Ranking the best rotations in Cards history

The Cardinals franchise is rich in its pitching history, from some of the greatest to ever throw off a mound to others who put together singularly sensational seasons in St. Louis amid just one stop in their careers. Numerous Hall of Famers -- Bob Gibson, Dizzy Dean and Steve Carlton -- to a modern ace like Chris Carpenter, to even Cy Young himself have all donned the birds on the bat.

But those are all individuals. How about some of the all-time starting rotation units in Cards history?

For this exercise, we’re ranking the best single-season rotations the Cards have boasted, with decisions loosely geared around the collective WAR (as measured by FanGraphs) amassed by each rotation, with a nod toward particularly successful clubs and lore in baseball history. Only Modern Era campaigns (since 1900) are under consideration.

1) 1969 Cardinals (22.4 fWAR)
Key members: Bob Gibson, Steve Carlton, Nelson Briles, Ray Washburn, Mike Torrez

Admittedly, an appearance from this decade should be of no surprise, featuring two of the best pitchers in baseball history. But the year? The 1969 Cards went 87-75, a meager mark off two consecutive World Series appearances, but along the way they received two of the best pitching seasons in franchise history. Though it sandwiched around Gibson's two Cy Young campaigns, the '69 season ranks as the second best of his career by WAR standards, just behind ’70 and, yes, ahead of his sensational MVP campaign in '68. For Carlton, he was allowed to reach his fullest form in a Cardinals jersey in '69 at 24 years old, going 17-11 with a 2.17 ERA before finding his Hall of Fame footing with the Phillies. Though not the runaway No. 1 rotation by pure fWAR standards, the '69 rotation gets the top nod for its boasting of legends in both Cardinals and baseball history.

2) 1944 Cardinals (20.7 fWAR)
Key members: Mort Cooper, Max Lanier, Ted Wilks, Harry Brecheen, Red Munger, Al Jurisich

This is one example where postseason pedigree grants you preferential treatment. The 1944 team is a half-step below some of the best rotations in franchise history, but it resembles the only World Series-winning team to make the top five. Cooper, two years removed from his MVP campaign, led a staff that featured five pitchers with ERAs under 3.00, each of which compiled at least 11 wins. The staff combined for 89 complete games -- 22 from Cooper and 16 each from Lanier and Wilks -- but the unsung hero may have been Munger, the 25-year-old who compiled a 1.34 ERA in 21 games (12 starts). Since 1900, only two Cards rotations have compiled a lower staff ERA than the '44 club did at 2.48.

3) 1935 Cardinals (20.8 fWAR)
Key members: Dizzy Dean, Paul Dean, Bill Walker, Bill Hallahan, Jesse Haines

As the 2021 Cardinals neared history with their 17-game win streak, they were chasing one other squad in franchise history: these 1935 Cards. The ’35 club -- on the backs of Hall of Famer Dizzy and his brother Paul -- put up a modest staff ERA of 3.42 en route to a 96-58 record (thanks to 14 straight victories in July). Dizzy, off his MVP campaign in the World Series triumph a year prior, finished second in voting for the award in both this ’35 season and again in ’36. But it was this year when he finished with the most innings in his career (325 1/3) and the most complete games (29) alongside a 3.04 ERA and 28-12 record. He owned bragging rights; Paul, at just 22 years old, finished with a measly 19-12 mark with a 3.37 ERA. Haines, another Hall of Famer, was used primarily as a reliever but made 12 starts in ’35.

4) 1943 Cardinals (22.8 fWAR)
Key members: Mort Cooper, Max Lanier, Harry Gumbert, Howie Pollet, Harry Brecheen

Whereas the 1944 team was given the edge for its triumph in the Fall Classic, the '43 squad is in actuality, by pure WAR standards, the best rotation in Cardinals history. Though the gap with the '69 squad is minimal, we gave it the edge because of those players’ placement in baseball history. But aiding this group's lore is that its 94 complete games are the most by a Cards team in the Live Ball Era (since 1920). Most fascinating about the '43 squad, as opposed to '44, is that it touted Pollet. The youngster won the NL ERA title with a 1.75 mark this year but then served in the military the next two seasons in the midst of his prime. He returned with another ERA title in '46 but didn’t equal his success the other years in his career. As it just so happened, the '43 squad was the only one in three straight years to fall short in the World Series, handled by the Yankees in a succinct five games that featured nail-biting contests across the slate.

5. 2009 Cardinals (17.4 fWAR)
Key members: Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, Joel Pineiro, Todd Wellemeyer, Kyle Lohse

When people speak about modern Cardinals pitching excellence, they’re referring to the 2009 rotation, which saw Wainwright and Carpenter finish in the top three for Cy Young voting, combining to go 36-12 with a 2.45 ERA. They were flanked by Pineiro, who finished the year tied for the NL lead with a pair of shutouts, Wellemeyer, who endured a choppy season, and Lohse, who was experiencing a bumpy patch in his Cardinals tenure before serving as a central starter on the 2011 World Series club. You'll notice that the fWAR amassed by this group is a few ticks below the others on this list, but we're giving it the No. 5 spot with a nod to the quality of competition faced and the sheer Cy Young pedigree it boasted. And lest you forget that Hall of Famer John Smoltz made the final seven starts of his career in this campaign as a Cardinal.

Honorable mentions: The 1900 rotation was solid yet nothing overly special, but it’s the only Cards rotation since the turn of the 20th century to feature Cy Young himself, so it’s worth a shoutout. He went 20-18 with a 3.00 ERA in his second of two years as a Cardinal. … By pure metrics, the 1947 rotation ranks with all else on this list, led by Murry Dickson and featuring Munger and Breechen yet again. … The 1988 rotation did not stack up when it comes to advanced statistics, but a rotation with Bob Forsch (before he was traded) and John Tudor is wholly notable. … The 1997 rotation, though not flashy, was utterly solid with a 18.6 fWAR, led by Matt Morris and brothers Alan Benes and Andy Benes.