Flaspohler vindicated (sort of): Lankford 2nd best Cardinal CF
During the April meeting’s “Who’s the best all-time Cardinal centerfielder?” discussion (it’s never an argument, is it?), our esteemed chapter secretary, Brian Flaspohler, defied conventional wisdom, which had it that the answer was either Jim Edmonds or Curt Flood, and suggested Ray Lankford. We all laughed, of course, thinking that Flash was up to his old tricks again. Press Box Phil turned to me and said something to the effect that all we needed was some Win Shares and the discussion would be over. With help from Philippe, I now present the best Cardinal Centerfielders of All-Time — by Win Shares:
| Win Shares | Games | Seasons | WS/Season | |
| Edmonds | 146 | 736 | 5 | 32 |
| Lankford | 211 | 1580 | 10 | 22 |
| Flood | 221 | 1738 | 11 | 21 |
| Moore | 152 | 1298 | 8 | 19 |
| McGee | 169 | 1661 | 10 | 16 |
A few notes on the chart: The Win Shares and Games are only those that the players tallied as Cardinals. The Seasons are based on 162-games (Games divided by 162). I used five seasons as the minimum requirement for consideration. Finally, the players did not play the entirety of their games at centerfield, though they did for the majority and are most known as centerfielders.
So while Ray-Ray was not the best (we all knew JEdmonds was, didn’t we?), he’s a surprising second. Who knew (other than Flash, of course)?
November 13th, 2006 at 2:50 pm
[...] Back at the beginning of 2005, we asserted that Edmonds was already the best Cardinal centerfielder of all-time. He’s only enhanced his standing among the Cardinal greats in the two seasons since. With Edmonds, the Cardinals will have the chance to do what didn’t really work out well with Mark McGwire: After having revitalized the player’s career in St. Louis, allow him to close out his playing days with the Birds on the Bat and allow him to be proudly remembered as a Cardinal. Along with many other fans, we’ll be proud to claim Edmonds two years from now, and for many years afterward. [...]
February 22nd, 2007 at 11:32 pm
[...] The best Cardinal centerfielder of all-time is already a classic barroom debate (the local SABR chapter has taken up the issue on more than one occasion). We unfortunately can’t offer much help in the way of asserting [...]