St. Louis Cardinals: 30 worst players in team history

Aug 8, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Daniel Descalso (33) can

Every year we hear about the St. Louis Cardinals’ storied history, but what about the players we don’t hear about?

Look, I am as big of a St. Louis Cardinals‘ fan as anyone, but even I know that this team has had some really bad players. We’ve talked about the best hitters, the best pitchers, best roster, the best free agents, but today we are taking a different look at things. We are going to cover the bad side of things today. This is a combo piece between myself and Dan Buffa, with Dan covering some of the more recent players.

This isn’t an easy thing to do, there have been so many great players in this team’s history that we just kind of forget about those pieces that don’t work. In baseball, you can’t really stick with a bad player for that long, so that makes it a little harder when trying to find the worst of the worst. Mainly, we are looking at backup players that never panned out, pitchers who just didn’t have it, and free agent grabs that flopped.

This will be done in fun, based on statistics, and not in any way malicious. This is simply a fun and lighthearted exercise a few fans came together to do. So, please if we mention the guy who signed your shoe at winter warmup or the guy who flipped you the ball when you were sitting behind the dugout and instantly became your favorite player, do not hurl insults at us or tell us that we don’t know what we are talking about, we are just having a bit of fun.

For the most part these players will be ranked by Fangraphs’ Wins Above Replacement statistic (fWAR) and most have at least 200 innings pitched or 500 plate appearances.

Next: Wizard of Koz

Jun 20, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Pete Kozma (38) leans on the batting cage prior to a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

#30 Pete Kozma

The most popular yet  ineffective Cardinal of all time will be remembered for his insane month of production in 2012 near the end of the season and a memorable two run hit against the Washington Nationals in the National League Divisional Series.

Kozma compiled a .952 OPS in 26 games and 72 at bats in 2012. Extremely small sample size but the man turned on a freakish ability to collect hits at a great time for the Birds. It wasn’t until 2013 where Kozma put together one of the worst all time offensive seasons for a Cardinal.

He started over 140 games and in 410 at bats his OPS was .548. He had 20 doubles but nothing else on offense. He was a sure out most of the season. After hitting well in small doses in 2014, he was barely used in 2015 while riding the bench soaking up a roster spot. The team didn’t want to DFA out of fear of losing his wickedly inept bat but he made it through the end of the season.

If that isn’t bad enough, Kozma finished his career with Cardinals with a woefully bad wRC+ of 58. His strong defense and hot 2012 are the only things keeping his fWAR afloat at 1.1. While he may not be the worst Cardinals’ player ever, he was pretty bad.

Kozma will take his circus show to the New York Yankees, sporting better hair than baseball ability. His defense, as talked about as it was, never approached even Brendan Ryan status and his offense generated a career oWAR of -0.5. Whenever he started, it was a sad emoji all over again.

Dan Buffa

Next: Double D

Aug 20, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Daniel Descalso (33) falls onto Cincinnati Reds shortstop Zack Cozart (2) to complete the double play during the fifth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

#29 Daniel Descalso

Daniel Descalso played for the Cardinals from 2010-2014. Ahhh Descalso, the player we all loved to hate over the past few years, the player who should have been cut from the team long before he was. While my disdain for Descalso may be slightly biased. There is a lot of statistical value behind why Descalso was bad as a Cardinal.

In his 529 games, Descalso slashed .243/.313/.341 over parts of five seasons, playing all over the field for the Cardinals. Descalso was just not good at really any part of the game, despite his “close and late” nickname given to him by the broadcasters, because of a few lucky hits as a pinch hitter.

Descalso’s offensive slash line is not the only not so great offensive numbers for his career, as the utility infielder managed to be worth -23 runs above average on offense over his five seasons.

Not only was Descalso not good on offense, he was not very good defensively either, despite his versatility. This is told not only in his -14.2 defensive runs above average, but also in UZR as he totaled negative UZR totals at almost every position he played for the Cardinals.

What makes Descalso 29th on this list and not higher is his 7.6 runs above average on the base paths, which is better than any other player on this list.

Descalso was a case of a player being extremely cheap to keep around. He should have been replaced a lot earlier, but he was not and thus Descalso posted declining fWAR over his career as he continually got overexposed.

What I will remember the most about Descalso is his clutch hitting in the 2011 World Series, to help  the Cardinals win Game 6 and coming through the very next year in 2012 with a hit in the Cardinals comeback against the Nationals.

Next: Coop

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#28 Scott Cooper

I get it. Cooper was born in St. Louis and went to Pattonville High School. He only played seven seasons in the Majors, seeing his baseball value drastically disappear in 1996. In 118 games and 374 at bats, Cooper compiled a .634 OPS, which would have swell for a utility guy but not for a guy playing third base. Cooper showed little to no power, slashing 18 doubles and three home runs in his one season in St. Louis.

