRossLinzy8,7777–5
13April 19@ Giants2–4BryantReuss3,6307–6
14April 20@ Giants2–1ClevelandMarichalDrabowsky9,7918–6
15April 21@ Giants5–3GibsonPerry6,1789–6
16April 22Phillies5–2CarltonBunning8,41110–6
17April 23Phillies6–8BrandonBrunet29,29010–7
18April 24Phillies5–0ReussChampion17,73311–7
19April 25Phillies5–4LinzyFryman13,12212–7
20April 26Mets2–12SeaverGibson20,40212–8
21April 27Mets1–2KoosmanCarltonFrisella8,57512–9
22April 28Mets1–9GentryTorrez8,17112–10
23April 29Mets0–7RyanReussFrisella10,21512–11
24April 30Expos4–2ShawRaymond10,76613–11 :
May: (19–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
25May 1Expos2–2Rain outTied after7 innings32,06113–11
26May 2Expos1–0CarltonMorton10,32014–11
27May 3@ Phillies2–3LerschZacharyHoerner9,10214–12
28May 4@ Phillies7–3ReussShort9,33915–12
29May 5@ Phillies5–1ClevelandHoerner10,18416–12
30May 7@ Mets1–3SeaverGibson44,30416–13
31May 9@ Mets5–9KoosmanCarltonFrisella27,18916–14
32May 10@ Expos8–5ReussRenkoLinzy16,70317–14
33May 11@ Expos10–4ClevelandMortonLinzy8,86218–14
34May 14@ Astros4–2GibsonBillingham16,43719–14
35May 15@ Astros6–5CarltonGriffinTaylor19,28520–14
36May 16@ Astros4–12DierkerReussRay14,98320–15
37May 18Dodgers6–5DrabowskyBrewer14,75321–15
38May 19Dodgers5–6MikkelsenGibson13,86921–16
39May 20Dodgers5–0CarltonSinger11,87522–16
40May 21Padres15–8ShawLaxtonDrabowsky27,29823–16
41May 22Padres7–4ZacharyRobertsShaw10,77624–16
42May 23Padres6–1ClevelandArlin9,47525–16
43May 24Padres3–12PhoebusGibsonMiller8,60925–17
44May 25Cubs4–2CarltonHands12,66726–17
45May 26Cubs9–4TaylorHoltzman12,69027–17
46May 27Cubs10–0ZacharyJenkins14,16728–17
47May 28Braves4–0ClevelandReed14,53729–17
48May 29Braves8–7DrabowskyUpshaw47,59830–17
49May 30Braves8–3CarltonP. Niekro24,38031–17
50May 31Braves3–2ReussStone20,34932–17 :
June: (8–21)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
51June 1@ Pirates0–9Ellis (7–3)Zachary (2–2)21,51632–18
52June 2@ Pirates1–10Walker (2–6)Cleveland (5–3)Veale (1)9,61232–19
53June 3@ Pirates7–1Carlton (10–2)Johnson (4–4)18,94733–19
54June 4@ Reds0–12Grimsley (3–1)Zachary (2–3)17,12033–20
55June 5@ Reds5–3Reuss (6–4)Cloninger (2–4)Drabowsky (3)18,14434–20
56June 6@ Reds2–4Gullett (6–2)Cleveland (5–4)Gibbon (5)20,18934–21
57June 7@ Braves7–6Drabowsky (3–0)Priddy (2–2)10,35435–21
58June 8@ Braves7–8Upshaw (7–4)Linzy (1–1)8,51835–22
59June 9@ Braves3–8P. Niekro (4–6)Zachary (2–4)7,50635–23
60June 10Pirates1–3Blass (6–3)Reuss (6–5)18,95035–24
61June 11Pirates4–11Ellis (9–3)Cleveland (5–5)Giusti (13)27,30835–25
62June 12Pirates3–4Grant (4–2)Arroyo (0–1)24,56535–26
63June 13Pirates4–8Giusti (2–1)Carlton (10–3)Hernández (1)21,20535–27
