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''This sports historic article is about the Major League Baseball franchise St. Louis Cardinals. For the National Football League franchise while it played in St. Louis, see History of the St. Louis Cardinals (NFL).'' The St. Louis Cardinals, a professional baseball franchise based in St. Louis, Missouri, compete in the National League (NL) of Major League Baseball (MLB). Brewing magnate Gussie Busch's 37-year-long ownership of the club ended with his death in 1989, and his brewery, Anheuser-Busch (AB) took over. In 1995, an investment group led by Drew Baur and William DeWitt, Jr., purchased the team and have owned the club since. Shortstop Ozzie Smith – nicknamed "The Wizard" – collected a staggering array of defensive records and awards while performing acrobatic spectacles such as somersaults and flips that mesmerized Cardinal and non-Cardinal fans alike. In 1998, Mark McGwire and the Chicago Cubs' Sammy Sosa collocated national attention with their chase of Roger Maris' single-season home run record of 61. In addition, McGwire also set numerous team home run records. For the 1990s, the Cardinals captured one division title and finished above .500 five times for a .488 winning percentage〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Breakout selected from 1990 to 1999 )〕 The Baur-DeWitt era continued Busch's and the Cardinals' winning tradition the next decade. Walt Jocketty, with a reputation as a top player developer, became the GM in 1995, and he hired renowned manager Tony La Russa. DeWitt's ownership group oversaw a period of consistent playoff appearances through key acquisitions of players. He also implemented a philosophy of bolstering talent from the minor leagues as the farm system consistently lagged near the bottom in baseball, as noted by publications such as ESPN and ''Baseball America.'' From 2000 to 2013, the Cardinals made ten playoff appearances, won two World Series and four NL pennants. With 1,274 regular season wins against 993 losses for a .560 winning percentage, the Cardinals led the National League and were second in MLB only to the New York Yankees.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Breakout selected from 2000 to 2013 )〕 The Cardinals acquired defensive experts and sluggers Jim Edmonds (center fielder) in 2000 and Scott Rolen (third baseman) in 2002. A thirteenth-round draft pick in Albert Pujols unexpectedly put together one of the most productive ten years in Major League history with a .331 batting average and 408 home runs. Free agent acquisition and pitcher Chris Carpenter led St. Louis' pitching staff into multiple playoff hunts. However, revelations of the widespread use of banned substances across baseball came to light in the 2000s decade that retroactively exposed McGwire's home run record chase and former pitcher Rick Ankiel's comeback bid as a hitter. Despite the scandals, the Cardinals acquired Matt Holliday, Lance Berkman, Carlos Beltrán and Adam Wainwright to replace Edmonds, Pujols, Rolen and Carpenter. Eventually, McGwire issued a public apology and returned to the Cardinals as the hitting coach. La Russa retired from managing after 2011 with the most wins in franchise history (1,408) and World Series championships (two) and Mike Matheny replaced him. Concurrently, the fruition of a new player development model of which DeWitt pursued contributed greatly to two World Series appearances in 2011 and 2013, such as David Freese putting on rare comeback heroics and Allen Craig compiling a historically high batting average with runners in scoring position. From 1990 to 2013, St. Louis made eleven total playoff appearances and had a combined record of 2,032 wins and 1,787 losses for a .531 winning percentage, fourth-best among all major league teams in that span.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Breakout selected from 1990 to 2013 )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=St. Louis Cardinals Team History & Encyclopedia )〕 ==Joe Torre and Anheuser-Busch take over (1990–1995)== After Gussie Busch died in 1989, the brewery took primary control of the Cardinals. Former Cardinal catcher and third baseman Joe Torre replaced Whitey Herzog as manager late in the 1990 season after he unexpectedly resigned. Despite an in-season trade to the Oakland A's that season, outfielder Willie McGee attained the requisite number of plate appearances to win his second NL batting title with the Cardinals at .335, making him the only player to win a batting title and end the same season in the other Major League. McGee's batting title was the main highlight in a season where the Cardinals finished last in the division (70–92, .432 winning percentage). It was the first occurrence that they finished last in the standings since 1918 (52–78, .395 winning percentage), when they finished last in the NL when the two leagues had not yet been split into divisions.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=1918 National League season summary )〕 However, the Atlanta Braves finished with the worst record in the NL (65–97, .401 winning percentage) in 1990.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=1990 National League season summary )〕 Thus, the Cardinals have avoided finishing last in the entire league every year since 1918, the longest such streak in Major League history and the 1990 season is still their only last place finish in their division.〔 Starting the next season, the Cardinals commenced a period of playing above expectations and continued a reputation of defensive excellence. Torre's teams 83 or more games each season in 1991, 1992 and 1993.〔 Shortstop Ozzie Smith, a fan favorite due to his acrobatics, smooth glove and powerful arm, set several defensive records, including the single-season record for fewest errors at shortstop (8) in 1991.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Cardinals timeline 3 )〕 He also set career marks at his position games played in 1993, assists (July 14, 1994), and double plays (1,554 on September 15, 1995), and won the Gold Glove every year from 1982 to 1992 with the Cardinals.〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=Ozzie Smith career statistics )〕 The accolades did not stop with Smith, however. Between 1978 and 1992, St. Louis were represented with at least one Gold Glove winner each year.〔〔Stewart, Mark (2008) ''The St. Louis Cardinals'' Norwood House Press, 48 p. ISBN 978-1-60357-017-6〕 On September 7, 1993, Mark Whiten launched four home runs in the second game of a doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds to go with 12 RBIs, both tying all-time single-game records.〔〔baseball-reference.com, (Box Score Cardinals-Reds September 7, 1993 ), accessed February 10, 2007〕 On October 14, 1994, Walt Jocketty replaced Dal Maxvill as general manager. A recommendation for Jocketty came from Tony La Russa, whom he hired as manager later as Cardinals GM. "He's a guy who had all the qualities. A lot of baseball background, business background, willingness to take responsibility, had been mentored by really good people, Sandy Alderson, Bob Gebhard,” according to La Russa. After a disappointing finish in 1994 (53-61) and start in 1995 (20-27), Jocketty fired Torre and replaced him on an interim basis with Mike Jorgensen. In an effort to enhance stock value, Anheuser-Busch (AB) surprised St. Louis by announcing the Cardinals were for sale. They simultaneously announced plans to close a brewery in Tampa Bay and sell off their Eagle Snacks division. However, AB were resolute in their efforts to keep the Cardinals from moving out of St. Louis by selling the team only in a package deal with Busch Memorial Stadium.〔 As a middle market metropolitan area, had AB not moved to create measures to keep the team in St. Louis, chances are they may have been moved to a larger market. AB sold the team at an undervalued price to a partnership headed by Southwest Bank's Drew Baur, Fred Hanser and William DeWitt, Jr. in December 1995. DeWitt has a long track record in baseball, commencing with his father, Bill DeWitt, who once worked for former Cardinals general manager (GM) Branch Rickey and owned the St. Louis Browns. DeWitt himself was a minority owner of the Texas Rangers and actively participated with the baseball clubs on which the elder DeWitt served. Hired during the AB era, the new ownership retained Jocketty.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「History of the St. Louis Cardinals (1990–present)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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