Fans to Select Two Players for August Induction from List of Eight Former Cardinals Greats
ST. LOUIS, Mo., March 11, 2016 – The St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame fan balloting process began earlier today. Fans can select two players for the Saturday, August 27th induction from a ballot that includes Cardinals greats Chris Carpenter, Keith Hernandez, Jason Isringhausen, Mark McGwire, Matt Morris, Edgar Renteria, Scott Rolen and Joe Torre.
The eight modern ballot nominees were selected by a “Red Ribbon” committee of Cardinals baseball experts through a secret ballot process in January. The Cardinals Hall of Fame Vote (#CardsHOF) presented by Edward Jones will run until Wednesday, April 20th at cardinals.com/HOF. The two players with the most fan votes after voting concludes will be inducted into the Cardinals Hall of Fame during a formal enshrinement ceremony that will take place on Saturday, August 27th as part of the 2016 Cardinals Hall of Fame Induction Weekend.
“Induction into the Cardinals Hall of Fame is one of the highest honors the team can bestow,” said Bill DeWitt Jr., Chairman and CEO of the St. Louis Cardinals. “We are delighted to give our fans a voice in the induction process so they can help us recognize the exceptional careers and achievements of some of the best players in Cardinals history.”
The St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame was established as a way to recognize the exceptional careers and significant achievements of the greatest players in Cardinals history. To be eligible, players must have played for the Cardinals for at least three seasons and be retired as a player from Major League Baseball for at least three years. The eligible pool of players is divided into two categories of ‘modern players’ and ‘veteran players.’ If a player retired more than 40 years prior to the induction year, he is classified as a veteran player.
In addition to nominating modern players for fan balloting, the “Red Ribbon” committee of Cardinals baseball experts also elected a veteran player for induction using a secret ballot process. Independently of this process, the Cardinals organization may also opt to induct an individual who was an important figure in Cardinals history, such as a coach, broadcaster or member of the front office.
The third elected induction class will be announced on Friday, April 29th during a televised 30-minute Hall of Fame announcement special on FOX Sports Midwest, and also in a pre-game ceremony at Busch Stadium before the Cardinals face the Washington Nationals.
Each member of the Cardinals Hall of Fame is permanently enshrined in the Cardinals Hall of Fame Gallery presented by Edward Jones located on the second floor of Cardinals Nation in Ballpark Village, just outside the entrance to the team’s museum. The Hall of Fame Gallery is free and open to the public. The plaques that adorn the gallery are produced by Matthews International, the company that also produces the plaques for the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
Following is a description of each nominee’s career as a Cardinal:
Chris Carpenter (#CarpenterHOF)
2005 Cy Young award, 95-44, 3.07 ERA, 1085 K’s
Chris Carpenter played nine seasons with the Cardinals and was selected as a National League All Star three times: 2005, 2006 and 2010. He made 18 starts for St. Louis during the postseason, including a start in Game 3 of the 2006 World Series vs. Detroit pitching eight shutout innings, allowing no runs on three hits and striking out six. The game that solidifies Carpenter into Cardinals fans hearts may be Game 5 of the 2011 Division Series vs. Philadelphia when he pitched a complete-game, 3-hit shutout, clinching the Division Series on the way to the team’s 11th World Championship. He was the National League Cy Young award winner in 2005 after a 21-5 season, and National League Comeback Player of the year in 2009. Carpenter’s .683 winning pct. ranks 2nd on the Cardinals franchise All-Time list and his 1085 strikeouts rank 4th All-Time. He is also the Cardinals All-Time postseason leader in wins (10) and innings pitched (108.0).
Keith Hernandez (#HernandezHOF)
1979 N.L. Co-MVP, .299 AVG, 265 2B, 81 HR, 595 RBI, 662 R
Keith Hernandez played 10 seasons with the Cardinals, winning six straight Gold Gloves from 1978-1983 at first base. He was a co-MVP in 1979, batting a league-leading .344 with 11 HR and 105 RBI. The two-time All-Star was a member of the 1982 World Championship team and batted .299 that season with 94 RBI.
Jason Isringhausen (#IsringhausenHOF)
217 Saves, 2.98 ERA
Jason Isringhausen pitched seven seasons with the Cardinals. During his time with the team, the Cardinals won the Central Division in 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006 with World Series appearances in 2004 and 2006, winning the World Series in 2006. He registered a National League-leading 47 saves in 2004, tying the franchise record which Lee Smith set, until Trevor Rosenthal broke the record in 2015. A two-time All-Star (2002 and 2005), “Izzy” still holds the franchise record for saves with 217, and is 6th with 401 appearances.
