Three former MLB stars you didn't know were Cardinals

John Smoltz

Late in the 2009 season, after the Cardinals had acquired Matt Holliday, there was one other piece that was added to the roster to help them make a final push to the postseason.

His name? John Smoltz. The Hall-of-Famer didn't join the Cardinals until August 19th of 2009, but made his team debut four days later. He struck out nine batters against the Padres and even set a franchise record for seven consecutive punchouts.

In seven starts for the Cardinals, Smoltz went 1-3 with a 4.26 ERA and helped push the team to their first NL Central title since 2006.

Fernando Valenzuela

Fernando Valenzuela is obviously best known for what he did with the Dodgers, which included a no-hitter against the Cardinals back in 1990.

However, he would make a brief stop in St. Louis and would ultimately retire as a Cardinal like Smoltz did. Sadly, his time in St. Louis was unremarkable, as he went 0-4 in five starts with an ugly 5.56 ERA during the 1997 season.

Valenzuela had a career ERA of 3.54 over his 17 seasons, but his time in St. Louis was forgettable, to say the least.