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Cardinals STL

1985101–61 (0.623)Lost World Series
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GM: Joe McDonald

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1985, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$10M
Surplus $M
+3
Win %
0.623
TAB
+16.5
WAB
+18.2
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
51.5
Dead money %
22%
Depth Players
11.0
Dead WAR
-1.7

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1985 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RTom Nieto95
LDarrell Porter82
RRandy Hunt13
LMichael LaValliere12
RBrian Harper2

1B

RJack Clark120
LMike Jorgensen49
RCesar Cedeno⇄15
LAndy Van Slyke2
RArt Howe1
RBrian Harper1

2B

BTom Herr158
RTom Lawless11

3B

BTerry Pendleton149
RIvan De Jesus Sr.20
RTom Lawless13
RBrian Harper6
RArt Howe1

SS

BOzzie Smith158
RIvan De Jesus Sr.13

LF

BVince Coleman138
RCesar Cedeno⇄12
RTito Landrum10
LSteve Braun7
RBrian Harper7
LAndy Van Slyke4
BWillie McGee3
LMike Jorgensen2
LCurt Ford1

CF

BWillie McGee146
BVince Coleman17
LAndy Van Slyke10

RF

LAndy Van Slyke133
RTito Landrum67
RJack Clark12
BVince Coleman10
LSteve Braun7
RBrian Harper6
LCurt Ford4
RCesar Cedeno⇄1

DH

—

Starters

LJohn Tudor6.6 WAR
RDanny Cox3.3 WAR
RJoaquin Andujar2.9 WAR
RBob Forsch1.0 WAR
LRicky Horton0.7 WAR
RMatt Keough0.2 WAR
RKurt Kepshire-0.1 WAR
RNeil Allen⇄-0.6 WAR

Bullpen

★ RJeff Lahti19 sv
LKen Dayley0 h
RBill Campbell0 h
LRicky Horton0 h
RNeil Allen⇄0 h
RTodd Worrell0 h
RJoe Boever0 h
LAndy Hassler0 h

Each position shows its top 3 by games (top = starter) — click "+more" for the rest. The letter is bats/throws; ⇄ marks a player traded mid-season. Starters are ranked by WAR, bullpen by holds; ★ marks the closer (most save chances). MLB Stats API.

Key additions (new vs 1984)

PlayerfWAR
Willie McGee7.1
John Tudor6.6
Ozzie Smith5.6
Tom Herr5.1
Andy Van Slyke3.4
Danny Cox3.3

Key subtractions (gone from 1984)

Player1984 fWAR
—

Contract Value

WAR translated into tier-adjusted market value, then compared with what the player was paid by Cardinals. Guaranteed contracts from the 2015-present contract-data period use the known contract period through 1985; everyone else is shown as a 1985 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
John Tudor 1985 +6.6 +131.8 0.5 +131.4 $0.1M 2.50× –
Willie McGee 1985 +7.1 +117.0 0.5 +116.5 $0.1M 2.05× –
Ozzie Smith 1985 +5.6 +67.2 1.4 +65.8 $0.3M 1.51× –
Tom Herr 1985 +5.1 +56.1 0.6 +55.5 $0.1M 1.38× –
Danny Cox 1985 +3.3 +52.4 0.1 +52.3 $0.0M 1.96× –
Joaquin Andujar 1985 +2.9 +45.5 1.0 +44.5 $0.4M 1.96× –
Andy Van Slyke 1985 +3.4 +43.9 0.2 +43.7 $0.0M 1.60× –
Vince Coleman 1985 +2.6 +33.5 0.1 +33.4 $0.0M 1.60× –
Ken Dayley 1985 +2.1 +33.1 0.1 +32.9 $0.1M 1.95× –
Jack Clark 1985 +2.9 +24.9 1.6 +23.3 $0.5M 1.07× –
Terry Pendleton 1985 +2.0 +13.3 0.1 +13.2 $0.1M 0.85× –
Darrell Porter 1985 +2.1 +12.7 0.7 +12.0 $0.4M 0.76× –
Bob Forsch 1985 +1.0 +8.3 0.6 +7.7 $0.6M 1.02× –
Tito Landrum 1985 +1.2 +7.8 0.2 +7.6 $0.2M 0.83× –
Jeff Lahti 1985 +0.6 +6.6 0.2 +6.3 $0.4M 1.34× –
Cesar Cedeno↔ 1985 +1.4 +6.2 0.1 +6.1 $0.1M 0.56× –
Ricky Horton 1985 +0.7 +3.7 0.1 +3.6 $0.2M 0.67× –
Lonnie Smith↔ 1985 +0.4 +2.7 0.1 +2.6 $0.3M 0.83× –
Bill Campbell 1985 +0.3 +1.8 0.5 +1.4 $1.3M 0.67× –
Steve Braun 1985 +0.2 +1.4 0.2 +1.2 $0.8M 0.83× –
Mike Jorgensen 1985 +0.1 +0.6 0.2 +0.4 $1.5M 0.56× –
Brian Harper 1985 -0.0 -0.3 0.1 -0.5 – 0.83× –
Kurt Kepshire 1985 -0.1 -0.7 0.1 -0.8 – 1.02× –
Ivan De Jesus Sr. 1985 -0.3 -1.2 0.7 -1.9 – 0.58× –
Neil Allen↔ 1985 -0.6 -3.3 0.4 -3.8 – 0.67× –
Andy Hassler 1985 +0.1 +0.5 – – – 0.67× –
Art Howe 1985 -0.1 -0.3 – – – 0.56× –
Curt Ford 1985 +0.4 +2.6 – – – 0.83× –
Doug Bair↔ 1985 -0.0 -0.1 – – – 0.67× –
Joe Boever 1985 +0.1 +0.4 – – – 0.67× –
Matt Keough 1985 +0.2 +1.3 – – – 0.67× –
Michael LaValliere 1985 -0.0 -0.1 – – – 0.52× –
Pat Perry 1985 +0.2 +1.3 – – – 0.67× –
Randy Hunt 1985 -0.2 -0.9 – – – 0.52× –
Todd Worrell 1985 +0.2 +2.1 – – – 1.34× –
Tom Lawless 1985 +0.2 +1.1 – – – 0.58× –
Tom Nieto 1985 -0.4 -1.6 – – – 0.52× –
Total—+51.3+671.310.4+654.4—

