Similar to the feelings of many hard-core Cardinals fans, Chris Carpenter still struggles to come to grips with the 2004 St. Louis squad not winning a World Series championship.
After all, that Cardinals club went 105-57 – the franchise’s best record in 60 years – and it won the National League Central Division by a whopping 13 games. The offense featured the famed “MV3” of Albert Pujols (.331, 46 homers, 123 RBI), Scott Rolen (.314, 34 homers, 126 RBI) and Jim Edmonds (.301, 42 homers, 111 RBI), four starting pitchers with at least 15 wins (Jeff Suppan, Matt Morris, Jason Marquis and Carpenter), a dominant closer in Jason Isringhausen (47 saves) and a Hall of Fame manager (Tony La Russa).
However, after beating the Dodgers and Astros to win the National League pennant, the Cards were summarily swept in the World Series by the Red Sox. It should be noted that the Cardinals were without their ace in Carpenter, who was 15-5 with a 3.46 ERA that season before suffering nerve damage in his right arm that knocked him out of the playoffs.
During a recent appearance on the “To the Majors” podcast with former MLB players Kevin Pillar and Cody Allen, Carpenter spoke of how he pushed for a return that season, but La Russa refused to let him pitch because of the series of injuries that had interrupted his career previously. Still, Carpenter can’t help but wonder how that 2004 World Series might have been different had he been able to pitch.
“I was begging to throw, and I was doing bullpen sessions, and I was pushing to throw in that World Series,” Carpenter recalled on the podcast. “We were walking in that hall in Colorado at the end of the season and (La Russa) was like, ‘Carp, I’m not going to let you do it. You’ve worked too hard to get back to where you’re at and for me to be selfish and put you back out there on the mound and if it happens again …’ He was like, ‘I’m not going to do it’ and he wouldn’t let me pitch.
“I’m not going to say it cost us a World Series, but it definitely took a link out of our ability to compete a little better. But I respect (La Russa) for that.”
Matthew Liberatore surrenders first grand slam in loss to Athletics
Carp became an all-time great with Cards
Carpenter and the Cards didn’t get a World Series title in 2004, but he went on to win the National League Cy Young in 2025 (21-5, 2.83 ERA) and he was a part of Cardinals’ World Series championship teams in 2006 and ’11. He credits La Russa for protecting him in 2004 and allowing him to hit new heights with his career while pitching for the Cardinals.
“I respect Tony so much because he was so easy to play for and he’s a professional dude,” said Carpenter, a Cardinals Hall of Famer. “No matter what anybody says about some of the things he’s done in his past, he has my respect.”
During the podcast, Carpenter recalled the friendship he built with late pitcher Roy Halladay, his messy departure from the Blue Jays and picking the Cardinals over the Rangers in free agency and how he nearly made it back to the big leagues in 2003 before injuring his shoulder.
“St. Louis and Texas were the two I visited and I went into St. Louis and it was Rolen, Pujols, Edmond, Renteria and Fernando Vina,” Carpenter recalled. “I started visiting those places and Toronto called me back and said, ‘We’ll give you a big-league deal,’ and I was like, ‘Stop!’
“I came (to Texas) and I really enjoyed the people there and had a great day and the doctors were great. But I remember going to St. Louis and on the cab back to the airport, I called my agent and said, ‘This is it. Whatever you can do, get me signed here.’”
Ivan Herrera using his keen eye to help Cardinals win ABS challenges
Carpenter went 95-44 with a 3.07 ERA in 198 games (197 starts) in nine seasons with the Cardinals. He furthered his stature with the Cardinals by pitching well in the playoffs. He went 3-1 with a 2.78 ERA over five starts during the 2006 run to a World Series title and he was 4-0 with a 3.25 ERA in six starts in 2011. That included his epic 1-0 win over close friend Halladay and the Phillies in Game 5 of the 2011 NLDS.
“I showed (his mental and physical toughness) in St. Louis,” said Carpenter, who touched on how his hockey background while growing up in New Hampshire shaped his mentality. “No matter how many times I got hurt, I kept coming back. I could have easily wrapped it up after 2006 after Tommy John (surgery) in 2007 and sat on my $75 million deal I just signed for, but that wasn’t my character.”
Join the conversation
Remember to join our CARDINALS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other CARDINALS fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!
