Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals players: who played for both
Who played for both the Tigers and Cardinals?
161 players played for both the Detroit Tigers and the St. Louis Cardinals between 1901 and 2025, including Placido Polanco, Edgar Renteria, Charley O'Leary and Vince Coleman. 69 of them played for the Tigers first and 87 for the Cardinals first; 5 played for both in the same season.
Did you know?
- Ducky Holmes is the earliest on this list to complete the pair: Cardinals first, then the Tigers from 1901.
- Ryan Vilade is the most recent: Tigers first, then the Cardinals from 2025.
- Placido Polanco played the most games across the two: 632 for the Tigers and 489 for the Cardinals.
- 23 of them had two or more separate spells with one of the teams, such as Charlie Gelbert.
- Most common positions on this list: P (86), OF (24), C (15), SS (14).
How many can you name?
Name players who played for both the Tigers and the Cardinals. The surname is enough. 0 / 161
All 161 players, most games for the two first
| Player | Pos | Tigers | Cardinals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Placido Polanco | 2B | 2005–2009 (632 g) | 1998–2002 (489 g) |
| Edgar Renteria | SS | 2008 (138 g) | 1999–2004 (903 g) |
| Charley O'Leary | SS | 1904–1912 (836 g) | 1913 (121 g) |
| Vince Coleman | OF | 1997 (6 g) | 1985–1990 (878 g) |
| Jhonny Peralta | SS | 2010–2013 (460 g) | 2014–2017 (415 g) |
| Larry Herndon | OF | 1982–1988 (843 g) | 1974 (12 g) |
| Charlie Gelbert | SS | 1937 (20 g) | 1929–1932, 1935–1936 (693 g) |
| Johnny Hopp | OF | 1952 (42 g) | 1939–1945 (671 g) |
| Juan Encarnacion | OF | 1997–2001 (444 g) | 2006–2007 (231 g) |
| Ed Brinkman | SS | 1971–1974 (630 g) | 1975 (28 g) |
| Dmitri Young | OF | 2002–2006 (487 g) | 1996–1997 (126 g) |
| Eddie Lake | SS | 1946–1950 (491 g) | 1939–1941 (80 g) |
| Mike Heath | C | 1986–1990 (453 g) | 1986 (65 g) |
| Fernando Vina | 2B | 2004 (29 g) | 2000–2003 (488 g) |
| Eddie Ainsmith | C | 1919–1921 (219 g) | 1921–1923 (228 g) |
| Fred Haney | 3B | 1922–1925 (425 g) | 1929 (10 g) |
| Craig Paquette | 3B | 2002–2003 (83 g) | 1999–2001 (305 g) |
| Kid Gleason | 2B | 1901–1902 (253 g) | 1892–1894 (134 g) |
| Aurelio Lopez | P | 1979–1985 (355 g) | 1978 (25 g) |
| Dick Harley | OF | 1902 (125 g) | 1897–1898 (232 g) |
| Gregg Jefferies | 1B | 1999–2000 (111 g) | 1993–1994 (245 g) |
| Duff Cooley | OF | 1905 (99 g) | 1893–1896 (256 g) |
| Trevor Rosenthal | P | 2019 (10 g) | 2012–2017 (328 g) |
| Heinie Schuble | SS | 1929, 1932–1935 (265 g) | 1927, 1936 (67 g) |
| Gary Sutherland | 2B | 1974–1976 (320 g) | 1978 (10 g) |
| Syl Johnson | P | 1922–1925 (101 g) | 1926–1933 (228 g) |
| Hal White | P | 1941–1943, 1946–1952 (274 g) | 1953–1954 (53 g) |
| Gerald Laird | C | 2009–2010, 2012 (287 g) | 2011 (37 g) |