Much like some others on this list, Cooper’s one calling card was his defense. He posted 3.9 runs above average on defense for the cardinals that year, and that was about the only thing that led to his 6.6 fWAR over his career, also shockingly leading him to finishing the 1995 season with a 0.2 fWAR.

He didn’t exactly land in St. Louis with high expectations but he was the guy who took over third base for Todd “My baseball card is me with a cellphone in my hand” Zeile, who was traded to the Chicago Cubs. Zeile generated decent pop in his six plus seasons in St. Louis but Cooper took over and did little to nothing.

Coop, like many Cards on my selections for Worst Birds of all time, entered St. Louis near the end of his career. He played overseas in 1996 before coming back and finishing with the Kansas City Royals. He never cut it in the Major Leagues, but made his most money in his time with the Cards. 1.5 million was a haul back then I guess. Cooper wasn’t too good.

Dan Buffa

Next: Bad Southpaw

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#27 Danny Jackson

This southpaw was bad. Baseballs didn’t like his hand that much. Jackson was with the Cardinals from 1995 to the middle of the 1997 season, and compiled a record of 4-15 with a 5.78 ERA. Jackson had a 4.72 fielding independent pitching mark and a 1.62 WHIP in his time as a Cardinal. He had 92 strikeouts and 72 walks. SEVENTY TWO free passes. Hitters could come to the plate and place the bat on their shoulders.

Jackson was also injured a ton, starting just 27 games in his two plus seasons in St. Louis. He managed to befuddle hitters for a pair of complete games and even a shutout somehow. The hitters were not blindfolded I promise.

Shockingly, these awful numbers led to Jackson having a 0.7 fWAR in his career as a Cardinal. While the positive fWAR value may lead you to thinking he had a somewhat valuable career. Know this, there are only three pitchers in team history with a negative fWAR, more on that in a little while.

The Cardinals got Jackson near the end of his career, picking up the scraps from a lefty who won 23 games in 1988(the same year the Cards got Pedro Guerrero, sorry had to be mentioned). He was close to done when he came here and retired shortly after being traded to the San Diego Padres.

Dan Buffa

Next: Gettin' Wiggy with it?

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#26 Ty Wigginton

I am not sure there are words to support Ty’s descent as a Cardinal. The man didn’t do much in his abbreviated stint as a player in St. Louis.  In 57 at bats, Wiggington’s .193 slugging percentage wasn’t far behind his .158 average. He had a pair of doubles and scattered singles.

His -0.6 fWAR through 47 games is probably one of the worst stretches of any Cardinal ever. Because of the fact that he only played 47 games with the Cardinals, I can’t include him any higher on this list.

The most memorable moment he had was a first to third advancement on a single that inspired an Al Hrabosky rant about how Ty had arrived as a Cardinal. Running around second like a tilted barrel didn’t do much for me.

Wiggington’s two year five million dollar contract may be John Mozeliak’s worst in his tenure as General Manager. He must have been watching 2010 tapes or something because at the end of the day, Wiggington was bad news Mo. He didn’t add any power. He didn’t add many hits. He was a blip on the screen that didn’t register much but cashed paychecks long after he left.

Dan Buffa

Next: Not so grizzly veteran

#25 Mark Ellis

When I met Ellis at the 2014 Winter Warmup, the man was excited to join the Cardinals. This wasn’t because he remembers getting thrown out at home plate by Carlos Beltran in a pivotal 2013 playoff game, but he seemed to end up where he needed to be. Too bad that build up didn’t turn into a solid season. Ellis wasn’t that good.

Ellis isn’t a bad player, but he wasn’t a good Cardinal. He came into the 2014 season with expectations of providing middle infield depth, specifically backing up Kolten Wong. Ellis never did anything close to that in his one season as a Cardinal.

.466 is a good slugging percentage right? Well, that was Ellis’ OPS(on base percentage plus slugging percentage) in 2014. He drove in 12 RBI and collected just six extra base hits in 202 at bats. It isn’t that you’d expect a .700 slash from a backup, but you need more support than a .180 average.

Ellis played his last game in September of 2014, and retired after the season. After a little early adversity, Wong turned into an everyday player by the middle of the season. Maybe Ellis’ presence pushed Wong to a place where he needed to be. Maybe not. Either way, Ellis wasn’t a good Cardinal.

Dan Buffa

Next: Prospect gone bad

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#24 Tyler Greene

This is one of the head shakers for the St. Louis Cardinals. Tyler Greene was so talented and so highly touted as a prospect for the Cardinals. He had that pop that should have translated into 15 homers a year and 30-40 doubles, he had speed that could have netted him 20-30 stolen bases as a major league regular. However, what we have is a career slash line of .218/.295/.329, with just nine career homers and 25 stolen bases.

