The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won 11 World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to the New York Yankees, who have won 27. They have played in 18 Fall Classics, tying them with the Dodgers and Giants for most World Series appearances among National League clubs and second overall to the Yankees' 40 appearances. The Cardinals are the reigning World Series champions, having defeated the Texas Rangers in seven games in the 2011 World Series.

The Cardinals were founded in the American Association in 1882 as the St. Louis Brown Stockings, taking the name from an earlier National League team. They joined the National League in 1892, and have been known as the Cardinals since 1900. They were called the "Perfectos" in 1899. The Cardinals began playing in the current Busch Stadium in 2006. The Cardinals have a long-standing rivalry with the Chicago Cubs.