| Marty Kavanagh | 2B | 1914–1916, 1918 (312 g) | 1918 (12 g) |
| Bob Nieman | OF | 1953–1954 (233 g) | 1960–1961 (87 g) |
| Scott Livingstone | 3B | 1991–1994 (274 g) | 1997 (42 g) |
| Gerry Staley | P | 1961 (13 g) | 1947–1954 (301 g) |
| Darnell Coles | 3B | 1986–1987, 1990 (247 g) | 1995 (63 g) |
| Pete Kozma | SS | 2018 (27 g) | 2011–2015 (275 g) |
| Steve Bilko | 1B | 1960 (78 g) | 1949–1954 (219 g) |
| Skeeter Barnes | 3B | 1991–1994 (278 g) | 1987 (4 g) |
| Del Gainer | 1B | 1909, 1911–1914 (230 g) | 1922 (43 g) |
| Roger Cedeno | OF | 2001 (131 g) | 2004–2005 (132 g) |
| George Harper | OF | 1916–1918 (161 g) | 1928 (99 g) |
| Jerry Morales | OF | 1979 (129 g) | 1978 (130 g) |
| Fritz Buelow | C | 1901–1904 (242 g) | 1899–1900 (13 g) |
| Ducky Holmes | OF | 1901–1902 (223 g) | 1898 (23 g) |
| Skeeter Webb | SS | 1945–1947 (233 g) | 1932 (1 g) |
| Alex Johnson | OF | 1976 (125 g) | 1966–1967 (106 g) |
| Dave Collins | OF | 1986 (124 g) | 1990 (99 g) |
| Eric Davis | OF | 1993–1994 (60 g) | 1999–2000 (150 g) |
| Tito Francona | OF | 1958 (45 g) | 1965–1966 (164 g) |
| Drew VerHagen | P | 2014–2019 (127 g) | 2022–2023 (79 g) |
| Harry Arndt | 2B | 1902 (10 g) | 1905–1907 (194 g) |
| Doug Bair | P | 1983–1985 (95 g) | 1981–1983, 1985 (102 g) |
| Jim Lindeman | OF | 1990 (12 g) | 1986–1989 (184 g) |
| Omar Olivares | P | 1996–1997 (47 g) | 1990–1994 (147 g) |
| Joe Orengo | 3B | 1944 (46 g) | 1939–1940 (136 g) |
| John Brebbia | P | 2025 (19 g) | 2017–2019 (161 g) |
| Mike Difelice | C | 2004 (13 g) | 1996–1997, 2002 (167 g) |
| Jack Flaherty | P | 2024–2025 (49 g) | 2017–2023 (130 g) |
| Trever Miller | P | 1996 (5 g) | 2009–2011 (166 g) |
| Orlando Peña | P | 1965–1967 (86 g) | 1973–1974 (84 g) |
| Juan Acevedo | P | 2002 (65 g) | 1998–1999 (100 g) |
| Lou North | P | 1913 (1 g) | 1917, 1920–1924 (164 g) |
| Mike Maroth | P | 2002–2007 (149 g) | 2007 (15 g) |
| Hal Woodeshick | P | 1956, 1961 (14 g) | 1965–1967 (146 g) |
| Andrew Miller | P | 2006–2007 (21 g) | 2019–2021 (129 g) |
| Joe Boever | P | 1993–1995 (125 g) | 1985–1986 (24 g) |
| Mike Laga | 1B | 1982–1986 (72 g) | 1986–1988 (76 g) |
| Carson Kelly | C | 2023–2024 (79 g) | 2016–2018 (63 g) |
| Danny Clark | 3B | 1922 (84 g) | 1927 (58 g) |
| Dave LaPoint | P | 1986 (16 g) | 1981–1984, 1987 (121 g) |
| Mick Kelleher | SS | 1981–1982 (63 g) | 1972–1973, 1975 (73 g) |
| Joe Presko | P | 1957–1958 (14 g) | 1951–1954 (116 g) |
| Jeff Weaver | P | 1999–2002 (112 g) | 2006 (17 g) |
| Rocky Bridges | SS | 1959–1960 (126 g) | 1960 (3 g) |
| Jack Warner | C | 1905–1906 (86 g) | 1905 (41 g) |
| Daryl Patterson | P | 1968–1971 (111 g) | 1971 (13 g) |
| Lerrin LaGrow | P | 1970, 1972–1975 (116 g) | 1976 (8 g) |
| Mark Salas | C | 1990–1991 (107 g) | 1984 (14 g) |
| Barney Schultz | P | 1959 (13 g) | 1955, 1963–1965 (107 g) |
| Shelby Miller | P | 2024 (51 g) | 2012–2014 (69 g) |