64June 14Reds2–7Grimsley (4–1)Reuss (6–6)Carroll (7)18,61335–28
65June 15Reds6–1Cleveland (6–5)Merritt (0–8)19,51436–28
66June 16Reds0–1Gullett (7–2)Santorini (0–3)19,23236–29
67June 17@ Cubs6–7Bonham (1–1)Zachary (2–5)22,74936–30
68June 18@ Cubs5–15Pappas (7–6)Reuss (6–7)Regan (2)23,54036–31
69June 19@ Cubs1–7Hands (8–8)Cleveland (6–6)32,80936–32
70June 20@ Cubs5–4Drabowsky (4–0)Holtzman (6–8)34,57437–32
71June 21@ Dodgers0–4O'Brien (2–1)Gibson (4–6)18,48037–33
72June 22@ Dodgers6–5Carlton (11–3)Osteen (8–5)21,00438–33
73June 23@ Dodgers3–1Drabowsky (5–0)Brewer (3–2)Shaw (2)19,91039–33
74June 24@ Dodgers4–11Downing (8–4)Cleveland (6–7)Peña (1)19,28239–34
75June 25Cubs0–12Bonham (2–1)Santorini (0–4)28,74339–35
76June 26Cubs1–5Holtzman (7–8)Gibson (4–7)43,30039–36
77June 27Cubs1–4Jenkins (11–7)Carlton (11–4)34,96439–37
78June 28Pirates5–11Moose (6–4)Reuss (6–8)Grant (7)15,02439–38
79June 29Pirates8–3Cleveland (7–7)Walker (3–7)14,58640–38 :
July: (18–11)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
80July 1@ Giants7–8McMahonZacharyJohnson7,79440–39
81July 2@ Giants7–2GibsonStone11,26841–39
82July 3@ Giants1–10CumberlandCarlton24,89641-40
83July 4@ Padres3–2ReussArlinDrabowsky5,09542–40
84July 5@ Padres2–3MillerCleveland4,58842–41
85July 7@ Padres1–4KirbyGibson7,45642–42
86July 9 (1)Astros5–2CarltonForsch43–42
87July 9 (2)Astros9–5ReussBlasingameDrabowsky24,74844–42
88July 10Astros6–5LinzyGladding32,89545–42
89July 11Astros7–3GibsonRay15,25246–42
90July 15 (1)Expos7–3CarltonStrohmayer47–42
91July 15 (2)Expos4–6StonemanReuss19,40947–43
92July 16Expos6–0ClevelandRenko23,76548–43
93July 17Expos3–5McAnallyGibson22,79148–44
94July 18Mets8–5TaylorMatlackLinzy27,49749–44
95July 19Mets2–5SadeckiCarlton20,00349–45
96July 20Phillies1–5ShortReuss14,65049–46
97July 21Phillies6–1ClevelandLersch16,20050–46
98July 22Phillies8–0GibsonFryman20,54751–46
99July 23@ Expos6–2ZacharyMcGinn20,48052–46
100July 24 (1)@ Expos8–7ShawRaymond53–46
101July 24 (2)@ Expos9–3ReussMorton24,10954–46
102July 25@ Expos4–5StonemanCleveland20,34654–47
103July 26@ Mets4–0GibsonSadecki30,58655–47
104July 27@ Mets2–3FrisellaZachary35,59755–48
105July 28@ Mets6–3CarltonMatlack30,79656–48
106July 29@ Mets3–1ReussC. Williams30,25457–48
107July 30@ Phillies4–3GibsonShort26,46158–48
108July 31@ Phillies4–5BrandonDrabowsky19,26958–49 :
August: (18–11)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
109August 1@ Phillies9–6S. WilliamsMuñiz22,43259–49
110August 2Padres3–1CarltonRoberts13,59160–49
111August 3Padres1–6ArlinReuss14,24660–50
112August 4Giants7–2GibsonPerry27,02461–50
