1971 St. Louis Cardinals season

This article is about the Major League Baseball team. For the National Football League team, see 1971 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) 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.

1971 St. Louis Cardinals
League	National League
Division	East
Ballpark	Busch Memorial Stadium
City	St. Louis, Missouri
Record	90–72 (.556)
Divisional place	2nd
Owners	August "Gussie" Busch
General managers	Bing Devine
Managers	Red Schoendienst
Television	KSD-TV
Radio	KMOX (Jack Buck, Jim Woods)
← 1970 Seasons 1972 →

Offseason

• October 5, 1970: Dick Allen was traded by the Cardinals to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Ted Sizemore and Bob Stinson.^[1]
• 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).^[2]

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

• v
• t
• e

NL 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 record v t e Sources:
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MTL	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)[3]
April: (13–11) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 1 April 6 @ Cubs 1–2 Jenkins Gibson 39,079 0–1 2 April 7 @ Cubs 14–3 Carlton Hands 23,287 1–1 3 April 10 Giants 4–6 Reberger Reuss Johnson 26,841 1–2 4 April 11 (1) Giants 4–2 Gibson Robertson 2–2 5 April 11 (2) Giants 2–7 Marichal Cleveland 27,104 2–3 6 April 12 Astros 5–4 Carlton Blasingame Linzy 11,270 3–3 7 April 13 Astros 4–8 Culver Torrez Lemaster 5,105 3–4 8 April 14 @ Dodgers 7–1 Reuss Osteen Linzy 11,644 4–4 9 April 15 @ Dodgers 1–2 Downing Cleveland 12,632 4–5 10 April 16 @ Padres 7–1 Gibson Coombs 6,782 5–5 11 April 17 @ Padres 4–0 Carlton Phoebus 3,462 6–5 12 April 18 @ Padres 4–2 Torrez Ross Linzy 8,777 7–5 13 April 19 @ Giants 2–4 Bryant Reuss 3,630 7–6 14 April 20 @ Giants 2–1 Cleveland Marichal Drabowsky 9,791 8–6 15 April 21 @ Giants 5–3 Gibson Perry 6,178 9–6 16 April 22 Phillies 5–2 Carlton Bunning 8,411 10–6 17 April 23 Phillies 6–8 Brandon Brunet 29,290 10–7 18 April 24 Phillies 5–0 Reuss Champion 17,733 11–7 19 April 25 Phillies 5–4 Linzy Fryman 13,122 12–7 20 April 26 Mets 2–12 Seaver Gibson 20,402 12–8 21 April 27 Mets 1–2 Koosman Carlton Frisella 8,575 12–9 22 April 28 Mets 1–9 Gentry Torrez 8,171 12–10 23 April 29 Mets 0–7 Ryan Reuss Frisella 10,215 12–11 24 April 30 Expos 4–2 Shaw Raymond 10,766 13–11
May: (19–6) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 25 May 1 Expos 2–2 Rain out Tied after 7 innings 32,061 13–11 26 May 2 Expos 1–0 Carlton Morton 10,320 14–11 27 May 3 @ Phillies 2–3 Lersch Zachary Hoerner 9,102 14–12 28 May 4 @ Phillies 7–3 Reuss Short 9,339 15–12 29 May 5 @ Phillies 5–1 Cleveland Hoerner 10,184 16–12 30 May 7 @ Mets 1–3 Seaver Gibson 44,304 16–13 31 May 9 @ Mets 5–9 Koosman Carlton Frisella 27,189 16–14 32 May 10 @ Expos 8–5 Reuss Renko Linzy 16,703 17–14 33 May 11 @ Expos 10–4 Cleveland Morton Linzy 8,862 18–14 34 May 14 @ Astros 4–2 Gibson Billingham 16,437 19–14 35 May 15 @ Astros 6–5 Carlton Griffin Taylor 19,285 20–14 36 May 16 @ Astros 4–12 Dierker Reuss Ray 14,983 20–15 37 May 18 Dodgers 6–5 Drabowsky Brewer 14,753 21–15 38 May 19 Dodgers 5–6 Mikkelsen Gibson 13,869 21–16 39 May 20 Dodgers 5–0 Carlton Singer 11,875 22–16 40 May 21 Padres 15–8 Shaw Laxton Drabowsky 27,298 23–16 41 May 22 Padres 7–4 Zachary Roberts Shaw 10,776 24–16 42 May 23 Padres 6–1 Cleveland Arlin 9,475 25–16 43 May 24 Padres 3–12 Phoebus Gibson Miller 8,609 25–17 44 May 25 Cubs 4–2 Carlton Hands 12,667 26–17 45 May 26 Cubs 9–4 Taylor Holtzman 12,690 27–17 46 May 27 Cubs 10–0 Zachary Jenkins 14,167 28–17 47 May 28 Braves 4–0 Cleveland Reed 14,537 29–17 48 May 29 Braves 8–7 Drabowsky Upshaw 47,598 30–17 49 May 30 Braves 8–3 Carlton P. Niekro 24,380 31–17 50 May 31 Braves 3–2 Reuss Stone 20,349 32–17
