Hunt and Peck

Farewell, Mike Leake - A Hunt and Peck

Good luck in Seattle

By lil_scooter93 Sep 1, 2017, 1:00pm EDT

MLB: St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates

On Wednesday news broke that the Cardinals had traded Mike Leake and cash to the Mariners in return for minor leaguer Rayder Ascanio. The trade was a bit of a surprise, Tommy Pham summing it up the best in his now-famous bluntness in an interview with the St. Louis Post Dispatch's Rick Hummel:

Outfielder Tommy Pham said he was very surprised when he saw the news rolling across the screen on the television. “I said, ‘Is this a joke?” said Pham. “April Fool’s was months ago. It was shocking to all of us.

But surprise or not, it is what it is and for nearly two seasons wearing the Birds on the Bat Mike Leake was... well Mike Leake eating 330.2 innings and accumulating 4.4 fWAR during that time. While his time on the Cardinals was not spectacular, it was still good, and for that, in addition to gracing up with his beautiful golden tendrils, we thank him.

And with that, here are some of his best Cardinal moments.