# 1996 St. Louis Cardinals season

The St. Louis Cardinals 1996 season was the team's 115th season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 105th season in the National League. It was Tony La Russa's first season managing the club, after leaving the Oakland Athletics. During the first year of the William DeWitt, Jr. era, the Cardinals went 88–74 during the season and won their first-ever National League Central title by six games over the Houston Astros. They beat the San Diego Padres in the NLDS, but fell in 7 games to the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS after being up 3–1. DeWitt, along with Drew Bauer and Fred Hanser had bought the Cardinals from Anheuser-Busch during the 1995-96 offseason.

## Offseason

* October 23, 1995: The Cardinals hire Tony La Russa as team's manager
* December 23, 1995: Ron Gant was signed as a free agent with the St. Louis Cardinals
* December 23, 1995: Andy Benes was signed as a free agent with the St. Louis Cardinals
* December 15, 1995: Willie McGee was signed as a free agent with the St. Louis Cardinals.
* January 9, 1996: Todd Stottlemyre was traded by the Oakland Athletics to the St. Louis Cardinals for Allen Battle, Carl Dale, Jay Witasick, and Bret Wagner (minors).
* January 11, 1996: Mike Gallego signed as a free agent with the St. Louis Cardinals.
* February 13, 1996: Dennis Eckersley was traded by the Oakland Athletics to the St. Louis Cardinals for Steve Montgomery.
* December 18, 1995: Gary Gaetti signed as a free agent with the St. Louis Cardinals.

### Ozzie Smith's final season

Legendary veteran shortstop Ozzie Smith, announced during the season that it would be his last season in the Major Leagues, while veteran outfielder Willie McGee, was brought back to the Cards as a free agent. Though the tension between Smith and exciting youngster Royce Clayton, acquired in a trade, grew thick and troublesome at times as they shared time at shortstop, both players had good seasons. McGee came off the bench and started when needed.

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteNL Central :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 88 | 74 | .543 | — | 48‍–‍33 | 40‍–‍41 |
| Houston Astros | 82 | 80 | .506 | 6 | 48‍–‍33 | 34‍–‍47 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 81 | 81 | .500 | 7 | 46‍–‍35 | 35‍–‍46 |
| Chicago Cubs | 76 | 86 | .469 | 12 | 43‍–‍38 | 33‍–‍48 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 73 | 89 | .451 | 15 | 36‍–‍44 | 37‍–‍45 |

### Record vs. opponents

1996 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | COL | FLA | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL |
| Atlanta | — | 7–5 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 10–3 | 7–6 | 9–4 | 9–3 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 9–4 |
| Chicago | 5–7 | — | 5–8 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 8–5 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 5–8 |
| Cincinnati | 5–7 | 8–5 | — | 7–6 | 3–9 | 7–6 | 4–8 | 3–9 | 6–6 | 10–2 | 5–8 | 9–3 | 9–4 | 5–8 |
| Colorado | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–7 | — | 5–8 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 3–9 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 5–8 | 8–4 |
| Florida | 7–6 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 8–5 | — | 7–5 | 6–7 | 5–8 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 3–9 | 5–7 | 6–6 |
| Houston | 6–6 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 5–8 | 5–7 | — | 6–6 | 4–9 | 8–4 | 10–2 | 8–5 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 2–11 |
| Los Angeles | 7–5 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 7–6 | 7–6 | 6–6 | — | 9–3 | 8–4 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 7–6 | 8–4 |
| Montreal | 3–10 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 9–3 | 8–5 | 9–4 | 3–9 | — | 7–6 | 6–7 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 9–4 | 8–4 |
| New York | 6–7 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 6–7 | — | 7–6 | 8–5 | 3–10 | 6–6 | 5–7 |
| Philadelphia | 4–9 | 6–7 | 2–10 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 2–10 | 6–7 | 7–6 | 6–7 | — | 7–5 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 4–8 |
| Pittsburgh | 3–9 | 9–4 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 5–7 | — | 4–9 | 8–4 | 3–10 |
| San Diego | 4–9 | 6–6 | 3–9 | 5–8 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 10–3 | 8–4 | 9–4 | — | 11–2 | 4–8 |
| San Francisco | 5–7 | 5–7 | 4–9 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 2–11 | — | 7–6 |
| St. Louis | 4–9 | 8–5 | 8–5 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 11–2 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 10–3 | 8–4 | 6–7 | — |

