A report on St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds

Charles Comiskey, shown here circa 1910, guided the Browns to four American Association titles.

The 1876 White Stockings won the NL championship.

Rogers Hornsby won two Triple Crowns as a Cardinal.

The 1906 Cubs won a record 116 of 154 games. They then won back-to-back World Series titles in 1907–08.

Hall of famer Edd Roush led Cincinnati to the 1919 World Series.

Stan Musial retired owning numerous National League and team batting records.

Bob Gibson, the most decorated pitcher in team history, won two Cy Young Awards.

Crosley Field (pictured in 1969), the Reds' home stadium from 1912 to 1970

Pitcher Chris Carpenter, essential in two World Series titles, won 10 playoff games with a 3.00 postseason ERA.

Riverfront Stadium (pictured in 1974), the home stadium of the Reds from 1970 to 2002

Albert Pujols is one of the most accomplished players in Cardinals' history.

Pete Rose at bat in a game at Dodger Stadium during the 1970s

Sportsman's Park during the 1946 World Series

A sports-related curse that was supposedly placed on the Chicago Cubs by Billy Goat Tavern owner William Sianis during Game 4 of the 1945 World Series.

George Foster slugged 52 home runs in 1977, earning the NL MVP award.

Busch Memorial Stadium, home stadium from 1966 to 2005

Ryne Sandberg set numerous league and club records in his career and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2005.

Andre Dawson, 5× All-Star and 1987 NL MVP during tenure in Chicago

Great American Ball Park, the Reds' home stadium since 2003

Sammy Sosa was the captain of the Chicago Cubs during his tenure with the team.

Ken Griffey Jr. played in his hometown of Cincinnati from 2000 to 2008.

Kerry Wood, along with Mark Prior, led the Cubs' rotation in 2003.

Joey Votto, first baseman (2007–present)

Joe Medwick's Triple Crown in 1937 is the last in the history of the National League

Dempster emerged in 2004 and became the Cubs' regular closer.

Great American Ball Park opened in 2003 along the Ohio River.

Alfonso Soriano signed with the club in 2007.

Carlos Zambrano warming up before a game

Scott Rolen wearing the current Reds away uniform, featuring classic lettering.

Starlin Castro during his 2010 rookie season

Barry Larkin playing in Riverfront Stadium in 1990

One of two Cubs building blocks, Anthony Rizzo, swinging in the box

The Cubs celebrate after winning the 2016 World Series.

2016 Champions visit the White House in June 2017.

Marty Brennaman, the Hall of Fame "voice of the Reds"

In two of these championships, the Browns met the Chicago White Stockings, now the Chicago Cubs, launching the enduring Cardinals–Cubs rivalry.

- St. Louis Cardinals

Both seasons resulted in matchups with the St. Louis Brown Stockings, with the clubs tying in 1885 and with St. Louis winning in 1886.

- Chicago Cubs

On July 14, 2018, following an 8–2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds, the St. Louis Cardinals announced they had dismissed manager Mike Matheny after seasons.

- St. Louis Cardinals

In other deals that proved to be less successful, the Reds traded Gary Nolan to the California Angels for Craig Hendrickson; Rawly Eastwick to the St. Louis Cardinals for Doug Capilla; and Mike Caldwell to the Milwaukee Brewers for Rick O'Keeffe and Garry Pyka, as well as Rick Auerbach from Texas.

- Cincinnati Reds

In, the Reds were in the newly created National League Central Division with the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, and fellow rivals Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros.

- Cincinnati Reds

The Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Browns, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Spiders, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, New York Highlanders, Brooklyn Dodgers and Boston Red Sox were among the early squads to arrive.

- Chicago Cubs

7 related topics with Alpha

Major League Baseball

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Professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world.

1959 World Series action at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

Graph showing, by year, the average number of runs per MLB game

Mark McGwire was one of several central figures in baseball's steroids scandal

A Grapefruit League game at the former Los Angeles Dodgers camp in Vero Beach, Florida

President John F. Kennedy throwing out the first pitch at the 1962 All-Star Game at DC Stadium

Rafael Palmeiro (batter), one of the MLB players suspended for steroid use

The modern Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves franchises trace their histories back to the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players in the 1870s.

