Last week in talking about the World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals and the American League Champion Detroit Tigers it made me think about the match-up in a historical context. Both the Tigers and the Cardinals are two of the oldest teams in all of Major League Baseball, and each team has a deep and storied history with its fair share of Hall of Fame legends. The Cardinals are personified by Stan “The Man” Musial, while Tigers legend Ty Cobb was one of the first five members of the inaugural Hall of Fame class.

Did you know that the Detroit Tigers are the only organization prior to expansion in the early 1960s that started with the same organizational name that it still holds today? The Cincinnati Reds are close, but they were technically called the Red Stockings from 1882 to 1889, and were called the Redlegs for a short span in the 1950s. The Detroit Tigers began play in 1901, as the St. Louis Cardinals actually began playing in 1882, although they started as the St. Louis Browns (they became the Cardinals in 1899).

So how would the Cardinals and Tigers fare against one another if you assembled the best players at every position in a seven game historical World Series? For kicks, let’s take a look at the lineups.

Detroit Tigers

My memory of the Detroit Tigers has always been about power and run production, and to no surprise this team’s calling card will be its offense. A few players have to make a few positional switches to make the starting lineup, most notably Hall of Famer Sam Crawford, who slides over from right field to left to make way for Al Kaline, arguably the most notable all-time Tiger after one Mr. Ty Cobb. Harry Heilmann, also a right fielder during his time, assumes the role of designated hitter for games played at Tigers Stadium (Sidenote: Similar to left fielders for the Red Sox – Williams, Yastrzemski, Rice -- the Tigers have had quite a few legendary players suit up to play right field in Kaline, Crawford and Heilmann, and Ty Cobb even began his career in right). Arguably the greatest manager of all-time, Sparky Anderson, calls the shots from the dugout.

CF Ty Cobb

2B Charlie Gehringer

RF Al Kaline

1B Hank Greenberg

LF Sam Crawford

DH Harry Heilmann

3B George Kell

C Lance Parrish

SS Alan Trammel

You can mix and match this lineup however you please and it would still churn out runs in bunches. And you would still have Kirk Gibson, Lou Whitaker, Bobby Veach, Rusty Staub and Chet Lemon to come off the bench. Onto the pitching staff:

#1 Starter Jim Bunning

#2 Starter Hal Newhouser

#3 Starter Jack Morris

Closer Willie Hernandez

Hernandez gets the call for his absolutely dominant 1984 season in which he won both the Cy Young award and the MVP. The starters may not be as recognizable as the Cardinals’ staff as listed below, but both Bunning and Newhouser are Hall of Famers, and Morris should be. Mickey Lolich is available either out of the pen or as a fourth starter should the team deem one necessary, while Mike Henneman sets up Hernandez.

St. Louis Cardinals

Completely opposite of the Tigers, when I think of the Cardinals, I think of pitching and defense. Old footage of Bob Gibson dominates most of my memories of the Cardinals, and Stan Musial has always been one of my all-time favorite hitters, who now seems somewhat overlooked, or at least underappreciated, despite being talked about in the same breath as Ted Williams during his time. Brock was one of the game’s greatest all-time leadoff hitters, and can you imagine a three-four-five of Stan Musial, Albert Pujols and Rogers Horsnby? Slick-fielding Keith Hernandez plays first in games at Tigers Stadium (another candidate for first base, Johnny Mize, only played six seasons with the Cardinals). Ted Simmons is one of the most underrated catchers of all-time, and given some comparable catchers in the Hall of Fame, Simmons should be in as well. Whitey Herzog gets the nod over Red Schoendienst to serve as the skipper for this club.

CF Lou Brock

DH Keith Hernandez

LF Stan Musial

1B Albert Pujols

2B Rogers Hornsby

C Ted Simmons

RF Enos Slaughter

3B Ken Boyer

SS Ozzie Smith

The Cardinals bench would be just as deep as the Tigers, especially if you add Mark McGwire and Johnny Mize, both of whom played more games for other teams, you instantly have two of the greatest pinch hitters of all-time. Tim McCarver, Joe Medwick, and George Hendrick are also available, as Medwick could make a case to push himself into right field ahead of Slaughter.