### Game log

1996 Game Log: 88–74 (Home: 48–33; Away: 40–41) :
April: 12–15 (Home: 7–8; Away: 5–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 1@ Mets6–7DipotoFossas (0–1)Franco42,0600–1
2April 3@ Mets5–3Stottlemyre (1–0)PersonEckersley (1)13,3231–1
3April 4@ Mets9–10FrancoEckersley (0–1)—15,5071–2
4April 5@ Braves5–4 (14)Bailey (1–0)BieleckiEckersley (2)31,0712–2
5April 6@ Braves3–2 (12)Parrett (1–0)Clontz—34,6493–2
6April 7@ Braves3–13SchmidtBusby (0–1)—28,4983–3
7April 8Expos3–4 (10)RojasParrett (1–1)—52,8413–4
8April 10Expos4–1Benes (1–0)Paniagua—27,7344–4
9April 11Phillies2–1Benes (2–0)MulhollandMathews (1)23,4125–4
10April 12Phillies6–1Urbani (1–0)Williams—26,7536–4
11April 13Phillies2–4HunterFossas (0–2)Bottalico28,9136–5
12April 14Phillies6–5Mathews (1–0)FernandezEckersley (3)27,5457–5
13April 15Pirates6–4Benes (3–0)EricksHoneycutt (1)18,7318–5
14April 16Pirates3–13SmithBenes (3–1)Lieber21,3498–6
15April 17Pirates6–1Osborne (1–0)Darwin—23,0749–6
16April 18Pirates2–6WagnerStottlemyre (1–1)—25,7009–7
17April 19@ Phillies1–0Bailey (2–0)SpringerEckersley (4)25,61410–7
18April 20@ Phillies1–0Benes (4–1)BottalicoEckersley (5)23,63011–7
19April 21@ Phillies2–4GraceBenes (4–2)Bottalico32,89611–8
20April 22@ Expos0–8CormierOsborne (1–1)—9,77811–9
21April 23@ Expos11–12ScottMathews (1–1)—8,35211–10
22April 24Mets9–4Petkovsek (1–0)Harnisch—23,18912–10
23April 25Mets3–9ClarkBenes (4–3)—26,93312–11
24April 26Braves1–6AveryBenes (4–4)—34,59812–12
25April 27Braves2–7MadduxOsborne (1–2)—20,75712–13
26April 29Braves1–4GlavineStottlemyre (1–2)Wohlers25,45212–14
27April 30@ Cubs6–7WendellEckersley (0–2)—20,77112–15 :
May: 12–14 (Home: 4–6; Away: 8–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
28May 1@ Cubs3–9TrachselBenes (4–5)—25,66812–16
29May 3@ Padres3–1Osborne (2–2)AshbyEckersley (6)21,33513–16
30May 4@ Padres4–3Stottlemyre (2–2)BergmanEckersley (7)44,37514–16
31May 5@ Padres4–10HamiltonBenes (4–6)—27,43514–17
32May 7Giants2–4WatsonFossas (0–3)Beck23,49214–18
33May 8Giants7–10GardnerBenes (4–7)Beck22,51714–19
34May 9Giants16–8Parrett (2–1)Dewey—37,92015–19
35May 10Dodgers2–3 (12)WorrellEckersley (0–3)—36,82115–20
36May 11Dodgers2–4ValdezBenes (4–8)Worrell38,00815–21
37May 12Dodgers6–5Petkovsek (2–0)NomoEckersley (8)38,54916–21
38May 13@ Marlins2–5BurkettBenes (4–9)Powell19,22716–22
39May 14@ Marlins5–11MathewsParrett (2–2)—16,07016–23
40May 15@ Marlins6–0Stottlemyre (3–2)Rapp—18,06617–23
41May 17@ Rockies11–12LeskanicBailey (2–1)Ruffin48,07417–24