Greene was just lost at the plate once he got up to the big leagues, as is evident by his 25.7% strikeout rate. Greene’s only positive value was on the bases, as he was worth 7.3 base running runs above average as a Cardinal. This was the only thing that kept his -0.4 fWAR from being even worse, as he was worth negative values offensively and defensively as a Cardinal.

Greene was shipped out before he had the chance to beat out Pete Kozma for the every day short stop duties when Rafela Furcal went down in 2012, so that tells you what the organization thought of him.

When Greene became a Houston Astro, it was the start of the downfall of his career as a major leaguer, as the shortstop has played for five different organizations since leaving the Cardinals in 2012, last playing in the big leagues in 2013 as a member of the Chicago White Sox. Not to mention signing a contract with the Philadelphia Phillies in January, where he never managed to even make their minor league roster.

Not only is Greene one of the worst players in franchise history, but he’s also one of the biggest busts in franchise history as well.

Next: The Cruz Missile

Oct 13, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Tony Cruz (48) is tagged out by Chicago Cubs catcher Miguel Montero (47) during the sixth inning of game four of the NLDS at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

#23 Tony Cruz

This is dedicated to the person who told me “how dare I disrespect Tony Cruise” on an article I wrote a few months back. I will say this, had Cruz been in a different organization, he could have avoided being on a worst players list. However, here we are.

I never understood why Cruz was still with this team last season, we saw what he offered in an extended role when Yadier Molina went out for the first time in 2014, it was so bad they went outside the organization to grab AJ Pierzysnki.

Yet who did we have to backup Molina in 2015? Tony Cruz yet again. Granted Cruz was a backup catcher and didn’t get much “regular time”, he was awful when he did get to play, as is evident by his -1.1 fWAR.

While Cruz was a decent backstop (worth 6.4 runs above average in his career on defense), he was woefully unimpressive throwing runners out in his career, as Fangraphs’ fans scouting report has him rated at an average of  47 for arm strength and arm accuracy. Most of his negative fWAR comes from his woeful slash of .220/.262/.310 and 18.5% strikeout rate, this gives Cruz a -35.5 offensive runs above average rating for his career.

The change from Cruz to a more valuable backup has finally been made as the St. Louis Cardinals signed Brayan Pena earlier this offseason.

Next: World Series Hero

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#22 Anthony Reyes

In the same realm as Tyler Greene, Anthony Reyes was a prospect who flamed out at the major league level. The most memorable memory we all have of Anthony Reyes was his absolutely dominant start in Game 1 of the 2006 World Series.

So, for now what I need you to do is to put your blinders on and block out that one great start he had. Because, aside from that there’s nothing impressive about the career of Anthony Reyes.

Reyes was one of the Cardinals’ top pitching prospects and should have lined up well in this organization and should have realized his potential (especially with Dave Duncan as his pitching coach). However, Reyes never did that and became a bust, which is why we are talking about him here.

In his career as a Cardinal, Reyes went 10-24, with a 5.38 ERA (5.20 FIP) in 38 career starts. Surprisingly, Reyes was worth 0.8 fWAR in his career as a Cardinal. But, what puts him so high is what he should have become and the high FIP number (2nd highest in Cardinals’ history).

In 2008, Reyes was finally sent out of town, as he was traded to the Cleveland Indians for Luis Perdomo (not the same pitcher selected in Rule 5 Draft two weeks ago). Without a doubt, Reyes was a huge disappointment and going by his FIP number, could be much higher on this list.

Next: Dumpster diving gone bad

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#20 Brett Tomko SP

Tomko was another case of the Cardinals reaching for a pitcher because of Dave Duncan’s prowess. Tomko was traded to the Cardinals in December of 2002 for Mike Wodnicki and Luther Hackman. At the point of the trade, Tomko had been on three different teams having been traded by all three teams.

This was a definite Dave Duncan grab if there ever was one, as Tomko had never had a FIP lower than 3.97 in his career. Tomko didn’t become the Dave Duncan dumpster find that all would have liked him to be, as he finished the 2003 season 13-9, with a career worst ERA of 5.28 and FIP of 5.o7. That year Tomko gave up 35 homers, and hitters managed to have an even .300 average against him.

While he may have had a fWAR of 1.0 that season, Tomko’s FIP is tied for fifth worst in team history. While I am thankful for what Duncan did as a pitching coach for the Cardinals, I am beginning to be grateful that the team is no longer employing his services. This is because the GM is no longer trying to find pitchers with awful ERAs that he can turn around.

