It seemed like Chris Carpenter spent far more time on Injured Reserve then he did on a Major League roster.  That wasn't the case but damned if it wasn't an unfortunate pie chart that was freakishly close to even.

Chris Carpenter began his career with the Toronto Blue Jays where he was a middle-of-the-road Starting Pitcher.  The Jays essentially gave up on him after the 2002 season offering him a minor league deal, which he refused.  The Cardinals would sign him and after rehabbing his elbow through the entire 2003 season he would make the starting rotation in 2004, but it is safe to say that he exceeded all expectations.

Strategic voting. What you have to do when you have too many choices and not enough time or opportunities to realize all those choices.

Sounds like voting for the Baseball Hall of Fame for the last few years, doesn't it?

The good news is that since the Shutout of 2013, when the eligible members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) could not muster the 75 percent of the vote necessary to elect any one ballot candidate to the Hall of Fame despite a wealth of candidates from whom to choose (I counted 14), the BBWAA has sent a dozen players to Cooperstown. Based on that trend, and barring any unusual or unforeseen wrinkle, the writers are certain to elect at least one player for 2018.

The St. Louis Cardinals have announced the latest class to their organization’s Hall of Fame.  It is a group of three former players and a former owner.

For many, the headliner is one of the two men voted in by the fans, Chris Carpenter.  Arriving in St. Louis following a release from the Toronto Blue Jays, Carpenter would finally live up to his potential, recovering from elbow issues and would become a fixture in the Cardinals rotation.  The following year, Carpenter would have his best individual season winning the Cy Young Award going 21 and 5 with 213 Strikeouts.  The year after, Carpenter would finish third in Cy Young Voting and would ace the Cardinals to a World Series Championship.

The injury bug would strike again and his problem elbow would force the Pitcher to miss almost all of 2007 and 2008 but he would be back in ’09, finishing second in Cy Young voting and winning the ERA title.  Appropriately, Carpenter would win the National League Comeback Player of the Year Award.  Two years later, Carpenter would assist St. Louis in winning the World Series in 2011.

Overall as a St. Louis Cardinal, Chris Carpenter was a three time All Star with a 95 - 44 Record with 1,085 Strikeouts and an ERA of 3.07.

The second fan inductee is Joe Torre, who entered the Baseball Hall of Fame for his managerial prowess two years ago.

As a St. Louis Cardinal, Joe Torre was the team’s Catcher for six seasons and was named an All Star four times.  He was named the National League MVP in 1971 in a season where he led the league in Hits, Runs Batted In and Batting Average.  Overall as a Cardinal, Torre had 1,062 Hits, 98 Home Runs and a Slash Line of .308/.382/.458.

Carpenter and Torre won in the fan vote over Keith Hernandez, Jason Isringhausen, Mark McGwire, Matt Morris, Edgar Renteria and Scott Rolen.

As selected by a special committee, Terry Moore and Sam Breadon were also chosen for the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame. 

Moore was a Cardinal for his entire MLB career earning All Star honors four times.  He was a member of two World Series Championship Teams, and had 1,318 Hits over his career. 

Breadon was the President and Majority Owner of the Cardinals from 1920 to 1947 and during his tenure St. Louis won the World Series six times and the National League Pennant nine times. 

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the latest Cardinals Hall of Fame Class.