42May 18@ Rockies8–9HabyanEckersley (0–4)—48,10317–25
43May 19@ Rockies3–10ThompsonBenes (4–10)—48,07517–26
44May 20@ Astros5–3Osborne (3–2)Drabek—14,54718–26
45May 21@ Astros8–2Stottlemyre (4–2)Reynolds—17,93519–26
46May 22@ Astros5–2Benes (5–10)KileMathews (2)15,35320–26
47May 24@ Marlins4–2Morgan (1–0)BurkettMathews (3)19,58321–26
48May 25@ Marlins5–0Benes (6–10)Rapp—26,31222–26
49May 26@ Marlins2–8 (7)WeathersOsborne (3–3)—20,57322–27
50May 27Rockies2–5RitzStottlemyre (4–3)Ruffin38,80422–28
51May 28Rockies5–6PainterMathews (1–2)Holmes26,91322–29
52May 29Rockies6–5Petkovsek (3–0)LeskanicBenes (1)27,85623–29
53May 31Astros6–4Osborne (4–3)SwindellFossas (1)37,62524–29 :
June: 17–10 (Home: 10–1; Away: 7–9)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
54June 1Astros5–4 (10)Bailey (3–1)Hernandez—34,95825–29
55June 2Astros2–0Stottlemyre (5–3)Kile—32,70326–29
56June 3@ Padres3–0Benes (7–10)Tewksbury—13,62527–29
57June 4@ Padres11–5Petkovsek (4–0)Worrell—13,42728–29
58June 5@ Padres4–6HoffmanFossas (0–4)—12,21628–30
59June 7@ Giants9–4Benes (8–10)Fernandez—13,00929–30
60June 8@ Giants1–4DeLuciaStottlemyre (5–4)Beck20,40129–31
61June 9@ Giants0–9WatsonBenes (8–11)—24,17629–32
62June 10@ Dodgers1–2ParkMorgan (1–1)Osuna54,04329–33
63June 11@ Dodgers6–3Osborne (5–3)MartinezHoneycutt (2)29,09630–33
64June 13Mets1–2PersonBenes (8–12)Henry30,69730–34
65June 14Mets13–4Stottlemyre (6–4)Isringhausen—38,55631–34
66June 15Mets4–2Benes (9–12)JonesEckersley (9)50,63532–34
67June 16Mets5–4Petkovsek (5–0)HenryEckersley (10)31,37533–34
68June 18Phillies3–2Osborne (6–3)FernandezEckersley (11)31,31134–34
69June 19Phillies3–2Benes (10–12)Bottalico—34,61235–34
70June 20@ Expos3–8RueterStottlemyre (6–5)—15,09535–35
71June 21@ Expos3–4 (12)RojasEckersley (0–5)—16,13635–36
72June 22@ Expos9–4Morgan (2–1)Urbina—16,89536–36
73June 23@ Expos2–3FasseroOsborne (6–4)Rojas22,16836–37
74June 24@ Braves9–2Benes (11–12)Smoltz—31,97137–37
75June 25@ Braves3–4SchmidtStottlemyre (6–6)Wohlers30,94237–38
76June 26@ Braves11–7Benes (12–12)Avery—31,19138–38
77June 27@ Braves0–3MadduxMorgan (2–2)Wohlers32,24338–39
78June 28Pirates6–1Osborne (7–4)Neagle—34,49039–39
79June 29Pirates6–5Honeycutt (1–0)Miceli—34,42640–39
80June 30Pirates10–3Stottlemyre (7–6)Smith—38,90141–39 :
July: 15–11 (Home: 6–8; Away: 9–3)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
81July 1Reds5–8CarrascoBenes (12–13)Brantley27,22141–40
82July 2Reds4–3Honeycutt (2–0)SmithEckersley (12)29,07442–40
83July 3Reds4–0Osborne (8–4)Smiley—32,65843–40
84July 4@ Pirates7–1Benes (13–13)Dessens—23,32144–40
