Cardinals Continue to Unearth New Homegrown Heroes Every Postseason

The St. Louis Cardinals have their core of veteran players. The Adam Wainwrights, the Matt Hollidays, the Yadier Molinas.

Yet it seems that with every trip to the postseason, the Cardinals churn out an entirely new cast of heroes, many of them becoming key players for the organization in subsequent years.

The 2011 postseason was David Freese’s coming-out party, as the Cardinal third baseman came from seemingly out of nowhere to bat .397/.465/.794 with five home runs, eight doubles and 21 RBI in 18 games.

After being named MVP of the NLCS, Freese one-upped himself in the World Series against the Rangers, taking home MVP honors thanks to a historically good Game 6 performance that included a game-tying triple in the ninth inning and walk-off home run in extras.

Two years later, it was Michael Wacha’s turn to shine, as the rookie right-hander emerged as one of the game’s more promising young pitchers with an eye-opening showing in the 2013 playoffs.

Wacha, just 22 at the time, went 4-1 with a 2.64 ERA in five postseason starts, while his dominance against the Dodgers in the NLCS led to him being named as the series MVP.

The 2014 postseason hasn’t been any different for the NL Central Division champions, and it’s precisely why they're contending for a World Series title for a fourth straight year.

It was Kolten Wong’s turn to be the hero Sunday night, as the rookie second baseman launched a walk-off home run against Sergio Romo to seal Game 2 of the NLCS for the Cardinals 5-4. It tied the series at one game apiece headed to San Francisco.

"As you know, last year [in the World Series] didn't go as planned," Wong said, via David Brown of Yahoo Sports’ Big League Stew. "Definitely getting back [to the playoffs], I was really excited about it. And to finally contribute to this team and finally do something special is exciting for me."

The long ball was the second of the postseason for Wong, the Cardinals’ first-round draft pick in 2010, and surely the biggest of his young career. His teammates even shredded his jersey in celebration: 

However, Wong wouldn’t have the opportunity to deliver his game-winning blast without help from a host of other homegrown players. And that’s essentially been the story of the Cardinals’ run through the postseason this year.

Third baseman Matt Carpenter—the team’s 13th-round draft pick in 2009—captured most of the headlines during the NLDS by notching six extra-base hits in 12 at-bats, hitting exactly one home run and one double in each of the series' first three games.

Carpenter got the scoring started in Game 2 of the NLCS Sunday night, launching a solo home run to right field in the third inning off Giants starter Jake Peavy.

According to MLB.com’s Jennifer Langosch, Carpenter is averaging one home run every 5.8 plate appearances in the postseason after averaging one every 88.6 plate appearances during the regular season.

The Cardinals have also received contributions this October from right fielder Randal Grichuk, the 23-year-old rookie—acquired during the offseason along with Peter Bourjos in the David Freese trade—who first made his mark in Game 1 of the NLDS with a solo home run off Clayton Kershaw.

Grichuk made a tremendous sliding catch on the warning track in right-center field to deny Buster Posey extra bases in the first inning of Sunday’s game against San Francisco, and he later came through in the fourth inning with a run-scoring single to left field.

The Cardinals’ other young right fielder, Oscar Taveras, also delivered the biggest hit of his career Sunday, coming off the bench in the bottom of the seventh inning to hit a game-tying home run.

It was a bright moment for the highly touted 22-year-old, especially after he was gradually relegated to a reserve role over the final month of the regular season.

Meanwhile, first baseman Matt Adams, endearingly nicknamed “Big City” by his teammates, basically eliminated the Dodgers from the playoffs with his go-ahead, three-run home run off Clayton Kershaw late in Game 4 of the NLDS. Adams, a 23rd-round draft pick in 2009, was back at it Sunday night with another huge home run, as his solo shot in the bottom of the eighth inning off Hunter Strickland gave St. Louis a 4-3 lead.

And for what it’s worth, this time “Big City” made sure to nail the bat flip.

That brings us back to the man of the night, Wong. For some context on his dramatic home run, we turn to ESPN’s David Schoenfield:

"

Wong took a sinker for a called strike and then belted a changeup a few rows deep into the right-field stands for the fourth walk-off home run in Cardinals postseason history, joining Ozzie Smith (1985 NLCS), Jim Edmonds (2004 NLCS) and David Freese (2011 World Series).

[…]

It was also the Cardinals' fourth home run of the game -- they'd hit three one time in the regular season and four one time. They hit 105 in 162 games in the regular season -- the fewest in the National League -- and now they've hit 11 in six postseason games.

"

The Cardinals’ power surge this October certainly has been a surprise, as the team has now scored 17 of its 23 postseason runs via the home run. According to manager Mike Matheny, it’s a product of the club continuing “to preach to the guys to stay with the right approach,” per Adam McCalvy of ESPN.com.

But after four consecutive trips to the postseason, it’s safe to say that the Cardinals’ entire team, not just the hitters, know a thing or two about “the right approach.”