1969 St. Louis Cardinals season

Offseason

• October 14, 1968: Coco Laboy was drafted from the Cardinals by the Montreal Expos as the 54th pick in the 1968 MLB expansion draft.
• December 2, 1968: 1968 rule 5 draft
  • Pedro Borbón was drafted from the Cardinals by the California Angels.
  • Bo Belinsky was drafted by the Cardinals from the Houston Astros.
• February 12, 1969: Byron Browne was purchased by the Cardinals from the Houston Astros.
• March 17, 1969: Orlando Cepeda was traded by the Cardinals to the Atlanta Braves for Joe Torre.
• March 29, 1969: Dennis Ribant was purchased by the Cardinals from the Kansas City Royals.
• Prior to 1969 season: Tommy Cruz was signed by the Cardinals as an amateur free agent.

Regular season

Pitcher Bob Gibson and outfielder Curt Flood won Gold Gloves this year.

1969 also marked the final season for the Busch Stadium grass before the installation of AstroTurf, which would be their home surface for the next 26 seasons.

After the season, long-time broadcaster Harry Caray's contract was not renewed. At a news conference shortly afterward, Caray pointedly and conspicuously drank from a can of Schlitz beer, at the time the main competitor to the brands of Anheuser-Busch (A–B), who owned the Cardinals. He said he did not know why he had been let go, but doubted the team's claim that the decision was made because he was hurting beer sales. Instead, he suspected that people believed rampant rumors that he had been having an affair with Susan Busch, daughter-in-law of team president and A–B CEO Gussie Busch.

Caray would be a broadcaster for the Oakland Athletics in 1970, before spending 27 seasons in Chicago with the White Sox (1971–1981) and the Cubs from 1982 until his death prior to the 1998 season.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Opening Day starters

• Lou Brock
• Curt Flood
• Bob Gibson
• Julián Javier
• Dal Maxvill
• Tim McCarver
• Vada Pinson
• Mike Shannon
• Joe Torre

Notable transactions

• April 3, 1969: Bo Belinsky was purchased from the Cardinals by the California Angels.
• May 22, 1969: John Sipin and Sonny Ruberto were traded by the Cardinals to the San Diego Padres for Bill Davis and Jerry DaVanon.
• June 5, 1969: Bill Madlock was drafted by the Cardinals in the 11th round of the 1969 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign.
• June 14, 1969: Dennis Ribant was traded by the Cardinals to the Cincinnati Reds for Aurelio Monteagudo.

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

Awards and honors

• Lou Brock, League leader, Stolen Bases

• Bob Gibson, Pitcher, Gold Glove Award

• Curt Flood, Outfield, Gold Glove Award

All-Star Game

• Steve Carlton, P, Starter
• Bob Gibson, P, Reserve

Farm system

Notes

References

References

1. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/l/laboyco01.shtml Coco Laboy page at Baseball Reference]
2. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/b/borbope01.shtml Pedro Borbón page at Baseball Reference]
3. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/b/belinbo01.shtml Bo Belinsky page at Baseball Reference]
4. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/b/brownby01.shtml Byron Browne page at Baseball Reference]
5. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/c/cepedor01.shtml Orlando Cepeda page at Baseball Reference]
6. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/r/ribande01.shtml Dennis Ribant page at Baseball Reference]
7. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cruzto01.shtml Tommy Cruz page at Baseball-Reference]
8. (2012). "Bitter Brew: The Rise and Fall of Anheuser–Busch and America's Kings of Beer". HarperCollins.
9. Knoedelseder, 106–107
10. [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1969&t=SLN 1969 St. Louis Cardinals Roster by Baseball Almanac]
11. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/r/ruberso01.shtml Sonny Ruberto page at Baseball Reference]
12. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/m/madlobi01.shtml Bill Madlock page at Baseball Reference]
13. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball'', 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007