Remembering Recent Non-Roster Invitees Who Have Made the St. Louis Cardinals’ Opening Day Roster

Josh Hancock, RP, 2006

Unfortunately, most Cardinals fans remember Hancock primarily for his all-too-early death in an April 2007 car accident. A year prior to his death, though, he was a valuable member of the bullpen as the Cardinals won their first World Series in 24 seasons. Hancock, who previously pitched with the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, and Cincinnati Reds, won a job as a non-roster invitee during spring training and went on to see the most extensive action of his career.

Over 62 relief appearances, Hancock threw 77 innings, accumulating a 4.09 ERA, a 1.21 WHIP, and a .241 opponent batting average. During the postseason, he threw 1.2 innings of scoreless relief in Game 3 of the NLDS before facing adversity in the NLCS, during which he gave up a run in a third of an inning in Game 2 and gave up 5 runs without recording an out in Game 4. While Hancock’s numbers weren’t fantastic, he was a great example of a key non-roster addition that helped spark his team to a World Series championship.

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