From St. Louis Cardinals On SI · · 3m
Three Moments That Made the 2006 Cardinals
Twenty years on, the 2006 Cardinals reunite at Busch, and three unlikely moments still explain the title.
In brief
Twenty years on, the 2006 Cardinals reunite at Busch, and three unlikely moments still explain the title. That title was not built by stars alone. A castoff starter, a rookie forced into Game 1, and a rookie closer's curveball carried St. Louis home. Originally reported by St. Louis Cardinals On SI.
A 24-year wait ends
The 2006 Cardinals gave St. Louis something the city had not felt since 1982. That October brought the franchise its 10th World Series title.
Back at Busch, 20 years on
The team is reuniting for a big weekend at Busch Stadium to mark the anniversary of that run.
Hardware went everywhere
David Eckstein took World Series MVP. Jeff Suppan won NLCS MVP. Pujols, Rolen, Edmonds, Wainwright and Molina all left marks, and so did players nobody expected.
The Angels gave up on Weaver
Jeff Weaver put up a 6.29 ERA in the first half and Los Angeles cut ties. St. Louis picked him up to patch a hole in the rotation.
The numbers stayed ugly
Weaver went 5-4 in 15 starts as a Cardinal with a 5.18 ERA. Nothing in that line hinted at what was coming.
“his regular season numbers in St. Louis weren't anything to write home about”
October flipped the switch
He threw three gems across the NLDS and NLCS, then put together a solid Game 2 start in the World Series.
Rain handed him full rest
A rainout pushed Games 4 and 5 back a day, which let Weaver start the clincher on full rest in front of a sold-out Busch Stadium.
The game of his life
Weaver allowed two runs over eight innings and struck out nine, setting up Wainwright to close out the series.
Reyes drew the short straw
A seven-game NLCS burned Carpenter and Suppan, so Anthony Reyes had to start World Series Game 1. His opponent was Justin Verlander.
The rookie outdueled Verlander
Detroit was expected to run away with it. Reyes pitched into the ninth, beat Verlander, and set the tone for the whole series.
Game 7, tied in the ninth
The underdog Cardinals had blown their chance to clinch in Game 6 and walked into the top of the ninth in New York tied with the Mets.
Yadi quiets Shea
Molina took Aaron Heilman deep to put St. Louis up 3-1. The crowd went silent, but the game was not over.
Bases loaded, Beltran up
Wainwright loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth and had to face Carlos Beltran, who had tormented the Cardinals in October for years.
The curveball that froze him
At 0-2, Wainwright dropped the curve that became his signature. Beltran never swung. A week later the same battery struck out Brandon Inge to win it all.
“it buckled Beltran at the knees, freezing him for strike three”
The key point
That title was not built by stars alone. A castoff starter, a rookie forced into Game 1, and a rookie closer's curveball carried St. Louis home.