However, it is moves like these that set the Cardinals up for success financially and allowed them to keep guys like Chris Carpenter and Albert Pujols for as long as they did. I honestly believe that Tomko was one of the most overrated trade acquisitions in team history, as from my memory, many believed Tomko was going to turn the corner in St. Loius. That was not the case and here he is at #2o on our list.

Next: Mr. I don't walk

Jul 5, 2014; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Reds ball bat boy holds new game balls during a game with the Milwaukee Brewers at Great American Ball Park. The Brewers won 1-0. Image Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

#19 Charlie James

Here we have another disappointing World Series winner for the Cardinals, who was pretty woeful over his Cardinals’ career. James finished his career with the Cardinals with a slash of .256/.285/.374.

While his average may not be “that bad”, his OBP is really bad, and this was ever evident by his incredible inability to work a walk in his career. As a Cardinal, James walked at a rate of 3.3% of the time and struck out at a rate of 17.5%. Those are some numbers to be especially not proud of.

These numbers led James to be worth an atrocious -48.6 runs above average over the course of his four year Cardinals’ career. Simply put James was not a good hitter, and his fWAR of -0.1 could have been much worse had he not been a relatively average baserunner and defensive player.

While James was able to win a World Series with the Cardinals in 1964, that was the it as far as his career as a Cardinal. As the local product was sent to the Cincinnati Reds in 1965, where he wound up retiring after the 1965 season. It is unfortunate to have a local product on this list, but I can’t play favorites here!

Next: Elementary my dear Watson

Oct 8, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals owner Bill Dewitt Jr. talks with a member of the media during NLDS workout day prior to game one of the NLDS against the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

#18 Allen Watson

Here we have a player from another really bad era of Cardinals’ baseball. That era would be the era in which I first experienced Cardinals’ baseball, the early 90s. The years before Bill Dewitt Jr. and Tony Larussa were some pretty dismal years, and Watson was definitely apart of that. From 1993-1995, Watson made 56 starts for the St. Louis Cardinals, never posting an ERA above 4.60 or a FIP above 4.59.

Watson’s total line is just as unimpressive as he finished with an ERA and FIP of 5.07, while only being worth a dismal 0.7 fWAR as a Cardinal. Part of Watson’s problem was the walks, as he finished with a 3.47 walk rate. When you couple that with his unimpressive LOB% of 68.4%, it’s pretty easy to see why Watson struggled.

After the 1995 season, Watson was sent to the San Francisco Giants, cementing him as yet another first round bust for the St. Louis Cardinals and leaving him on this list of worst Cardinals’ players of all time.

Next: The 70s weren't so hip

Oct 10, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; The Budweiser Clydesdales parade around the warning track before game two of the NLDS between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

#17 Luis Melendez

Here we have a player from one of the worst eras in St. Louis Cardinals’ history. The 1970s. Melendez has the most games and plate appearances on this list, as he successfully completed 561 games as a Cardinal and came to the plate 1,489 times, as he played for the Cardinals from 1970-1976.

Unfortunately, Melendez doesn’t have much to show for his time as a Cardinal. He finished his Cardinals’ career being worth -0.3 fWAR. While on paper you may say there are other players worse than that, if you take into effect a bit of a late career defensive resurgence, he would have been a whole lot worse.

Offensively, Melendez was consistent. Consistently bad that is, as he was worth -43.1 runs above average on offense. While this number may only be good for 27th worst among all Cardinals’ hitters, he’s only the second player on the list worth over -40 runs above average on offense to have a negative defensive value. Which particularly makes him a really bad player.

Oct 10, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; A postseason base on the field before game two of the NLDS between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

#16 Rocky Nelson

Rocky Nelson played for the Cardinals from 1949-1950, 1956 and was worth a -1.1 fWAR for the Cardinals during that time. Nelson was a guy who primarily played first base for the Cardinals, but also saw some time in left field for a total of eight games in 1956.

For his career, Nelson slashed .233/.292/.349 in 205 games played for the Cardinals, posting a wRC+ of 66. However, Nelson did improve once leaving the Cardinals, as he posted wRC+ above 120 in his first two seasons with the Pirates in 1959-60. This was largely due to his BABIP normalizing up to around average.

However, that doesn’t mean he gets off on this list. Nelson still had a -1.1 fWAR for the Cardinals in his two and a half seasons with the club. Not only that, Nelson had negative values on both offense and defense.

Nelson’s offensive value was -25.2 runs above average and his defensive value was -5.3 runs above average. Making him yet another on this list with negative values on both sides of his games, but yet having a glimmer of hop on the base paths with 0.9 base running runs above average.

Next: Bad Utility

#15 Hector Cruz 3B/OF

Hector Cruz played with the Cardinals from 1973-1978 and finished his career with an fWAR of -2.5, making him by far the worst player to ever don the Cardinals’ uniform in terms of fWAR. However, we have Cruz rated at #13, due to his limited time as a Cardinal and relatively even values. So, what made him so bad, you ask?

