The 1986 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 105th season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 95th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 79–82 during the season and finished third in the National League East division.
Offseason December 6, 1985: Gary Rajsich was purchased from the Cardinals by the Chunichi Dragons.Gary Rajsich page at Baseball Reference December 10, 1985: Joaquín Andújar was traded by the Cardinals to the Oakland Athletics for Mike Heath and Tim Conroy.Joaquin Andujar page at Baseball Reference December 10, 1985: Clint Hurdle was drafted by the Cardinals from the New York Mets in the 1985 rule 5 draft.Clint Hurdle page at Baseball Reference December 15, 1985: Jerry White was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals.Jerry White page at Baseball Reference January 13, 1986: Vic Rodriguez was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals.Vic Rodriguez page at Baseball Reference January 14, 1986: Bret Barberie was drafted by the Cardinals in the 2nd round of the 1986 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign.Bret Barberie page at Baseball Reference March 21, 1986: Alan Knicely was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals.Alan Knicely page at Baseball Reference March 31, 1986: Tom Nieto was traded by the Cardinals to the Montreal Expos for Fred Manrique.Tom Nieto page at Baseball Reference
Regular season Pitcher Todd Worrell won the Rookie of the Year Award this year, with a 2.08 ERA and 36 saves. This was the second consecutive year a Cardinal won the Rookie of the Year Award, with Vince Coleman winning the previous season, and the second time in team history that the Cardinals had two consecutive NL Rookie of the Year winners (Wally Moon in 1954 and Bill Virdon in 1955). Shortstop Ozzie Smith and outfielder Willie McGee won Gold Gloves this year.
The Cardinals played 116 games (of 161) in which they failed to hit a home run, the most of any team since the 1952 Washington Senators.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Opening Day starters Jack Clark Vince Coleman Mike Heath Tom Herr Willie McGee Terry Pendleton Ozzie Smith John Tudor Andy Van Slyke1986 St. Louis Cardinals Roster by Baseball Almanac
Notable transactions April 1, 1986: Brian Harper was released by the Cardinals.Brian Harper page at Baseball Reference April 11, 1986: Ray Burris was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals.Ray Burris page at Baseball Reference June 12, 1986: Jerry White was released by the Cardinals. July 19, 1986: César Cedeño was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals.César Cedeño page at Baseball Reference July 24, 1986: Steve Lake was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals.Steve Lake page at Baseball Reference August 10, 1986: Mike Heath was traded by the Cardinals to the Detroit Tigers for Ken Hill and a player to be named later. The Tigers completed the deal by sending Mike Laga to the Cardinals on September 2.Ken Hill page at Baseball Reference August 27, 1986: Ray Burris was released by the St. Louis Cardinals.
Roster 1986 St. Louis Cardinals Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders Manager
Coaches (First base) (Hitting) (Third base) (Bullpen) (Pitching) (Bench)
Player stats
Batting
Starters by position Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI C Mike LaValliere 110 303 71 .234 3 30 1B Jack Clark 65 232 55 .237 9 23 2B Tom Herr 152 559 141 .252 2 61 SS 153 514 144 .280 0 54 3B Terry Pendleton 159 578 138 .239 1 59 LF Vince Coleman 154 600 139 .232 0 29 CF 124 497 127 .256 7 48 RF Andy Van Slyke 137 418 113 .270 13 61
Other batters Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI Curt Ford 85 214 53 .248 2 29 Tito Landrum 96 205 43 .210 2 17 Mike Heath 65 190 39 .205 4 25 78 154 30 .195 3 15 José Oquendo 76 138 41 .297 0 13 John Morris 39 100 24 .240 1 14 34 82 16 .195 1 6 19 55 14 .255 1 6 Steve Lake 26 49 12 .245 2 10 Mike Laga 18 46 10 .217 3 8 Tom Lawless 46 39 11 .282 0 3 25 24 3 .125 1 3 13 17 3 .176 1 1
Pitching
Starting pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO Bob Forsch 33 230.0 14 10 3.25 104 Danny Cox 32 220.0 12 13 2.90 108 John Tudor 30 219.0 13 7 2.92 107 Greg Mathews 23 145.1 11 8 3.65 67 25 115.1 5 11 5.23 79
Other pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO Ricky Horton 42 100.1 4 3 2.24 49 Ray Burris 23 82.0 4 5 5.60 34 17 42.2 1 3 3.80 25 Kurt Kepshire 2 8.0 0 1 4.50 6
Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G W L SV ERA SO Todd Worrell 74 9 10 36 2.08 73 Pat Perry 46 2 3 2 3.80 29 Ken Dayley 31 0 3 5 3.26 33 Ray Soff 30 4 2 0 3.29 22 22 0 2 0 5.60 12 Joe Boever 11 0 1 0 1.60 8 Jeff Lahti 4 0 0 0 0.00 3 Bill Earley 3 0 0 0 0.00 2
Awards and honors Vince Coleman, National League Stolen Base Leader, 107Stolen Bases Single Season National League Leaders by Baseball Almanac Willie McGee, Outfield, National League Gold Glove Ozzie Smith, Shortstop, National League Gold Glove Todd Worrell, National League Rookie of the Year
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: St. PetersburgJohnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007
References
External links 1986 St. Louis Cardinals At Baseball Reference 1986 St. Louis Cardinals team page at www.baseball-almanac.com