# 1983 St. Louis Cardinals season

The St. Louis Cardinals 1983 season was a season in American baseball. It was the team's 102nd season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 92nd season in the National League. The Cardinals went 79–83 during the season and finished fourth in the National League East, eleven games behind the NL Champion Philadelphia Phillies. They were the first team in the Divisional play era to have a losing season one year after winning the World Series.
First baseman Keith Hernandez, shortstop Ozzie Smith, and outfielder Willie McGee won Gold Gloves this year, although Hernandez was traded to the New York Mets in mid-season.

## Offseason

* December 2, 1982: Julio González was released by the Cardinals.
* December 14, 1982: Bobby Meacham was traded by the St. Louis Cardinals with Stan Javier to the New York Yankees for Steve Fincher (minors), Bob Helsom (minors) and Marty Mason (minors).
* February 16, 1983: Jamie Quirk was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals.

## Regular season

* Steve Carlton won his 300th game on September 23, 1983, against his former team, the St. Louis Cardinals.

### Season standings

vteNL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 90 | 72 | .556 | — | 50‍–‍31 | 40‍–‍41 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 84 | 78 | .519 | 6 | 41‍–‍40 | 43‍–‍38 |
| Montreal Expos | 82 | 80 | .506 | 8 | 46‍–‍35 | 36‍–‍45 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 79 | 83 | .488 | 11 | 44‍–‍37 | 35‍–‍46 |
| Chicago Cubs | 71 | 91 | .438 | 19 | 43‍–‍38 | 28‍–‍53 |
| New York Mets | 68 | 94 | .420 | 22 | 41‍–‍41 | 27‍–‍53 |

### Record vs. opponents

1983 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL |
| Atlanta | — | 5–7 | 12–6 | 11–7 | 7–11 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 7–5 |
| Chicago | 7–5 | — | 4–8 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 7–11 | 9–9 | 5–13 | 9–9 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 10–8 |
| Cincinnati | 6–12 | 8–4 | — | 5–13 | 7–11 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 10–8 | 6–6 |
| Houston | 7–11 | 7–5 | 13–5 | — | 6–12 | 8–4 | 9–3 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 11–7 | 12–6 | 2–10 |
| Los Angeles | 11–7 | 6–6 | 11–7 | 12–6 | — | 7–5 | 7–5 | 11–1 | 6–6 | 6–12–1 | 5–13 | 9–3 |
| Montreal | 5–7 | 11–7 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 5–7 | — | 8–10 | 8–10–1 | 8–10 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 9–9 |
| New York | 4–8 | 9–9 | 5–7 | 3–9 | 5–7 | 10–8 | — | 6–12 | 9–9 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 6–12 |
| Philadelphia | 5-7 | 13–5 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 1–11 | 10–8–1 | 12–6 | — | 11–7 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 14–4 |
| Pittsburgh | 6–6 | 9–9 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 7–11 | — | 9–3 | 6–6 | 10–8 |
| San Diego | 9–9 | 7–5 | 9–9 | 7–11 | 12–6–1 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 3–9 | — | 11–7 | 6–6 |
| San Francisco | 9–9 | 8–4 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 13–5 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 7–11 | — | 4–8 |
| St. Louis | 5–7 | 8–10 | 6–6 | 10–2 | 3–9 | 9–9 | 12–6 | 4–14 | 8–10 | 6–6 | 8–4 | — |

### Opening Day starters

* Bob Forsch
* David Green
* George Hendrick
* Keith Hernandez
* Ken Oberkfell
* Darrell Porter
* Mike Ramsey
* Lonnie Smith
* Ozzie Smith

### Notable transactions

* June 15, 1983: Keith Hernandez was traded by the Cardinals to the New York Mets for Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey.
* July 6, 1983: Jim Kaat was released by the Cardinals.
* August 2, 1983: Eric Rasmussen was purchased from the Cardinals by the Kansas City Royals.

#### Draft picks

* June 6, 1983: 1983 Major League Baseball draft
** Jim Lindeman was drafted by the Cardinals in the 1st round (24th pick).
** Tom Pagnozzi was drafted by the Cardinals in the 8th round. Player signed June 18, 1983.

