2004 NATIONAL LEAGUE
St. LOUIS CARDINALS CHAMPIONSHIP RING
THE STORY OF 2004 NATIONAL LEAGUE
St. LOUIS
CARDINALS
CHAMPIONSHIP RING The St. Louis Cardinals 2004 season was the team's 123rd season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 113th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 105-57 during the season, the most of any Cardinals team since 1944, and the first Cardinal team to win 100 or more games since 1985, and won the National League Central division by 13 games over the NL Wild-Card Champion Houston Astros. In the playoffs the Cardinals defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 3 games to 1 in the NLDS and the Astros 4 games to 3 in the NLCS to reach their first World Series since 1987.
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THE STORY OF 2004 NATIONAL LEAGUE
St. LOUIS
CARDINALS
CHAMPIONSHIP RING In the World Series the Cardinals faced the Boston Red Sox and were swept 4 games to 0. It was the final World Series played at Busch Memorial Stadium. Because the American League had home-field advantage as a result of winning the All-Star Game, Busch Memorial Stadium was where the Curse of the Bambino died.Catcher Mike Matheny, third baseman Scott Rolen, and outfielder Jim Edmonds won Gold Gloves this year.
www.championshipringclub.com
THE STORY OF 2004 NATIONAL LEAGUE
St. LOUIS
CARDINALS
CHAMPIONSHIP RING NLCS: Facing off against division rival Houston, the Cardinals took a 2–0 lead, then lost three straight in Houston. Coming home for Game 6, the Cardinals took a 4–3 lead into the 9th inning, but Houston tied it up. Jim Edmonds hit a walk-off homer in the bottom of the 12th to win the game. The next night, Albert Pujols helped St. Louis win Game 7 to clinch the series with a game tying hit. Scott Rolen brought him home on a two-run home run. Albert Pujols was named the series MVP.
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THE STORY OF 2004 NATIONAL LEAGUE
St. LOUIS
CARDINALS
CHAMPIONSHIP RING When the Cardinals reached the World Series, Tony La Russa became the sixth manager to win pennants in both leagues, following Joe McCarthy, Yogi Berra, Alvin Dark, and the managers in the 1984 World Series, Sparky Anderson and Dick Williams. La Russa had managed the Oakland Athletics to three straight pennants between 1988 and 1990 and winning the 1989 World Series. La Russa would try to join Anderson as the only men to have managed teams to World Series championships in both leagues. La Russa wore number 10 in tribute to Anderson (who wore 10 while manager of the Cincinnati Reds) and to indicate he was trying to win the team's tenth championship.
www.championshipringclub.com
THE STORY OF 2004 NATIONAL LEAGUE
St. LOUIS
CARDINALS
CHAMPIONSHIP RING The Cardinals met a what was a potent Red Sox squad fresh off four straight victories over the Yankees following an 0–3 deficit in the ALCS. A comeback in this fashion in any North American major sports leagues had previously occurred only in the NHL. This was the third time the two teams have faced each other in the Fall Classic, with the Cardinals winning the previous two in 1946 and 1967. The Cardinals were again without a key player for the World Series: ace pitcher Chris Carpenter, who, after going 15–5, tweaked his shoulder in September and missed the entire post-season. The Cardinals were swept by the Red Sox in four games and never had a lead throughout the series. Pujols, Scott Rolen, and Jim Edmonds, the normally fearsome 3-4-5 hitters for the Cardinals, were 6-for-45 with 1 RBI. www.championshipringclub.com