7 great St. Louis Cardinals who never won a World Series with the team

C Ted Simmons

Ted Simmons had the unfortunate pleasure of playing for the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1970s, one of the franchise's worst decades.

Simmons made his debut a year after the club won the World Series in 1967. He made his debut in 1968 as an 18-year-old, and the Cardinals would go on to win the pennant that year but lose in the World Series to the Detroit Tigers. He rejoined the major-league squad as a full-time player starting in 1970, and the era of drudgery began for the Cardinals. The club failed to make the postseason from 1969 until 1981, ironically all of the years Simmons played with the Cardinals.

As a Cardinal, Simmons posted exceptional numbers. He went to six All-Star Games, finished in the top 15 of MVP voting five times, and won a Silver Slugger in 1980, his final year with the Cardinals. The franchise's lack of success during the 1970s certainly isn't Simmons's fault.

As a Cardinal, Ted Simmons slashed .298/.366/.459 with 172 home runs and 929 runs batted in. Simmons became a Cardinal Hall of Famer in 2015 and a Major League Baseball Hall of Famer in 2020.

The Cardinals won the World Series in 1967, the year before Simmons debuted. He was then traded in December of 1980 primarily due to playing time disagreements he had with manager Whitey Herzog. Just two years later, Simmons was in the World Series that featured the St. Louis Cardinals, but he was on the opposing bench with the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cardinals beat the Brewers and Ted Simmons in the 1982 World Series, only adding insult to injury since he couldn't win one with the Cardinals and was subsequently beat by the Cardinals.

Ted Simmons was one of the best catchers in Cardinals' history. He and Yadier Molina stand alone at the top of the franchise depth chart for backstops. Despite a lengthy career in St. Louis and plenty of individual success during that time, Simmons was unable to win a World Series while wearing the Birds on the Bat.