While Cruz was very versatile throughout his career, playing at third base, left field, center field, and right field. He wasn’t good defensively at any of those positions, posting negative defensive values in each of his four and a half seasons with club.

Offensively, Cruz wasn’t anything to write home about either, as he posted a slash of .224/.294/.338 with a career wRC+ of 75 during his time as a Cardinal. The reason why Cruz isn’t our worst player, is because of his offensive and defensive values being relatively “not bad” in relation to other players on this list. His offensive value over his time was just -29 runs above average while his defensive value was -29 as well.

In terms of offensive value, there are 51 players with 500 plate appearances or more with a lower value and on defense there 29 players with worse values than Cruz. So, one could even make the argument that Cruz doesn’t belong on this list, but with his -2.5 fWAR being the worst in team history, he cannot be left off.

On the base paths, Cruz was even at 0.0 runs above average. This means that Cruz was not a good baserunner, but he wasn’t a bad one either.

Next: Not related to Holly

Jun 27, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; A general view of Busch Stadium during a game between the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals defeated the Cubs 8-1. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

#14 Wattie Holm 3B/OF

Here we have another bad all around player. A player who during his Cardinals’ career had a -0.1 fWAR. Holm played with the team from 1924-1932, and never really did anything impressive, with his best fWAR total coming in 1927 when he posted a 0.9 fWAR. However, without that season Holm’s total fWAR would have been much less making him an even worse option for this list.

Holm’s career slash was .275/.322/.370, which really isn’t too bad. However, it was Holm’s offensive value that places him on this list. Each year in the big leagues Holm posted negative runs above average offensively giving him a total of -43.1 runs above average.

In addition to that, Holm was one of the few Cardinals to post both negative values defensively and offensively throughout his career, as he was worth -11.6 runs above average on defense throughout his career. Holm did have a decent base running career, as despite his rookie year’s -0.8 base running runs above average, Holm ended up with a 0.7 value to finish his career.

While Holm may not have the worst case among many on here, it’s Holm’s values and career OPS of .692 that place him on this list. Despite this, I am sure Holm was a valuable member of a clubhouse that had the likes of Dizzy Dean and Frankie Frisch in it.

Next: Good defense bad offense

Oct 18, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; Fans in the bleachers cheer and wave rally towels before game six of the National League Championship Series baseball game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

#13 Bruce Ogrodowski

Bruce Ogrodowski played with the Cardinals from 1936-37, with those being the only years he played in the big leagues. During those two seasons, Bruce had a fWAR of -1.3 putting him fifth worst amongst hitters with over 500 plate appearances. However, having only played under 200 games in his career, #12 is a good spot for him.

Bruce’s slash line is like most others on this list in that it is pretty bad, .231/.263/.318 with a wRC+ of 49. Bruce’s better season came in his second and final season as a big leaguer in 1937, when he totaled a wRC+ of 52, while clubbing three of his four career home runs and striking out 2.3% less than he did in 1936. Bruce’s overall offensive value was -35.3, which is pretty bad for just two seasons.

Had Ogrodowski not had a defensive value of 3.3 runs above average in his career, he could have been even higher on this list and had an even lower fWAR. But, that wasn’t Ogradowski’s only positive rated of all of the vaulted metrics, as he had a 0.2 base running runs above average rating on the base paths, thanks to his 0.3 rating in his “breakout” 1937 season.

Unfortunately for Ogradowski, he never played in the major leagues again, spending the rest of his career in the minors, which is more reasoning for his inclusion on this list.

Next: Bad third basemen

Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

#12 Ken Reitz 3B

Here we have a player, that on paper doesn’t seem too bad. He slashed .263/.292/.369 throughout his career as a Cardinal and had 454 RBI in eight seasons with the Cardinals. Seems like a not so bad career. He wasn’t a great by any means, but he wasn’t “that bad” right? Wrong. While his average may not be that bad, his .292 OBP is way below average.

Reitz like Charlie James, was really bad at figuring pitchers out as is evident by his 3.5% walk rate through his career. Reitz’ offensive value was really bad, and that is what gets him on this list. Through his 11oo games, Reitz was worth -103.1 runs above average. Unlike some on this list, Reitz didn’t offer much defensively or on the base paths in his career.

Defensively, Reitz was worth just 1.7 runs above average throughout his eight seasons with the club. His base running runs above average didn’t help him either, as he was worth -2.9 BsR. Reitz’ best season came in 1971, when he hit .270/.300/.379 with a wRC+ of 86, which is not good, a .300 OBP and .379 SLG is still well below average, as is his 86 wRC+.

