Trivia time … after the New York Yankees (27), what team has won the most World Series titles? The answer is the St. Louis Cardinals (11). Since 1882, this team from Missouri has had a reputation for winning and a phenomenal fan base. From the Gashouse Gang to the Bob Gibson teams to Whitey Ball to the Pujols Era, the Cardinals always seem to be relevant and competitive. Their 11 championships have come in seven different decades, and they have only had two losing seasons in this new century. Cooperstown is littered with legendary Cardinals players, managers, executives, and even broadcasters. But who have been the most prodigious power hitters in this franchise’s rich history? Now let’s climb the Gateway Arch and take a look down at the all-time leaders in home runs for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Originally known as the Colt .45s, the Houston Astros franchise was born in 1962. In a little over 60 years, this team has already collected 17 playoff appearances, 12 division titles, 5 pennants, and 2 World Series crowns. Those are impressive accolades for a relatively young franchise. That means this team has fielded some bombers in their history. The Astrodome was their first home, and that cavernous multi-purpose park was not the most forgiving to power hitters. Then in 2000 they moved to their current address and a more aerodynamic atmosphere: Minute Maid Park. This list will highlight the top home-run hitters in Houston Astros history. As many pitchers have found out since 1962, “Houston, we have a problem.”

Who is the most underrated franchise in baseball history? The Giants certainly come to mind. Originated in 1883, the Giants started off in New York and then moved to San Francisco in 1958. This franchise has won 8 world championships (5th all time) and 23 pennants (3rd all time). Remember this team won three World Series titles in a five-year span (2010, 2012, & 2014). With team accolades like that, you know they have had some iconic players. That is particularly true in the power department. Four studs who played the majority of their careers with the Giants slugged over 500 homers. Now let’s feel the breeze and look at the all-time leaders in home runs for the Giants franchise.

The Baltimore Orioles are in the middle of a renaissance. After some down years, last season the O’s won 101 games, and their young core appears ready to reestablish this franchise as a force in Major League Baseball. This team by the harbor has been around since 1901, and they have produced six 100-win seasons, seven pennants, three World Series titles, and a dugout full of Hall of Famers. Let’s look at some big fish of Baltimore and see the leaders in home runs for the Orioles franchise.

The 2023 Major League batting champ, Luis Arráez, was able to hit over .350 on the season. Maintaining a .350 average over a career, however, is a very difficult feat.

Batting average is one of the key traditional statistics in baseball, and batting average records are some of the most lauded in the game. It takes a high level of consistency and skill to hit for average and any player who can hit for over .350 in their career, no matter the era, solidifies their place in baseball history. The list of who has the highest batting average of all time is a list of some of the greatest hitters of the early 20th century. Given advances in pitching and fielding skills, it’s highly unlikely we will ever see these records broken. Here are the players with the highest batting averages of all time. 

Without dispute, the Boston Red Sox are and have been one of MLB’s premier franchises since the early 1900s. Think about all of the iconic events, indelible images, and American mythology associated with this team from Beantown: The Curse of the Bambino, The Green Monster, Teddy Ballgame hitting .406, Carlton Fisk’s waving the ball fair, Bill Buckner, the 2004 ALCS comeback from down 3-0, etc. This club has infused the sport with countless memories and barroom debates. This list will look at the players with the most home runs in Red Sox history. All of these names are legends in Fenway and heels in the Bronx. 

Remember getting baseball cards when you were a kid? You would turn a card over to read a player’s stats, and you instantly scanned to their home runs and RBIs. Those were the money stats and often the barometer for a guy’s value in the view of fans. Home runs are pure power numbers, and undoubtedly handfuls of RBIs come with those blasts, but the great thing about RBIs is that you can collect them without hitting homers. A skilled situational hitter can drive in a run with a single, a bunt, a walk, a sacrifice fly, a well-placed grounder, etc. Yes, it is easier to eat up four steaks with a grand slam, but that isn’t always necessary to help your team win.

These are the five MLB players with the most RBIs in a single season. All of these men are in the Hall of Fame, but only one of them eclipsed the 500-homer milestone. Another would have if not for a horrible health diagnosis. It’s also worth noting that all of these offensive onslaughts came between 1927 and 1938. That must have been the golden era for RBIs. If you do deeper digging, you’ll find that only two players have had a 160-RBI season since the 1930s. Let’s cut the rambling and see who has the most RBIs in a single season.

The most stressful, high-pressure role in baseball is that of the closing pitcher. This pressure is why the save merits its own statistical category, those three outs at the end of a game while your team is ahead are the most critical three outs a pitcher can make. Saves take composure, skill and confidence. Only a handful of players have made more than 50 saves in a season. These are the most saves in a season in MLB history. 

With the emphasis on power numbers in the modern MLB game, it seems like the art of stealing bases isn’t what it once was. Since the turn of the century, only four players have swiped 70 bags in a season. That pales in comparison to the triple-digit numbers that were seen in the 1980s. However, with the recent rule changes in baseball like the limit on pitcher disengagements, the pitch clock, and bigger bases, stolen bases might become trendy again. Ronald Acuna’s 73 stolen bags last year certainly shine a light on this offensive weapon of yesteryear. In almost 150 years of baseball, there have been some prolific speedsters, and this list will look at the players with the most stolen bases of all time.

The Cy Young Award is given to the top pitcher in each league annually. Why call it the Cy Young? Well, this legendary hurler posted 22 seasons in MLB before World War I even started. He is the all-time leader in wins (511), games started (815), innings (7,356), and is third all-time in WAR (163.6). There were also those 14 consecutive 20-win seasons, five of them 30+. The point is that this award is well named for this luminary during the silent film era.

Since this award started in 1956, 22 pitchers have won it more than once. A deeper plunge shows only 11 men have won it at least three times. That’s who this list will focus on, with the exception of the three current players who have won the award three times (Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer, and Justin Verlander). For the sake of posterity, here are the eight pitchers with at least three Cy Young Awards.