All Cardinals team 1965-2017, pitchers

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             Top Cardinals  pitchers from 1965-2016

In reviewing the Cardinals top pitchers from 1965-2016, one name is easily at the top of the list, Bob Gibson. Beyond that the Cards have had some hard throwing right handed starters that have stood out, as well as a couple of lefties. The Cards have also had some former Cubs help out in their pens. So, here's the list:

Starting pitchers: Bob Gibson During Bob's 17 years with the Cardinals he was one of the most feared pitchers in baseball. Equipped with great stuff and a warrior's mentality Gibson stands head and shoulders above other Cardinals starters. And that's not meant as a slam against them. For his career, Gibson went 251-174 with an ERA of 2.91. During the “Year of the Pitcher”, 1968, Gibson had one of the greatest years in the history of MLB. His ERA for the year was 1.12 and he had a record of 22-9. Gibson also pitched in three world series for the Cardinals, going 7-2 with and ERA of 1.89. Gibson was the world series MVP in two of those series. He also won two Cy Young awards. Finally, Bob was also a pretty good hitter, hitting .206 with 24 homeruns for his career. Bob Gibson, a great pitcher and athlete.

Starting pitchers: Adam Wainwright Wainwright gets the nod over Chris Carpenter for the second slot by virtue of a longer tenure with the Cardinals. As I write this, Wainwright is in his 12th season with the Cards. His record stands at 136-79 with an ERA 3.22. Wainwright has battled injuries throughout his career, but has 2 seasons of 20 wins, 2 seasons of 19 wins and 2 seasons of 14 wins. Wainwright can also swing the bat, currently carrying a career batting average of .202 with 9 homers.

Starting pitcher: Chris Carpenter Carpenter's Cardinals career is very much like Adam Wainwright's, only shorter. In his 9 seasons with the Cardinals, Carpenter went 95-44 with an ERA of 3.07. Like many Cardinals, Carpenter was exceptional in post season. Chris' post season record was 104 with an ERA of 3.00.

Starting pitcher: Steve Carlton Before he became the best left hander in baseball during the 1970's, Lefty had a pretty good career with the Cardinals. In 7 seasons with the Cards, Carlton went 77-62 with an ERA of 3.10. After going 20-9 for the Cardinals in 1971, Steve was traded to the Phillies for Rick Wise. Rick was a good pitcher, but no Steve Carlton.

Starting pitcher: John Tudor While John Tudor didn't have a long career with the Cardinals, he certainly had an effective one. While Tudor pitched for 4 teams in his 12 year career, he was easily at his most effective for the Cardinals. Tudor's best year with the Cardinals was 1985 when he went 21-8 with 10 shutouts. For his five years with the Cards, Tudor finished at 62-26 with an ERA of 2.52. That was good enough to beat out Joaquin Andujar for the 5th slot.

Relief pitcher: Bruce Sutter After staring out with the Cubs Sutter was traded to the Cardinals for Leon Durham, Ken Reitz and Ty Waller. (You're welcome.) Bruce pitched four season with the Cardinals, saving 127 games. His high water mark was 1984 when he had 45 saves. Amazingly, he pitched 122.2 innings that season. I was surprised to see his Ks per 9 innings was only 5.9 in his tenure with the Cards. Of course his splitter did induce a lot of ground balls.

Relief pitchers: Jason Isringhausen While Isringhausen wasn't a dominant closer, his 217 saves with the Cardinals is hard to overlook. His Ks per 9 innings was 8.2 per 9 innings, which isn't an elite number for a closer. His WHIP was 1.19. Jason was a good reliever, though not a great one.

Relief pitcher: Todd Worrell This hard throwing right hander was a staple out of the Cards pen for 6 years racking up 129 saves. Worrell comes in as the Cards second best reliever.

There are my picks for the best Cardinals pitchers since 1965. Your opinions may vary.