The St. Louis Cardinals are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in St. Louis, Missouri. They play in the National League Central division. The first game of the new baseball season for a team is played on Opening Day, and being named the Opening Day starter is an honor, which is often given to the player who is expected to lead the pitching staff that season,[1] though there are various strategic reasons why a team's best pitcher might not start on Opening Day.[2] As of 2008, The Cardinals have used 71 different Opening Day starting pitchers in their 128 seasons. Since the franchise's beginning in 1882, the starters have a combined Opening Day record of 70 wins, 57 losses (70–57), and 22 no decisions. No decisions are only awarded to the starting pitcher if the game is won or lost after the starting pitcher has left the game. Although in modern baseball, ties are rare due to extra innings.
Bob Gibson holds the Cardinals record for most Opening Day starts with ten.[3]
Key
| Season | Each year is linked to an article about that particular Cardinals season. |
| W | Win |
| L | Loss |
| T | Tie |
| ND (W) | No decision by starting pitcher; Cardinals won game |
| ND (L) | No decision by starting pitcher; Cardinals lost game |
| Pitcher (#) | Number of appearances as Opening Day starter with the Cardinals |
| (W) | Cardinals won game; no information on starting pitcher's decision |
| (L) | Cardinals lost game; no information on starting pitcher's decision |
| † | AA Champions |
| * | Advanced to the post-season |
| ** | NL Champions |
| *** | World Series Champions |
Pitchers
