What do yesteryear Cardinals Jim Bottomley, Frankie Frisch and Joe Medwick have in common? Before I answer that question, let me give you some interesting facts regarding the three players.Jim Bottomley could knock in runs while hitting for a high batting average. From ’24 to ’29 he averaged 126 RBIs, 22 home runs while batting .321. The 1928 MVP also played in four World Series for the Cardinals, winning two. One title (1926) was won battling the mighty New York Yankees who featured future Hall of Fame players Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Earle Combs, Tony Lazerri and pitchers Herb Pennock and Waite Hoyt.The feisty Frankie Frisch twice led the league in stolen bases while with the Cardinals. He also batted for a .312 average between the years of ‘27 and ‘37. The 1931 MVP led the Cardinals to a World Series victory that year against the Philadelphia Athletics who were represented by future Hall of Fame inductees Mickey Cochrane, Al Simmons, Jimmy Fox and pitchers Lefty Grove and Waite Hoyt.Joe Medwick, also known as “Ducky”, averaged 20 homers, 123 RBIs and a .337 batting average between the years of ’33 and ’39. The 1937 MVP batted .379 in the 1934 World Series win against the Detroit Tigers who were loaded with future HOF players Mickey Cochrane, slugger Hank Greenberg, Charlie Gehringer and Goose Goslin. Although the Tigers did not have a HOF pitcher on that roster, their pitching staff was led by All-Star Schoolboy Rowe who sported a 24 – 8 record that year.Now, let me answer the question first asked in this article.The commonalities shared by Jim Bottomley, Frankie Frisch and Joe Medwick are that they all played the majority of their careers with Saint Louis; they all contributed to at least one World Series title while playing for the Cards; all they each won an MVP title while with the team and they are also members of Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame.Yet, astonishingly, they all are seemingly forgotten by the current Cardinals brass as evidenced by their omission from the Busch Stadium outfield wall of honor.
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