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The 5 greatest catchers in St. Louis Cardinals history

ByKevin Henry|
DENVER, CO - JULY 03: Yadier Molina #4 of the St. Louis Cardinals hits an eighth inning RBI single against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on July 3, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - JULY 03: Yadier Molina #4 of the St. Louis Cardinals hits an eighth inning RBI single against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on July 3, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
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NEW YORK – OCTOBER 5: Whitey Kurowski #1 (1918 – 1999) of the St. Louis Cardinals runs across home plate after hitting a home run as his teammates Marty Marion #4 and Walker Cooper #15 congratulate him during game five of the 1942 World Series against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium, in the Bronx, New York on October 5, 1942. The Cardinals won game five 4-2 and wrapped up the series. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
NEW YORK – OCTOBER 5: Whitey Kurowski #1 (1918 – 1999) of the St. Louis Cardinals runs across home plate after hitting a home run as his teammates Marty Marion #4 and Walker Cooper #15 congratulate him during game five of the 1942 World Series against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium, in the Bronx, New York on October 5, 1942. The Cardinals won game five 4-2 and wrapped up the series. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Throughout the franchise’s illustrious history, there have been some great players who have taken their place behind the plate as the catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. Today, let’s take a look at the best of the best catchers who have ever played for the team.

Here are the top five catchers to ever play for the St. Louis Cardinals

Number 5 — Walker Cooper

Walker Cooper suited up for the St. Louis Cardinals between 1940 and 1945 and played only catcher during his 18-year career that concluded with a return to St. Louis in 1957.

Cooper was a part of three St. Louis teams that won 100 or more games between 1942 and 1944. St. Louis went to the World Series in all three of those seasons, beating the New York Yankees in 1942, losing to the Yankees in 1943, then beating the crosstown St. Louis Browns in 1944. During those games, Cooper (who was an All-Star all three seasons) was behind the plate in 16 games, slashing a combined .300/.333/.383.

The eight-time All-Star slashed .318/.349/.463 with nine home runs and 81 RBI to finish second in the National League MVP voting in 1943, losing out to teammate Stan Musial. He finished in the top 11 of NL MVP voting during all three St. Louis World Series seasons.

Cooper’s 9.0 bWAR ranks fifth among all St. Louis catchers who tallied at least 1,000 plate appearances and played 50 percent of more of their innings behind the plate for the franchise.

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