The Red Sox and Cardinals are meeting in their fourth World Series matchup. While I admit that this is one of the least interesting matchups to come out of a playoffs that included the Pirates, Naps, A’s, and Yasiel Puig, it’s worth remembering that two of the three previous World Series matchups between these two teams (1946 and 1967) went the full seven games.
Considering the long history between these two storied franchises, I’ve gone ahead and put together the best rosters for each team, as constructed from their 1946, 1967, 2004, and 2013 lineups and pitching staffs.
We’ll start with the Red Sox, because ‘B’ comes before whatever state St. Louis is in. Is it Kansas? Tennessee? It’s not Alabama, is it?
Boston Red Sox ’46-’67-’04-’13 Super Team
Pos.
|
Name
|
Year
|
rWAR
|
Notes
|
C
|
Jason Varitek
|
2004
|
4.0
|
.390 OBP. 1-for-1 in swinging at A-Rod.
|
Tek comfortably beats out Saltalamachia (2.9 WAR) for the catcher’s spot on the Boston roster.
Pos.
|
Name
|
Year
|
rWAR
|
Notes
|
1B
|
George Scott
|
1967
|
4.4
|
.303 BA, 19 HR, 138 OPS+.
|
1967 was a tough year for the bats….Boomer’s Triple Crown line isn’t too impressive, but given the contexts, it was a big hitting season. Scott passed away this year: he holds, perhaps improbably, the team record for most games played at 1B, ahead of Mo Vaughn, Phil Todt, and Jimmy Foxx.
Pos.
|
Name
|
Year
|
rWAR
|
Notes
|
2B
|
Dustin Pedroia
|
2013
|
6.5
|
.301 BA, 116 OPS+, 9.6 on Eckstein Grit Scale
|
Beats out Doerr (5.6) and the underrated Mark Belhorn (3.7). Should eventually take Doerr’s spot on the All-Time Red Sox team.
Pos.
|
Name
|
Year
|
rWAR
|
Notes
|
SS
|
Johnny Pesky
|
1946
|
6.5
|
.335 BA, 115 Runs, 43 doubles.
|
Nice to see Pesky here…he edges Rico Petrocelli (4.1) and Stephen Drew (3.1) for this spot.
Pos.
|
Name
|
Year
|
rWAR
|
Notes
|
3B
|
Bill Mueller
|
2004
|
1.2
|
.283 BA. Confusing vowels.
|
Another favorite….Mueller hit the game-winning homer off Mariano Rivera in the A-Rod/Tek fight game. There’s not a lot of competition for this spot.
Pos.
|
Name
|
Year
|
rWAR
|
Notes
|
LF
|
Carl Yastrzemski
|
1967
|
12.4
|
Triple Crown: .326/44/126.
|
On the other hand, there is pretty steep competition for this spot, with Yaz edging 1946 MVP Ted Williams (10.9 WAR). It’s tough that Ted Williams misses a spot on the team, but the Cards have their own heartbreakers. Manny Ramirez doesn’t really enter the conversation against these two.
Pos.
|
Name
|
Year
|
rWAR
|
Notes
|
CF
|
Jacoby Ellsbury
|
2013
|
5.8
|
52 steals, .355 OBP
|
This is perhaps the most well-rounded position: the 2004 team had Damon (4.3), 1946 had Dom DiMaggio (4.4), and the 1967 team had the perennially underrated Reggie Smith in center (3.4). Smith was the best player in the group, but he has the lowest WAR here.
Pos.
|
Name
|
Year
|
rWAR
|
Notes
|
RF
|
Shane Victorino
|
2013
|
6.1
|
Stopped switch-hitting. 119 OPS+
|
The only competition for Shane is Tony Conigliaro., whose 1967 season was prematurely ended by an inside fastball. Conigliaro is one of two Red Sox players who played high school baseball in the city of Lynn, whose major league career was something of a ‘what-if.’ The other is the Harry Agganis, the Golden Greek.
Pos.
|
Name
|
Year
|
rWAR
|
Notes
|
DH
|
David Ortiz
|
2013
|
4.4
|
.309/30/109. And one improbable Grand Slam.
|
He narrowly edges the 2004 version of himself.
Pos.
|
Name
|
Year
|
rWAR
|
Notes
|
SP1
|
Curt Schilling
|
2004
|
7.9
|
21-6 W-L, 3.26 ERA, 1 bloody sock.
|
SP2
|
Tex Hughson
|
1946
|
5.9
|
20-11, 2.75 ERA, 172 SO
|
SP3
|
Pedro Martinez
|
2004
|
5.5
|
16-9, 3.90 ERA. 227 K's in 217 IP, in an off year.
|
SP4
|
Clay Buchholz
|
2013
|
4.3
|
12-1, 1.74 ERA. Or half a good Pedro year.
|
SP5
|
Jim Lonborg
|
1967
|
4.1
|
Cy Young Award. 22-9, 3.16 ERA, 273.1 IP.
|
Curt Schilling is the ace of the rotation, ahead of Tex Hughson, Pedro, Clay, and Jim Lonborg. Lonborg is the only pitcher of the group to have won the Cy Young Award….he was the dentist to a lot of my classmates growing up. Dave Ferris doesn’t make the cut, despite a 25-6 W-L record in 1946.
