TABLE OF CONTENTS Hitting Machine Rogers Hornsby Is Best with a Bat 4 The Gas House Gang Wins It All Stan Is the Man for the Cardinals 8 Gibson stands out in The Year of the Pitcher 10 Lou Brock Swipes 118 Bases 12 The Wizard of Oz Backflip 14 Jack Buck Tells Cardinals fans to Go Crazy 16 Fans Gaze Out at the Gateway Arch 18 Watching Albert was absolutely Awesome 20 Cardinals win a Wild World Series in 2011 22 St Louis has the Best Fans in the Land 24 Molina Makes His Mark 26 12 Key Dates 28 Glossary 30 For More Information 31 Index 32 About the Author 32
HITTING MACHINE ROGERS HORNSBY IS BEST WITH A BAT Baseball fans in the early 1920s would probably finish well ahead of the pack did not have to wonder who was going to lead the National League NL in hitting They knew St Louis Cardinals slugger Rogers Hornsby The Texas native posted the highest batting average in the league every season from 1920 to 1925 But he was not just a singles hitter He paced the NL in doubles four times averaging 42 per year He twice led the league in home runs And he Rogers Hornsby swings at a pitch in 1917 had the most runs batted in RBIs four times His 424 batting average in 1924 still ranks as the second best for one season in Major League Baseball MLB Hornsby was also part of the Cardinals first World Series win They beat the New York Yankees in
Rogers Hornsby in 1926 Hornsby thought about nothing but baseball even when the snow was falling People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball he once said I'll tell you what I do I stare out the window and wait for spring When spring rolled around he was ready He used his bat like a magic wand His 358 career batting average is second in the history of the sport ardinals Seasons in which Rogers Hornsby led the NL in batting average home runs and RBIs That s called the Triple Crown THINK ABOUT IT Hornsby played all the infield positions but was mostly a second baseman He played with four other teams including the St Louis Browns from 1933 to 1937 He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1942 What are the qualities a baseball player needs to be a great hitter Which of those skills are physical Which ones are mental and emotional 5
