31-year old righty swinging 1B Albert Pujols finished 5th in the voting for the 2011 N.L. MVP Award. He played in 147 games for the Cardinals in 2011 and he was 173 of 579 (.299 avg, .906 OPS) with 105 runs scored, 37 homers, 99 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Pujols has now played in 1,705 games in his first 11 years in the majors and he is 2,073 of 6,312 (.328 avg, 1.037 OPS) with 1,291 runs scored, 445 homers, 1,329 RBIs and 84 stolen bases.

35-year old switch-hitting RF Lance Berkman finished 7th in the voting for the 2011 N.L. MVP Award. He played in 145 games for the Cardinals last year and he was 147 of 488 (.301 avg, .959 OPS) with 90 runs scored, 31 homers, 94 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Berkman has now played in 1,774 games in his first 13 years in the major leagues and he is 1,822 of 6,154 (.296 avg, .954 OPS) with 1,107 runs scored, 358 homers, 1,193 RBIs and 84 stolen bases. Berkman also won the N.L. Comeback Player of the Year Award this year as he was outstanding for the Cardinals in 2011.

29-year old righty swinging catcher Yadier Molina of the St. Louis Cardinals finished tied for 21st in the 2011 N.L. MVP Voting with fellow catcher Miguel Montero of the Diamondbacks. Molina played in 139 games for the Cardinals last year and he was 145 of 475 (.305 avg, .814 OPS) with 55 runs scored, 14 homers, 65 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He has now played in 944 games in his first 8 years with the Cardinals and he is 863 of 3,155 (.274 avg, .707 OPS) with 278 runs scored, 55 homers, 390 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. The Cardinals have picked up Molina’s 2012 option which is a good thing. His defense and handling of the Cardinals’ pitching staff is top notch.

67-year old manager Tony LaRussa has decided to retire from Major League Baseball. LaRussa finishes on top after leading the Cardinals to another World Series Championship. LaRussa compiled a 1,408-1,182 (54.4%) record during the regular season in his 16 years with the Cardinals. He won 3 Pennants and 2 World Series Championships (2006 and 2011) with the Cardinals. He was 50-42 (54.3%) during the post-season as the Cardinals’ Manager. This is a huge void for the Cardinals to fill, but at least the cupboard will be full for the new guy.

UPDATE: (11/17/2011) - Tony LaRussa finished 3rd in the voting for the N.L. Manager of the Year Award in 2011.

The Cardinals always knew what 28-year old righty swinging 3B David Freese was capable of, when healthy. Freese went out and won the MVP of the N.L.C.S. by destroying the Brewers’ pitching staff. Freese played in 6 games in the N.L.C.S. for the Cardinals and he was 12 of 22 (.545 avg, 1.691 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 3 doubles, 3 homers and 9 RBIs. The Cardinals hope the Freese’s bat stays hot for the World Series…and I think it will.