FanPost

We are finally rid of RANDAL

I am just here to happily celebrate the fact that Randal Grichuk is no longer a St. Louis Cardinal!!!!!

This is amazing.

Grichuk isn't a great baseball player, and last year was particularly not great with just 1.0 bWAR. But dude has absolutely crushed the Cubs. Here are his career numbers:

Randal Grichuk career: .249/.297/.488

Not bad right? Terrible OBP, but some solid power. But look at this:

Randal Grichuk career vs. Cubs: .296/.335/.638

God I thought it would be worse. But 11 of his 66 career HRs have come against the Cubs. To send him off to his new home in Toronto and hopefully never think of him again, I'm going to re-live every stupid one of them:

1. 9/8/15 - Surging Cubs trying to secure the Wild Card, maybe make a run at the Cardinals. Randal Grichuk gets called to pinch hit in a game with the Cubs leading 8-0 in the 7th. Grichuk takes Hammel deep to make it 8-2. Pretty low leverage honestly, and actually, Grichuk would get a second chance this same inning with the bases loaded, 2 out, and the game now 8-5. But Strop would get him swinging to end the inning and the Cubs would hang on to win.

2. 5/23/16 - Cubs are roaring hot out the gate and in St. Louis with a solid cushion in first place. Cubs jump out to 3-1 lead on Adam Wainwright but Matt Adams tags John Lackey for a game-tying HR in the seventh. But with 2 outs in the ninth, Adam Warren (future World Champion Cub) gets taken deep by RANDAL on a 2-2 pitch for the walk-off.

3. 5/25/16 - Randal Grichuk takes Jake deep to bring the Cards within 6-1 in the second inning in a game the Cubs would hang on to win 9-8.

4. 8/11/16 - Cubs score 3 in the bottom of the sixth to take a 3-2 lead against Carlos Martinez (the Chris Coghlan I'll-call-time-oh-whoops-maybe-I-won't-here's-a-frozen-rope-to-right-to-tie-the-game inning) but the good feelings don't last as Grichuk pinch hits for Martinez in the top of the 7th and takes Travis Wood deep to tie the game. Cubs would eventually win in 11 on an Anthony Rizzo walk-off walk.

5. 8/13/16 - Carl Edwards is trying to keep a 2-2 game tied in the top of the eighth but he walks basically everyone before Maddon goes to get (future World Series Champion) Joe Smith out of the bullpen. Randal Grichuk puts one in the bushes in CF for a Grand Slam to put the game out of reach 8-2.

6. 4/2/17 - Reigning World Series Champion Chicago Cubs begin their Title Defense in St. Louis. Carlos Martinez shuts them down before Randal Grichuk hits a two-run HR in the bottom of the eighth off Pedro Strop to make the game 3-0. But fear not! Willson Contreras hits a three-run shot in the top of the ninth to tie it at 3! Oh, but then Grichuk walks it off with a bases loaded two-out single off Mike Montgomery in the bottom of the ninth.

7. 5/12/17 - Eddie Butler shuts the Cards down for six innings handing a 3-0 lead to Carl Edwards going to the bottom of the 7th, but Grichuk takes him deep on a 2-1 offering to cut the lead to two. Grichuk would also walk(!) and score off of Wade Davis in the ninth, but the Cubs would hold on to win 3-2.

8. 7/21/17 - In the top of the 2nd RANDAL takes Jake deep to shave one off the Cubs' two-run lead. Later in the game Grichuk would get a bases-loaded single off Hector Rondon and score in a nine-run 8th that turned a tight Cubs lead into a Cardinals blow-out.

9. 7/22/17 - A Lester-Wainwright scoreless duel goes into the eighth when Jonny gives up back-to-back solo HRs to DeJong & Grichuk. Cubs would end up squeezing out a 3-2 with three runs of their own in the bottom of the eighth.

10. 7/23/17 - For the third straight day, Randal Grichuk hits a HR against the Cubs, this time a two-run shot in the top of the 2nd off Quintana.

11. 9/26/17 - In his last series against the Cubs as a Cardinal, Randal Grichuk hit a solo shot in the 7th off Felix Pena to extend the Cardinals lead to 8-3. Cubs would make it interesting with 4 in the top of the 8th but the Cardinals hold on to win 8-7.

Bonus HR - 10/10/15 - Cubs in St. Louis for Game 2. In the bottom of the 5th, Randal Grichuk pinch hits for Carlos Villanueva and hits a bomb off Kyle Hendricks. The back-to-back shot followed Kolten Wong's own HR, but the score would remain 6-3 the rest of the way. Cubs win and even the series headed back to Wrigley.

So, to summarize: 11 regular season HRs, 1 playoff HR. 3 of them were pinch-hit HRs. 8 of the 12 were hit in the 7th inning or later!!!!! And he got walk-off hits against the Cubs at least twice, in a three-year period in which the Cubs have otherwise pretty much owned St. Louis.

Good riddance to RANDAL, I hope to never see you again.

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