### 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 | Darrell Porter | 145 | 443 | 116 | .262 | 15 | 66 |
| 1B | George Hendrick | 144 | 529 | 168 | .318 | 18 | 97 |
| 2B | Tommy Herr | 89 | 313 | 101 | .323 | 2 | 31 |
| SS | Ozzie Smith | 159 | 552 | 134 | .243 | 3 | 50 |
| 3B | Ken Oberkfell | 151 | 488 | 143 | .293 | 3 | 38 |
| LF | Lonnie Smith | 130 | 492 | 158 | .321 | 8 | 45 |
| CF | Willie McGee | 147 | 601 | 172 | .286 | 5 | 75 |
| RF | David Green | 146 | 422 | 120 | .284 | 8 | 69 |

#### 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 |
| Andy Van Slyke | 101 | 309 | 81 | .262 | 8 | 38 |
| Keith Hernandez | 55 | 218 | 62 | .284 | 3 | 26 |
| Mike Ramsey | 97 | 175 | 46 | .263 | 1 | 16 |
| Dane Iorg | 58 | 116 | 31 | .267 | 0 | 11 |
| Floyd Rayford | 56 | 104 | 22 | .212 | 3 | 14 |
| Steve Braun | 78 | 92 | 25 | .272 | 3 | 7 |
| Glenn Brummer | 45 | 87 | 24 | .276 | 0 | 9 |
| Jamie Quirk | 48 | 86 | 18 | .209 | 2 | 11 |
| Bill Lyons | 42 | 60 | 10 | .167 | 0 | 3 |
| Jeff Doyle | 13 | 37 | 11 | .297 | 0 | 2 |
| Jim Adduci | 10 | 20 | 1 | .050 | 0 | 0 |
| Rafael Santana | 30 | 14 | 3 | .214 | 0 | 2 |
| Jimmy Sexton | 6 | 9 | 1 | .111 | 0 | 0 |
| Orlando Sánchez | 6 | 6 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Tito Landrum | 6 | 5 | 1 | .200 | 0 | 0 |
| Gene Roof | 6 | 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 |
| Joaquín Andújar | 39 | 225.0 | 6 | 16 | 4.16 | 125 |
| John Stuper | 40 | 198.0 | 12 | 11 | 3.68 | 81 |
| Dave LaPoint | 37 | 191.1 | 12 | 9 | 3.95 | 113 |
| Bob Forsch | 34 | 187.0 | 10 | 12 | 4.28 | 56 |
| Neil Allen | 25 | 121.2 | 10 | 6 | 3.70 | 74 |
| Danny Cox | 12 | 83.0 | 3 | 6 | 3.25 | 36 |

#### 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 |
| John Martin | 26 | 66.1 | 3 | 1 | 3.53 | 29 |
| Kevin Hagen | 9 | 22.1 | 2 | 2 | 4.84 | 7 |

#### 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 |
| Bruce Sutter | 60 | 9 | 10 | 21 | 4.23 | 64 |
| Jeff Lahti | 53 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3.16 | 26 |
| Dave Von Ohlen | 46 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3.29 | 21 |
| Dave Rucker | 34 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2.43 | 22 |
| Doug Bair | 26 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3.03 | 21 |
| Jim Kaat | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.89 | 19 |
| Steve Baker | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.80 | 1 |
| Ralph Citarella | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.64 | 4 |
| Eric Rasmussen | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11.74 | 6 |
| Jeff Keener | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.31 | 4 |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Louisville Redbirds | American Association | Jim Fregosi |
| AA | Arkansas Travelers | Texas League | Nick Leyva |
| A | St. Petersburg Cardinals | Florida State League | Jim Riggleman |
| A | Springfield Cardinals | Midwest League | Dave Bialas |
| A | Macon Redbirds | South Atlantic League | Lloyd Merritt |
| A-Short Season | Erie Cardinals | New York–Penn League | Joe Rigoli |
| Rookie | Johnson City Cardinals | Appalachian League | Rich Hacker |