5 St. Louis Cardinals players whom fans never embraced

Colby Rasmus

Unlike the players who had previous success and couldn't reach it in St. Louis, Cardinals 2005 first-round pick Colby Rasmus had a skill set to dream on, but inconsistent production and a bizarre controversy involving his dad subjected him to the wrath of Cardinals fans.

Rasmus hit .251 as a rookie in 2009 and .276 in his second year, but his 148 strikeouts led the team. Rumors of a rift between Rasmus and then-manager Tony La Russa came to a head when Rasmus asked to be traded in 2010. The next year, their relationship soured further when it was discovered that Rasmus was seeking hitting advice from his father, a former minor leaguer, rather than from the Cardinals' hitting coaches.

Fans were not pleased that Rasmus was prioritizing his father's instructions over those of his coaches, and with his numbers plummeting and his dad taking shots at the organization, Rasmus was clearly unhappy in St. Louis, a development that had been noted since Albert Pujols criticized Rasmus in 2010 for saying he wasn't always happy while playing for the team.

The Cardinals put Rasmus out of his misery when they made a blockbuster trade with the Toronto Blue Jays at the 2011 trade deadline. Rasmus continued to jab at the Cardinals after his time with them was over, and the disdain from Cardinals fans toward a player many saw as immature never abated.