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The St. Louis Cardinals’ Worst Enemies
5 Hitters who Absolutely Kill St. Louis Cardinals Pitching
Ever heard the expression, “they’ve got your number?” It happens. Sometimes a hitter just gets on a roll against a certain team and never stops. Jim Thome never did when he hit against the St. Louis Cardinals. As a member of the Philadelphia Phillies (and, to a lesser extent, the Los Angeles Dodgers) Thome hit over .400, slugged over 1.000 and hit 18 homers against the Redbirds.
Sometimes the best thing to do is acquire the nemesis, which is what the Cardinals did at the 2009 trade
The St. Louis Cardinals are sure glad Jim Thome waved good-bye to his playing days. Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
deadline, sending a trio of prospects to the Oakland Athletics for rightfielder Matt Holliday. Holliday terrorized St. Louis Cardinals pitchers during his tenure with the Colorado Rockies.
Now, Holliday is doing his damage against more appropriate foes. His .450 batting average against the Chicago Cubs last year, for instance, was second highest to the Colorado Rockies’ D.J. LeMahieu’s .550. Oh, and did I mention the Cubbies drafted LeMahieu in 2009 and practically gave him away to Colorado in a 2011 multi-player swap? I’m sure that’s a big motivator.
Holliday and Thome may not be a problem for St. Louis anymore, but other hitters are rising to the occasion. Looking back those who had at least 25 plate appearances against the Cardinals last year, these are the guys we don’t want to see at the plate against the St. Louis Cardinals in key situations next year. Or in any situation, for that matter.
Gregory Polanco, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals Killer #1: Gregory Polanco Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
No one had more hits against the St. Louis Cardinals (28) than El Coffee did last year. And his .378 batting average against St. Louis was far better than his mark against any other NL Central team. Get this. Polanco hit just .197 against the lowly Milwaukee Brewers and .224 against the Cubs. Go figure.
Pitchers who attack him on the lower half and inside parts of the plate tend to get burned. But feed him a steady diet of breaking pitches with the occasional fastball high in the zone, and he’s as good as out.
But here’s the bad news. He’s just 24 and last year was his first full year in the big leagues. Polanco not only isn’t going anywhere for a while, he’s also young and talented enough to get better with age. His bat speed is insanely quick, which allows him that extra split second to recognize the pitch and swing at it. Polanco has the potential to be our next Thome.
Joey Votto, 1B, Cincinnati Reds
St. Louis Cardinals Killer #2: Joey Votto. Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports
Figures that more than one of the most dangerous hitters against the St. Louis Cardinals play in the division. No one with 50 or more at-bats against Redbird pitching was more lethal than the Cincinnati Reds first baseman. Only Washington Nationals Ryan Zimmerman has a higher OPS than Votto’s 1.234.
A lot of that had to do with the 24 free passes, the bulk of which I’m guessing were on purpose. Because no one else in that lineup — not Jay Bruce, that’s for sure — was capable of driving him in. Cincinnati’s 640 runs scored ranked 26th among all big league teams. That’s just inexcusable when you play home games at Great American Ballpark. According to ESPN’s number crunchers, it’s one of the most hitter-friendly parks in the game.
Votto will likely keep badgering Cardinal pitching for the rest of his career, because he’s one of the most cerebral hitters in baseball. He is excellent at making adjustments within at bats and has the best eye in the game. His 143 free passes led all of baseball. You can’t sleep on him, either. Votto swiped 11 bags this year, 4 of which came against the Cardinals, believe it or not.
Next: Ryan Zimmerman
Ryan Zimmerman, LF, Washington Nationals
St. Louis Cardinals Killer #3: Ryan Zimmerman. Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
We get the Washington Nationals for seven games early in the season — 3 at home at the end of April and 4 in D.C. in May — so Zimmerman bears mentioning. For his career, he’s a .285 hitter in 50 at bats against the St. Louis Cardinals, but he padded those numbers in 2015. Only LeMahieu (.500) had a higher batting average among opposing hitters with 25 or more at bats against the Redbirds.
Zimmerman not only hit .444 against St. Louis, he also hit four homers and drove in nine runs for the Nats. He didn’t hit more long balls against any other opponent, although Zimmerman did hit over .600 in six games against the Colorado Rockies. Seriously, who doesn’t?
Like most hitters with power, Zimmerman is most effective when he can extend his arms and really get a good swing going. Bust him low and inside, and the left fielder is a dead duck. He’s also vulnerable to the high fastball.
Starlin Castro, 2B, Chicago Cubs
St. Louis Cardinals Killer #4: Starlin Castro. Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Let’s hope the Cubs jettison Castro to some hapless American League club. Because say what you want about him. The erstwhile shortstop comes to play against the National League Central. For his career, hit hits at or near .300 against the St. Louis Cardinals, Pirates and Brewers. And while he’s hit more career homers against the Pirates than any other club in his 5 years in the bigs, he’s driven in 25 runs at Busch as well as PNC Park.
Many of those ribbies against the Cards came last season, when his 19 total driven in was the most he had against any single team. The Cub you’d expect, Rizzo, had 16. So why do Cubs fans in particular want to get rid of Castro? He’s been a riddle wrapped in an enigma. A player every one agrees has tremendous talent, but, at age 25, has yet to fulfill it. (Note to John Mozeliak: There’s still time! Buy low!)
Check out Castro’s tumultuous 2015. He hit .325 in April, then under .250 in May and June. But the pitchforks came out in July, when Castro hit just .170, which surely helped compel skipper Joe Maddon to move the long-time shortstop to second base in August.
That seemed to light a fire under Castro, who hit .295 for the month, but then .429 down the stretch in September. “Madden is a genius!” everyone in Chicago cried. Alas, Castro disappeared again, hitting below the Mendoza line in 16 regular season at bats in October and .176 in 34 postseason at bats.
Are you thinking the same thing? Yeah. Both the Cardinals and Castro could benefit from a change in his scenery.
Next: D.J. LeMahieu
D.J. LeMahieu, 2B, Colorado Rockies
St. Louis Cardinals Killer #5: D.J. LeMahieu. Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
It’s hard to avoid the aforementioned LeMahieu for this list. He came up against the St. Louis Cardinals 28 times in 2015 and got hits in exactly half those at-bats. And if you think that’s all about Coors Field, consider that he collected seven hits in his four games at Busch, good for a .467 average. Oh, and he stole a base there for good measure.
Overall, LeMahieu hit better at Coors Field, of course, but his home run and RBI home/road splits were virtually
identical. This guy looks like a legit big league hitter in what was a bit of a breakout season for him. He made his first All-Star game and finished with a .301 average. But he was up-and-down with the bat. He hit over .400 in April and .400 in July, but was “meh” in the other months.
Next: Cardinals Make Heyward Offer, Hold Breath
The good news for Redbird pitchers is they have to face LeMahieu just six times next season. They get three games at home against the Rockies in May and another three in Colorado in mid-September. Hopefully, LeMahieu and his mates don’t play spoiler in that last series.