The 2022 season ended in unceremonious fashion for the St. Louis Cardinals, as they were swept in the NL Wild Card series by the Philadelphia Phillies, which effectively ended the careers of Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols.
The Cardinals have yet to win a postseason series since eliminating the Atlanta Braves in the 2019 NLDS.
And with their Wild Card Series loss, they continued a brutal trend for NL Central teams in October.
Since the Cards’ clinching win in Game 5 of the 2019 NLDS, NL Central teams are 2-18 in postseason play, averaging just 1.75 runs per game.
Since the #stlcards left Atlanta bound for the NLCS in 2019, buoyed by a 13-run Game 5 outburst to win the NLDS, the National League Central is 2-18 in the playoffs.
They've averaged 1.75 runs per in those 20 games.
The division is 2-14 in the past three postseasons.#FlyOver
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) December 2, 2022
An Ugly Trend
The Cardinals last postseason victory came in Game 1 of the 2020 Wild Card Series against the San Diego Padres.
They were the only NL Central team to reach the postseason in 2022, finishing seven games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Cards’ success came largely from dominating their weaker NL Central opponents.
But by the time they reached October, they had run out of gas and were completely dominated by the Phillies.
Winning the NL Central won’t be enough in 2023, especially with the changes in the regular season schedule.
While the Central is one of the weaker divisions in baseball, the Cardinals could still put an end to an ugly October trend.
They are in need of a catcher and a big bat to help boost the offense.
They could also use an extra starting pitcher to replace Jose Quintana.
If John Mozeliak makes the right moves, then the Cardinals could find themselves making a deeper run into the postseason.
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