June: (8–21) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 51 June 1 @ Pirates 0–9 Ellis (7–3) Zachary (2–2) 21,516 32–18 52 June 2 @ Pirates 1–10 Walker (2–6) Cleveland (5–3) Veale (1) 9,612 32–19 53 June 3 @ Pirates 7–1 Carlton (10–2) Johnson (4–4) 18,947 33–19 54 June 4 @ Reds 0–12 Grimsley (3–1) Zachary (2–3) 17,120 33–20 55 June 5 @ Reds 5–3 Reuss (6–4) Cloninger (2–4) Drabowsky (3) 18,144 34–20 56 June 6 @ Reds 2–4 Gullett (6–2) Cleveland (5–4) Gibbon (5) 20,189 34–21 57 June 7 @ Braves 7–6 Drabowsky (3–0) Priddy (2–2) 10,354 35–21 58 June 8 @ Braves 7–8 Upshaw (7–4) Linzy (1–1) 8,518 35–22 59 June 9 @ Braves 3–8 P. Niekro (4–6) Zachary (2–4) 7,506 35–23 60 June 10 Pirates 1–3 Blass (6–3) Reuss (6–5) 18,950 35–24 61 June 11 Pirates 4–11 Ellis (9–3) Cleveland (5–5) Giusti (13) 27,308 35–25 62 June 12 Pirates 3–4 Grant (4–2) Arroyo (0–1) 24,565 35–26 63 June 13 Pirates 4–8 Giusti (2–1) Carlton (10–3) Hernández (1) 21,205 35–27 64 June 14 Reds 2–7 Grimsley (4–1) Reuss (6–6) Carroll (7) 18,613 35–28 65 June 15 Reds 6–1 Cleveland (6–5) Merritt (0–8) 19,514 36–28 66 June 16 Reds 0–1 Gullett (7–2) Santorini (0–3) 19,232 36–29 67 June 17 @ Cubs 6–7 Bonham (1–1) Zachary (2–5) 22,749 36–30 68 June 18 @ Cubs 5–15 Pappas (7–6) Reuss (6–7) Regan (2) 23,540 36–31 69 June 19 @ Cubs 1–7 Hands (8–8) Cleveland (6–6) 32,809 36–32 70 June 20 @ Cubs 5–4 Drabowsky (4–0) Holtzman (6–8) 34,574 37–32 71 June 21 @ Dodgers 0–4 O'Brien (2–1) Gibson (4–6) 18,480 37–33 72 June 22 @ Dodgers 6–5 Carlton (11–3) Osteen (8–5) 21,004 38–33 73 June 23 @ Dodgers 3–1 Drabowsky (5–0) Brewer (3–2) Shaw (2) 19,910 39–33 74 June 24 @ Dodgers 4–11 Downing (8–4) Cleveland (6–7) Peña (1) 19,282 39–34 75 June 25 Cubs 0–12 Bonham (2–1) Santorini (0–4) 28,743 39–35 76 June 26 Cubs 1–5 Holtzman (7–8) Gibson (4–7) 43,300 39–36 77 June 27 Cubs 1–4 Jenkins (11–7) Carlton (11–4) 34,964 39–37 78 June 28 Pirates 5–11 Moose (6–4) Reuss (6–8) Grant (7) 15,024 39–38 79 June 29 Pirates 8–3 Cleveland (7–7) Walker (3–7) 14,586 40–38
July: (18–11) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 80 July 1 @ Giants 7–8 McMahon Zachary Johnson 7,794 40–39 81 July 2 @ Giants 7–2 Gibson Stone 11,268 41–39 82 July 3 @ Giants 1–10 Cumberland Carlton 24,896 41-40 83 July 4 @ Padres 3–2 Reuss Arlin Drabowsky 5,095 42–40 84 July 5 @ Padres 2–3 Miller Cleveland 4,588 42–41 85 July 7 @ Padres 1–4 Kirby Gibson 7,456 42–42 86 July 9 (1) Astros 5–2 Carlton Forsch 43–42 87 July 9 (2) Astros 9–5 Reuss Blasingame Drabowsky 24,748 44–42 88 July 10 Astros 6–5 Linzy Gladding 32,895 45–42 89 July 11 Astros 7–3 Gibson Ray 15,252 46–42 90 July 15 (1) Expos 7–3 Carlton Strohmayer 47–42 91 July 15 (2) Expos 4–6 Stoneman Reuss 19,409 47–43 92 July 16 Expos 6–0 Cleveland Renko 23,765 48–43 93 July 17 Expos 3–5 McAnally Gibson 22,791 48–44 94 July 18 Mets 8–5 Taylor Matlack Linzy 27,497 49–44 95 July 19 Mets 2–5 Sadecki Carlton 20,003 49–45 96 July 20 Phillies 1–5 Short Reuss 14,650 49–46 97 July 21 Phillies 6–1 Cleveland Lersch 16,200 50–46 98 July 22 Phillies 8–0 Gibson Fryman 20,547 51–46 99 July 23 @ Expos 6–2 Zachary McGinn 20,480 52–46 100 July 24 (1) @ Expos 8–7 Shaw Raymond 53–46 101 July 24 (2) @ Expos 9–3 Reuss Morton 24,109 54–46 102 July 25 @ Expos 4–5 Stoneman Cleveland 20,346 54–47 103 July 26 @ Mets 4–0 Gibson Sadecki 30,586 55–47 104 July 27 @ Mets 2–3 Frisella Zachary 35,597 55–48 105 July 28 @ Mets 6–3 Carlton Matlack 30,796 56–48 106 July 29 @ Mets 3–1 Reuss C. Williams 30,254 57–48 107 July 30 @ Phillies 4–3 Gibson Short 26,461 58–48 108 July 31 @ Phillies 4–5 Brandon Drabowsky 19,269 58–49
