Taking a page from the 1982 Cardinals

The 2011 St. Louis Cardinals will have to take a page from their 1982 ancestors if they want to win the World Series. The 1982 Cardinals found themselves in a three games to two hole after five games just as the 2011 team does. Both lost game five on the road and returned home in hopes of winning games six and seven of the Series. The 1982 Cardinals were able to do it.

Unlike the 2011 Cards who had to come back from 10½ games down to earn a wild card birth, the 1982 team won their division, the National League East, by three games over the Philadelphia Phillies. Then they swept the Atlanta Braves in three games to win the League Championship Series and advance to the World Series.

The 2011 Cardinals split the first two games of this year’s Series at home with the Texas Rangers and then won game three on the road. They proceeded to lose the next two games to fall behind three games to two.

The 1982 Cardinals did the same. They split the first two games of the Series with the Milwaukee Brewers at home then won game three. The Cardinals were ahead in game four 5-1 before a six run rally in the seventh gave Milwaukee a 7-5 win. The Brewers won game five 6-4 and the Cardinals found themselves one game from elimination.

The team returned to St. Louis for game six with rookie John Stupor scheduled to take the mound. Considering the fact that Milwaukee was known as ‘Harvey’s Wall Bangers’ because of their manager Harvey Keuhn and the teams 216 home runs, it was asking a lot of a rookie to keep the team’s hopes alive.

But the 1982 Cardinals were a resilient team. Stupor pitched a complete game four hitter which was interrupted by two long rain delays. St. Louis won 13-1 and the Series came down to a seventh and deciding game.

The Cardinals sent game three winner Joaquin Andujar to the mound to face Pete Vuckovich. The game was tied at one going into the sixth inning. Milwaukee scored two off of Andujar to go ahead 3-1, but St. Louis countered with three of their own in the bottom of the inning to take a 4-3 lead. The big hit was a single by right fielder George Hendrick which drove in the go ahead run.

Andujar pitched seven innings before giving way to closer Bruce Sutter who pitched the final two for the save. The Cardinals added two insurance runs in the eighth for a 6-3 win.

The 1982 Cardinals had come back from a three games to two deficit to win it all.

The 2011 Cardinals must do the same against a team every bit as formidable at the plate as the Brewers were.

If they need any inspiration they need look no further than their own back yard at the 1982 Cardinals.