Rogers Hornsby, Not Musial or Pujols, Was the Best Cardinals Hitter

Stan Musial was the greatest St. Louis Cardinals player. But as great as he was, Musial was not the best Cardinals hitter.

No, it's not Albert Pujols. It's not even close.

Rogers Hornsby played for the Cardinals from 1915-1926, primarily as their second baseman. He batted .359/.427/.570. Only Ty Cobb has a higher career batting average.

Look at the following:

PLAYER    BA    OBP    SA

Albert Pujols    .328    .420    .617

Stan Musial    .331    .417    .559

R. Hornsby    .359    .427    .570

In 1922, Hornsby batted .401. In 1924 he set the all-time record when he hit .424. Let that sink in. A batter that hits .324 is considered an excellent hitter. Hornsby hit 100 points higher.

Hornsby dropped off a bit in 1925 from his .424. He hit only .403, but led the league with 39 home runs and 143 RBI. He won the Triple Crown twice in his career and is the only player to hit .400 with 40 home runs.

There are many stories that define Hornsby.

A rookie pitcher, facing Hornsby, threw a pitch that he thought was a strike. The youngster complained to Bill Klem, one of the greatest of all umpires.

Klem looked the pitcher straight in the eye and responded, according to Baseball Almanac, "Son, when you pitch a strike, Mr. Hornsby will let you know."

Hornsby, like all great players, hated to lose. He is quoted as saying, "I don't believe there's any such thing as a good loser. I wouldn't sit down and play a game of cards with you right now without wanting to win."

One of his comments was timely during his career and it's timely in 2012. "I've cheated, or someone on my team has cheated, in almost every single game I've been in."

After he retired, Hornsby managed. He wasn't liked by his players.

Author Anthony J. Connor, in his book Voices from Cooperstown, wrote that Hornsby ran his clubhouse like a Gestapo camp. He didn't allow the players to eat, smoke, drink a soda or read a newspaper. Players had to be concerned only with the game.

There was an incident in 1962 involving Roger Maris, who had set the single season home run record the previous season. Hornsby refused to take a picture with Maris, stating that he had been in photographs with some real major leaguers, not bush leaguers like Maris.

Maris became a Cardinal in 1967. He batted .385/.433/.538 in the World Series for the 1967 world champions.

Hornsby played in the 1926 World Series for the world champion Cardinals. He batted .250/.300/.286.

Maybe Hornsby was right in not wanting to pose with Maris.