Uncle lights had a few posts and responses to aging stars who joined the Birds. I believe there are two categories in this discussion. First, those who may not have been at their prime but played well albeit short stints for the Cardinals. Second, those who failed to even come close to their former glory days and their Cardinal tenure is hard to even remember. I know I won’t hit them All but I will focus on one of each.

Will “the Thrill” Clark

He was hardly the player he used to be in his Giant days, but when he joined the cards for 51 games in 99 he played very well. Just a peak at his 51 games shows a 345 avg and 42 runs batted in with 12 home runs. Stats aside, he quickly became a beloved Cardinal and many including myself thought he could have played another year even though he opted for retirement. I would have loved to see a Big Mac/Clark platoon.

Fernando Valenzuela

Well past his “el toro” days in Dodger Blue the cards took a forgettable flyer on him in 97. So forgettable I forgot about it until Uncle lights reminded me. I was finishing high school and now remember his shellings and my friend who often referred to Fernando as the guy who started out a pitcher and ended up a bus. His weight had ballooned and his pitching would sometimes show flashes but there is no escaping his 5 plus era, four losses in 5 career cardinal starts. Worth noting the picture on his wiki page looks like a elder Hispanic Jerry Lewis.

I thought this was worth discussion given the current Beltran, Berkman, talk and their not prime years. I believe that the discussion should remain those who made it in a gamble and those who did not. This is just a starter, I’m sure there are names I’m not even aware of.