August: (18–11) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 109 August 1 @ Phillies 9–6 S. Williams Muñiz 22,432 59–49 110 August 2 Padres 3–1 Carlton Roberts 13,591 60–49 111 August 3 Padres 1–6 Arlin Reuss 14,246 60–50 112 August 4 Giants 7–2 Gibson Perry 27,024 61–50 113 August 5 Giants 3–2 Cleveland Marichal Drabowsky 18,641 62–50 114 August 6 Giants 12–8 Shaw McMahon Patterson 27,192 63–50 115 August 7 Dodgers 3–2 Linzy Mikkelsen 36,633 64–50 116 August 8 Dodgers 2–4 Sutton Reuss Brewer 45,195 64–51 117 August 9 Dodgers 5–6 Downing Gibson Brewer 26,723 64–52 118 August 10 Braves 1–2 Stone Cleveland Upshaw 20,921 64–53 119 August 11 Braves 3–9 Kelley Zachary McQueen 21,906 64–54 120 August 12 @ Pirates 3–2 Carlton Walker 21,805 65–54 121 August 13 @ Pirates 2–0 Reuss Blass 31,563 66–54 122 August 14 @ Pirates 11–0 Gibson Johnson 30,678 67–54 123 August 15 @ Pirates 6–4 Linzy Miller Drabowsky 49,329 68–54 124 August 16 @ Reds 5–6 Carroll Linzy 13,259 68–55 125 August 17 @ Reds 3–5 Granger Taylor 14,578 68–56 126 August 18 @ Reds 0–5 Gullett Gibson 28,228 68–57 127 August 20 @ Braves 5–6 Barber Shaw 16,099 68–58 128 August 21 @ Braves 5–8 Stone Carlton 22,451 68–59 129 August 22 @ Braves 13–4 Reuss Reed Taylor 19,650 69–59 130 August 23 @ Astros 3–2 Gibson Wilson 19,167 70–59 131 August 24 @ Astros 2–1 Cleveland Forsch Santorini 13,860 71–59 132 August 25 @ Astros 4–1 Carlton Cook 11,025 72–59 133 August 27 Reds 7–8 Granger Linzy Gibbon 33,273 72–60 134 August 28 Reds 4–0 Gibson Nolan 40,823 73–60 135 August 29 Reds 4–3 Shaw Granger 28,624 74–60 136 August 30 Mets 3–2 Carlton Koosman 15,257 75–60 137 August 31 Mets 2–1 Reuss Frisella 15,854 76–60
September: (14–12) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 138 September 1 Mets 1–7 Seaver Gibson 22,204 76–61 139 September 3 Cubs 6–1 Cleveland Hands 26,708 77–61 140 September 4 Cubs 5–7 Pappas Carlton Regan 31,807 77–62 141 September 5 Cubs 12–5 Reuss Jenkins Taylor 39,309 78–62 142 September 6 (1) @ Phillies 6–3 Gibson Wise 79–62 143 September 6 (2) @ Phillies 1–2 Champion Zachary Hoerner 13,193 79–63 144 September 7 @ Phillies 7–5 Shaw Wilson Santorini 9,339 80–63 145 September 10 @ Cubs 8–7 S. Williams Colborn 6,792 81–63 146 September 11 @ Cubs 0–7 Pizarro Reuss 24,010 81–64 147 September 12 @ Cubs 4–0 Gibson Holtzman 24,017 82–64 148 September 13 Phillies 5–6 Wilson Shaw 13,863 82–65 149 September 14 Phillies 4–5 Wise Zachary Short 10,640 82–66 150 September 15 @ Pirates 1–4 Ellis Carlton Hernández 21,751 82–67 151 September 16 @ Pirates 1–6 Walker Reuss Hernández 18,127 82–68 152 September 17 @ Expos 7–2 Gibson Morton 13,371 83–68 153 September 18 @ Expos 2–4 Stoneman Cleveland 16,779 83–69 154 September 19 @ Expos 11–0 Carlton McAnally 25,769 84–69 155 September 21 Pirates 6–4 Drabowsky Ellis 13,348 85–69 156 September 22 Pirates 1–5 Walker Gibson Giusti 14,845 85–70 157 September 23 Pirates 0–5 Briles Cleveland 10,918 85–71 158 September 24 Expos 10–6 Taylor Marshall 8,109 86–71 159 September 25 Expos 8–6 Shaw Morton 9,114 87–71 160 September 26 Expos 7–1 Higgins Stoneman 11,473 88–71 161 September 27 @ Mets 6–1 S. Williams Capra Drabowsky 11,331 89–71 162 September 28 @ Mets 5–2 Carlton Ryan 3,338 90–71 163 September 30 @ Mets 1–6 Seaver Patterson 42,344 90–72

