The

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

2015 season was the 134th for the

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB)

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, the 124th season in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

(NL), and the 10th at

Busch Stadium III Busch Stadium (also referred to informally as "New Busch Stadium" or "Busch Stadium III") is a baseball stadium located in St. Louis, Missouri. The stadium serves as the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) ...

. They entered the 2015 season as two-time defending NL

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

division champions and having made four consecutive

National League Championship Series The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two National ...

(NLCS) appearances. The Cardinals' 2014–15 offseason began tragically with the

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

of rookie

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

Oscar Taveras Oscar Francisco Taveras (June 19, 1992 October 26, 2014) was a Dominican–Canadian professional baseball outfielder who played one season for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Known as ''"El Fenómeno"'' (Spanish for ...

in a traffic collision on October 26. On November 17, they acquired

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

Jason Heyward Jason Alias Heyward (born August 9, 1989), nicknamed "J-Hey" is an American professional baseball right fielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals ...

and

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Jordan Walden Jordan Craig Walden (born November 16, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Atlanta Braves, and St. Louis Cardinals. Early life Walden was born ...

from the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

in a blockbuster

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...

for pitchers

Shelby Miller Shelby Charles Miller (born October 10, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, Arizona Diamondb ...

and Tyrell Jenkins. The Cardinals inducted

Curt Flood Curtis Charles Flood (January 18, 1938 – January 20, 1997) was an American professional baseball player and activist. He was a center fielder who played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Redlegs, St. Louis Cardinals, ...

Bob Forsch Robert Herbert Forsch (January 13, 1950 – November 3, 2011) was an American professional baseball player who spent most of his sixteen years in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the St. Louis Cardinals (1974–1988) before finishing his pl ...

, George Kissell and

Ted Simmons Ted Lyle Simmons (born August 9, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. A switch-hitter, Simmons was a catcher for most of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the St. Louis Cardinals (1968–1980), the Milwau ...

into the franchise

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

. ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' valued the Cardinals at $1.2 billion in 2015, ranking them 27th out of all sports franchises in the world, and the sixth-highest in all MLB. By winning 22 of their first 29 games of the season, the Cardinals secured their best start since

1887 Events January–March * January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher. * January 20 ** The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Har ...

, and became the first major league team of the year to 50 wins, the fastest since the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

. Outfielder

Matt Holliday Matthew Thomas Holliday (born January 15, 1980) is an American professional baseball coach and former left fielder who is the bench coach for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB from 2004 to 2018 for the Col ...

set a new

record by reaching base in his first 45 games of the season. In June, reports surfaced that the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

(FBI) were investigating an incident involving the Cardinals hacking into the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

computer network A computer network is a set of computers sharing resources located on or provided by network nodes. The computers use common communication protocols over digital interconnections to communicate with each other. These interconnections are ...

s, the first known such case of

corporate A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and re ...

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...

professional sports In professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larg ...

. By winning their 100th game on September 30, the Cardinals clinched their third consecutive division title. It was the first time since 2005 they had won at least 100 games in a season, and they became the first team to do so since the 2011 Phillies. However, they lost to the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

in the

Division Series The Division Series is the quarterfinal round of the Major League Baseball playoffs. Four series are played in this round, two each for both the American League and the National League. 1981 season The first use of the term "Division Series" date ...

, ending their streak of four straight NLCS appearances.

Off-season

Overview

The St. Louis Cardinals ended their

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

regular

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

as the

National League Central The National League Central is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was created in 1994, by moving two teams from the National League West (the Cincinnati Reds and the Houston Astros) and three teams from the National League ...

division champions with a 90–72 won–loss record, their second consecutive Central division title and ninth overall. They finished sixth in the league in

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(.253), fifteenth (last) in

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s (105), and ninth in runs scored (619). They also ranked seventh in

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(3.50). St. Louis finished two games ahead of the

runner-up {{Short pages monitor

Records, awards, honors and milestones

;2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Major League Baseball All-Star Game selections ;Awards ''Awards voting results:'' Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award, National League Most Valuable Player Award: Carpenter, 12th; Heyward, 15th; Rosenthal 17th. National League

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall ...

