The decade of the 2000's was among the best in the history of the St. Louis Cardinals. The team went to the playoffs in 7 of the 10 years during that decade, made the World Series twice, and won the World Series in 2006. Since 1996, the first year in which the Tony Larussa and Dave Duncan combination came to St. Louis to be manager and pitching coach, the Cardinals have been to the playoffs 9 times, and after this last season’s magical run, the team has won 2 World Series Championships. It has been the greatest stretch for the Cardinals since the 1940's and it is difficult to not look back at the past era with at least some nostalgia.
A seemingly unending stream of talent has come to St. Louis to play for the Cardinals during that time including the second best hitter in the franchise's history in Albert Pujols, the manager with the most wins in the history of the Cardinals in Tony Larussa, and only the second Cy Young award winner in the Cardinals history in Chris Carpenter. The 2000’s Cardinals had at least one Gold Glove Award Winner at every position as well as a Silver Slugger at every spot other than second base and catcher. With all these accolades coming the Cardinals way, it is impossible to lay claim to one person being more responsible than any others. So many members of this amazingly successful team are on their ways out the door, but a strong case can be made for the loss of Dave Duncan, their pitching coach, to be their most costly loss.
Dave Duncan has been such a quiet member of the coaching staff that you would have to listen very closely to hear him say anything. It is irresponsible to say that Dave Duncan is the sole reason behind the success of the pitchers who found their groove in St. Louis during his time here, and it is an even further stretch to say that the Cardinals pitching has been the sole reason for their success. It is impossible not to notice a pattern of successful veteran pitchers ever since Dave Duncan found his way to the Cardinals. Here are 10 of the top pitchers that Dave Duncan has worked magic with:
10. Jason Simontacchi: A background that includes the Frontier League and Italian Professional League is not the most well-worn path to the Major Leagues, but from 2002-2004, Simontacchi contributed to the Cardinals both out of the bullpen and in the starting rotation. In 2002 especially, reeling from the loss of the team's ace Darryl Kile, the Cardinals found help from a 28 year old career minor league pitcher. With the guidance of Duncan, Simontacchi went 11 and 5 that year and during his 4 seasons with the Cardinals he had a record of 20 and 10. After shoulder issues derailed him in 2004, Simontacchi made his way back to the major leagues to make 13 more starts with the Washington Nationals. A 6-7 record and ERA over 6.00 ended his career, and although it ended unceremoniously, his time with the Cardinals and Dave Duncan must be the highlight of his Major League career.
9. Garrett Stephenson: Before he got to St. Louis, Stephenson was a .500 pitcher who had been traded twice after being drafted in the 18th round. In his first two seasons with the Cardinals he went 22-12 including a magical 16-9 season in 2000 in which he helped the team make their way back to the playoffs. While he was never the same after undergoing Tommy John reconstructive surgery, he was just another name in the long list of questionably talented pitchers who were able to find success under the tutelage of Dave Duncan.
8. Andy Benes: While Benes does not qualify as a questionable talent who found success with Dave Duncan, he may be one of Duncan's more impressive success stories. During his second round of duty with the team, Benes was near the end of his career when he received a new split-fingered fastball learned from Chuck Finley and some work from Dave Duncan. Benes was able to coax just enough wins out of his right arm and damaged right knee to help the Cardinals to the playoffs in 2002. While his 52-37 record with the Cardinals should speak for itself, it was not until being forced to recreate himself on the fly during his final season that the true magic of Dave Duncan could be really seen.
7. Jeff Weaver: Jeff Weaver was only a Cardinal for part of one season, but it sure was a memorable one. After his own brother knocked him out of the Angels rotation, he was traded to the Cardinals, and at the time, Weaver was floundering. He was 3-10 on the year in the American League before being traded to a Cardinals team that was in the middle of its own underachieving season. The Cardinals limped to 83 wins that year, but then caught fire. Weaver won a game in every round of the playoffs including the clinching game 5 of the World Series. Weaver cashed in on these successes for 3 more years in the major leagues but made frequent trips to the minor leagues and the bullpen. He would never be the same pitcher after leaving St. Louis.