Had the Dodgers moved out west alone, the St. Louis Cardinals—1600 mi away —would have been the closest NL team.

In 1985, Pete Rose broke Ty Cobb's all-time hits record with his 4,192nd hit, and in 1989 Rose received a lifetime ban from baseball as a result of betting on baseball games while manager of the Cincinnati Reds.

National League

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Older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league.

Shea Stadium prior to the start of a New York Mets game in 2008. Shea had the best attendance in the National League that year, drawing over 53,000 fans per game on average.

Morgan Bulkeley, the first president of the National League

The two remaining original NL franchises, Boston and Chicago, remain still in operation today as the Atlanta Braves and the Chicago Cubs.

The teams now known as the Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers (originally Brooklyn) and Pittsburgh Pirates (as well as the now-defunct Cleveland Spiders) had already switched from the AA to the NL prior to 1892.

With the merger, the NL absorbed the St. Louis Browns (now known as the St. Louis Cardinals), along with three other teams that did not survive into the 20th century (for those three teams, see Partnership with the American League below).

World Series

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Annual championship series of Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL).

Christy Mathewson threw 3 complete-game shutouts in the 1905 World Series.

Bill Mazeroski hit a dramatic ninth-inning walk-off home run that decided the 1960 World Series

The Catch: Willie Mays hauls in Vic Wertz's drive near the wall in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series.

1968 World Series program and tickets for Games 4 and 5 at Tiger Stadium

Carlton Fisk, best known for his "waving fair" home run in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series

Reggie Jackson earned the nickname "Mr. October" by hitting three consecutive home runs in the clinching game six of the 1977 World Series

President Ronald Reagan with the 1988 World Series champions: Los Angeles Dodgers

In Game 6 of the 1991 World Series, Kirby Puckett made a memorable leaping catch in left field to rob an extra-base hit. In the bottom of the 11th inning, Puckett hit a game-winning home run to send the Series to Game 7

Fireworks in SkyDome after Joe Carter's 1993 World Series-winning home run

Game 1 of the 2008 World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies (NL) and Tampa Bay Rays (AL) at Tropicana Field

In 2011, David Freese hit a game-tying two-run triple (with two outs) to send it into extra innings. In the bottom of the 11th, Freese led off with a game-winning home run to send the Series to Game 7

Chicago Cubs celebrate their 2016 World Series victory, their first in 108 years

Game action in the 1906 Series in Chicago (the only all-Chicago World Series to date)

Bill Wambsganss completes his unassisted triple play in 1920

Washington's Bucky Harris scores his home run in the fourth inning of Game 7 (October 10, 1924)

The Chicago Cubs celebrate winning the 2016 World Series, which ended the club's 108-year championship drought.

The two most prolific World Series winners to date, the New York Yankees and the St. Louis Cardinals, did not win their first championship until the 1920s; and three of the teams that were highly successful prior to 1920 (the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Cubs) went the rest of the 20th century without another World Series win.

During this seven-year period, only three teams won the World Series: the Oakland Athletics from 1972 to 1974, Cincinnati Reds in 1975 and 1976, and New York Yankees in 1977 and 1978.

New York Yankees

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American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of The Bronx.

The Polo Grounds, home of the Yankees from 1913 to 1922, was demolished in 1964, after the Mets had moved to Shea Stadium in Flushing.

With his hitting prowess, Babe Ruth ushered in an offensive-oriented era of baseball and helped lead the Yankees to four World Series titles.

In 1941, Joe DiMaggio set an MLB record with a 56-game hitting streak that stands to this day and will probably never be broken.

Opening Day of the 1951 baseball season at Griffith Stadium. President Harry Truman throws out the first ball as Bucky Harris and Casey Stengel look on.

Mickey Mantle was one of the franchise's most celebrated hitters, highlighted by his 1956 Triple Crown and World Series championship.

During 1974 and 1975, Yankee Stadium was renovated into its final shape and structure, as shown here in 2002, seven years before demolition.

