Here’s what put these Cardinals stars into the team’s Hall of Fame

Three former St. Louis Cardinals greats will be inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame on Saturday.

The new inductees — selected either through a vote of the fans or by a special “Red Ribbon” panel — include Mark McGwire, Tim McCarver and the late Pepper Martin, third baseman of the Cardinals’ famed Gas House Gang team of the 1930s.

Festivities begin with the opening of the Cardinals Museum at 10 a.m. Cardinals Hall of Fame outfielder Jim Edmonds will be on hand to sign autographs until noon. The induction ceremony is at 2 p.m. in Ballpark Village.

The Class of 2017 will be honored once again inside Busch Stadium prior to first pitch of the Redbirds’ 6:15 p.m. game against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Mark McGwire

▪ Years: 1997-2001 (545 G)

▪ Cardinals Stats: .270/.427/.683, 220 HR, 473 RBI, 1.111 OPS

McGwire finished his playing career in 2001 with St. Louis after joining the club via trade on July 31, 1997. In 1998, McGwire helped bring baseball back from a contentious players strike earlier in the decade with his run at Roger Maris’ single-season home run record. Big Mac shattered it, belting three home runs on the season’s final day to finish with 70 round trippers.

He blasted 220 career home runs with the Cardinals, ranking him sixth in franchise history. McGwire also set the Cardinals’ single-season walks record with 162 in 1998 and had back-to-back seasons of 147 RBI in 1998 and 1999, ranking third in Cardinals history.

He was a three-time All-Star while with St. Louis (1998–2000) and won a Silver Slugger award in 1998.

Tim McCarver

▪ Years: 1959–1961, 1963–1969, 1973–1974 (1181 G)

▪ Cardinals Stats: .272/.329/.388, 1029 H, 66 HR, 453 RBI

McCarver began his major league career in St. Louis and was part of World Series championships in 1964 and 1967 and a third National League pennant in 1968. He also was a two-time All-Star Game selection during his 12 years with the Cardinals, including the 1966 Summer Classic when he scored the game-winning run in front of hometown fans in the newly-minted Busch Stadium II.

An all-around talent behind the plate, he led the National League in triples in 1966 (13), fielding percentage for catchers in 1965 and 1967 and finished second in National League MVP voting in 1967.

In Cardinals World Series play, McCarver ranks second in hits (23), third in RBI (11) and walks (10), first in triples (3), fifth in batting average (.311), and is the only catcher in franchise history to have caught two title-winning World Series Game 7s.

Pepper Martin

▪ Years: 1928, 1930–1940, 1944 (1189 G)

▪ Cardinals Stats: .298/.358/.443, 1227 H, 756 R, 501 RBI, 146 SB

Johnny Leonard Roosevelt Martin came up through the Cardinals farm system and became known as the heart and soul of the iconic Gashouse Gang. He debuted with the club in 1928 and made a brief return in 1930 before solidifying his role in the lineup a year later.

He came up biggest when the stakes were highest, helping the club to World Series Championships in 1931 and 1934. In Cardinals World Series play, Martin ranks first in average (.418) and doubles (7); second in hits (23), runs (14) and stolen bases (7); and fourth in total bases (35).

Pepper was named to four National League All-Star teams (1933-1935, 1937), led the league in stolen bases on three occasions (1933, 1934, 1936) and scored the most runs in the National League in 1933.

He was the selection of the Red Ribbon panel which includes long-time BND Cardinals beat writer and sports editor Joe Ostermeier.

Cardinals Hall of Fame members

Jim Bottomley, Ken Boyer, Sam Breadon, Lou Brock, Jack Buck, August A. “Gussie” Busch Jr., Chris Carpenter, Dizzy Dean, Jim Edmonds, Curt Flood, Bob Forsch, Frankie Frisch, Bob Gibson, Chick Hafey, Jesse Haines, Whitey Herzog, Rogers Hornsby, George Kissell, Tony La Russa, Marty Marion, Willie McGee, Joe Medwick, Johnny Mize, Terry Moore, Stan Musial, Branch Rickey, Red Schoendienst, Mike Shannon, Ted Simmons, Enos Slaughter, Ozzie Smith, Billy Southworth, Bruce Sutter and Joe Torre.

This story was originally published August 24, 2017 at 1:29 PM with the headline "Here’s what put these Cardinals stars into the team’s Hall of Fame."