When one thinks of career awards most people think of the Baseball Hall of Fame. After all, it’s the highest achievement a player can earn after they are done playing. There are some teams that have their own Hall of Fame. The St. Louis Cardinals have one and it's basically every player in the national baseball hall of fame that went in as a Cardinal and Kenny Boyer. The Boston Red Sox also have a team Hall of Fame. The requirements are far less stringent. Players are eligible for induction if they have played 3 years with the Red Sox and been out of baseball for at least 3 years.
Each Hall of Fame serves a purpose as does the criteria for getting into the Hall of Fame. When I look at the careers of players of colors who played for the St. Louis Cardinals I have developed my own criteria for deciding who should be noted for their distinguished careers. I feel that any player of color whose statistics rank them in the top 100 St. Louis Cardinal position players or the top 50 pitching starters or the top 25 pitching relievers. The St. Louis Cardinals have had nearly 2000 players in their history.
With that said - I will commence with the two rolls of distinguished players of color and comment on whether or not these players have achieved any other designations upon retiring and if they should.
Hispanic players Distinguished Career Awards for Players who played and or currently playing for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Each Hall of Fame serves a purpose as does the criteria for getting into the Hall of Fame. When I look at the careers of players of colors who played for the St. Louis Cardinals I have developed my own criteria for deciding who should be noted for their distinguished careers. I feel that any player of color whose statistics rank them in the top 100 St. Louis Cardinal position players or the top 50 pitching starters or the top 25 pitching relievers. The St. Louis Cardinals have had nearly 2000 players in their history.
With that said - I will commence with the two rolls of distinguished players of color and comment on whether or not these players have achieved any other designations upon retiring and if they should.
Hispanic players Distinguished Career Awards for Players who played and or currently playing for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Position Players
Albert Pujols – Ranking as a Cardinal player: 14th in hits, 8th in runs, 6th in RBI’s. Clearly Albert Pujols heads this list for the St. Louis Cardinals. Albert is one of the 10 best Cardinal position players to ever play. Albert is not a national Hall of Fame member yet but at his current pace he will have the statistics to become one in his 12th or 13th season.
Julian Javier - Ranking as a Cardinal player: 16th in hits, 19th in runs, 30th in RBI’s. Julian Javier is one of the 25 best Cardinal position players to ever play. Julian is not a national Hall of Fame member and it would be a stretch to put him in. He and Albert give the St. Louis Cardinals a 1st and 2nd base Dominican Republic all star squad.
Edgar Renteria - Ranking as a Cardinal player: 35th in hits, 37th in runs, 36th in RBI’s, 35th in total bases. Is one of the top 50 Cardinal position players of all time. He is just outside of this realm in most statistical categories. Edgar is a current player and has not qualified for the Hall of Fame as of yet in my opinion. To get there he needs another 1,000 hits, currently at 2,000. He has played 13 seasons and his numbers are going down rather than up. It remains an outside possibility. He is the best Columbia born player to ever play for the St. Louis Cardinals. Edgar’s 3 years in Florida and World Series heroics would probably put him on Florida’s list of distinguished players of color.
Jose Oquendo - Ranking as a Cardinal player: 53rd in hits, 75th in runs, 86th in RBI’s. Oquendo’s stats fit him into the top 75 Cardinal position players of all time. He is also extremely popular among fans.
Fernando Vina - Ranking as a Cardinal player: 78th in hits, 77th in runs, 132nd in RBI’s. Vina’s stats put him into the conversation of the top 100 Cardinal position players of all time. He would also make Milwaukee’s list of distinguished players of color. One other thing, I for one, loved his salsa. He continues a fine tradition of players of Cuban descent for the Cardinals.
Pedro Guerrero - Ranking as a Cardinal player: 88th in hits, 142th in runs, 48th in RBI’s. Guerrero’s stats put him in the conversation of the top 100 Cardinal position players of all time. His career numbers are not worthy of national Hall of Fame mention. He is the third player from the Dominican Republic to make this list.
Orlando Cepeda - Ranking as a Cardinal player: 98th in hits, 100th in runs, 78th in RBI’s. In his short time here amassed enough stats to be considered in the discussion of the top 100 Cardinal position players of all time. Cepeda who is in the Hall of Fame and would make any national Hall of Fame for Hispanic players and should also make any list for the Giants and Braves. He becomes the second player from Puerto Rico to make this list.
Starters
Joaquin Andujar - 33rd in innings pitched, 32nd in strikeouts, 31st in Wins. One of the top 50 starters in St. Louis Cardinal history. He is not in the Hall of Fame nor should he be. He would also make the list of distinguished players of color for Houston.
Jose De Leon is 44th in innings pitched, 14th in strikeouts, and his 43 wins are tied for 61st. I think he fits into the conversation of the Cardinals 50 best starters and that is why he is on this list. His 12 year career will not qualify him for the national Hall of Fame. He makes the list of distinguished players of colors for the Pirates and maybe the White Sox.
Relievers
Diego Segui – Ranking as a Cardinal player: 16th in saves, 28th in games finished. Kansas City and Oakland distinguished players of color.
Mike Perez - Ranking as a Cardinal player: 22th in saves, 20th in games finished.
Juan Acevedo – Ranking as a Cardinal player: 26th in saves, 44th in games finished. Detroit distinguished players of color.
stats compiled from http://www.mlb.com/ and http://www.baseball-reference.com/
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