While Reitz’ may have had a decent average over his career, taking into his whole package is what puts him on this list. It must have been a hard team to watch in the 1970s, with players like Reitz and Melendez playing a factor.

Next: Back to the Frontier League?

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#11 Jason Simontacchi SP

This is a player I did not want to include on this list. I was partial to Simontacchi as a Springfield, IL native, due to Simontacchi playe with the Springfield Frontier League team fora time in his career. However, one cannot ignore his FIP being among the worst of Cardinals’ pitchers all time.

Simontacchi primarily pitched out of the bullpen in his career, but he did make 40 starts as a Cardinal. In his career Simotacchi was 20-10 with a 4.77 ERA and 5.16 FIP (third worst among Cardinals’). What puts him so high on this list above the likes of Hermanson and Reyes is his 83 appearances and 0.3 fWAR over his three seasons with the club.

Simontacchi was exceptionally bad in 2004 with the Cardinals, when he pitched in just 13 games out of the bullpen tallying an ERA of 5.28, with a terrible FIP of 8.46. This translated into a -0.4 fWAR for the right-hander, which is pretty bad for 13 games.

Simontacchi didn’t get another chance at the big leagues until 2007 with the Washington Nationals, where he posted a 0.0 fWAR in 13 games out the bullpen. As much as I may have been a fan on his during my high school years, Simontacchi was one of the worst pitchers to ever don the Cardinals’ uniform.

Next: Everybody's favorite pitcher to hate

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#10 Jason Marquis SP

Here we have another case of “what could have been”. This player was probably the most frustrating player on this list, as we all thought Marquis could have become so much more than what he eventually was.

Marquis was drafted by the Atlanta Braves with the seventh pick in the first round of the 1996 June Amateur Draft, and had four uninspiring seasons with the Braves. Marquis was included on the blockbuster deal that sent Adam Wainwright, Ray King, and him self to the Cardinals for J.D. Drew and Eli Marrero.

Marquis spent three seasons as a Cardinal and while he may have won 42 games in those three seasons, Marquis had an ERA of 4.60 and a FIP of 5.12 (fourth worst in Cardinals’ history). Most importantly, Marquis pitched with some of the best pitchers in Cardinals’ history and the master mind Dave Duncan and never fuller realized what he could have become.

Embarrassingly in the same era, Jeff Suppan finished with an ERA under 4.00 for the Cardinals, while Marquis dabbled in mediocrity finishing with a 2.0 fWAR in his career as a Cardinals’ hurler.

After the 2006 season in which Marquis was left out of the playoff rotation, Marquis left as a free agent and has been apart of eight different teams since leaving the Cardinals, most recently pitching for the Reds last season, amassing a 6.46 ERA and -0.1 fWAR.

Next: Blockbuster gone wrong

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#9 Mark Mulder SP

Oh man is this one hard to write. Mulder in my opinion was one of the best acquisitions for the St. Louis Cardinals that never turned out to be much for them. Mulder fought off injuries for most of his Cardinals’ career, limiting him to only one full season in a Cardinals’ uniform.

In one of the shrewdest moves from Oakland Athletics’ GM Billy Beane, Oakland sent the hightly sought after left-hander to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for Daric Barton, Dan Haren, and Kiko  Kalero. This was done after the 2004 season in which Mulder had a FIP of 4.29 in 33 starts for Oakland.

Mulder came to the Cardinals and had a solid season in 2005, going 16-8 with a 3.64 ERA (4.30 FIP). After that season, Mulder got worse and worse, as after being worth 1.9 fWAR in 2005, Mulder would go on to post a -0.9 fWAR over an injury riddled 2006-2009. Mulder finished his Cardinals’ career in 2008 with an overall ERA of 5.04 and a FIP of 5.01.

While he had the great 2005 season, Mulder very much could be considered one of the worst pitchers in St. Louis Cardinals’ history, as without his one good season, Mulder stands with a -0.9 fWAR, which would be the worst fWAR of any Cardinals’ pitcher who has pitched over 200 innings.

Next: Dumpster diving gone wrong part 3

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#8 Garret Stephenson SP

Garret Stephenson pitched for the Cardinals for four years from 1999-2003, and was not a good pitcher over the course of his career. He finished his career 31-30 with an ERA of 4.56 and a FIP of 5.05. This coupled with his disappointing K/9 of 5.47 and BB/9 of 3.15 made him worth a bad fWAR of 3.6 over his four years.

What is particularly bad about Stephenson is that the average hitters had against him was not that great, when you consider his ERA and FIP numbers, the highest average against him was .274 in 2002, when hitters had a .321 BABIP against him.

When you add in Stephenson’s 76 homers allowed over his 94 total appearances, it becomes even more unimpressive.

