If you’ve paid any attention to St. Louis Cardinals baseball for the past two decades, the announcement today was a foregone conclusion. The team has just confirmed that Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina have been elected into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame because of course they were. In addition, the veterans committee elected Bill Sherdel who had 153 wins as a Cardinals during his era from 1918 through 1929.
Earlier Friday, the Cardinals revealed they would be announcing the new Hall of Fame members during a live broadcast on Cardinals.tv. Brian Jordan, George Hendrick were also nominated alongside Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina.
That announcement was among the least surprising things ever as both Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina will be given their inevitable red jackets later this season. Brian Jordan and George Hendrick were both impactful players in their eras, but they’re simply not Albert and Yadi. When you look at their career statistics, it’s obvious why this announcement today was so obvious.
Albert Pujols
Games: 3,080 Batting average: .296 Hits: 3,384 Home runs: 703 RBIs: 2,218 Runs scored: 1,914 Doubles: 686 On-base %: .374 Slugging %: .544 OPS: .918 Stolen bases: 117
3× MVP 11× All-Star 2× World Series champion Rookie of the Year 2× Gold Glove, 6× Silver Slugger
Yadier Molina
Games: 2,224 Batting average: .277 Hits: 2,168 Home runs: 176 RBIs: 1,022 Runs scored: 817 Doubles: 408 On-base %: .327 Slugging %: .399 OPS: .726 Stolen bases: 70
10× All-Star 2× World Series champion (2006, 2011) 9× Gold Glove Award 4× Platinum Glove Award Silver Slugger (2013)
Bill Sherdel was a member of two National League pennant-winning Cardinals teams, in 1926 and 1928, winning the World Series in 1926.
Mark your calendars now for Saturday, September 12, 2026 and plan to beat the crowds into Busch Stadium as the ceremony will be held there instead of the typical Ballpark Village location. The Cardinals know the crowds will be massive, so this was the perfect decision.
The only question that remains is if Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina will enter the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2028 when they are both eligible. I’m not objective, but I think the answer to that question is almost as obvious as this one today. They are both legends that deserve to be enshrined in every hall they are eligible to enter. End of story.
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