Ranking the 30 MLB teams on my watch - St. Louis Cardinals #4 of 30

It's impressive how the Cardinals turn out players to contribute to winning teams - it doesn't mean they are going to win the World Series every year, but they are going to be in position to go far in the playoffs in most years.

I remember being in St. Louis in 2006 when they won the World Series - I may recall vague memories of scrubs like Ronnie Belliard and Preston Wilson seemingly having the time of their lives because they were on a team that had won the World Series.

That year's Cardinals team was pretty scrappy all around and even though they weren't as talented - they just ran past everyone else.

When the Cardinals won the World Series in 2011, that was the last time Albert Pujols was ever heard from - I remember marveling at how huge his forearms looked and what a dominant player this guy was, especially after he'd hit three home runs in Game 3, just a day after baseball writer Jeff Passan dogged him in a scathing column.