85July 5@ Pirates7–4Stottlemyre (8–6)SmithFossas (2)18,75945–40
86July 6@ Pirates9–5Benes (14–13)Darwin—19,14446–40
87July 7@ Pirates2–8LieberMorgan (2–3)—16,25546–41
88July 11@ Cubs0–6NavarroOsborne (8–5)—38,80246–42
89July 12@ Cubs13–3Benes (15–13)Trachsel—38,91847–42
90July 13@ Cubs10–5Stottlemyre (9–6)BullingerEckersley (13)39,25448–42
91July 14@ Cubs7–6Benes (16–13)AdamsEckersley (14)38,63849–42
92July 15@ Reds8–3Morgan (3–3)Salkeld—38,45050–42
93July 16@ Reds5–4Osborne (9–5)ShawEckersley (15)23,37051–42
94July 17@ Reds6–4Benes (17–13)PortugalEckersley (16)28,87952–42
95July 18Cubs5–6BottenfieldPetkovsek (5–1)Wendell38,98352–43
96July 19Cubs9–1Benes (18–13)Castillo—45,33653–43
97July 20Cubs0–3TrachselMorgan (3–4)Wendell50,41853–44
98July 21Cubs6–5 (10)Petkovsek (6–1)Wendell—42,25754–44
99July 22Braves6–8McMichaelMathews (1–3)Wohlers36,21554–45
100July 23Braves2–3SmoltzStottlemyre (9–7)Wohlers35,52054–46
101July 24Braves1–4WadeBenes (18–14)McMichael35,41154–47
102July 25Expos2–4UrbinaPetkovsek (6–2)Rojas34,27154–48
103July 26Expos1–5FasseroOsborne (9–6)—30,04854–49
104July 27Expos6–3Benes (19–14)DyerEckersley (17)44,26955–49
105July 28Expos6–4Petkovsek (7–2)MartinezMathews (4)31,22656–49
106July 30@ Phillies7–8RyanMathews (1–4)—20,16656–50 :
August: 15–15 (Home: 10–8; Away: 5–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
107August 1@ Phillies1–2SpringerOsborne (9–7)Ryan—56–51
108August 1@ Phillies7–1Benes (20–14)Mimbs—22,93457–51
109August 2@ Mets4–3Stottlemyre (10–7)JonesHoneycutt (3)34,09158–51
110August 3@ Mets4–5HarnischBenes (20–15)Franco28,59458–52
111August 4@ Mets4–2Morgan (4–4)IsringhausenEckersley (18)24,59559–52
112August 5Padres8–2Benes (21–15)Tewksbury—28,65360–52
113August 6Padres0–1WorrellOsborne (9–8)Hoffman25,78260–53
114August 7Padres1–0Petkovsek (8–2)Bochtler—24,82361–53
115August 8Giants3–5 (10)PooleHoneycutt (2–1)Beck34,84461–54
116August 9Giants6–8FernandezMorgan (4–5)Beck30,11861–55
117August 10Giants7–1Benes (22–15)VanLandingham—49,34462–55
118August 11Giants5–3Osborne (10–8)WatsonEckersley (19)30,13963–55
119August 13Dodgers4–8CandiottiStottlemyre (10–8)—30,76163–56
120August 14Dodgers6–1Benes (23–15)Valdez—26,94564–56
121August 15Dodgers2–5NomoMorgan (4–6)Worrell32,93064–57
122August 16Marlins6–2Benes (24–15)Rapp—30,50765–57
123August 17Marlins4–3Mathews (2–4)PowellEckersley (20)30,79266–57
124August 18Marlins5–3Stottlemyre (11–8)LeiterEckersley (21)34,56467–57
125August 20@ Rockies4–5 (13)MunozMathews (2–5)—48,12667–58