The mask and catcher's mitt of Thurman Munson, the team captain who was killed in a plane crash in 1979

Don Mattingly headlined a Yankees franchise that struggled in the 1980s.

The Yankees' success in the late 1990s and early 2000s was built from a core of productive players that included Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, and Derek Jeter.

Yankees' third baseman Alex Rodriguez, 2007

Joe Girardi was a Yankees catcher before he became manager in 2008.

The new Yankee Stadium opened in 2009 and was christened with a World Series victory in the same way that the original Yankee Stadium was christened with a World Series victory when it opened in 1923.

Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge quickly became the new face of the team.

"Freddy Sez" holding one of his signs near the bleachers entrance before a game between the Yankees and the Texas Rangers

A shirt worn by a number of Bleacher Creatures

The grounds crew at Yankee Stadium dancing to "Y.M.C.A."

Announcers Michael Kay, Paul O'Neill, Ken Singleton, and Ryan Ruocco in the YES Network broadcast booth at Yankee Stadium in 2009

The first four in the row of retired numbers at the old Yankee Stadium

In 1931, Joe McCarthy, who was previously manager of the Chicago Cubs, was hired as manager and brought the Yankees back to the top of the AL. They swept the Chicago Cubs in the 1932 World Series, and brought the team's streak of consecutive World Series game wins to 12.

The Cincinnati Reds had the same personal appearance policy from 1967 until 1999.

The St. Louis Cardinals are in second place with 11 World Series championships with their last win in 2011.

Arizona Diamondbacks

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American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona.

Uniform design from late 1990s through mid-2000s

Randy Johnson pitching for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

All-Star Paul Goldschmidt (2011–2018) had a on-base percentage of .398, during his tenure in Phoenix

Brennaman was the TV announcer for the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds (along with his father Marty Brennaman) before being hired by Diamondbacks founder Jerry Colangelo in 1996, two years before the team would begin play.

Former Diamondbacks third baseman Matt Williams also did color commentary on occasion, as did former Cardinals and NBC broadcast legend Joe Garagiola, Sr., a longtime Phoenix-area resident and father of Joe Garagiola, Jr., the first GM of the Diamondbacks (as head of the Maricopa County Sports Authority in the early 1990s, Garagiola, Jr. was one of the primary people involved in Phoenix obtaining a Major League Baseball franchise).

National League Central

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One of Major League Baseball's six divisions.

This division was created in 1994, by moving two teams from the National League West (the Cincinnati Reds and the Houston Astros) and three teams from the National League East (the Chicago Cubs, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the St. Louis Cardinals).

A 1994 Grapefruit League game at the LA Dodgers' former camp in Vero Beach, Florida

Spring training

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Preseason in Major League Baseball , a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season.

Boston Red Sox players in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in 1912

1885 Chicago White Stockings (known today as the Chicago Cubs)

Babe Ruth hit a 573-foot home run in spring training, 1918. He led the league with 11 home runs and had a 13–7 record as the Red Sox won the 1918 World Series.

A 2007 Cactus League game between the Cubs and the White Sox at HoHoKam Park

New York Giants during Spring Training in Marlin, Texas (circa 1915)

Jim Thorpe, US Olympian, New York Giants Spring Training in Marlin, Texas, likely 1918

A Braves spring training game against the Mets in 2008

An extended spring training game in Sarasota, Florida, during the 2008 season

The location of Hot Springs and the concept of getting the players ready for the upcoming season was the brainchild of Chicago White Stockings (today's Chicago Cubs) team President Albert Spalding and Cap Anson.

The Cleveland Spiders, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, Brooklyn Dodgers, and Boston Red Sox followed the White Stockings to Hot Springs.

Early training sites include the St. Louis Cardinals in Hot Springs and Tulsa, Oklahoma; the New York Yankees in New Orleans and later Phoenix, Arizona, when the team was owned by Del Webb; the Chicago Cubs in Los Angeles when owned by William Wrigley Jr.; the St. Louis Browns and later the Kansas City Athletics in San Diego and then in West Palm Beach, Florida; the Pittsburgh Pirates in Dawson Springs, Kentucky around 1915 and Honolulu, while other teams joined in by the early 1940s.