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He was the first million dollar shortstop - 3 years, 3.6 mil for the '83-'85 seasons.RamFan08NY wrote: ↑09 Jul 2025 22:16 pm Didn't Ozzie ultimately end up being the first 2 mil AAS per year player in MLB?
Herzog was smart enough to tailor his roster emphasizing speed and great defense because of the artificial turf and huge dimensions of Busch Stadium 2. The Cardinals of that era played in the Eastern Division of the NL, where Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Montreal also played on artificial turf. Only the cubs and Mets played on grass, and they were the bottom feeders in 79-83. There were 12 teams in the NL in those days, and half of them had artificial turf at their stadiums.OldRed wrote: ↑09 Jul 2025 19:52 pm The 1982 championship team didn't have a player making $1 million.
In comparison:
In 1995, Bill DeWitt Jr. and his partners purchased the St. Louis Cardinals from Anheuser-Busch for $150 million, according to Statista, Wikipedia, and Redbird Rants. This transaction included the team and surrounding property. The team's value has since significantly increased. According to Forbes, the Cardinals are now worth an estimated $2.55 billion, according to Statista.
Basically what I'm getting at if a team valuates talent properly they can still have a very good team without outrageous contracts. Herzog may have been on of the best every putting a competitive on the field at decent costs.
The old saying "Speed never slumps" was synonymous with them. You're right, I heard they never lost more than 3 games in a row. Amazing.tgharris wrote: ↑10 Jul 2025 07:59 am The '82 team was 92-70. IIRC, they only had a couple of long winning streaks (12 games real early, and 10 games late). So, they played .500 ball the rest of the year. Pretty sure they never lost more than 3 in a row.
One impression I seem to remember about that team is that they scored a lot of two out runs. Perhaps not, but I believe that to be correct.