The best teams in St. Louis Cardinals history -- a history that includes 11 World Series titles, second only to the Yankees -- were built around stars: Dizzy Dean, Stan Musial, Bob Gibson, Ozzie Smith, Albert Pujols. When the Cardinals missed the playoffs last season for a third year in a row, the first time that had happened since 1999, a primary reason was the team didn't have a big star. Matt Carpenter led the team with 4.9 WAR, the first season the Cardinals didn't have at least one 5.0 WAR player since 1994, and the first time in a non-strike season since 1990.
How did the Cardinals take over the NL Central race?
