Ex-coach says Robinson Cano is the ‘Worst 3rd (hitter) I’ve ever seen’

That’s exactly what former Mariners first-base coach Andy Van Slyke said of the Seattle second baseman during an appearance on CBS Sports Radio 920 in St. Louis on Thursday.

Van Slyke said Cano’s poor performance this season, especially in the first half, was the reason general manager Jack Zduriencik, manager Lloyd McClendon and the rest of the coaching staff were fired after the Mariners went 76-86. Hitting coach Howard Johnson, a former Met, was reassigned in June.

“Robinson Cano cost the GM his job, the hitting coach got fired because of Cano and then the manager and coaches got fired because of Cano, because that’s how much impact he has on the organization,” Van Slyke said during the interview. “He was the worst player and it cost people their jobs in the process.”

Cano, a former Yankee who made $24 million last season, posted a .287 average, his lowest in the past six seasons. He hit 21 homers, drove in 79 runs and made six errors. Van Slyke, who also placed some blame for the poor season on former closer Fernando Rodney and the bullpen, said Cano plays hard “sometimes” before lambasting the lack of production from the Mariners’ No. 3 hitter.

“Robinson Cano was the single worst third-place everyday player I’ve ever seen, for the first half of a Major League Baseball season,” Van Slyke said of Cano, who hit .251 with six homers before the All-Star break. “He couldn’t drive home Miss Daisy if he tried. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t get a hit when it mattered. He played the worst defense I’ve ever seen at second. I mean the worst defensive second baseman ever, I’ve ever seen, in 20 years in the big leagues.”

Van Slyke, who spent the majority of 13 seasons in the major leagues with the Cardinals and Pirates, also implied Clayton Kershaw wants Yasiel Puig off the Dodgers. His son Scott Van Slyke plays left field for Los Angeles.

“When the best player — the highest-paid player on the Los Angeles Dodgers — goes to the GM and is asked what are the needs of the Los Angeles Dodgers club, this particular highest-paid player said, ‘The first thing you need to do is get rid of Puig.’ That’s all you need to know,” Van Slyke said.

By Joseph Staszewski