Pitcher Todd Worrell won the Rookie of the Year Award this year, with a 2.08 ERA and 36 saves. This was the second consecutive year a Cardinal won the Rookie of the Year Award, with Vince Coleman winning the previous season, and the second time in team history that the Cardinals had two consecutive NL Rookie of the Year winners (Wally Moon in 1954 and Bill Virdon in 1955). Shortstop Ozzie Smith and outfielder Willie McGee won Gold Gloves this year.
The Cardinals played 116 games (of 161) in which they failed to hit a home run, the most of any team since the 1952 Washington Senators.[9]
April 11, 1986: Ray Burris was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals.[12]
June 12, 1986: Jerry White was released by the Cardinals.[4]
July 19, 1986: César Cedeño was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals.[13]
July 24, 1986: Steve Lake was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals.[14]
August 10, 1986: Mike Heath was traded by the Cardinals to the Detroit Tigers for Ken Hill and a player to be named later. The Tigers completed the deal by sending Mike Laga to the Cardinals on September 2.[15]
August 27, 1986: Ray Burris was released by the St. Louis Cardinals.[12]
^Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007