The 1959 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 78th season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 68th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 71–83 during the season and finished seventh in the National League, 16 games behind the NL pennant winner and World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers. They attracted 929,953 paying fans to Busch Stadium, fifth in the eight-team league.

Offseason

* September 29, 1958: One day after the end of the 1958 National League regular season, Gene Freese was traded by the Cardinals to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

for Solly Hemus. The 35-year-old Hemus, a ten-year MLB veteran, had begun his career as a Cardinal, playing in 684 games between 1949 and 1956. He had appeared in 85 games as a second baseman for the 1958 Phillies, but was immediately named the Redbirds' player-manager for 1959, succeeding interim skipper Stan Hack. * October 8, 1958: Hobie Landrith,

Billy Muffett Billy Arnold Muffett (September 21, 1930 – June 15, 2008) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He pitched in the Major Leagues for all or parts of six seasons (1957–1962) for the St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants ...

and

Benny Valenzuela Benjamín Valenzuela Beltrán (2 June 1933 – 24 October 2018) was a Mexican professional baseball player, a third baseman who appeared in ten Major League Baseball games for the St. Louis Cardinals during the 1958 season. Nicknamed "Papelero ...

were traded by the Cardinals to the San Francisco Giants for Marv Grissom and Ernie Broglio. * October 15, 1958: Marshall Bridges was purchased by the Cardinals from the Sacramento Solons. * December 1, 1958:

Johnny O'Brien John Thomas O'Brien (born December 11, 1930) is a former backup second baseman and pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1953, 1955–58), St. Louis Cardinals (1958) and Milwaukee Braves (1959). O'Brien batte ...

was drafted from the Cardinals by the

in the 1958 rule 5 draft. * December 3, 1958: Rubén Amaro was traded by the Cardinals to the

for Chuck Essegian. * December 4, 1958: Wally Moon and Phil Paine were traded by the Cardinals to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Gino Cimoli. * March 25, 1959: Sam Jones and Don Choate were traded by the Cardinals to the San Francisco Giants for Ray Jablonski and Bill White.Ray Jablonski page at Baseball Reference
/ref> * Prior to 1959 season (exact date unknown) ** Lee Gregory was signed as an amateur free agent by the Cardinals.

Regular season

Season summary

The Cardinals played the league's best baseball from early May into late July, during which time they went 40–30. In the end, pitching failed the Redbirds. Their 4.34 ERA was ranked worst in the National League. There were some bright spots to the season. Larry Jackson and Lindy McDaniel, who found success and saved 15 games after an early-season move to the bullpen, each won a team-high 14 games. Also, third baseman Ken Boyer won a Gold Glove this year. Right fielder Joe Cunningham led the National League in

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

at .453 and batted .345 to finish second to Hank Aaron for the National League batting title.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Opening Day lineup

Notable transactions

* June 8, 1959: Jim Brosnan was traded by the Cardinals to the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

for Hal Jeffcoat. * June 19, 1959: Solly Hemus was released by the Cardinals as an active player; he remained the team's manager.Solly Hemus page at Baseball Reference
/ref> * July 25, 1959: Jay Porter was selected off waivers by the Cardinals from the Washington Senators. * August 4, 1959: Ray Katt was released by the Cardinals. * August 20, 1959: Ray Jablonski was selected off waivers from the Cardinals by the Kansas City Athletics. * September 6, 1959:

Phil Gagliano Philip Joseph Gagliano (December 27, 1941 – December 19, 2016) was an American professional baseball player who forged a 12-season, 702-game career in Major League Baseball as a utility infielder/ outfielder and pinch hitter for four clubs (p ...

was signed as an amateur free agent by the Cardinals.

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''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Other pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Relief pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Winnipeg, BillingsJohnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball'', 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007

References

External links

1959 St. Louis Cardinals at Baseball Reference1959 St. Louis Cardinals team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
{{St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis Cardinals seasons Saint Louis Cardinals season 1959 in sports in Missouri