St. Louis Cardinals: Three Reasons John Lackey is Easy to Hate

Former St. Louis Cardinal John Lackey is now one of the key starters in the rotation for the Chicago Cubs. If that isn’t reason enough for Cardinals’ fans to hate him, here are three more.

John Lackey is scheduled to take the mound against the Cardinals on Monday night (7:15pm CT, FSMW) as the Cubs’ game one starter for a three-game series in St. Louis.

Before we begin, the most obvious reason for Cardinals’ fans to hate John Lackey is because he is a Chicago Cub. There is no explaining necessary for the deep and competitive hatred that Cardinals’ fans have for any player donning the blue, red and white.

The fact is, that would be too easy of a reason to hate Lackey, so this list will not dwell solely on the fact that Lackey is now the arch-enemy, but on the fact that Lackey just begs to be disliked. So, here are three reasons John Lackey is so easy to hate:

1. John Lackey is a traitor

Just last season John Lackey was fighting for the Birds on the Bat, and as most of you know, was one of the most effective pitchers for St. Louis. Lackey was the Cardinals’ game one starter in the NLDS against none other than the Chicago Cubs.

In this game Lackey dominated the Cubs, shutting them out for seven innings on the way to a 4-0 win. Lackey’s game four start had a different result, but the Cubs were riding a wave of momentum that the Cardinals couldn’t stop.

Many Cardinals’ fans felt a deep sense of appreciation for Lackey. The way he left it all on the field in every start and really dug deep for the Cardinals was something that fans admired and not something that all pitchers do every time out.

Little did Cardinals’ fans know, this appreciation would soon turn to loathing as Lackey went to the dark side and joined the Cubs in the offseason. While the Cardinals didn’t offer Lackey a deal outside of the “Qualifying Offer”, it is still hard to see Lackey pitching for our bitter rivals

Everyone remembers Jason Heyward‘s departure from St. Louis, but it was Lackey that led the way. Coming off of a solid season, Lackey left a 100-win Cardinals team, for an upstart Cubs team that offered him more money. Now he may not have done it in spite of the Cardinals, but it definitely hurts to see a pitcher like Lackey go directly from the Cardinals to the Cubs.

Next: He's obnoxious

2. John Lackey is so obnoxious

As stated above, John Lackey is a pitcher that leaves everything out on the field every time he takes the mound. When Lackey was a Cardinal, this is something that fans revered and loved seeing when his turn in the rotation came around, but now that Lackey is a Cub, Cardinals’ fans would love nothing more than to see Lackey knocked around by the Redbirds.

Something about that yell and fist pump that Lackey releases every time he strikes someone out to end an inning just gets under your skin. It’s not the fact that Lackey is happy, it’s the fact that he is doing it because he knows that he just made the opposition look silly.

Often times, Lackey isn’t just yelling to himself either. In multiple cases in St. Louis, we saw Lackey staring down or yelling back at someone that he just set down via strikeout. Though this isn’t something that Lackey just started doing, as fans have seen it since his days in Boston.

The reason that Lackey will be garnering so much hate from Cardinals’ fans is that now his shouting will be directed at his former teammates, and he will be doing it with the word “Chicago” written across his chest. Something about that just won’t sit right with fans, and Lackey will dig himself a deeper hole in St. Louis.

Next: He is pretty good