Stephenson’s FIP of 5.05 was good for seventh worst among Cardinals’ pitchers who completed 200 innings or more. His 4.56 ERA puts him 16th worst on that same list, making his case all that more for being one of the worst Cardinals’ pitchers.

Next: Playing Possum

Oct 11, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; A general view as the Budweiser clydesdales parade around the field before game one of the National League Championship Series baseball game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

#7 Possum Whitted OF

Mr. Possum played in parts of three seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, playing in 155 games with the team from 1912-1914. During that time this great named fellow had a slash of .218/.276/.318 with a wRC+ of 56. This led to his terrible fWAR of -1.2, that is largely due to his offense during his career as a Cardinal.

During his time, Possum had an offensive value of just -28.4 runs above average. While this may not be at the level of some others on this list, one has to put this in the context of 155 games. Had he stuck with the Cardinals and continued this pace of play (he didn’t), we would have seen an incredibly bad value.

Possum (yea I am sticking with this awesome first name) wasn’t very good defensively either, as he finished with a -0.7 defensive runs above average. He simply didn’t have much to offer for his career as a Cardinal, and that meant he was bad on the base paths as well, having -1.1 base running runs above average.

The one silver lining for this man named Possum, was that he had a .245 BABIP, making his offensive numbers a little underrated, especially considering he got much better after leaving St. Louis. However, Possum was not good while he was with the St. Louis Cardinals and that is all that matters with this list.

Next: Under the Mendoza line

Apr 7, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; A general view of Busch Stadium on Opening Day between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

#6 George McBride SS

McBride played with the Cardinals for part of 1905 and 1906, playing in 171 games totaling a slash of .192/.238/.231. During this time, McBride was worth -1.2 fWAR. While McBride did play in the dead ball era during the early 1900s, this does not excuse his poor offensive performance.

McBride’s numbers are even worse when you consider that in just under a season and half, McBride not only had a -1.2 fWAR, but on offense he was worth -37.1 runs above average, not to mention his wRC+ of 48.

This is atrocious no matter the era. If it wasn’t for McBride’s defensive value of 5.5 runs above average that year at shortstop, his fWAR would have been worse, and McBride would have found himself even further down this list.

To make matters worse for McBride, despite his 15 stolen bases as a Cardinal, he was worth a -0.5 base running runs above average over his career, again making Mcbride one of the worst Cardinals ever, despite only playing for less than two years.

Next: It's getting Nippy out

Apr 7, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; A general view of Busch Stadium on Opening Day between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

#5 Nippy Jones 1B

Nippy played for the Cardinals from 1946-1951 totaling a fWAR of -1.5. During that time Jones slashed .270/. 308/.384 with a wRC+ of 81. These numbers seem pretty good for a player who only had two full seasons.

However, when you look into it all Jones had one season where he hit .300 with eight homers, and every other season he had an average 30-40 points lower. Ultimately on offense Jones was worth a -32.9 runs above average, totaling just one positive rated season (0.4 1946 rookie year in 16 games).

Jones’ had no great defense or base running to hang his hat on either, as he was worth -26.5 runs above average during his six seasons in St. Louis. Posting -21.7 of that in 1948 and 1949 his only two “full seasons”. Jones also was worth just -0.1 base running runs above average. All of this combined helped Jones to post just two positive fWAR seasons in his career (0.1 in 1946 and 0.1 in 1949).

Jones bounced back and forth between the majors and minor leagues throughout his career, never really sticking with the team very long after his 1949 season. Jones moved on to the Phillies organization in 1952 and the Braves in 1957, playing in just 38 games the rest of his career.

Next: Not a good chap

Mar 6, 2015; Jupiter, FL, USA; A detail shot of the scoreboard with the pitchers count during a spring training baseball game between the Houston Astros and the St. Louis Cardinals at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

#4 Chappy Charles 2B/SS

Charles played with the Cardinals in 1908 and part of 1909 before being traded to the Reds during the 1909 season. What makes Charles considerably worse than most is that his -2.0 fWAR as a Cardinal came in less than two seasons of play with the Cardinals. In those two seasons, Charles slashed .218/.270/.264 with a wRC+ of 71.

In his first season in 1908, Charles hit .2o5 and got on base at a .238 clip, only tallying 17 RBI and 39 runs scored. It was in that season that Charles had the most damage done to his fWAR, as he finished the season with -1.1 fWAR that year. For his Cardinals’ career, Charles was worth -26.6 runs above average on offense, with -19.3 of that coming in his 1908 season.

Like many others on this list, Charles didn’t help himself defensively. On defense Charles was worth a combined -20.7 defensive runs above average. Most of that number came from his 1909 season, when Charles was worth -16.3 runs in 99 games with the Cardinals that year.