: Lackey, 9th. Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award, National League Rookie of the Year Award: Piscotty, 6th. Major League Baseball Manager of the Year Award, National League Manager of the Year Award: Matheny, 2nd. ;Milestones

Executives and club officials

''Source:'
Cardinals front office
;Executive officers *Chairman and chief executive officer: William DeWitt, Jr. * President: Bill DeWitt III, William DeWitt III * Senior vice president & general counsel: Mike Whittle * Vice president of business development: Dan Good ;Baseball operations department * Senior vice president of baseball operations / General manager (baseball), general manager (GM):

John Mozeliak John Mozeliak (born January 18, 1969) is an American baseball executive who is the president of baseball operations of the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Never a professional baseball player, Mozeliak came to the Cardinals a ...

* Assistant general manager: Mike Girsch * Special assistants to the GM: Ryan Franklin, Mike Jorgensen, Cal Eldred, Willie McGee, and Red Schoendienst * Director of player development: Gary LaRocque * Director of player personnel: Matt Slater * Director of Major League administration: Judy Carpenter-Barada * Director of baseball administration: John Vuch * Baseball operations coordinator for player development: Tony Ferreira * Director of Scout (sport), scouting:

Randy Flores Randy is a given name, popular in the United States and Canada. It is primarily a masculine name. It was originally derived from the names Randall, Randolf, Randolph, as well as Bertrand and Andrew, and may be a short form (hypocorism) of th ...

* Director of international operations: Moisés Rodríguez * Assistant director of international scouting: Luís Morales * Manager for baseball information: Jeremy Cohen * Baseball development Systems analyst, analysts: Matt Bayer, Kevin Seats, Dane Sorensen * Baseball developers: Pat Casanta, Brian Seyfert * Additional coaching staff ** Senior medical advisor: Barry Weinberg ** Head athletic trainer: Greg Hauck ** Strength/conditioning coach: Pete Prinzi ** Equipment manager: Rip Rowan ** Traveling secretary: C. J. Cherre ;Communications department: * Vice president: Ron Watermon * Director: Brian Bartow ;Cardinals Care and community relations department * Vice president for community relations & executive director for Cardinals Care: Michael Hall * Vice president for event services and merchandising: Vicki Bryant ;Finance and administration department * Senior vice president and chief financial officer: Brad Wood ;Operations department * Vice president: Joe Abernathy ;Ticket sales, marketing & corporate sales department * Senior vice president of sales & marketing: Dan Farrell

Minor league system and first-year player draft

Teams

‡ – ''Clinched playoff berth with 43–25 record and first place in second half''
¤ – ''Clinched playoff spot''
ƒ – ''Clinched division title''

Overview

Left-handed

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

Tim Cooney, playing for the Memphis Redbirds of the Pacific Coast League (PCL), was named the PCL Pitcher of the Week after allowing a 0.66 ERA in IP against the New Orleans Zephyrs and Omaha Storm Chasers. He also held batters to a .143 batting average against (7-for-49). For the week ending June 7,

Tyler Lyons Tyler William Lyons (born February 21, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the New York Yankees organization. He attended Oklahoma State University (OSU) at Stillwater and played college baseball for the Cowboys. The New York ...