Trades

Every graded 1985 deal involving the Cardinals — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 7 total.

1985 · STL / KCR
STL · Joe McDonald +$10.4M
John Morris
KCR · John Schuerholz −$10.4M
Lonnie Smith
STL came out ahead by $10.4M
1985 · WSN / STL
WSN · Murray Cook +$6.4M
Mickey Mahler
STL · Joe McDonald −$6.4M
Tom Lawless
WSN came out ahead by $6.4M
1985 · STL / NYM
STL · Joe McDonald +$73.6M
José Oquendo, Mark Davis
NYM · Frank Cashen −$73.6M
Angel Salazar, John Young
STL came out ahead by $73.6M
1985 · PHI / STL
PHI · Bill Giles +$12.0M
Dave Rucker
STL · Joe McDonald −$12.0M
Bill Campbell, Iván de Jesús
PHI came out ahead by $12.0M
1985 · CIN / STL
CIN · Bill Bergesch +$2.4M
Mark Jackson
STL · Joe McDonald −$2.4M
César Cedeño
CIN came out ahead by $2.4M
1985 · SFG / STL
SFG · Tom Haller +$6.4M
David Green, Gary Rajsich, Dave LaPoint, José Uribe
STL · Joe McDonald −$6.4M
Jack Clark
SFG came out ahead by $6.4M
1985 · STL / OAK
STL · Joe McDonald +$32.0M
Mike Heath, Tim Conroy
OAK · Sandy Alderson −$32.0M
Joaquín Andújar
STL came out ahead by $32.0M

Current & Historical Payroll

1985 payroll
$10.5M

What the front office was committed to as of 1985, 1985–1991. Pre-2015 has no contract-terms data — forward italic $ are realized actuals (hindsight, not commitments known then). Control labels (ARB/FA) are point-in-time.

current $ guaranteed $ actual $ (hindsight) arbitration (proj) pre-arb (proj) free agent

Guaranteed / signed (17)

PlayerAgeSvc1985198619871988198919901991
Jack Clark2910.000$1.6M$1.3M$1.3MFREE AGENT
Ozzie Smith307.000$1.4M$1.9M$1.9M$2.3M$2.2M$2.0M$2.2M
Joaquin Andujar329.000$1.0MFREE AGENT
Darrell Porter3314.000$740kFREE AGENT
Ivan De Jesus Sr.3211.000$700kFREE AGENT
Bob Forsch3511.000$583k$527k$750k$335kFREE AGENT
Tom Herr296.000$560k$750k$925k$745kFREE AGENT
Bill Campbell3612.000$458kFREE AGENT
John Tudor316.000$458k$1.0M$1.1M$791kFREE AGENT$350k
Neil Allen276.000$431kFREE AGENT
Mike Jorgensen3617.000$200kFREE AGENT
Steve Braun3714.000$160kFREE AGENT
Cesar Cedeno3415.000$142kFREE AGENT
Lonnie Smith297.000$140kFREE AGENT
Brian Harper256.000$135kFREE AGENT
Doug Bair359.000—FREE AGENT
Matt Keough298.000—FREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (5)

PlayerAgeSvc1985198619871988198919901991
Willie McGee263.000$475kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jeff Lahti283.000$250kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Tito Landrum305.000$209kFREE AGENT
Ken Dayley263.000$150kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Tom Lawless283.000—ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (15)

PlayerAgeSvc1985198619871988198919901991
Andy Van Slyke242.000$170kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Terry Pendleton241.000$112kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ricky Horton251.000$110kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Danny Cox252.000$110kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Kurt Kepshire251.000$100kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Vince Coleman230.000$60kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Joe Boever240.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Curt Ford240.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Andy Hassler33–—
Art Howe38–—
Randy Hunt250.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Michael LaValliere241.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Tom Nieto241.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Pat Perry260.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Todd Worrell250.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Graphs

How each 1985 acquisition stacked onto Cardinals's playoff-odds curve. The side table is ranked by PPA.

Rosternomics — front-office performance, roster value, and transaction history. Follow @rosternomics on X.
Decision-maker records extend to 1933; resource-controlled WAR and payroll metrics cover 1985–2026. Data sources include FanGraphs, Baseball-Reference, the Chadwick Bureau register, the Lahman Database, prospect rankings from Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, and FanGraphs, and public payroll records. Transaction and trade data was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by Retrosheet. Executive birth/death data via Wikidata (CC0).
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