The 2010s were filled with many memorable moments for the St. Louis Cardinals

As the second decade of the 21st century comes to an end, the St. Louis Cardinals are going to have a difficult time matching the success they’ve had for the past 10 years.

They played in two World Series in the 2010s, winning one of them. And Cardinals fans got see some of the greatest players in franchise history create memories that stand out as some of the greatest in the storied history of St. Louis baseball.

It’s hard to believe that Albert Pujols, who is certainly one of the top five Cardinals in history — and some would argue that he’s in the top two. He only played two years of the past decade. But oh, what a couple of years they were. In 2010, Pujols batted a robust .312 and hit 42 home runs in his last true MVP-type season. He finished second in the balloting for the honor, but he was an All-Star, won a silver slugger and snagged a Gold Glove along the way. It was the last time he would finish a season with an on-base plus slugging percentage better than 1.000. Since he left St. Louis, he hasn’t even been close.

In 2011, the unthinkable happened: Pujols batted worse than .300 for the first time in his career, clocking in just short at .299 with 37 homers. It was a great year, even if below Albert’s lofty standards. But Cardinals fans got to see another incredible moment in Pujols’ career when he joined the very short list of players who hit three home runs in a single World Series game that fall against the Texas Rangers. It was tough to say goodbye to the once in a generation player. But ending the relationship with a championship was the best ending that could have been written to that story.

When Albert closed the door on his way out, another opened for catcher Yadier Molina who quickly graduated from Pujols’ understudy to one of the most iconic players to ever wear the Birds on the Bat.

Molina helped the pitching staff reach greater heights. He continues to menace opposing base runners and he’s never lost his incredible knack for coming up with the big hit when the game is on the line. It still makes me scratch my head when people question whether Molina deserves to go to Cooperstown when he retires. If Molina isn’t a Hall of Famer, there shouldn’t be a Hall of Fame.

Remembering the Cardinals 2011 World Series win

Speaking of the 2011 World Series, the second decade of the 21st century served as the backdrop to the most exciting comeback in the history of the Fall Classic.

While St. Louis sports fans can tell you where they were when Jack Buck shouted that they should go crazy because Ozzie Smith hit a game-winning home run in the 1985 National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers — and most will tell you they were at Busch Stadium whether they were or not — I would argue that St. Louis native David Freese’s 2011 World Series Game 6 performance was even bigger. Much bigger.

Freese tied the World Series to cap an amazing comeback that I still can’t believe all these years later with a triple off the right field wall. Then, after Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton seemed to make the rally nothing more than a historical footnote, the Birds tied the game and then Freeze won it with a towering home run to center field to force a seventh game which St. Louis, as we all know, won.

Saying hello — and goodbye — to the greatest Cardinals

The National Baseball Hall of Fame is well-populated with former Cardinals players. But we were fortunate to see some of the best players the organization has ever seen in our generation. They include Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, Matt Holliday and, briefly, former rival Lance Berkman. In this decade the Cardinals were led by Hall of Fame skipper Tony La Russa and familiar faces from our past joined the hallowed Cardinals in enshrinement including closers Bruce Sutter and Lee Smith, and, finally, Ted Simmons, who faced his former teammates in 1982 as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers after being one of the Cardinals best players for the duration of the 1970s.

The 2010s will also be a time to remember because of those who left us during that span: The great Stan the Man Musial, his road roommate and former Cardinals second baseman and skipper Red Schoendienst and beloved member of the 2006 World Series champs Chris Duncan who succumbed this year after a brave and valiant fight against the same type of cancer that claimed the life of his mother a few years before.

The last decade has been a time of tremendous transition for the Cardinals. It’s going to be tough to follow the act of the previous decade. But the Cardinals are a model of consistency in baseball, failing to win a World Series in only two of the past 10 decades -- the 1950s and 1970s. Hopefully, we’re on the cusp of another run of greatness in the decade to come.

Scott Wuerz

Belleville News-Democrat

Scott Wuerz has written “Cheap Seats,” a St. Louis Cardinals fan blog for the Belleville News-Democrat, since 2007. He is a former BND reporter who covered breaking news and education.