ST LOUIS CARDINALS

The St. Louis Cardinals are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are in the Central Division of the National League. They are the defending champions of the National League.

In 1981, the Cardinals finished with the overall best record in the Eastern Division. However, a players' strike in the middle of the season forced the season to be split into two halves. St. Louis finished second in both halves and was thereby deprived of a post-season appearance. This could be counted as their 9th division crown.

In 2001, the Cardinals and the Houston Astros finished the season with identical records of 93-69 and finished tied for first place in the Central Division standings. The tie breaker awarded the division championship to Houston and St. Louis was awarded the wild card berth. The Cardinals organization refers to the 2001 Cardinals as "co-division champions". This could be counted as their 10th division crown. The first three championships (1987, 1985 and 1982) were in the Eastern Division; the other four were in the Central Division.

For much of the last half of the 20th century, the legendary broadcaster, Jack Buck, was the voice of the Cardinals, calling play-by-play on St. Louis' KMOX radio. His son Joe Buck took over for Jack as the radio and television announcer for the Cardinals in 1991. However, in September 2005, the Cardinals announced a new radio broadcast deal with rival station KTRS beginning with the 2006 season.

Between 1960 and 1987, St. Louis was home to two big-league Cardinals teams, baseball and football. Sports fans and local news coverage got into the habit of saying "the Baseball Cardinals" or "the Football Cardinals" to distinguish the two. Locals also got into the habit of using "Redbirds" to refer specifically to the baseball team. This nickname had been commonly used decades before the football team came to town. As a result, the Football Cardinals became known as the "Gridbirds" or the "Big Red."

Over the years, Cardinal fans have gained the reputation as being the best and most knowledgable in the game, according to Peter Gammons and other experts, and St. Louis has been deemed "Baseball City, USA". Players have been known to tell other players that they have not played baseball until they have played baseball in St. Louis. The atmosphere is so addictive that several players have accepted a lower salary, a "home team discount", to remain on the Cardinals, most notably Mark McGwire, Jim Edmonds and Albert Pujols.

St. Louis has two rivalries that draw near sell-outs on a regular basis. The well-known Cardinals-Cubs rivalry, sometimes referred to as the I-55 Series; and the more recent Cardinals-Royals rivalry, also known as the I-70 Series.

The Cardinals (with the Philadelphia/Oakland Athletics) are second only to the New York Yankees in the number of World Series championships won. The Cardinals are the only one of the eight oldest National League teams to hold an edge over the Yankees in Series play, 3 to 2.

In 2005, the Cardinals are playing their final season in Busch Stadium. Beginning in 2006, a new Busch Stadium will be the new home of the baseball Cardinals.

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