| Jay Porter | C | 1955–1957 (96 g) | 1959 (23 g) |
| Dave Rucker | P | 1981–1983 (33 g) | 1983–1984 (84 g) |
| Bob Sykes | P | 1977–1978 (54 g) | 1979–1981 (62 g) |
| Tuck Stainback | OF | 1940–1941 (109 g) | 1938 (6 g) |
| Red Donahue | P | 1906 (29 g) | 1895–1897 (83 g) |
| Esteban Yan | P | 2004 (69 g) | 2003 (39 g) |
| Sam Jones | P | 1962 (30 g) | 1957–1958, 1963 (74 g) |
| Edward Mujica | P | 2017 (5 g) | 2012–2013 (94 g) |
| Jim Lentine | OF | 1980 (67 g) | 1978–1980 (28 g) |
| Stan Papi | 3B | 1980–1981 (86 g) | 1974 (8 g) |
| Bob Miller | P | 1973 (22 g) | 1957, 1959–1961 (70 g) |
| Herm Wehmeier | P | 1958 (7 g) | 1956–1958 (85 g) |
| John Martin | P | 1983 (15 g) | 1980–1983 (77 g) |
| Octavio Dotel | P | 2012–2013 (63 g) | 2011 (29 g) |
| Les Lancaster | P | 1992 (41 g) | 1993 (50 g) |
| Clyde Barfoot | P | 1926 (11 g) | 1922–1923 (79 g) |
| Joe Sugden | C | 1912 (1 g) | 1898 (89 g) |
| Ray Bare | P | 1975–1977 (64 g) | 1972, 1974 (24 g) |
| Pol Perritt | P | 1921 (4 g) | 1912–1914 (83 g) |
| Johnny Bucha | C | 1953 (60 g) | 1948, 1950 (25 g) |
| Bill Campbell | P | 1986 (34 g) | 1985 (50 g) |
| Roy Henshaw | P | 1942–1944 (56 g) | 1938 (27 g) |
| Tom Urbani | P | 1996 (16 g) | 1993–1996 (67 g) |
| Brayan Peña | C | 2013 (71 g) | 2016 (9 g) |
| Randy O'Neal | P | 1984–1986 (69 g) | 1987–1988 (11 g) |
| Ron Kline | P | 1961–1962 (46 g) | 1960 (34 g) |
| Lee Dressen | 1B | 1918 (31 g) | 1914 (47 g) |
| Julio Gonzalez | 2B | 1983 (12 g) | 1981–1982 (62 g) |
| Chasen Shreve | P | 2023 (47 g) | 2018–2019 (23 g) |
| Ivan de Jesus | SS | 1988 (7 g) | 1985 (59 g) |
| Bill Wight | P | 1952–1953 (36 g) | 1958 (28 g) |
| Brian Harper | C | 1986 (19 g) | 1985 (43 g) |
| Bugs Raymond | P | 1904 (5 g) | 1907–1908 (56 g) |
| Troy Percival | P | 2005 (26 g) | 2007 (34 g) |
| Dave Campbell | 2B | 1967–1969 (43 g) | 1973 (13 g) |
| Edwin Jackson | P | 2009, 2019 (43 g) | 2011 (13 g) |
| Ken Johnson | P | 1952 (9 g) | 1947–1950 (45 g) |
| Elias Sosa | P | 1982 (38 g) | 1975 (14 g) |
| Timo Perez | OF | 2007 (29 g) | 2006 (23 g) |
| Clarence Mitchell | P | 1911 (5 g) | 1928–1930 (46 g) |
| Jack Russell | P | 1937 (25 g) | 1940 (26 g) |
| Chris Zachary | P | 1972 (25 g) | 1971 (24 g) |
| Austin Romine | C | 2020 (37 g) | 2022 (11 g) |
| Tom Walker | P | 1975 (36 g) | 1976 (10 g) |
| Al Cicotte | P | 1958 (15 g) | 1961 (29 g) |
| Steve Baker | P | 1978–1979 (36 g) | 1983 (8 g) |
| Wish Egan | P | 1902 (3 g) | 1905–1906 (39 g) |
| Bob Humphreys | P | 1962 (4 g) | 1963–1964 (37 g) |
| Brad Penny | P | 2011 (31 g) | 2010 (9 g) |
| Bill Bailey | P | 1918 (8 g) | 1921–1922 (31 g) |
| Herb Moford | P | 1958 (25 g) | 1955 (14 g) |
| Ed Mierkowicz | OF | 1945, 1947–1948 (34 g) | 1950 (1 g) |
| Jacob Barnes | P | 2022 (22 g) | 2023 (13 g) |
| Luis Alvarado | SS | 1977 (2 g) | 1974, 1976 (33 g) |