, also a left-handed starter playing for Memphis, was named PCL Pitcher of the week after defeating both the Salt Lake Bees and Iowa Cubs. He allowed a 0.00 ERA, 0.54 WHIP and .136 batting average against while striking out 13 in 13 IP. Right-handed pitcher Alex Reyes was selected to represent the World team in the All-Star Futures Game. Just coming off a 13-strikeout performance on June 17 with the Class A Advanced Palm Beach Cardinals, he led all of the minor leagues with a 13.4 strikeouts per nine innings. For the season, he was 2–5 with a 2.08 ERA, while striking 90 and walking 30 in IP. Reyes' fastball could reach and he also threw a power curveball. Luís Perdomo, pitching for the Peoria Chiefs of the Midwest League, replaced Reyes in the Futures Game due to injury. Converted from playing outfield after a major league tryout in front of scouts, he totaled 13 starts, a 2.79 ERA, 76 BB and 26 BB in IP. Jim Callis ranked Reyes as the Cardinals' top prospect for 2015, and the best prospect not to make MLB.com's top 100 list of all professional baseball. On July 2, reports emerged that the Cardinals had signed five international free agents, including Noel De Jesús (RHP from the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

), Raffy Ozuna (shortstop, Dominican Republic), Brian Pirela (RHP, Venezuela)
Álvaro Seijas
(RHP, Venezuela), and Anthony Trompiz (RHP, Venezuela). At the time, Seijas, 16, was the 11th-ranked international prospect per MLB.com's top 30 list, and received a $762,500 signing bonus. Ozuna, also 16, received a $600,000 signing bonus. While carrying out a Physical medicine and rehabilitation, rehabilitation assignment with the Peoria Chiefs on July 23, RHP Jaime García pitched in a combined no-hitter and 2–0 win against the Clinton LumberKings, a 2015 Seattle Mariners season, Seattle Mariners affiliate. The starter for the game, García pitched the first five innings and struck out six. Steven Sabatino and Cody Schumacher finished the contest.

Awards

* MLB.com's Cardinals 2015 top 30 prospects list * Names in bold denote player appeared on Cardinals' major league roster in 2015. * † – both a midseason and postseason All-Star selection

All-Star (midseason) selections

* Major League Baseball All-Star Futures Game: ** Luis Perdomo (baseball, born 1993), Luís Perdomo (RHP, Peoria Chiefs) ''(replaced Reyes)'' ** Alex Reyes (RHP, Palm Beach Cardinals) ''(injured)'' * Pacific Coast League (AAA):''
Box
** Tim Cooney (LHP) **Sam Tuivailala (RHP) * Texas League (AA):''
Box
** Kyle Barraclough (RHP) *
Joey Donofrio
(RHP) ** Jeremy Hazelbaker (RF) ** Michael Ohlman (C)† *
Arturo Reyes
(RHP)† *
Chris Thomas
(RHP) ** Charlie Tilson (CF)† * Florida State League (A-Advanced):Box
*
Bruce Caldwell
(IF) ** Alex Reyes (RHP) ** Luke Voit (DH) * Midwest League (A):''
Box
** Austin Gomber (LHP)† *
Oscar Mercado
(SS) *
Daniel Poncedeleon
(RHP) ** Luis Perdomo (baseball, born 1993), Luís Perdomo (RHP)

All-Star (postseason) selections

* Texas League (AA): ** Michael Ohlman (C)† *
Arturo Reyes
(RHP)† ** Charlie Tilson (CF)† * Midwest League (A): ** Austin Gomber (LHP)† *
Kyle Grana
(RHP) *
Darren Seferina
(2B)

Monthly awards

* Florida State League Player of the Month: ** July: Corey Littrell (LHP) * Texas League Player of the Month: ** June: Patrick Wisdom (3B) * Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Month: ** April: Alex Reyes (RHP), Palm Beach ** May: Luis Perdomo (baseball, born 1993), Luís Perdomo (RHP), Peoria ** June: Arturo Reyes (RHP)†, Springfield ** July: Luke Weaver (baseball), Luke Weaver (RHP), Palm Beach ** August: Austin Gomber, Peoria * Cardinals Minor League Player of the Month: ** April:

Xavier Scruggs Xavier Ladel Scruggs (born September 23, 1987) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins, and in the KBO League for the NC Dinos. Profession ...

