In the long and storied history of both the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals, the two bitter rivals, separated by just over 300 miles between Wrigley Field and Busch Stadium, have met on the diamond 2,467 times. The very first game for the St. Louis Cardinals franchise (then known as the St. Louis Browns) occurred on April 12, 1892. The very first team they faced? The Chicago Cubs.
Whether their fans like it or not, the two teams are intertwined with each other. That includes players hopping between the franchises are doing damage against their former team as well.
In the article, we will take a look at the top five players who have suited up for both the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs during their MLB career.
In this article, we will rank players according to their WAR (Wins Above Replacement) via Baseball Reference. We will make note of those bWAR figures with each player, as well as the years the player suited up for both franchises.
Let’s start with the lone person on this list who is not a current Hall of Famer, but does nonetheless have an interesting Hall of Fame case.
5. Jim Edmonds (St. Louis Cardinals 2000-2007, Chicago Cubs 2008) -— 60.4 bWAR
Edmonds was a three-time All-Star and six-time Gold Glove winner with the Cardinals and helped the franchise win the 2006 World Series over the Detroit Tigers.
His eight seasons with the Cardinals were the most productive of his career, slashing a combined .285/.393/.555 with 241 home runs at the plate and providing a strong defensive presence in the outfield.
After being traded to the San Diego Padres in exchange for David Freese (who would eventually become a Cardinals World Series legend in his own right), Edmonds struggled in his brief time with the Padres before being released. Less than a week later, Edmonds signed with the Cubs and began his redemption tour.
In 85 games in Chicago, Edmonds hit 19 home runs and helped the Cubs reach the 2008 National League Division Series, where they were ousted by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Edmonds would play for both Cincinnati and Milwaukee during the 2010 campaign, but then retire, leaving Pittsburgh as the only current National League Central team for which he never played.