Mark McGwire (#McGwireHOF)
220 HR, 473 RBI, 1.111 OPS
Mark McGwire finished his playing career in 2001 with St. Louis after joining the club via trade on July 31, 1997. McGwire captured the World’s attention with the “Race for the Record” in 1998, breaking Major League Baseball’s single-season home run record of 61 set by Roger Maris with 70 homers. He blasted 220 career home runs with the Cardinals ranking 6th in franchise history, leading the Majors in home runs in both 1998 and 1999 (65), the top two season totals in Cardinals history. He set the Cardinals single-season walk mark with 162 in 1998 and had back-to-back seasons of 147 RBI (’98 and ’99), ranking tied for 3rd in Cardinals history. He was a three-time All-Star while with St. Louis (1998, 1999, 2000) and won the Silver Slugger in 1998.
Matt Morris (#MorrisHOF)
101-62, 3.61 ERA, 986 K’s
Matt Morris was the No. 1 draft pick (12th overall) for St. Louis in the 1995 amateur draft and reached the Majors just a year and a half later. He made his Major League debut April 4, 1997, and went 12-9 that season in 33 starts. He finished 3rd in the Rookie of the Year balloting in 1997 and was a two-time All-Star in 2001 and 2002. Morris tied for the lead in the Majors with 22 wins in 2001 (also Curt Schilling), finishing 3rd in Cy Young voting. Morris pitched for the Cardinals from 1997-2005, and played in five postseasons and one World Series (2004). He won 101 games over his career with St. Louis and still ranks 7th on the franchise All-Time lists with a .620 winning pct. and 6th with 986 strikeouts.
Edgar Renteria (#RenteriaHOF)
.290 AVG, 451 RBI, 207 2B
Edgar Renteria played six seasons with the Cardinals and was named a National League All-Star three times (2000, 2003, 2004). The shortstop won two Gold Gloves while with St. Louis in 2002 and 2003, and three Silver Slugger Awards in 2000, 2002 and 2003. Renteria batted .330 with St. Louis in 2003, the All-Time Cardinals single-season leader for a shortstop, as are his 47 doubles that season. He drove in his single-season high 100 runs in 2003 which rank 2nd among all St. Louis shortstops, and his 83 RBI in 2002 are his 2nd highest career total. Renteria stole 37 bases his first season with the Cardinals (1999) and his 147 steals while with St. Louis are second-highest in franchise history for a shortstop.
Scott Rolen (#RolenHOF)
.286 AVG, 173 2Bs, 111 HR, 453 RBI
In his five plus seasons (2002-2007) with the Cardinals, Scott Rolen dominated the hot corner winning Gold Gloves in 2003, 2004 and 2006, and the Silver Slugger award in 2002. He was named to the National League All-Star team in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, and named to the All-Busch Stadium team as the third baseman by vote of fans. Rolen hit a career high 49 doubles in 2003 and had 48 doubles during the team’s 2006 World Championship season. He hit over 20 homers three times with St. Louis (2003, ’04, ’06) and had over 90 RBI each of those same three seasons. In 2004, Rolen batted .314 which ranked 2nd among National League third basemen and was 2nd on the team, a year in which the club had four players with an average above .300. Following the 2004 season, Rolen finished 4th in National League MVP voting. Rolen was a big contributor during the postseason with St. Louis. He batted .310 (9-29) during the National League Championship Series vs. Houston in 2004, including his two-run home run off Roger Clemens in the 6th inning of Game 7 that plated the pennant-clinching run. In 2006, Rolen helped the club to its 10th World Championship, closing out the postseason with a 10-game hitting streak (.351, 13-37) that began in Game 3 of the NLCS vs. the New York Mets.
Joe Torre (#TorreHOF)
1971 N.L. MVP, .308 AVG, 161 2B, 98 HR, 558 RBI
Joe Torre played six seasons with the Cardinals at catcher, first base and third base from 1969-74. He was a four-time All-Star while playing for St. Louis, being named to the team in 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1973. Torre was named the National League MVP in 1971, after leading the league with a .363 batting average, 137 RBI and 230 hits. His 230 hits in ‘71 were the most since Stan Musial’s 230 in 1948 and still rank as the 4th-highest single-season total in franchise history. He posted a career batting average with the Cardinals of .308, ranking 9th in Cardinals franchise history. During his six seasons with the Cardinals, Torre had over 100 RBI three times and never had less than 149 hits or a batting average lower than .282.
The 2016 Cardinals Hall of Fame “Red Ribbon” Selection Panel
Tom Ackerman, Frank Cusumano, Derrick Goold, Rick Hummel, Randy Karraker, Whitey Herzog, Martin Kilcoyne, Jenifer Langosch, Tony La Russa, Bernie Miklasz, Joe Ostermeier, Rob Rains, Red Schoendienst and Brian Walton.
Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum (#CardsMuseum)
The 8,000 square foot St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum on the second floor of Cardinals Nation in Ballpark Village celebrates the rich history of baseball in St. Louis and the legacy of one of baseball’s most storied franchises. The Cardinals’ museum collection is the largest team-held collection in baseball and is second only to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in terms of size with over 22,000 memorabilia items and hundreds of thousands of archival photographs. Fans can learn more about the museum at cardinals.com/museum.
— STL —