#1 Starter Bob Gibson

#2 Starter Dizzy Dean

#3 Starter Jesse Haines

Closer Bruce Sutter

Good morning and good night. Bob Gibson alone wins any big game he pitches in, and Dizzy Dean is no slouch either. Just when you’ve had enough of their heat, Haines comes in and dazzles you with his soft stuff. Sutter’s split made him the most dominant closer of his era. Todd Worrell sets up Sutter, as this team may not need more than five total pitchers.

Outcome

I think this series would be played very similar to this past year’s series, with the all-time Cardinals coming out on top. They are just too loaded, from top to bottom. The Tigers may be the better all-around offensive team, but the Cardinals’ middle of the order boasts three of the best hitters of all-time. While the Tigers starting staff is nothing to sneeze at, the Cardinals pitching staff is vastly superior, especially when it comes to postseason experience. Seeing Sparky Anderson manage against Whitey Herzog would be worth the price of admission itself. The Tigers offense would make it interesting enough to last to six games.

Gibson takes game one in St. Louis as he completely shuts down the Tigers lineup, which is heavy on right-handed hitters, going the distance in a 7-1 game. Bunning pitches well, but gives up a couple of runs through six, and the Cardinals tack on a few more late in the game, highlighted by a two-run home run by Pujols in the eighth inning.

Dizzy Dean and Hal Newhouser provide a dandy of a matchup in game two. Both pitch deep into the ballgame, each allowing a run to score. The Tigers bench comes to the rescue late, with pinch hitter Kirk Gibson driving in pinch runner Chet Lemon in the top of the eighth inning, while Willie Hernandez shuts it down in the bottom of the inning and through the ninth. Tigers win, 2-1.

Jack Morris steps in and shows his playoff moxie as much as Gibson did in game one. The Tigers bats also come to life in a route of the Cardinals as the series moves back to Detroit. The Tigers win, 14-2, but unfortunately this will be the last game they claim. Cobb gets three hits, a walk and three runs in five plate appearances, while Gehringer, Crawford and Trammel each have a pair of hits and RBIs.

Gibson returns to the mound in game four and picks up where he left off. The Tigers are able to score a couple of runs early on an RBI double by Kaline and an RBI single by Greenberg, but the Cardinals respond quickly and put the Tigers to bed by the fifth inning, thanks to a three-run shot by Hornsby in the top of the frame. Cardinals win, 6-3.

Newhouser isn’t as sharp for game five, while Dizzy Dean pitches the best game of the series: A two-hit shutout to take the series back to St. Louis. Cardinals win 5-0 with Musial getting a big two-run double in the fourth to knock Newhouser out of the game.

In St. Louis, Jack Morris pitches admirably in game six, and both teams take their turns scoring runs in the first five innings. Sutter and Hernandez are both summoned in the seventh, with Sutter proving to be too much to the Tigers with the hometown Cardinals fans helping Sutter’s cause. Ken Boyer hits a sacrifice fly off of Willie Hernandez in the bottom of the eighth inning, driving in Rogers Hornsby, which will end up being the winning run in a 7-6 contest.

Ty Cobb proves to be a timeless force, and puts up the best numbers of any offensive player in this series by getting on base consistently atop the Tigers lineup. Unfortunately the rest of the Tigers lineup doesn’t fare as well, aside from their big offensive output in game three. The Tigers bench proves to be more productive than the everyday players.

Bob Gibson adds another World Series MVP trophy to his collection, edging out teammate Rogers Hornsby, by going 2-0 in the series, giving up only three runs in 16 innings of work.

Of course this exercise is just for fun, but I’m interested to hear about some of your favorite Cardinals and Tigers of all-time, and how you would think this series would end up if these two fantasy based teams squared off.

The thoughts and opinions listed here do not necessarily reflect those of Perfect Game USA. Patrick Ebert is affiliated with both Perfect Game USA and Brewerfan.net, and can be contacted via email at pebert@brewerfan.net.