(1B), Memphis ** May: Greg Garcia (IF) ** June: Patrick Wisdom (3B) ** July: Anthony Garcia (OF), Springfield

Weekly awards

* Pitcher of the Week: *
Will Anderson
(RHP): May 4, Florida State League ** Tim Cooney (RHP): May 17, Pacific Coast League *
Thomas Lee
(RHP) − 2×: May 10 and June 7, Texas League **

(LHP): June 7, Pacific Coast League *
Jimmy Reed
(LHP): May 25, Florida State League *
Arturo Reyes
(RHP)†: June 7, Texas League * Player of the Week: ** Harrison Bader (OF): August 31, Midwest League ** Jeremy Hazelbaker (OF): July 13, Pacific Coast League *
Michael Ohlman
(C): June 7, Texas League *
Nick Thompson
(OF): August 24, Midwest League *
Patrick Wisdom
(3B): June 15, Texas League

''Baseball America'' All-Star Awards

* Minor League Classification All-Star Teams ** High Class-A pitcher: Alex Reyes ** High Class-A pitcher: Luke Weaver (baseball), Luke Weaver ** Short season Class-A pitcher:
Jacob Evans
** Rookie leagues pitcher:
Ryan Helsley

''Baseball America'' Annual Toolbox Awards

''Source:'' * Pacific Coast League ** Best

strike zone In baseball, the strike zone is the volume of space through which a pitch must pass in order to be called a strike even if the batter does not swing. The strike zone is defined as the volume of space above home plate and between the batter's kn ...

judgment: Greg Garcia (2B) ** Best control: Tim Cooney (LHP) ** Best

reliever In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather ...

: Sam Tuivailala (RHP) ** Best

defensive Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...

Tommy Pham Thomas James Pham (born March 8, 1988) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds, and Boston R ...

(CF) * Texas League ** Best defensive

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

: Jonathan Rodriguez (1B) * Florida State League ** Best pitching prospect: Alex Reyes (RHP) ** Best fastball: Alex Reyes (RHP) ** Best Breaking ball, breaking pitch: Alex Reyes (RHP)

Rawlings Gold Glove Award

* Rawlings Gold Glove Award for minor league catchers: Carson Kelly

St. Louis Cardinals minor league system awards

* Minor League Player of the Year:

Stephen Piscotty Stephen Edward Piscotty (born January 14, 1991) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has previously played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals and Oakland Athletics. Piscotty played college baseball for Stanfor ...

(OF) * Minor League Pitchers of the Year: Austin Gomber (LHP) & Alex Reyes (RHP)

Major League Baseball Draft

The Cardinals selected a total of 42 players in the annual 40-round draft that took place from June 8–10 in Secaucus, New Jersey. The club's first pick of the draft, and 23rd overall, was outfielder

Nick Plummer Nicholas Raymond Plummer (born July 31, 1996) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets. Plummer attended Brother Rice High School in Bloomfield Hills ...

from Brother Rice High School in

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. He was the first high school player from Michigan taken in the first round since 1997 Major League Baseball draft, 1997. The Cardinals acceded him with a $2.124 million signing bonus. The Cardinals also signed each of the following selectees of the first ten rounds: Jake Woodford (RHP, 1A), Jordan Hicks (RHP, third round), Paul DeJong (LF, fourth), Ryan Helsley, (RHP, fifth), Andrew Brodbeck, (2B ninth), and others in the later rounds. Other selections notified the Cardinals of their intention to continue playing college baseball: Kép Brown (10th round), Gio Brusa (23rd), Matt Vierling (30th) and Parker Kelly (34th). Names in bold indicate the player was signed. ''Sources:''

References

;Footnotes ;Source notes

External links

St. Louis Cardinals official site

2015 St. Louis Cardinals at ESPN2015 St. Louis Cardinals at Baseball Reference
{{Portal bar, Baseball, United States St. Louis Cardinals seasons 2015 Major League Baseball season, St. Louis Cardinals 2015 in sports in Missouri, St. Louis Cardinals National League Central champion seasons