History Repeats As Scott Brings Speed to Cardinals

Speed runs deep in the veins of Cardinals fans. They know speed kills. It kills the opposition by both running down batted balls, turning would be hits into outs and boosting an offense as it did during the Whitey Ball era.

Whitey Ball was a run and gun style of play that Hall of Fame manager Whitey Herzog brought (re-brought?) to the team in the 1980s.

Willie McGee was a leader during the Whitey Ball era.

Back then, St. Louis was stealing between 200 and 314 bases each season over the eight-year period 1982 to 1989. They slapped the ball off the astroturf at Busch Stadium II on their way to five winning seasons, three World Series appearances, and one World Series title in 1982.

However, the need for speed wasn't new to St. Lou in the 1980s.

They had an aggressive, fast-paced style of play in the 1940s that helped the franchise garner the nickname "St. Louis Swifties." Cardinal fans watched the Swifties play in four World Series over five years between 1942 and 1946, winning three of them.

Throughout the 1940s, St. Louis never had a losing team. Winning between 84 and 106 games in seasons that totaled between 155 and 157 games. Oddly, there were a handful of ties as well.

Columnist Bob Broeg is credited as writing that the '42 team sure had pitching and defense (again, speed helps on D), but their play was "highlighted by incredible speed, reflected more in how many bases they took audaciously than in stolen bases."

Enos Slaughter's Mad Dash propelled St. Louis to a World Series in 1946.

Their running style in the '40s was epitomized by Hall of Famer Enos "Country" Slaughter. Another Hall of Famer,  Louis Clark Brock, stole many a baseball fan's love between 1961 and 1979 as he became known as The Base Burglar, swiping a then record amount of bases to become the number one base stealer of all-time. They ran roughshod over the opposition in the 1980s, and it appears second-year player Victor Scott II is reaching out his hand to grab the Runnin' Redbird baton and bring the speed game back to the Cardinals.

Mr. Scott has the fastest spring speed in the National League, per Statcast, and the third fastest in the major leagues. He uses that fleet-footedness to great effect.

On Wednesday, May 7, Mr. Scott did his best Enos Slaughter impression, twice dashing from first to home on singles in the Cardinals' 5-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Both mad dashes landed in the top six fastest times first to home this season in Major League Baseball.

This past Saturday, he scored from first on a double by Lars Nootbar in a 4-2 win over the Washington Nationals.

Victor Scott slides safely across home plate, scoring from first, after a brief pause at second, in St. Louis' win over Pittsburgh, May 7, 2025.

Natch, his speed helps on D. He won a minor league Gold Glove and is tracking down fly balls in the outfield that would make Jimmy Edmonds proud. Mr. Scott is ranked at three for NL outfielders in Outs Above Average and fourth when American League outfielders are added to the list. Again, that is Statcast data.

Additionally, Mr. Scott has stolen 11 bases whilst being caught only once. He is fourth in the National League in stolen bases, is riding an 11-game hitting streak that has moved his average to .290 with a 114OPS+.

In a season where the Cardinals are resetting to let the kids play, keep an eye on 24-year-old Victor Scott II. Buckle up, the fast game is back in St. Lou.

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