126August 21@ Rockies2–10ReynosoBenes (24–16)—48,04567–59
127August 22@ Rockies5–10BaileyMorgan (4–7)—48,08667–60
128August 23@ Astros1–0Osborne (11–8)KileEckersley (22)35,55468–60
129August 24@ Astros1–3ReynoldsStottlemyre (11–9)—43,25868–61
130August 25@ Astros1–4WallBenes (24–17)Hernandez31,60968–62
131August 26@ Astros3–2Benes (25–17)HamptonEckersley (23)21,62469–62
132August 27Marlins3–6HuttonMorgan (4–8)Nen24,78469–63
133August 28Marlins2–3 (10)HammondBailey (3–2)Nen21,76769–64
134August 29Marlins9–10LeiterStottlemyre (11–10)Nen23,10569–65
135August 30Rockies7–4Benes (26–17)WrightEckersley (24)25,53070–65
136August 31Rockies2–1Benes (27–17)BaileyEckersley (25)35,80471–65 :
September: 17–9 (Home: 11–2; Away: 6–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
137September 1Rockies15–6Petkovsek (9–2)Rekar—28,55272–65
138September 2Astros8–7 (10)Benes (28–17)Brocail—32,95573–65
139September 3Astros12–3Stottlemyre (12–10)Reynolds—23,95574–65
140September 4Astros6–4Benes (29–17)WallEckersley (26)34,89175–65
141September 6Padres8–3Petkovsek (10–2)Tewksbury—28,11676–65
142September 7Padres8–3Osborne (12–8)Ashby—42,84677–65
143September 8Padres4–5ValenzuelaStottlemyre (12–11)Hoffman30,89777–66
144September 9@ Giants6–2Benes (30–17)Gardner—10,30778–66
145September 10@ Giants1–0Petkovsek (11–2)RueterEckersley (27)8,77079–66
146September 11@ Giants2–4ScottBenes (30–18)Beck9,67379–67
147September 12@ Dodgers1–4NomoOsborne (12–9)Osuna34,19179–68
148September 13@ Dodgers2–0Batchelor (1–0)GuthrieEckersley (28)36,65780–68
149September 14@ Dodgers5–9MartinezBenes (30–19)—44,54880–69
150September 15@ Dodgers5–6RadinskyEckersley (0–6)Worrell35,80380–70
151September 17Cubs5–3Osborne (13–9)PattersonMathews (5)29,61281–70
152September 18Cubs5–3Stottlemyre (13–11)TrachselEckersley (29)32,84382–70
153September 19Cubs5–4 (13)Bailey (4–2)Campbell—34,92383–70
154September 20@ Reds2–4BurbaBenes (30–20)Brantley23,49683–71
155September 22@ Reds3–6ShawMathews (2–6)Brantley—83–72
156September 22@ Reds0–6SmileyJackson (0–1)—38,22583–73
157September 23@ Reds3–2Stottlemyre (14–11)MorganEckersley (30)17,31384–73
158September 24@ Pirates7–1Benes (31–20)Loaiza—8,61185–73
159September 25@ Pirates8–7 (11)Bailey (5–2)MiceliMathews (6)20,02286–73
160September 27Reds2–1 (11)Batchelor (2–0)Shaw—39,73087–73
161September 28Reds5–2Jackson (1–1)MorganHoneycutt (4)52,87688–73
162September 29Reds3–6LyonsLudwick (0–1)Brantley51,37988–74 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss Bold = Cardinals team member :

