Were those of you following along with this silly series wondering who I would pick for number 3? I thought over a few a different options; according to Baseball Reference 26 different players have worn the number, the most recent being Dylan Carlson and the first being Ray Blades. Me being a child of the early aughts thought of Édgar Rentería right away. Carlos Beltrán wearing the number during his brief stint in St. Louis also came to mind. And I can’t forget two-sport athlete Brian Jordan as one of the more famous players to wear the number 3. I really wanted someone that was sort of synonymous with the number though, and for that I sort of have no choice to but to pick the best number 3 for the Cardinals there has been, Frankie Frisch.
Frisch was traded to the Cardinals after the 1926 season in exchange for Rogers Hornsby and was a key piece of the era that became known as the Gashouse Gang. In his first full season in St. Louis in 1927 he played the best season of his career, amassing 9.7 fWAR and stole 48 bases. He was prolific from both sides of the plate as a switch hitter; he only stuck out in 2.7% of plate appearances and hit over .300 from both sides of the plate (the only other switch hitter to do that in as many at bats is Chipper Jones). In 1931 he was named Most Valuable Player and was part of a World Series Championship team. In his eleven seasons with the Cardinals he won two World Series, the first in 1931 as just a player and the second in 1933 as a player-manager. Frisch retired from baseball in 1937 with a total of 74.8 fWAR in his 19-year career. He would go on to manage the Cardinals one more season 1938.
Just three more days until pitchers and catchers report!
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