Opening Day starters

• Matty Alou
• Lou Brock
• José Cardenal
• Joe Hague
• Julián Javier
• Jerry Reuss
• Ted Simmons
• Ted Sizemore
• Joe Torre^[4]

Notable transactions

• June 8, 1971: Keith Hernandez was drafted by the Cardinals in the 42nd round of the 1971 Major League Baseball draft.^[5]
• June 11, 1971: Leron Lee and Fred Norman were traded by the Cardinals to the San Diego Padres for Al Santorini.^[6]
• June 15, 1971: Mike Torrez was traded by the Cardinals to the Montreal Expos for Bob Reynolds.^[7]

Roster

1971 St. Louis Cardinals
Roster
Pitchers 43 Rudy Arroyo 34 George Brunet 32 Steve Carlton 40 Bob Chlupsa 22 Reggie Cleveland 28 Moe Drabowsky 45 Bob Gibson 36 Santiago Guzmán 37 Dennis Higgins 39 Al Hrabosky 46 Mike Jackson 35 Frank Linzy 47 Fred Norman 31 Harry Parker 48 Daryl Patterson 49 Jerry Reuss 37 Bob Reynolds 34 Al Santorini 44 Don Shaw 42 Chuck Taylor 48 Mike Torrez 21 Stan Williams 36 Chris Zachary		Catchers 15 Jerry McNertney 23 Ted Simmons 19 Bob Stinson Infielders 16 Jim Beauchamp 10 Bob Burda 12 Joe Hague 25 Julián Javier  1 Ted Kubiak 27 Dal Maxvill 29 Milt Ramírez 11 Dick Schofield 41 Ted Sizemore  9 Joe Torre		Outfielders 17 Matty Alou 20 Lou Brock  1 José Cardenal 38 José Cruz 37 Leron Lee 26 Luis Meléndez 24 Jorge Roque		Manager  2 Red Schoendienst Coaches  8 Vern Benson 14 Ken Boyer  3 George Kissell 33 Barney Schultz 50 Lee Thomas

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 ^[8]
• Joe Torre, National League Most Valuable Player
• Joe Torre, Hutch Award^[9]

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

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^[10]