My brother won the College Jeopardy! Championship in 2009. I am fairly certain that I brag about that fact more than he does. The day after he won, I went to Schnucks bought a copy of the Post-Dispatch and as if I were George Bailey and he my hero brother returning from war, I showed everyone the article describing his win: the checker, the bagger, a curmudgeonly capitalist. I wasn’t surprised by his win. When he qualified for the show I was supremely confident he would win it all. Trivia has always been a family pastime and over the years whether it be text message or in person we try to stump each other in trivia. The tradition has passed down to my children, who now ask if we can play trivia games while driving in the car. Although as the years have progressed, my quiz masters have lost a little enthusiasm. The last time we drove to Hilton Head, I asked the family if they could tell me the first state to secede from the union, all I heard in response was the unmistakable increase in volume of the backseat Nintendo.
To honor that love of trivia, each issue we will have a trivia question related to that issue’s topic so that will hopefully help you stump your favorite Cardinal fan.
Q: Which Cardinal pitcher has the highest single season ERA (min. 2 games)?
A: Jason Pearson
The 2003 Cardinals produced one of the greatest offensive seasons in team history. The team averaged 5.4 runs per game, which was the second most in franchise history since 1930 and was nearly a run more per game than the Chicago Cubs, who won the National League Central Division that year. Their offense ranked in the top 5 in all of baseball in batting average, doubles, on-base percentage and OPS. But even with all that offense, the team finished third in the National League Central, three games out of first place.
It is not difficult to deduce the culprit for why the 2003 Cardinals were the only Cardinals team to not make the playoffs between 2000 and 2006. The Cardinal pitching staff finished below league average in almost every statistical category. Perhaps most telling, no Cardinal team in the history of the franchise has allowed more homeruns in a single season than the 2003 pitching staff. The Achilles heel of the pitching staff was the bullpen with the team cycling through a cadre of players that would make you an Immaculate Grid savant trying to find someone to not blow a save.
On the day Pedro Borbon, Jr. was optioned to Memphis, the Cardinals promoted Jason Pearson, a reliver, to replace him. Pearson relished the opportunity of joining the big league club, and it showed. In his first outing against the Phillies in Philadelphia, Pearson retired the only batter he faced. It was an exciting time for the 27 year old. “It’s a big-time opportunity,” he told the Post Dispatch back in 2003. “This is a good playoff team and to come up in this situation and have a chance to get in the playoffs is exciting.” Adding to his excitement was the fact that his parents would be making the trip to St. Louis from nearby Freeport, Illinois to watch the Cardinals play the Phillies the next weekend. His parents had never seen him pitch in the big leagues.
The next series, though, Pearson was destroyed by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Brought in with the Pirates already ahead 5-0 in the fifth, Pearson immediately served up a home run to the first batter he faced, future Cardinal Reggie Sanders. Pearson was able to coerce two quick outs, but followed that glint of hope with a single and back to back walks – one of which was to the Pirate pitcher. Pearson allowed two more singles and then walked Brian Giles with the bases loaded. He walked off the mound with the score now 9-0 and the bases still loaded. Reggie Sanders would hit his second home run in the inning (off Esteban Yan) a grand slam, with three of the runs being charged to Pearson.
By the end of the night Jason Pearson’s 2003 ERA was 63.00, making it official. No Cardinal pitcher who pitched in more than one game had a higher ERA.
Pearson would be sent back down to Memphis on August 24 – having not appeared in another Cardinal game and his parents never being able to see their son pitch in the majors in person.