113August 5Giants3–2ClevelandMarichalDrabowsky18,64162–50
114August 6Giants12–8ShawMcMahonPatterson27,19263–50
115August 7Dodgers3–2LinzyMikkelsen36,63364–50
116August 8Dodgers2–4SuttonReussBrewer45,19564–51
117August 9Dodgers5–6DowningGibsonBrewer26,72364–52
118August 10Braves1–2StoneClevelandUpshaw20,92164–53
119August 11Braves3–9KelleyZacharyMcQueen21,90664–54
120August 12@ Pirates3–2CarltonWalker21,80565–54
121August 13@ Pirates2–0ReussBlass31,56366–54
122August 14@ Pirates11–0GibsonJohnson30,67867–54
123August 15@ Pirates6–4LinzyMillerDrabowsky49,32968–54
124August 16@ Reds5–6CarrollLinzy13,25968–55
125August 17@ Reds3–5GrangerTaylor14,57868–56
126August 18@ Reds0–5GullettGibson28,22868–57
127August 20@ Braves5–6BarberShaw16,09968–58
128August 21@ Braves5–8StoneCarlton22,45168–59
129August 22@ Braves13–4ReussReedTaylor19,65069–59
130August 23@ Astros3–2GibsonWilson19,16770–59
131August 24@ Astros2–1ClevelandForschSantorini13,86071–59
132August 25@ Astros4–1CarltonCook11,02572–59
133August 27Reds7–8GrangerLinzyGibbon33,27372–60
134August 28Reds4–0GibsonNolan40,82373–60
135August 29Reds4–3ShawGranger28,62474–60
136August 30Mets3–2CarltonKoosman15,25775–60
137August 31Mets2–1ReussFrisella15,85476–60 :
September: (14–12)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
138September 1Mets1–7SeaverGibson22,20476–61
139September 3Cubs6–1ClevelandHands26,70877–61
140September 4Cubs5–7PappasCarltonRegan31,80777–62
141September 5Cubs12–5ReussJenkinsTaylor39,30978–62
142September 6 (1)@ Phillies6–3GibsonWise79–62
143September 6 (2)@ Phillies1–2ChampionZacharyHoerner13,19379–63
144September 7@ Phillies7–5ShawWilsonSantorini9,33980–63
145September 10@ Cubs8–7S. WilliamsColborn6,79281–63
146September 11@ Cubs0–7PizarroReuss24,01081–64
147September 12@ Cubs4–0GibsonHoltzman24,01782–64
148September 13Phillies5–6WilsonShaw13,86382–65
149September 14Phillies4–5WiseZacharyShort10,64082–66
150September 15@ Pirates1–4EllisCarltonHernández21,75182–67
151September 16@ Pirates1–6WalkerReussHernández18,12782–68
152September 17@ Expos7–2GibsonMorton13,37183–68
153September 18@ Expos2–4StonemanCleveland16,77983–69
154September 19@ Expos11–0CarltonMcAnally25,76984–69
155September 21Pirates6–4DrabowskyEllis13,34885–69
156September 22Pirates1–5WalkerGibsonGiusti14,84585–70
157September 23Pirates0–5BrilesCleveland10,91885–71
158September 24Expos10–6TaylorMarshall8,10986–71
159September 25Expos8–6ShawMorton9,11487–71
160September 26Expos7–1HigginsStoneman11,47388–71
161September 27@ Mets6–1S. WilliamsCapraDrabowsky11,33189–71
162September 28@ Mets5–2CarltonRyan3,33890–71
163September 30@ Mets1–6SeaverPatterson42,34490–72 :

