The 1990 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 109th season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 99th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 70–92 during the season and finished in sixth place of the National League East division, 25 games behind the NL East champion Pittsburgh Pirates. It was the first time the Cardinals had finished in last place since 1918. This was the most recent season the Cardinals finished in last place until 2023.
Offseason November 28, 1989: Bryn Smith was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals.Bryn Smith page at Baseball Reference November 30, 1989: Danny Cox was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals.Danny Cox page at Baseball Reference December 6, 1989: Jim Lindeman and Matt Kinzer were traded by the Cardinals to the Detroit Tigers for Bill Henderson (minors), Marcos Betances (minors), and Pat Austin (minors).Jim Lindeman page at Baseball Reference February 27, 1990: Alex Cole and Steve Peters were traded by the Cardinals to the San Diego Padres for Omar Olivares.Alex Cole page at Baseball Reference
Regular season Shortstop Ozzie Smith won a Gold Glove this year.
Opening Day starters Tom Brunansky Vince Coleman Pedro Guerrero Joe Magrane Willie McGee José Oquendo Terry Pendleton Ozzie Smith Todd Zeile
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions April 23, 1990: John Costello was traded by the Cardinals to the Montreal Expos for Rex Hudler.Rex Hudler page at Baseball Reference May 4, 1990: Tom Brunansky was traded by the Cardinals to the Boston Red Sox for Lee Smith.Lee Smith page at Baseball Reference May 5, 1990: Terry Francona was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals.Terry Francona page at Baseball Reference July 2, 1990: Ernie Camacho was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals.Ernie Camacho page at Baseball Reference August 29, 1990: Willie McGee was traded by the Cardinals to the Oakland Athletics for Félix José, Stan Royer, and Daryl Green (minors).Willie McGee page at Baseball Reference However, McGee would win the NL batting title (he had enough plate appearances to qualify for it despite this trade).
Roster 1990 St. Louis Cardinals Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders Manager
Coaches
Player stats = Indicates team leader
Batting
Starters by position Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases Pos Player G AB R H Avg. HR RBI SB C 144 495 62 121 .244 15 57 2 1B 136 498 42 140 .281 13 80 1 2B 156 469 38 118 .252 1 37 1 3B 121 447 46 103 .230 6 58 7 SS 143 512 61 130 .254 1 50 32 LF 124 497 73 145 .292 6 39 77 CF 125 501 76 168 .335 3 62 28 RF 135 418 42 91 .218 6 30 25
Other batters Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases Player G AB R H Avg. HR RBI SB 69 220 20 61 .277 2 23 1 89 217 30 61 .281 7 22 18 67 128 9 28 .219 1 12 3 78 127 7 28 .220 1 19 0 39 126 12 36 .286 3 12 8 55 121 13 30 .248 0 7 0 25 85 12 23 .271 0 3 4 18 64 11 19 .297 1 3 6 99 58 12 13 .224 0 3 7 19 57 5 9 .158 1 2 0 18 45 5 11 .244 0 2 1 14 25 4 6 .240 0 2 0 18 18 0 2 .111 0 0 0 5 15 2 2 .133 1 1 0
Pitching
Starting pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA BB SO 31 203.1 10 17 3.59 59 100 32 182.2 7 19 4.43 86 164 25 146.1 12 4 2.40 30 63 28 145.1 10 9 3.47 15 50 26 141.1 9 8 4.27 30 78 17 78.2 5 6 5.49 33 58 11 50.2 0 5 5.33 30 18
Other pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA BB SO 9 49.1 1 1 2.92 17 20
Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L SV ERA BB SO 53 68.2 3 4 27 2.10 20 70 62 81.0 5 2 3 4.56 31 49 58 73.1 4 4 2 3.56 30 51 Scott Terry 50 72.0 2 6 2 4.75 27 35 Tom Niedenfuer 52 65.0 0 6 2 3.46 25 32 Ricky Horton 32 42.0 1 1 1 4.93 22 18 Mike Pérez 13 13.2 1 0 1 3.95 3 5 4 8.0 0 0 0 4.50 2 6 Ernie Camacho 6 5.2 0 0 0 7.94 6 7 Tim Sherrill 8 4.1 0 0 0 6.23 3 3 John Costello 4 4.1 0 0 0 6.23 1 1 Stan Clarke 2 3.1 0 0 0 2.70 0 3 Howard Hilton 2 3.0 0 0 0 0.00 3 2 Tim Jones 1 1.1 0 0 0 6.75 2 0
Awards and honors Willie McGee, outfielder: Batting title (.335) Ozzie Smith, shortstop, National League Gold Glove
All-Stars Ozzie Smith, starter, shortstop
Farm system
Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007
References
External links 1990 St. Louis Cardinals at Baseball Reference 1990 St. Louis Cardinals team page at www.baseball-almanac.com