### Detailed records

National League :
| Opponent | W | L | WP | RS | RA |
| NL East |||||||
| Atlanta Braves | 4 | 9 | 0.308 | 47 | 67 |
| Florida Marlins | 6 | 6 | 0.500 | 53 | 53 |
| Montreal Expos | 4 | 8 | 0.333 | 50 | 60 |
| New York Mets | 7 | 5 | 0.583 | 67 | 55 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 8 | 4 | 0.667 | 41 | 30 |
| Total | 29 | 32 | 0.475 | 258 | 265 |
| NL Central |||||||
| Chicago Cubs | 8 | 5 | 0.615 | 74 | 61 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 8 | 5 | 0.615 | 50 | 49 |
| Houston Astros | 11 | 2 | 0.846 | 63 | 38 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 10 | 3 | 0.769 | 79 | 59 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | | | | | |
| Total | 37 | 15 | 0.712 | 266 | 207 |
| NL West |||||||
| Colorado Rockies | 4 | 8 | 0.333 | 70 | 83 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 4 | 8 | 0.333 | 42 | 50 |
| San Diego Padres | 8 | 4 | 0.667 | 58 | 39 |
| San Francisco Giants | 6 | 7 | 0.462 | 65 | 62 |
| Total | 22 | 27 | 0.449 | 235 | 234 |
| Season Total | 88 | 74 | 0.543 | 759 | 706 |
| Month | Games | Won | Lost | Win % | RS | RA |
| April | 27 | 12 | 15 | 0.444 | 108 | 140 |
| May | 26 | 12 | 14 | 0.462 | 132 | 141 |
| June | 27 | 17 | 10 | 0.630 | 133 | 97 |
| July | 26 | 15 | 11 | 0.577 | 138 | 114 |
| August | 30 | 15 | 15 | 0.500 | 117 | 113 |
| September | 26 | 17 | 9 | 0.654 | 131 | 101 |
| Total | 162 | 88 | 74 | 0.543 | 759 | 706 |
| | Games | Won | Lost | Win % | RS | RA |
| Home | 81 | 48 | 33 | 0.593 | 391 | 326 |
| Away | 81 | 40 | 41 | 0.494 | 368 | 380 |
| Total | 162 | 88 | 74 | 0.543 | 759 | 706 |

### Opening Day starters

* Luis Alicea
* Gary Gaetti
* Ron Gant
* Ray Lankford
* John Mabry
* Willie McGee
* Pat Borders
* Ozzie Smith
* Todd Stottlemyre

## 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 | Tom Pagnozzi | 119 | 407 | 110 | .270 | 13 | 55 |
| 1B | John Mabry | 151 | 543 | 161 | .297 | 13 | 74 |
| 2B | Luis Alicea | 129 | 380 | 98 | .258 | 5 | 42 |
| SS | Royce Clayton | 129 | 491 | 136 | .277 | 6 | 35 |
| 3B | Gary Gaetti | 141 | 522 | 143 | .274 | 23 | 80 |
| LF | Ron Gant | 122 | 419 | 103 | .246 | 30 | 82 |
| CF | Ray Lankford | 149 | 545 | 150 | .275 | 21 | 86 |
| RF | Brian Jordan | 140 | 513 | 159 | .310 | 17 | 104 |

#### 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 |
| Willie McGee | 123 | 309 | 95 | .307 | 5 | 41 |
| Ozzie Smith | 82 | 227 | 64 | .282 | 2 | 18 |
| Danny Sheaffer | 79 | 198 | 45 | .227 | 2 | 20 |
| Mark Sweeney | 98 | 170 | 45 | .265 | 3 | 22 |
| David Bell | 62 | 145 | 31 | .214 | 1 | 9 |
| Mike Gallego | 51 | 143 | 30 | .210 | 0 | 4 |
| Pat Borders | 26 | 69 | 22 | .319 | 0 | 4 |
| Dmitri Young | 16 | 29 | 7 | .241 | 0 | 2 |
| Miguel Mejia | 45 | 23 | 2 | .087 | 0 | 0 |
| Terry Bradshaw | 15 | 21 | 7 | .333 | 0 | 3 |
| Mike DiFelice | 4 | 7 | 2 | .286 | 0 | 2 |
| Aaron Holbert | 1 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |

### 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 |
| Andy Benes | 36 | 230.1 | 18 | 10 | 3.83 | 160 |
| Todd Stottlemyre | 34 | 223.1 | 14 | 11 | 3.87 | 194 |
| Donovan Osborne | 30 | 198.2 | 13 | 9 | 3.53 | 134 |
| Alan Benes | 34 | 191.0 | 13 | 10 | 4.90 | 131 |
| Mike Morgan | 18 | 103.0 | 4 | 8 | 5.24 | 55 |
| Mike Busby | 1 | 4.0 | 0 | 1 | 18.00 | 4 |
| Brian Barber | 1 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 15.00 | 1 |

