Cardinals’ Top 5 general managers: Rogers’ take

No one loves a good debate quite like baseball fans, and with that in mind, we asked each of our beat reporters to rank the top five players by position in the history of their franchise, based on their career while playing for that club. These rankings are for fun and debate purposes only.

We’ve made it around the horn, including in the dugout with the top five managers last week. Now, let’s finish off this series with the front office. Here is Anne Rogers’ ranking of the top five GMs in Cardinals history.

• Cardinals' all-time team: C | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | LF | CF | RF | UTIL | RH SP | LH SP | RP | Manager

1) Branch Rickey, 1919-42

Before he was breaking down barriers by signing Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers, Rickey was renovating baseball with the Cardinals. As the team’s first GM, the Hall of Fame executive turned a franchise that had just four winning seasons from 1900-20 into the most successful National League club of the 20th century.

To turn the Cards into a dynasty, Rickey wanted to give the lower-budget club a competitive edge on higher-spending clubs. So he invented the farm system -- a flow chart of talent that the Cards directed with complete control. Rickey’s idea moved forward with owner Sam Breadon’s blessing -- and money -- and the St. Louis farm system included 26 affiliates by 1936.

Fourteen of the players on the 1926 World Series-winning team -- the Cardinals’ first World Series title -- came from Rickey’s system, and in '42, the Cardinals won 106 games and the World Series with a roster that had only two players who did not come from the farm system. Hall of Famers Stan Musial, Dizzy Dean, Red Schoendienst and Jim Bottomley were all products of Ricky’s innovation.

When he left for Brooklyn in 1943, Rickey had won four World Series titles with the Cardinals. He also left behind a culture of continued success.

“Branch Rickey was responsible for every St. Louis-developed star since Rogers Hornsby and before Ken Boyer,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch editor Bob Broeg wrote. “Every standout player was bought, signed, scouted or approved by the game’s foremost visionary. Rickey and revolution have been synonymous in baseball. He wasn’t a dealer in superficial revisions.”

2) Walt Jocketty, 1994-2007

Jocketty inherited a losing club in the 1990s and turned it into one that shined in a golden era by the time he left in 2007.

Having not been to the postseason since 1987, the Cardinals hired Jocketty in ’94 to help turn the club around. He made his first game-changing move by hiring Tony La Russa, who would become the winningest manager in franchise history, in '95. Under their joint leadership, the Cards made seven postseason appearances, won six division titles, two NL pennants and a World Series in 2006.

Jocketty’s time in St. Louis is best shown through the moves he made to build one of the most successful eras in Cardinals history. The first was acquiring Mark McGwire for three prospects in a Trade Deadline deal with the A’s in 1997. The Cards risked losing McGwire to free agency unless they could convince him to stay, but after seven weeks in St. Louis, the two parties agreed to a three-year deal. McGwire eclipsed the home run record during the historic '98 season, putting St. Louis at the epicenter of baseball. Attendance soared at Busch Stadium. Even though the Cards wouldn't again reach the postseason until 2000, a new era had begun.

Other Jocketty trade acquisitions and free-agent signings? How about Jim Edmonds, Edgar Renteria, Jason Isringhausen, Scott Rolen and David Eckstein -- all of whom were integral to the Cardinals' success. He also selected Albert Pujols in the 13th round of the 1999 MLB Draft and Yadier Molina in the fourth round of the 2000 Draft.

3) Bing Devine, 1957-64; '67-78

Much like Jocketty, Devine was hired to transform the Cardinals. His first move, according to the Society for American Baseball Research, was to nix the deal that former GM Frank Lane had in place to trade Ken Boyer. Boyer went on to win the NL MVP Award in 1964, win five Gold Glove Awards and was a key player for the Cardinals in the ‘60s.

Devine built the Cardinals’ World Series champion teams of 1964 and ’67, as well as the ’68 pennant winners. He traded for center fielder Curt Flood in ’57, acquired first baseman Bill White in ‘59 and promoted Bob Gibson that year, too. He acquired second baseman Julian Javier in '60, hired Johnny Keane as manager in ’61 and traded for shortstop Dick Groat after the '62 season.

Devine was the architect behind the Lou Brock trade, one of the most lopsided deals in baseball history. In June 1964, the Cardinals were slumping, and both Devine’s and Keane’s jobs were in jeopardy. So Devine made a trade that would define his career. He sent Ernie Broglio, a 20-game winner, to the Cubs for Brock, a young and relatively unknown outfielder. Broglio developed a sore arm, while Brock’s speed and hitting propelled the Cardinals for years.

Devine was fired that August, so he didn’t get to see the team he built win the World Series. After the Cardinals won the World Series in 1967 -- with almost the same roster Devine had built in ’64 -- Cardinals owner Gussie Busch re-hired Devine, who would lead the Cards for another 10 years.

4) John Mozeliak, 2007-17 (now president of baseball operations)

Mozeliak came to the Cardinals as Jocketty’s assistant in 1995 and his successor in 2007. The winner of three Executive of the Year Awards, Mozeliak has never overseen a losing team in 13 seasons at the helm of baseball operations. Under Mozeliak, the Cardinals have made six postseason appearances, won two NL pennants and one World Series. He has helped restructure and expand research operations and oversaw a farm system revamp that made the Cards' player development system one of the best in baseball.

Mozeliak’s first trade was acquiring David Freese, who would be integral to the 2011 World Series team, from the Padres in 2007. Until Paul Goldschmidt’s acquisition in '19, Mozeliak’s biggest trade was for Matt Holliday in '09, and the Cardinals signed the productive left fielder to a seven-year deal in ’10. Despite losing Pujols to free agency in '11, Mozeliak extended Adam Wainwright and Molina to deals that could make them Cardinals for life.

5) Dal Maxvill, 1985-94

After playing for Devine and winning championships in the 1960s, Maxvill turned to coaching in '78. He spent one year with the Mets before returning to St. Louis. When the Cardinals fired GM Joe McDonald in '85, they asked Maxvill to interview for the position. He was officially named manager that Feb. 25. His first trade was acquiring Jose Oquendo from the Mets, giving the Cardinals a valuable utility player and later a longtime third-base coach.

Maxvill’s clubs won NL championships in two of his first three seasons before entering a downturn in the 1990s.