We could also discuss players who walked into them by joining teams that won one as soon as they joined.
I was surprised today to learn that Bob Probert played pro hockey for 20 years and never won a Stanley Cup. I’d forgotten that the Red Wings got rid of him before they started winning the championships. I guess they got rid of him about 3 years before winning it.
What players were traded away soon before their team won? What player has the worst luck with this?
As I said, I’m also curious who ambled onto the most championship teams without being a major driving force in winning them.
Poster boy for this in Philadelphia is Mike Lieberthal. Joined the Phillies in 1994, one year after the Phillies were in the World Series. He left the team after 2006 without playing in one post-season game. The Phillies made the playoffs in 2007, then won the World Series in 2008.
My guy, Donnie Baseball. MVP. Best player in the league for a minute, at least, while the team mired in mediocrity, saddled by the meddling owner. Then, in his later years, they had a team that had the best record in the league - and the season got cancelled 2 months before the playoffs. In his last year, they finally made the playoffs, where they lost to Seattle in the 1st round. The following 5 years the team won it all 4 times.
Orlando Cabrera had pretty good moves.
2004 played for the Red Sox who won it all.
2005 played for the Angles who lost in the ALCS, but the Red Sox were ousted in the first round.
2006 missed the playoffs but the Angels came closer than the Red Sox
2007 made the playoffs but the Angels lost to the Red Sox.
2008 moved to the White Sox who made the playoffs defeating the twins in a single-playoff game.
2009 Moved to the Twins who beat the Tigers in a single playoff game.
2010 Moved to the Reds who made the playoffs for the first time since 1995.
So in 7 year he went to the postseason 6 times for 5 different teams.
Nomar Garciaparra had been with the Red Sox since 1996. They traded him to the Cubs during the 2004 season - the year the Sox won the World Series for the first time in 86 years. His former teammates voted to give him a championship ring, but that’s not the same thing as winning a championship. Nomar spent his remaining seasons with the Cubs, Dodgers and A’s, and never did get to the Series.
Deuce McCallister sorta qualifies. He was technically on the roster when the Saints won the Super Bowl, but he had not played that season, and did not play in the Super Bowl. He did get a ring, though…
Players vote on how to split the money paid to them by the league for the playoffs. The Sox players voted him a full share of that. Rings are paid for and distributed by the by the management of the team.
Carlos Delgado also owns a World Series ring despite never being in a World Series. He appeared in two games for the 1993 Blue Jays, who won and were generous with their rings. He only was in the postseason once, in 2006.
Don Mattingly was a star for the Yankees for 14 years. He only got in the postseason once, in 1994. He retired the next year (at age 32 – supposedly due to back problems, be he has said he wanted to stay home with his family), when the Yankees ended their World Series drought.
Tiki Barber retired from the New York Giants, then publically questioned Eli Manning’s leadership abilities. The Giants then went on to beat the undefeated Patriots and win a Superbowl. They added another for good measure a couple of seasons later.
Was I the only one who didn’t know who the hell “Donnie Baseball” was supposed to be? I was a pretty big baseball fan for pretty much all of Mattingly’s career, but had no idea anyone called him ‘Donnie’ let alone ‘Donnie Baseball.’ Maybe it was a New York thing.
Todd Bell and Al Harris were Chicago Bears who sat out the 1985 season in a contract dispute with management. The Bears would go on to win the Super Bowl.
Marian Hossa is an interesting case. In 2008 he was a very big trade deadline pickup by the Pittsburgh Penguins. He played very well for them and Pittsburgh made the finals, but lost in 6 games to the Detroit Red Wings. Pittsburgh was very interested in signing him to a significant contract extension, but instead he signed a one-year contract with… the Detroit Red Wings. The one year contract was pretty controversial in Pittsburgh, as Detroit couldn’t have afforded a long term-deal and Hossa was quite open that he believed that he was giving himself the best chance to win a Stanley Cup. That year, Detroit lost in the Stanley Cup Finals to, you guessed, the Pittsburgh Penguins.
(Postscript: That summer, Hossa took the money and ran, signing a huge contract with the Chicago Blackhawks. They would go on to win the 2010 Stanley Cup.)