#### 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 |
| Mark Petkovsek | 48 | 88.2 | 11 | 2 | 3.55 | 45 |
| Danny Jackson | 13 | 36.1 | 1 | 1 | 4.46 | 27 |
| Tom Urbani | 3 | 11.2 | 1 | 0 | 7.71 | 1 |
| Eric Ludwick | 6 | 10.0 | 0 | 1 | 9.00 | 12 |

#### 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 |
| Dennis Eckersley | 63 | 0 | 6 | 30 | 3.30 | 49 |
| T.J. Mathews | 67 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 3.01 | 80 |
| Tony Fossas | 65 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2.68 | 36 |
| Rick Honeycutt | 61 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2.85 | 30 |
| Cory Bailey | 51 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3.00 | 38 |
| Jeff Parrett | 33 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4.25 | 42 |
| Rich Batchelor | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.20 | 11 |

## NLDS

St. Louis wins the series, 3-0
| Game | Home | Score | Visitor | Score | Date | Series |
| 1 | St. Louis | 3 | San Diego | 1 | October 1 | 1-0 (STL) |
| 2 | St. Louis | 5 | San Diego | 4 | October 3 | 2-0 (STL) |
| 3 | San Diego | 5 | St. Louis | 7 | October 5 | 3-0 (STL) |

## NLCS
### Game 1

October 9: Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| St. Louis | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| Atlanta | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | X | 4 | 9 | 0 |
| WP: John Smoltz (1-0) LP: Mark Petkovsek (0-1) Sv: Mark Wohlers (1) Home runs: STL: None ATL: None |||||||||||||

### Game 2

October 10: Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| St. Louis | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 11 | 2 |
| Atlanta | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| WP: Todd Stottlemyre (1-0) LP: Greg Maddux (0-1) Home runs: STL: Gary Gaetti (1) ATL: Marquis Grissom (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 3

October 12: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Atlanta | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 1 |
| St. Louis | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | X | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| WP: Donovan Osborne (1-0) LP: Tom Glavine (0-1) Sv: Dennis Eckersley (1) Home runs: ATL: None STL: Ron Gant 2 (2) |||||||||||||

### Game 4

October 13: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Atlanta | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 1 |
| St. Louis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | X | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| WP: Dennis Eckersley (1-0) LP: Greg McMichael (0-1) Home runs: ATL: Mark Lemke (1), Ryan Klesko (1) STL: Brian Jordan (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 5

October 14: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Atlanta | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 22 | 0 |
| St. Louis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| WP: John Smoltz (2-0) LP: Todd Stottlemyre (1-1) Home runs: ATL: Fred McGriff (1), Javy López (1), STL: None |||||||||||||

### Game 6

October 16: Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| St. Louis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| Atlanta | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | X | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| WP: Greg Maddux (1-1) LP: Alan Benes (0-1) Sv: Mark Wohlers (2) Home runs: STL: None ATL: None |||||||||||||

### Game 7

October 17: Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| St. Louis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| Atlanta | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | X | 15 | 17 | 0 |
| WP: Tom Glavine (1-1) LP: Donovan Osborne (1-1) Home runs: STL: None ATL: Javy López (2), Andruw Jones (1), Fred McGriff (2) |||||||||||||

## Awards and honors

* Tony La Russa, Associated Press Manager of the Year
* Ozzie Smith, All Star Game

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Louisville Redbirds | American Association | Joe Pettini |
| AA | Arkansas Travelers | Texas League | Rick Mahler |
| A | St. Petersburg Cardinals | Florida State League | Chris Maloney |
| A | Peoria Chiefs | Midwest League | Roy Silver |
| A-Short Season | New Jersey Cardinals | New York–Penn League | Scott Melvin |
| Rookie | Johnson City Cardinals | Appalachian League | Steve Turco |