12 of the most anonymous Cardinal killers of the 21st century

When the St. Louis Cardinals were playing in Brooklyn against the Dodgers in 1946, Dodgers fans were so tired of witnessing young Stan Musial’s exploits against their team that some of them began chanting "Here comes the man again." The nickname "The Man" would stick for the rest of Musial’s career and throughout his life.

Sometimes an opposing player will dominate your team so consistently and so thoroughly that he will gain infamy among your fanbase and fans will get that sinking feeling whenever they see that player toe the rubber or step up to the plate. The Cardinals, despite their nearly unprecedented run of success in the 21st century, have still been subjected to such opponents. 

Left-handed pitcher Cole Hamels is one player who found another gear against the Cardinals, with a 2.21 ERA in 110 innings pitched. Since 2001, Hamels has the lowest ERA of any pitcher who has thrown more than 100 innings against St. Louis.

A notable Cardinals destroyer on offense was none other than beloved Cardinals Hall of Famer Matt Holliday, who hit .386 with a 1.198 OPS in 114 at-bats against them with the Colorado Rockies and New York Yankees.

But Hamels and Holliday have 11 All-Star nods between them, and players don't receive that merit without performing well against many different teams. What's more interesting are players who were mostly unremarkable throughout their careers but who, for whatever reason, dominated the Cardinals.

These 12 otherwise humdrum players annihilated the Cardinals seemingly every time out.

Wilson Betemit

Wilson Betemit played just over three and a half years in the National League with the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The infielder who hit .267 over 11 years in the major leagues had a .385 average over 65 at-bats against the Cardinals from 2004 to 2011 along with a strong 1.119 OPS. The Cardinals were granted a break from Betemit after 2007 when he was traded to the New York Yankees, but he returned to Missouri with the Kansas City Royals and had seven hits in 17 at-bats to close out his career against the Cardinals.

Ted Lilly

Despite pitching in the major leagues since 1999, Ted Lilly didn’t face the Cardinals until 2005 with the Toronto Blue Jays, where he pitched seven shutout innings. After signing as a free agent with the Chicago Cubs before the 2007 season, Lilly continued to terrorize the Cardinals until his retirement in 2013, with a career 2.61 ERA in 16 starts and 110.1 innings against them.

Ian Happ

Since his debut in 2017, the Chicago Cubs' Ian Happ has more home runs against the Cardinals than any other player, with 22. The career .241 hitter is batting .257 against St. Louis. Happ has been particularly effective when facing Adam Wainwright, slashing .389/.436/.1.056 with seven home runs in 36 at-bats. Although Wainwright is calling it a career after the season, the 29-year-old Happ looks to have several years left in him to torment the Cardinals.

Francisco Liriano

Francisco Liriano appeared to be a star in the making after finishing third in American League Rookie of the Year voting with the Minnesota Twins in 2006, but he never dominated to that level again — except against the Cardinals. In 104.2 innings against them, Liriano had a 2.32 ERA and an 8-4 record. Outside of his first game against the Cardinals, which was with the Twins, Liriano pitched the other 24 games with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Elian Herrera

Elian Herrera’s nondescript career spanned parts of four major league seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers. The utility player had a career .253 average, but he hit .412 in 68 at-bats against St. Louis, including going 5 for 5 with the Brewers on July 13, 2014. Thankfully for the Cardinals, Herrera went overseas to play in Japan before the 2016 season, and he spent time in the Mexican League in 2018.

Michael Lorenzen

One of the most dominating relievers against the Cardinals in seven seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, Michael Lorenzen had an overall ERA of 4.07 but a minuscule 2.22 ERA in 56.2 innings against the Cardinals from 2015 to 2021. Lorenzen was also a strong hitting pitcher; he had four hits in 12 at-bats against the Cardinals and a .233 average for his career.

Rafael Ortega

For all the players whom Cardinals fans lament as the one who got away, no former Cardinal might have more of a vendetta against the team than Rafael Ortega, who has hit .352 against St. Louis in his 88 at-bats after they let him leave in free agency in 2015. Most of Ortega's damage was with the Chicago Cubs, but the 32-year-old outfielder signed with the New York Mets in June of 2023.

Manny Parra

Manny Parra spent all eight of his major league seasons in the National League Central division, pitching with the Milwaukee Brewers and the Cincinnati Reds. In 43 career outings against the Cardinals, 12 of them starts, Parra pitched to an ERA of 3.02 in 98.1 innings. Against other teams, Parra was not nearly as effective, with a career ERA of 4.90.

Jesse Winker

In 199 at-bats against St. Louis, longtime Cincinnati Red Jesse Winker holds a 1.007 OPS and a .352 average along with 11 home runs since 2017. Winker broke out across the league in 2021, hitting .301, but he had always done well against the Cardinals, batting .319 from 2017 to 2020. In 2023 with Seattle, Winker is hitting only .199 but has continued to clobber the Cardinals, netting five hits in 14 at-bats versus St. Louis.

Tony Watson

Of all pitchers with at least 50 innings against the Cardinals since 2001, reliever Tony Watson boasts the lowest ERA, at 1.93. Watson also has the second-fewest walks surrendered over those innings against the Cardinals, with 10, trailing only Ricky Nolasco’s eight in 61 innings. The longtime Pittsburgh Pirate retired with a career 2.90 ERA after the San Francisco Giants released him in 2021. 

Every team has opponents whom it can’t seem to solve, and these six players proved over their careers that they weren’t fazed when they faced the National League's most historically successful team.