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1963 saw perhaps the most impressive turnaround season in baseball history from the St. Louis Cardinals. The prior season, they had the worst record in the entire National Association at 54-108. In 1963, they had the best record at 101-61, winning the Midwest League title and ending a 32 season playoff drought. Meanwhile, the Eastern League battle had three teams right in the mix until the end with Pittsburgh, Montreal, and Hartford. The Pirates and Maples tied for the top spot at 97-65, while the Huskies finished one game back at 96-66. In the one-game tiebreaker, Pittsburgh prevailed for their second EL title in a three-year playoff streak.

For the Maples, they were the first wild card and earned back-to-back playoff berths. Hartford had the second spot for their second berth in three years. The third wild card belonged to Boston at 92-70, giving the Red Sox four appearances in five years. The final spot required a tiebreaker game over in the Midwest League with Omaha and Indianapolis tied at 89-73, both two ahead of Detroit and three ahead of Cincinnati and Ottawa. The Hawks defeated the Racers to advance with back-to-back wild cards. Last year’s NACS teams both missed the cut. Two-time defending National Association champ Kansas City fell to 80-82, while Toronto dropped from 107 wins in 1962 to only 77 in 1963.

Indianapolis outfielder R.J. Clinton won his third NA MVP and back-to-back MVPs. It was only the sixth season to that point in MLB that a hitter was above 11 WAR, as Clinton posted 11.3. He was the leader in runs (124), home runs (52), RBI (138), slugging (.753), OPS (1.175) and wRC+ (242). His batting average of .363 was second to Easton Poropat’s .372. St. Louis’s Poropat and Garland Mulholland both had outstanding 10+ WAR seasons in their own right with Poropat getting 237 hits, five short of the single-season record. St. Louis’s Jerry Addison was Pitcher of the Year and Rookie of the Year, helping the Cardinal tournament. The second overall pick in the prior draft, Addison was the WARlord at 7.3 and led with a 2.13 ERA and 0.96 WHIP. He had a 17-5 record and 205 strikeouts in 220 innings.

The wild card round saw Boston edge Hartford in three and Montreal top Omaha in two. The second round had St. Louis top the Red Sox and Pittsburgh over the Maples, both in four games. The Pirates were back in the National Association Championship Series for only the third time (1958, 1913) and sixth for the Cardinals, but first since their 1908-1910 dynasty. In the NACS, St. Louis defeated Pittsburgh in six games, culminating the miracle turnaround with the team’s fourth National Association title.



Seattle won the Western League title for the first time in the franchise’s 63 year history. The Grizzlies earned a third straight playoff berth with their American Association best 104-58 record. Calgary was the top wild card for the third straight year with a 99-63 record. San Francisco was third at 95-67 and were the second wild card, giving them two wild cards in three seasons.

In the Southern League, Oklahoma City finished first at 99-63, giving them four straight league titles and the longest active playoff streak at five seasons. Second was Charlotte at 91-71, followed by Houston at 90-72. The Hornets would finish one game shy of a wild card, as both the Canaries and defending World Series champ Denver took the final two spots at 91-71. For Charlotte, it is their first playoff appearance since 1943. The Dragons are on a three-year streak. Oakland, who had the best record in the American Association the prior season at 108-54, fell to a lackluster 71-91.

The AA MVP was Prometheo Garcia in his MLB debut for San Francisco at age 40. It was the ninth overall MVP for the CABA legend and cemented his claim as not only perhaps CABA’s best-ever hitter, but professional baseball’s best. The ageless slugger as a DH led the American Association in runs (117), hits (224), RBI (136), slugging (.626), and OPS (1.008), adding 7.6 WAR, 52 home runs, and a .345 average. Calgary’s Parker Harpaz won his second Pitcher of the Year, having won prior with Miami in 1960. In his third year with the Cheetahs, the 31-year old lefty had the most wins with a 22-8 record, adding a 3.07 ERA over 296.1 innings, 256 strikeouts, and 8.2 WAR.

In the first round of the playoffs, Charlotte won in three over San Francisco and Calgary swept Denver. In round two, the Canaries stunned Seattle in four games, while Oklahoma City cruised to a sweep of the Cheetahs. This gave OKC its fourth straight American Association Championship Series appearance, while it was the fifth for Charlotte and first since 1941. In the AACS, the Outlaws defeated the Canaries in six, giving Oklahoma City two titles in three seasons.



In the 1963 World Series, St. Louis capped off the remarkable turnaround with a ring, joining the 1909 campaign as their only overall championships. The Cardinals clobbered Oklahoma City in five games, snapping what was an 11-season streak of titles for the American Association. Montreal in 1951 was the last National Association team to take the Fall Classic. World Series MVP was pitcher Sammy Talbert. In four postseason starts, the 32-year old journeyman lefty had a 2.48 ERA over 29 innings for a 3-1 record and 19 strikeouts.



Other notes: Ted Henderson and Robert Pimental both crossed 3000 career hits, making it 33 MLB batters to have reached the mark. Walter Brechler became only the 13^th pitcher to 3500 career strikeouts. Nathaniel Maxwell became a 10-time Gold Glover at first base.