### Opening Day starters

* Matty Alou
* Lou Brock
* José Cardenal
* Joe Hague
* Julián Javier
* Jerry Reuss
* Ted Simmons
* Ted Sizemore
* Joe Torre

### Notable transactions

* June 8, 1971: Keith Hernandez was drafted by the Cardinals in the 42nd round of the 1971 Major League Baseball Draft.
* June 11, 1971: Leron Lee and Fred Norman were traded by the Cardinals to the San Diego Padres for Al Santorini.
* June 15, 1971: Mike Torrez was traded by the Cardinals to the Montreal Expos for Bob Reynolds.

### 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
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| C | Ted Simmons | 133 | 510 | 155 | .304 | 7 | 77 |
| 1B | Joe Hague | 129 | 380 | 86 | .226 | 16 | 54 |
| 2B | Ted Sizemore | 135 | 478 | 126 | .264 | 3 | 42 |
| SS | Dal Maxvill | 142 | 356 | 80 | .225 | 0 | 24 |
| 3B | Joe Torre | 161 | 634 | 230 | .363 | 24 | 137 |
| LF | Lou Brock | 157 | 640 | 200 | .313 | 7 | 61 |
| CF | José Cruz | 83 | 292 | 80 | .274 | 9 | 27 |
| RF | José Cardenal | 89 | 301 | 73 | .243 | 7 | 48 |

#### Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| Matty Alou | 149 | 609 | 192 | .315 | 7 | 74 |
| Julián Javier | 90 | 259 | 67 | .259 | 3 | 28 |
| Luis Meléndez | 88 | 173 | 39 | .225 | 0 | 11 |
| Jim Beauchamp | 77 | 162 | 38 | .235 | 2 | 16 |
| Jerry McNertney | 56 | 128 | 37 | .289 | 4 | 22 |
| Ted Kubiak | 32 | 72 | 18 | .250 | 1 | 10 |
| Bob Burda | 65 | 71 | 21 | .296 | 1 | 12 |
| Dick Schofield | 34 | 60 | 13 | .217 | 1 | 6 |
| Leron Lee | 25 | 28 | 5 | .179 | 1 | 2 |
| Bob Stinson | 17 | 19 | 4 | .211 | 0 | 1 |
| Milt Ramírez | 4 | 11 | 3 | .273 | 0 | 0 |
| Jorge Roque | 3 | 10 | 3 | .300 | 0 | 1 |

### Pitching
#### Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Steve Carlton | 37 | 273.1 | 20 | 9 | 3.56 | 172 |
| Bob Gibson | 31 | 245.2 | 16 | 13 | 3.04 | 185 |
| Reggie Cleveland | 34 | 222.0 | 12 | 12 | 4.01 | 148 |
| Jerry Reuss | 36 | 211.0 | 14 | 14 | 4.78 | 131 |

#### Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Chris Zachary | 23 | 89.2 | 3 | 10 | 5.32 | 48 |
| Al Santorini | 19 | 49.2 | 0 | 2 | 3.81 | 21 |
| Mike Torrez | 9 | 36.0 | 1 | 2 | 6.00 | 8 |
| Daryl Patterson | 13 | 26.2 | 0 | 1 | 4.39 | 11 |
| Santiago Guzmán | 2 | 10.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 13 |

#### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Moe Drabowski | 51 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 3.43 | 49 |
| Frank Linzy | 50 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 2.12 | 24 |
| Don Shaw | 45 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2.65 | 19 |
| Chuck Taylor | 43 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3.53 | 46 |
| Stan Williams | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.42 | 8 |
| Rudy Arroyo | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5.40 | 5 |
| George Brunet | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5.79 | 4 |
| Bob Reynolds | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.29 | 4 |
| Harry Parker | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.20 | 2 |
| Fred Norman | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12.27 | 4 |
| Dennis Higgins | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.86 | 6 |
| Al Hrabosky | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 |
| Bob Chlupsa | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 1 |
| Mike Jackson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |

## Awards and honors

* Lou Brock, National League Stolen Base Leader, 64
* Joe Torre, National League Most Valuable Player
* Joe Torre, Hutch Award

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Tulsa Oilers | American Association | Warren Spahn and Gary Geiger |
| AA | Arkansas Travelers | Texas League | Jack Krol |
| A | Modesto Reds | California League | Roy Majtyka |
| A | St. Petersburg Cardinals | Florida State League | Joe Cunningham |
| A | Cedar Rapids Cardinals | Midwest League | Bobby Dews |
| Rookie | GCL Cardinals | Gulf Coast League | Tom Burgess |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Arkansas