Photos: Cardinals celebrate third straight NL Central title in style
Despite dropping the first game of a doubleheader to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday, the St. Louis Cardinals made up for it in the nightcap.
An 11-1 thrashing of the Bucs in the second game locked up the Cardinals' third consecutive NL Central title...and as you'd expect, they really let loose in the clubhouse afterward.
Below, enjoy a series of social media posts documenting the revelry that went on inside the visiting clubhouse and elsewhere.
First up, a selection of celebratory tweets from the Cardinals' official account:
Division championship status: CLINCHED. #12inSTL pic.twitter.com/jJqQGuV9VY
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) October 1, 2015
Bring it in for the real thing, Cardinals Nation! #12inSTL pic.twitter.com/tra2hVy5fA
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) October 1, 2015
NL Central Champs #12inSTL pic.twitter.com/WoLqp0eSUP
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) October 1, 2015
Next, some players (including Carlos Martinez, John Jay, Kolten Wong and others) and team broadcasters shared their excitement...as did a few local Missouri political figures:
#CardinalNation stand up! We're here baby! Lets do this! #100wins #NLCentralChamps
— Kolten Wong (@KoltenWong) October 1, 2015
? Division champs! Let's go! #CardinalNation
— Sam Tuivailala (@Stuivailala) October 1, 2015
100 Wins. #scoops
— Dan McLaughlin (@DannyMacTV) October 1, 2015
Win 100 for @Cardinals is extra special: 3rd straight NL Central title, home-field advantage, and – with @Royals – 2 division champs for #MO
— Governor Jay Nixon (@GovJayNixon) October 1, 2015
More injuries than most teams could handle= 5 Postseasons in a row, 3 Division titles in a row. Grit, determination. That's our @Cardinals.
— Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) October 1, 2015
"There is no quit in this team." - Adam Wainwright #STLCards #NLCentralChamps https://t.co/Bjz6ftJs7y
— FOX Sports Midwest (@FSMidwest) October 1, 2015
When you act like you've got something to say, but really just douse the skipper in champagne. @Budweiser #OwnOctober pic.twitter.com/uME4rJmWqE
— MLB (@MLB) October 1, 2015
"The day we take this for granted, man, I hope someone slaps us hard. This is so rare, so special”-Matheny #STLCards https://t.co/CssT2q38u3
— FOX Sports Midwest (@FSMidwest) October 1, 2015
And as an added bonus, here's the elder statesman of the Molina clan, Bengie Molina, congratulating his younger brother Yadier on another NL Central title:
Go little bro!!wow amazing!@MLB @MLBNetwork #molina T=together E=everyone A=achieve M=more @Cardinals @espn pic.twitter.com/O5De3QQ95M
— Bengie Molina (@BengieMolina1) October 1, 2015
Now that the Cardinals have finally secured the division crown, they'll await the winner of the NL Wild Card game next week...which, naturally, will be either the Chicago Cubs or the Pirates, two teams with which Mike Matheny's club is extremely acquainted.
