The 5 greatest catchers in St. Louis Cardinals history

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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Dave Kingman, in fielder for the Chicago Cubs swings his bat at the plate as Ted Simmons, catcher for the Cardinals and home plate umpire Dutch Rennert look on during the Major League Baseball National League East game against the St. Louis Cardinals on 29 June 1980 at Wrigley Field, Chicago, United States. Cubs lost 9 – 7. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Allsport/Getty Images)
Dave Kingman, in fielder for the Chicago Cubs swings his bat at the plate as Ted Simmons, catcher for the Cardinals and home plate umpire Dutch Rennert look on during the Major League Baseball National League East game against the St. Louis Cardinals on 29 June 1980 at Wrigley Field, Chicago, United States. Cubs lost 9 – 7. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Allsport/Getty Images)

Number 2 — Ted Simmons

Of all of the catchers who have ever suited up for the Cardinals, no one has ever tallied more bWAR than Ted Simmons, who tallied 45.0 over 13 seasons from 1968 through 1980.

Ted Simmons made his mark with the St. Louis Cardinals before being dealt to the Milwaukee Brewers

Drafted 10th overall by the Cardinals in the 1967 draft, Simmons was an eight-time All-Star, including six in St. Louis and two in Milwaukee, where he was traded by the Cardinals after the 1980 season as part of a massive swap between the two franchises which altered history for both teams. In that deal, the Cardinals sent Simmons, Rollie Fingers, and Pete Vuckovich to the Brewers in exchange for David Green, Dave LaPoint, Sixto Lezcano, and Lary Sorensen.

With Simmons in Milwaukee, Darrell Porter (mentioned earlier in the list) would take over at catcher in St. Louis and the two Cardinals catching icons would square off in the 1982 World Series.

Simmons, who would finish in the top 10 in National League MVP voting three times and earn a Silver Slugger during his Cardinals career, was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020.