Pos.
|
Name
|
Year
|
rWAR
|
Notes
|
CL
|
Koji Uehara
|
2013
|
3.6
|
.565 WHIP. 101 K's, 9 walks. 1.09 ERA.
|
RP
|
Keith Foulke
|
2004
|
3.5
|
32 saves, 2.17 ERA, 79 SO in 83 IP
|
RP
|
John Wyatt
|
1967
|
2.2
|
10 wins, 2.70 ERA, 93.1 IP
|
RP
|
Bob Klinger
|
1046
|
1.7
|
2.37 ERA, 57 IP
|
All four teams are represented in the bullpen, with the superlative Uehara just edging Foulke for the closer gig.
St. Louis Cardinals ’46-’67-’04-’13 Super Team
Pos.
|
Name
|
Year
|
rWAR
|
Notes
|
C
|
Tim McCarver
|
1967
|
6.0
|
.295 BA, 136 OPS+, 0 pitch counts.
|
We start with a stunner: the guy in the booth tonight edges the guy who will be behind the plate at Fenway. Molina has been excellent in 2013, but WAR gives a slight edge to Tim McCarver.
Pos.
|
Name
|
Year
|
rWAR
|
Notes
|
1B
|
Stan Musial
|
1946
|
8.6
|
365/16/103 Triple Crown line, 183 OPS+
|
If the Red Sox don’t have Ted Williams in the lineup, they can at least be thankful that Stan Musial edges Albert Pujols (8.4) off the team. Orlando Cepeda was also excellent (6.8)…all three players are comfortably ahead of George Scott.
Pos.
|
Name
|
Year
|
rWAR
|
Notes
|
2B
|
Matt Carpenter
|
2013
|
6.6
|
Only bat from 2013…126 runs, .318 BA
|
Not sure he’ll bat leadoff, but Carpenter comfortable edges Tony Womack, Julian Javier, and Red Schoendienst at second.
Pos.
|
Name
|
Year
|
rWAR
|
Notes
|
SS
|
Marty Marion
|
1946
|
3.9
|
.233 BA, excellent defense
|
No Ozzie here, though Marion was an excellent defensive shortstop.
Pos.
|
Name
|
Year
|
rWAR
|
Notes
|
3B
|
Scott Rolen
|
2004
|
9.1
|
MVP-caliber season: .314/34/124, excellent defense.
|
The MVP of the Cardinals made-up squad, Rolen had a monster season in 2004. It will be interesting to see how his Hall-of-Fame case plays out, when he gets on the ballot.
Pos.
|
Name
|
Year
|
rWAR
|
Notes
|
LF
|
Lou Brock
|
1967
|
5.6
|
.299 BA, 21 HR, 52 SB.
|
Brock had some pop for a guy known as a leadoff hitter/base stealer, though this was the only year he topped 20 HR.
Pos.
|
Name
|
Year
|
rWAR
|
Notes
|
CF
|
Jim Edmonds
|
2004
|
7.1
|
Another monster year: .301/42/111, Gold Glove in CF.
|
You could adjust the Cardinals lineup, (put Molina in for McCarver, Pujols for Musial) and have a tremendous defensive team. Edmonds edges Curt Flood here.
Pos.
|
Name
|
Year
|
rWAR
|
Notes
|
RF
|
Enos Slaughter
|
1946
|
4.4
|
.300 BA, 130 RBI
|
Slaughter edges Roger Maris (3.6) and Beltran (2.4). You can see video of his ‘mad dash’ on the interwebs…it looks like a clean relay would’ve nabbed him.
Pos.
|
Name
|
Year
|
rWAR
|
Notes
|
SP1
|
Howie Pollet
|
1946
|
6.6
|
21-10, 2.10 ERA, 5 saves
|
SP2
|
A.Wainwright
|
2013
|
6.2
|
19-9, 2.94 ERA, 219 K's
|
SP3
|
Harry Brecheen
|
1946
|
5.4
|
15-15, 2.49 ERA
|
SP4
|
Dick Hughes
|
1967
|
4.2
|
16-6, 2.67 ERA
|
SP5
|
Chris Carpenter
|
2004
|
3.3
|
15-5, 3.46 ERA, led team with 152 K's
|
Here’s the other shocker: no Bob Gibson. The 1967 version of Gibson notched a 13-7 record, with a 2.98 ERA over just 175.1 IP. His cumulative WAR (2.5) rates well below Dick Hughes (4.2), and a couple ticks behind some kid named Steve Carlton (2.8).
