The St. Louis Cardinals’ storied 2011 championship roster has lost one of its final members, with right-handed pitcher Lance Lynn announcing his retirement via his podcast on April 1.
Lynn pitched out of the bullpen that season, his first in the majors. He had a 3.12 ERA in 34.2 innings and struck out 40 batters. Lynn threw 2,006.1 innings over 13 seasons, striking out 2,015 batters and posting a 3.74 ERA.
Lynn has pitched for the Cardinals, Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, and Los Angeles Dodgers. The Indiana native re-signed with the Cardinals for his final season in 2024, when he posted a decent 3.84 ERA.
Lynn was known for throwing his fastball more frequently than almost any other pitcher in the league, with almost 80% of his pitches being some variation of a fastball for much of his career, though he had to adapt his pitching technique as he became older to compensate for declining velocity.
The Cardinals coveted Lynn’s “bulldog” mindset. The Cardinals’ desire for clubhouse leadership in 2024 was a major reason for signing Lynn, and while many fans were perplexed by the move, Lynn demonstrated that he still had value on the field, where he pitched despite knee issues, and presumably even more behind the scenes as one of the team’s many veterans, which included Matt Carpenter and Brandon Crawford.