Despite stealing 22 bases in his 220 games, Charles couldn’t stay above average as a base runner, as he averaged -0.8 base running runs above average as a Cardinal. Unfortunately for Charles, he only wound playing a total of 17 games with the Reds, not appearing in any major league game after May 28, 1910.

Next: Syking you out

Oct 7, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals fans cheer during game four of the 2014 NLDS baseball playoff game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

#3 Bob Sykes SP

Bob Sykes pitched for the Cardinals from 1979-1981, after being traded from the Tigers to the Cardinals after the 1978 season. In his three seasons, Sykes started 31 games and also made 31 appearances out of the bullpen.

Sykes went 12-13, with a 5.08 ERA and a FIP of 4.68. When you throw in the fact that Sykes had a really unimpressive 3.87 K/9 and 4.14 BB/9, it is clear why Sykes has the worst fWAR (-0.7) of all Cardinals’ pitchers with 200 innings or more.

Out of his three seasons in St. Louis, his worst season definitely came in his first year in 1979. He had 13 total appearances that year, with 11 of those appearances being starts. He went 4-3 with a 6.18 ERA and 5.39 FIP, while averaging a 4.57 BB/9. This is where most of Sykes’ negative fWAR value came from, as he had a -0.4 fWAR that year.

Being at the top of a list is normally a good thing, but when that list is the worst pitchers by fWAR, it’s not a good thing. Unfortunately for Sykes, that’s about the only list he topped in his major league baseball career. After the 1981 season in which he had a -0.2 fWAR, Sykes never played another game in the majors. Which is probably a good thing, as Sykes was pretty bad in his three years as a Cardinal.

Next: Worst catcher ever

Oct 12, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Sergio Romo (left) and catcher Buster Posey (right) walk off the field after the game-winning home run by St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong during the 9th inning in game two of the 2014 NLCS playoff baseball game at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

#2 Jack Ryan C

I almost didn’t include Ryan on this list due to him playing so long ago. However, at the beginning of this project, I set a goal to include everyone from 1900-2015. So, Ryan fits those parameters, just barely, as he played for the Cardinals from 1901-1903 with the Cardinals.

In Ryan’s three seasons as a Cardinal he was exceptionally bad, as he finishes second behind Hector Cruz in worst fWAR among position players at -2.2 fWAR for his three seasons as a Cardinal. Where Ryan’s negative value mostly comes from is his offense, where he slashed a .203/.226/.251 with a 42 wRC+ which is the worst wRC+ of all position players with 500 plate appearances or more.

Another representation for how awful Ryan’s offense was, is his offensive value, which rated him being worth -63.4 runs above average over his 850 plate appearances. Like most on this list, Ryan didn’t have a very good career on the base paths either, having a base running worth of -2.2 runs above average.

Ryan did have a decent career behind the plate on defense, as he was worth 9.8 runs above average for his career. Had it not been for that his fWAR would have been higher and he could be on top of this list. However, Ryan is still the worst position player to ever play for the St. Louis Cardinals in my opinion.

Next: Worst of the worst

Apr 24, 2014; New York, NY, USA; St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Jon Jay (19) cannot get to a double by New York Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy (not pictured) during the 6th inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

#1 Roy Golden SP

Here we have a pitcher who doesn’t have 200 innings pitched, but has probably the worst season ever by a Cardinals’ starting pitcher. Roy pitched for the Cardinals in both 1910 and 1911, being his only two seasons as a major league player. In those two seasons, Golden combined for a -0.9 fWAR, with most of that damage coming in Golden’s 1911 season.

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That season, Golden went 4-9 with a 5.02 ERA (4.91 FIP). This included 25 starts and five appearances out of the bullpen. That season, Golden averaged almost eight walks per every nine innings he pitched, which is absolutely ridiculous. This led to Golden having a -0.7 fWAR that season.

What makes matters worse for Golden is that he pitched in what is considered the dead ball era for hitters, so pitching at this point in time was at an all time high and hitting was at an all time low. So, for Golden to post such awful numbers is incredibly indicative to how bad he was and why he makes this list.

It doesn’t surprise me that Golden never got a chance to repeat his performance after the 1910 season, as this registers as one of the worst performances of all Cardinals’ players.

Recap

Well there you have it folks, the 30 worst players in Cardinals’ history. This was a fun albeit really hard project to do. I probably missed a few guys, or gave too much or too little credit to some players, but in the end this is a list I can be proud of and a list that makes me appreciate all of the great players we have had on this team. As I disclaimed in the beginning, none of this is personal, so please don’t take this personally if you are one of these players reading this.

Next: The best Cardinals' hitters ever

I hope you enjoyed this list and come back next week as we cover the “Top 50 Greatest Players in Team History”, that list will be much more fun to create. Have a Merry Christmas everyone!