Pos.
|
Name
|
Year
|
rWAR
|
Notes
|
CL
|
Kevin Siergrist
|
2013
|
2.0
|
0.45 ERA, 39.2 IP.
|
RP
|
Steve Kline
|
2004
|
1.6
|
1.79 ERA, 50.1 IP.
|
RP
|
Edward Mujica
|
2013
|
1.5
|
37 Saves, 2.78 ERA. Might not pitch in WS.
|
RP
|
Isringhauser
|
2004
|
1.4
|
2.87 ERA, 47 Saves
|
Here’s another shocker: the most valuable bullpen arm for the current Cards, according to WAR, isn’t Rosenthal or Mujica, but Kevin Siergrist, who’s posted a 0.45 ERA this year.
Alright….setting the two teams up against one another, let’s see who has the advantage, and where they have it:
rWAR
|
YEAR
|
NAME
|
POSITION
|
NAME
|
YEAR
|
rWAR
|
4.0
|
2004
|
Jason Varitek
|
C
|
Tim McCarver
|
1967
|
6.0
|
4.4
|
1967
|
George Scott
|
1B
|
Stan Musial
|
1946
|
8.6
|
6.5
|
2013
|
Dustin Pedroia
|
2B
|
Matt Carpenter
|
2013
|
6.6
|
6.5
|
1946
|
Johnny Pesky
|
SS
|
Marty Marion
|
1946
|
3.9
|
1.2
|
2004
|
Bill Mueller
|
3B
|
Scott Rolen
|
2004
|
9.1
|
12.4
|
1967
|
Carl Yastrzemski
|
LF
|
Lou Brock
|
1967
|
5.6
|
5.8
|
2013
|
Jacoby Ellsbury
|
CF
|
Jim Edmonds
|
2004
|
7.1
|
6.1
|
2013
|
Shane Victorino
|
RF
|
Enos Slaughter
|
1946
|
4.4
|
4.4
|
2013
|
David Ortiz
|
DH
|
n/a
|
--
|
--
|
The Cardinals have the stronger infield, getting the edge at catcher, first, second, and third. The Sox take shortstop and the corner outfield positions, and have a comfortable edge at DH. I don’t think the Cardinals have ever had a Designated Hitter of any real ability…
Looking a little closer at the lineups: the Red Sox have fourplayers on their 2013 team who make the lineup: Pedroia, Ortiz, Ellsbury, and Victorino. The Cardinals have just one player from the 2013 squad making the cut: the improbably Matt Carpenter, who is playing injured.
The tally of these lineups?
Red Sox: 51.3 WAR
Cardinals: 51.3 WAR
A tie! So it’s onto the starting pitchers:
rWAR
|
YEAR
|
NAME
|
POSITION
|
NAME
|
YEAR
|
rWAR
|
7.9
|
2004
|
Curt Schilling
|
SP1
|
Howie Pollet
|
1946
|
6.6
|
5.9
|
1946
|
Tex Hughson
|
SP2
|
A. Wainwright
|
2013
|
6.2
|
5.5
|
2004
|
Pedro Martinez
|
SP3
|
Harry Brecheen
|
1946
|
5.4
|
4.3
|
2013
|
Clay Buchholz
|
SP4
|
Dick Hughes
|
1967
|
4.2
|
4.1
|
1967
|
Jim Lonborg
|
SP5
|
Chris Carpenter
|
2004
|
3.3
|
The Red Sox, surprisingly, get an edge at four of the five rotation spots, though the edge is pretty narrow: 27.7 to 25.7. That brings our tally to:
Red Sox: 78.3 WAR
Cardinals: 76.3 WAR
rWAR
|
YEAR
|
NAME
|
POSITION
|
NAME
|
YEAR
|
rWAR
|
3.6
|
2013
|
Koji Uehara
|
CL
|
Kevin Siergrist
|
2013
|
2
|
3.5
|
2004
|
Keith Foulke
|
RP
|
Steve Kline
|
2004
|
1.6
|
2.2
|
1967
|
John Wyatt
|
RP
|
Edward Mujica
|
2013
|
1.5
|
1.7
|
1946
|
Bob Klinger
|
RP
|
J. Isringhauser
|
2004
|
1.4
|
And it’s a clean sweep for the Boston bullpen, netting 11.0 WAR to the Card’s 6.5.
Final Tally:
Red Sox: 89.3 WAR
Cardinals: 82.8 WAR
I think the Series goes seven games. And the home team wins the clincher.
Dave Fleming is a writer living in Wellington, New Zealand. He welcomes comments, questions, and suggestions here and at dfleming1986@yahoo.com.