# 1989 St. Louis Cardinals season

The St. Louis Cardinals 1989 season was the team's 108th season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 98th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 86–76 during the season and finished third in the National League East division.
Shortstop Ozzie Smith and third baseman Terry Pendleton won Gold Gloves this year.
On September 29, team owner August A. Busch, Jr. died at the age of 90.

## Offseason

* October 4, 1988: Lee Tunnell was released by the Cardinals.
* December 16, 1988: Steve Lake and Curt Ford were traded by the Cardinals to the Philadelphia Phillies for Milt Thompson.

## Regular season

The over-achieving 1989 Cardinal team almost made the playoffs. Pedro Guerrero finished third in the National League MVP voting while leading the league with 42 doubles and finishing second in RBIs (117). Joe Magrane won 18 games while José DeLeón won 16 games. Milt Thompson played in 155 games and hit .290, mostly substituting for the injured Willie McGee. Vince Coleman lead the league in stolen bases for the fifth straight year. However, it would be the arch-rival Cubs who would claim the division and move on to the playoffs. This team featured three former college football punters -- Vince Coleman, Cris Carpenter, and Matt Kinzer who played one game for the Detroit Lions.

### Opening Day starters

* Tom Brunansky
* Vince Coleman
* Pedro Guerrero
* Tim Jones
* Joe Magrane
* José Oquendo
* Tony Peña
* Terry Pendleton
* Milt Thompson

### Season standings

vteNL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Chicago Cubs | 93 | 69 | .574 | — | 48‍–‍33 | 45‍–‍36 |
| New York Mets | 87 | 75 | .537 | 6 | 51‍–‍30 | 36‍–‍45 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 86 | 76 | .531 | 7 | 46‍–‍35 | 40‍–‍41 |
| Montreal Expos | 81 | 81 | .500 | 12 | 44‍–‍37 | 37‍–‍44 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 74 | 88 | .457 | 19 | 39‍–‍42 | 35‍–‍46 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 67 | 95 | .414 | 26 | 38‍–‍42 | 29‍–‍53 |

### Record vs. opponents

1989 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL |
| Atlanta | — | 5–7 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 6–10 | 6–6 | 2–10 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 7–11 | 6–12 | 3–9 |
| Chicago | 7–5 | — | 7–5 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 10–8 | 10–8 | 10–8 | 12–6 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 11–7 |
| Cincinnati | 10–8 | 5–7 | — | 8–10 | 8–10 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 8–4 |
| Houston | 10–8 | 7–5 | 10–8 | — | 10–8 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 7–5 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 7–5 |
| Los Angeles | 10–6 | 5–7 | 10–8 | 8–10 | — | 7–5 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 6–12 | 10–8 | 3–9 |
| Montreal | 6–6 | 8–10 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 5–7 | — | 9–9 | 9–9 | 11–7 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 5–13 |
| New York | 10–2 | 8–10 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 9–9 | — | 12–6 | 9–9 | 5–7 | 3–9 | 10–8 |
| Philadelphia | 4–8 | 8–10 | 8–4 | 3–9 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 6–12 | — | 10–8 | 2–10 | 4–8 | 7–11 |
| Pittsburgh | 8–4 | 6–12 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 7–11 | 9–9 | 8–10 | — | 3–9 | 5–7 | 13–5 |
| San Diego | 11–7 | 4–8 | 9–9 | 10–8 | 12–6 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 10–2 | 9–3 | — | 8–10 | 2–10 |
| San Francisco | 12–6 | 6–6 | 10–8 | 10–8 | 8–10 | 5–7 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 10–8 | — | 7–5 |
| St. Louis | 9–3 | 7–11 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 9–3 | 13–5 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 5–13 | 10–2 | 5–7 | — |

### Notable transactions

* April 24, 1989: Jeremy Hernandez was traded by the Cardinals to the San Diego Padres for Randy Byers.

### 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 | Tony Peña | 141 | 424 | 110 | .259 | 4 | 37 |
| 1B | Pedro Guerrero | 162 | 570 | 177 | .311 | 17 | 117 |
| 2B | José Oquendo | 163 | 556 | 162 | .291 | 1 | 48 |
| 3B | Terry Pendleton | 162 | 613 | 162 | .264 | 13 | 74 |
| SS | Ozzie Smith | 155 | 593 | 162 | .273 | 2 | 50 |
| LF | Vince Coleman | 145 | 563 | 143 | .254 | 2 | 28 |
| CF | Milt Thompson | 155 | 545 | 158 | .290 | 4 | 68 |
| RF | Tom Brunansky | 158 | 556 | 133 | .239 | 20 | 85 |

#### 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 | 58 | 199 | 47 | .236 | 3 | 17 |
| John Morris | 96 | 117 | 28 | .239 | 2 | 14 |
| Todd Zeile | 28 | 82 | 21 | .256 | 1 | 8 |
| Tom Pagnozzi | 52 | 80 | 12 | .150 | 0 | 3 |
| Denny Walling | 69 | 79 | 24 | .304 | 1 | 11 |
| Tim Jones | 42 | 75 | 22 | .293 | 0 | 7 |
| Jim Lindeman | 73 | 45 | 5 | .111 | 0 | 2 |
| Leon Durham | 29 | 18 | 1 | .056 | 0 | 1 |
| Rod Booker | 10 | 8 | 2 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
| Craig Wilson | 6 | 4 | 1 | .250 | 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 |
| José DeLeón | 36 | 244.2 | 16 | 12 | 3.05 | 201 |
| Joe Magrane | 34 | 234.2 | 18 | 9 | 2.91 | 127 |
| Ken Hill | 33 | 196.2 | 7 | 15 | 3.80 | 112 |
| Scott Terry | 31 | 148.2 | 8 | 10 | 3.57 | 69 |

#### 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 |
| Ted Power | 23 | 97.0 | 7 | 7 | 3.71 | 43 |
| Ricky Horton | 11 | 45.2 | 0 | 3 | 4.73 | 14 |
| Bob Tewksbury | 7 | 30.0 | 1 | 0 | 3.30 | 17 |
| Don Heinkel | 7 | 26.1 | 1 | 1 | 5.81 | 16 |

#### 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 |
| Todd Worrell | 47 | 3 | 5 | 20 | 2.96 | 41 |
| Ken Dayley | 71 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 2.87 | 40 |
| Frank DiPino | 67 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2.45 | 44 |
| Dan Quisenberry | 63 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 2.64 | 37 |
| John Costello | 48 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3.32 | 40 |
| Cris Carpenter | 36 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3.18 | 35 |
| Matt Kinzer | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12.83 | 8 |

## Awards and honors

* Vince Coleman, National League Stolen Base Leader, 65
* Terry Pendleton, Third Base, National League Gold Glove
* Ozzie Smith, Shortstop, National League Gold Glove

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Louisville Redbirds | American Association | Mike Jorgensen |
| AA | Arkansas Travelers | Texas League | Gaylen Pitts |
| A | St. Petersburg Cardinals | Florida State League | Dave Bialas |
| A | Springfield Cardinals | Midwest League | Dan Radison |
| A | Savannah Cardinals | South Atlantic League | Keith Champion |
| A-Short Season | Hamilton Redbirds | New York–Penn League | Joe Pettini |
| Rookie | Johnson City Cardinals | Appalachian League | Mark DeJohn |
| Rookie | AZL Cardinals | Arizona League | Luis Meléndez |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Arkansas