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Big Bob GibsonFor one, the Rangers repeating as American League champs and the Cards even getting into the playoffs is weird enough. The fact that the Cardinals upended the mighty Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers is mad enough.
Now, it's Major League Baseball's worst nightmare: Two midwest, mid-major markets. One of the richest baseball traditions in the history of the game (St. Louis) and a team new to good baseball living in a city where everyone still quietly still loves the football team (Dallas-Fort Worth).
No New York, Chicago or Los Angeles teams. Good luck with those ratings. But you might get some good baseball in the meantime.
With that said, the Cardinals are a mystery team. Most of us that follow the game know the names, the skill sets, the abilities and the inabilities. Still, most can't tell you how they got to 90 wins. How they got here. Here are 10 fun facts that might clear up the cobwebs.
10. The Rangers faced the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS, a team that finished 2011 with the fewest stolen bases in baseball with 49. St. Louis had the second fewest with 57.
9. The Cardinals had the third best run differential in the National League (+70) behind Milwaukee and Philadelphia. And look where that got them.
8. Nick Punto against the Rangers in his career: .328/.410/.832. At the Ballpark: .290/.405/.776.
7. The St. Louis hitters had the second fewest strikeouts in Major League Baseball this season with just 978 Ks. The team with the least strikeouts? The Texas Rangers (930).
6. The Cardinals had the fifth highest average in the league (.274) and scored the fifth most runs (762). Yet, they had no hitter with 200 hits and just one with 150 (Albert Pujols). How did they score all those runs and win 90 games? A league-high .290 average with runners in scoring position and a league-best .269 average with runners in scoring position and two outs. Bottomline: They're clutch.
5. The Cardinals had the second most road wins in the National League with 45. Granted, with 90 wins, that means they won only 45 at new Busch. Washington 44 home wins. Third-place Cincinnati, 42.
4. Team leader in wins (14) and ERA (3.39)? Kyle Lohse, naturally.
3. The Cards against lefties: .265/.339/.768. Against righties: .276/.341/.765.
2. The Cardinals had the second most blown saves in the Majors (26). Those notching saves: Trever Miller, Jason Motte, Octavio Dotel, Fernando Salas, Eduardo Sanchez, Lance Lynn, Ryan Franklin and Mitchell Boggs. Sanchez, Miller and Franklin haven't thrown a pitch in the post-season, for one reason or another.
1. Cardinals in interleague play: 6-6.
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