| Joe Grzenda | P | 1961 (4 g) | 1972 (30 g) |
| Jose Bautista | P | 1997 (21 g) | 1997 (11 g) |
| Dick Littlefield | P | 1952 (28 g) | 1956 (3 g) |
| Marv Grissom | P | 1949 (27 g) | 1959 (3 g) |
| Chick King | OF | 1954–1956 (24 g) | 1959 (5 g) |
| Don Heinkel | P | 1988 (21 g) | 1989 (7 g) |
| Ted Power | P | 1988 (4 g) | 1989 (23 g) |
| Doug Creek | P | 2005 (20 g) | 1995 (6 g) |
| Grover Lowdermilk | P | 1915–1916 (8 g) | 1909, 1911 (18 g) |
| Justin Miller | P | 2014 (8 g) | 2021 (18 g) |
| Mickey McDermott | P | 1958 (4 g) | 1961 (22 g) |
| Bob Reynolds | P | 1975 (21 g) | 1971 (4 g) |
| Marcus Jensen | C | 1997 (8 g) | 1999 (16 g) |
| Ryan Vilade | OF | 2024 (17 g) | 2025 (7 g) |
| Kevin Jarvis | P | 1997 (17 g) | 2005 (4 g) |
| Jack Crimian | P | 1957 (4 g) | 1951–1952 (16 g) |
| Dennis Ribant | P | 1968 (15 g) | 1969 (2 g) |
| Tony DeFate | 3B | 1917 (3 g) | 1917 (14 g) |
| Charley Hall | P | 1918 (6 g) | 1916 (10 g) |
| Clint Sodowsky | P | 1995–1996 (13 g) | 1999 (3 g) |
| Tyson Ross | P | 2019 (7 g) | 2018 (9 g) |
| Bob Smith | P | 1959 (9 g) | 1957 (6 g) |
| Cotton Pippen | P | 1939–1940 (7 g) | 1936 (6 g) |
| Ben Flowers | P | 1955 (4 g) | 1955–1956 (7 g) |
| Mark Grater | P | 1993 (6 g) | 1991 (3 g) |
| Matt Kinzer | P | 1990 (1 g) | 1989 (8 g) |
| Jason Karnuth | P | 2005 (3 g) | 2001 (4 g) |
| Frank Huelsman | OF | 1904 (4 g) | 1897 (2 g) |
| John Murphy | SS | 1903 (5 g) | 1902 (1 g) |
From the SABR Lahman Baseball Database (CC BY-SA 3.0), 1876–2025. A season counts when the player played at least one regular-season game for the franchise.Cardinals seasons include the St. Louis Brown Stockings (1882), St. Louis Browns (1883–1898) and St. Louis Perfectos (1899).
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Questions
How many players have played for both the Detroit Tigers and the St. Louis Cardinals?
161 in the Lahman Baseball Database from 1901 to 2025, including Placido Polanco, Edgar Renteria, Charley O'Leary and Vince Coleman. A player counts when he played at least one regular-season game for each franchise.
Who was the first player on this list to play for both?
Ducky Holmes: St. Louis Cardinals first, then the Detroit Tigers from 1901.
Who has played for both recently?
John Brebbia, Jack Flaherty, Carson Kelly, Shelby Miller and Ryan Vilade, with a season for one of the two in 2024 or 2025.
Does a player count if the team has moved or changed its name?
Yes. Seasons count for today's franchise, the way the Lahman database links every team-season to a franchise. Cardinals seasons include the St. Louis Brown Stockings (1882), St. Louis Browns (1883–1898) and St. Louis Perfectos (1899).
Careers from the SABR Lahman Baseball Database (CC BY-SA 3.0). Team logos are trademarks of their respective teams (logos via TheSportsDB). Independent and not affiliated with MLB or any team. Credits