6. Darryl Kile: Before the 2000 season, Darryl Kile was best known as a poster boy for the dangers of Coors Field in Colorado. Kile went to St. Louis at the perfect time. After control problems and the loss of bite on his trademarked curveball, Dave Duncan and St. Louis proved to be the calming influence that he needed. Two years after leading the league in losses and the year after leading the league in earned runs allowed, Kile won 20 games in his first season with the Cardinals. He followed this up with 16 wins the next season before his tragic death in 2002. While for Kile the talent was definitely there, he caught fire as a Cardinal, posting a .631 winning percentage compared to the under .500 winning percentage before getting to St. Louis.
5. Joel Pineiro: Piniero may be the poster boy for the type of pitcher Duncan is famous for working with. A pitcher with a good sinker about half way through his career and willing to be coached, Duncan must have jumped at the opportunity to work with Pineiro. In his 2 and a half years with the Cardinals, Pineiro posted the lowest ERA and highest winning percentage that he had with any other team in his career. A part of this could be attributed to his pitching against weaker National League line-ups, but it is difficult not to notice that the Pineiro and Duncan combination was a perfect match for both men.
4. Jeff Suppan: It is difficult to think of a pitcher who benefitted more financially from Dave Duncan and the Cardinals situation than Jeff Suppan. After spending 3 years with the Cardinals in which he posted career highs in wins twice and lows in ERA, Suppan cashed in with a 40 million dollar contract for 4 years with the Milwaukee Brewers. During his time up north, Suppan had a record of 29-36 and an ERA over 5.00. Not once did he post a winning record with the team, a stark difference between the 47-32 record and 3.94 ERA with the Cardinals. And who could forget an NLCS MVP award in 2006, leading to the Cardinals a World Series that it would eventually walk away with as champions.
3. Woody Williams: In 2001, the Cardinals traded Ray Lankford away for Woody Williams. At the time, the Cardinals were 7.5 games back and would drop as far back as 8 games before he could make his first Cardinals start. The Cardinals ended up tied for the NL Central Championship at the end of the year after among other things, a 7-1 record down the stretch by Williams. Williams, a career journeyman with a sub .500 career record caught fire with the help of Dave Duncan. He won 18 games in 2003 and won games in both the NLDS and NLCS in 2004, helping the Cardinals make it to the World Series after a nearly 20 year dry spell. All told, Williams ended with a win percentage of .672 with the Cardinals and Dave Duncan compared to a .481 win percentage in the rest of his career.
2. Chris Carpenter: It would be easy to say that Chris Carpenter has had the talent to be a big game pitcher and that Dave Duncan lucked out to be able to work with Carpenter. While these statements may be true, the fact that Carpenter took off in St. Louis to such great heights is a testament to not only his own talent, but the coaching and help he was given by those around him. A talented but underperforming young pitcher with a losing record is not a new idea in baseball, but without the right guidance, as many of these stories end in tragedy as end in multiple Cy Young type seasons. Carpenter has finished 1st and 2nd in the Cy Young award voting, won 2 World Series Championships, and although his career has had multiple injury speed bumps, Carpenter has taken his place in Cardinals history as one of the greatest pitchers to wear the uniform.
1. Kent Bottenfield: While an argument for Kent Bottenfield being a greater Duncan success story than Carpenter is a stretch, what the Cardinals gained from Duncan’s greatest turnaround is impossible to ignore. Somehow at the age of 30, a pitcher with a career ERA of 4.54 and sub .500 record without even a track record for starting caught fire in 1999 under the tutelage of Dave Duncan. That year he won 18 games and became the perfect sell high trade bait. At the point, the Cardinals had not made the playoffs since 1996 and had not been able to finish higher than 3rd place since then. After his breakout season, Bottenfield was traded along with Adam Kennedy to the Angels for a center fielder by the name of Jim Edmonds. To say the rest is history could suffice, but the reality is that without Edmonds, it is impossible to imagine the 2000’s Cardinals without a Gold Glove and MVP caliber player in center field. He had countless memorable moments such as the 2004 NLCS where his game winning homerun in game 6 and game saving catch in game 7 put the Cardinals into the World Series. After 8 amazing years with the Cardinals, Edmonds was traded away and finished his career making stops around the National League. The real amazing story in this comes from who Edmonds was then traded for: a young third baseman that had never played a major league game. David Freese has still yet to play a full, injury free season, but he was able to contribute to one of the most magical seasons in St. Louis sports history. Along with taking home NLCS and World Series MVP Awards, Freese hit a homerun and a triple in Game 6 that still sends chills down my spine. Yes, it has been an amazing 16 years to be a Cardinal’s fan, and looking back at things, it is easy to wonder if any of this would have been possible without Dave Duncan.
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