St. Louis Cardinals: 30 worst players in team history

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#21 Dustin Hermanson SP

For every Jeff Suppan and Chris Carpenter Dave Duncan had, there were guys like Hermanson, who the Cardinals tried and failed to resurrect. For all of those fans upset about trades like John Mozeliak’s Kaminksy for Brandon Moss deal, and crying for the Cards to make a move, I am sure you would be livid if the Cards made a deal like this today.

On December 15, 200o the Cardinals traded Fernando Tatis and Ritt Rheames for Hermanson and Steve Kline (who made our all time 28 man roster). While Tatis battled injuries and Placido Polanco filled in nicely, this move sent a slugger out for a bad starter and quality reliever.

However, it is important to note that this move provided a hole at third base, which provided a spot for one of the greatest hitters in Cardinals’ history to prove himself valuable in 2001. That certain hitter is Albert Pujols who became the Rookie of the Year in 2001 and proceeded to become one of the greatest hitters ever.

Enough about the trade. Hermanson was awful in his one season as a Cardinals’ starting pitcher, as he finished 15-15 that year with an abysmal ERA of 4.58 that could have been worse, as is evident by his 5.35 FIP and the below average .278 BABIP hitters had against him.

Not only that, but Hermanson was only worth a total of 0.1 fWAR that year. If all of this isn’t enough to tell you that pitching wins are probably the worst statistic in baseball, I don’t know what to tell you.

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