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| Photo courtesy of Sports World Chicago |
Hey, Cubs fans and welcome to the Wrigley Wrap-Up, a sports blog dedicated to the history, game review and trivia of the Greatest Baseball Team Ever!
To start off, I want to introduce my top 10 of best Cubs
players of all time. But… what makes a great Cub? Before we dig in to the
greatest Cubbies of all time, it is necessary to lay some ground rules:
1) I will only use statistics from that player
during their time with the Cubs.
2) The majority of their playing time was with the
Cubs, especially their prime years.
That’s it…pretty simple?
NOTE: For non-pitchers, I will be using the traditional splits (Batting Average/On Base %/ Slugging %) and WAR. For pitchers, I will be using Wins-Losses (W-L), ERA, and WAR
***WAR is a statistical measurement
that shows a player’s ability to contribute to his team’s wins over a
replacement level player in his same position. For our purposes, the more WAR,
the better the player.
And for those too afraid to ask,
here is a link to great beginner’s guide
10. Lewis Robert “Hack”
Wilson
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| Photo courtesy of sabr.org |
Stats: .322/.412/.590; 31.1 WAR (6 seasons)
Bio: What’s in a name? Hack Wilson says it all. This
fan-beloved centerfielder from the Prohibition-era Cubs that harkens back to a
time when Wrigley with old white guys in cotton suits, sweating profusely as 18
roustabouts duked it out on the pitch before them. Sometimes literally. And
Hack was notorious for starting fights with opposing players and managers.
In addition
to being a reliable starter for the Cubs, he was also known
for being arrested and knocking the back windows of police cruisers. A much
loved early Cubbie, he still fascinates the curiosity of Cubs all around.
9. Sammy Sosa
Stats: .284/.358/.569; 58.8 WAR (13 seasons)
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| Photo courtesy of Roy Dabner, AP |
Bio: While in recent years, his reputation with ownership
has been strained at best and his Pinterest page is
amazingly strange, it can’t be forgotten that, at one time, this 7-time
All-Star captured the hearts and minds of many young Cubs fans (including yours
truly). Many of us will never forget the glorious summer in ‘98 when Sammy and
Mark McGuire faced off bat-to-bat in home run race trying to chase down Hank Aaron’s
long-held long-ball record.
Besides this, his contributions both on the field
as a great hitter and good fielder, and his off-the-field persona as all around
Nice Guy, Sammy has endeared himself to great many of us.
8. Billy Williams
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| Photo courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame |
Bio: Along with Ernie Banks and Fergie Jenkins, Sweet
Swingin’ Billy is the completes the trifecta of a team that boasted some of the
Most Important Cubs of all time. Playing on some of the most underperforming
Cubs teams of the 20th century, Billy still managed to show up to
work almost every day, being dubbed Iron Man and setting a National League in
most consecutive games played (long before that poser Cal Ripken, Jr). With his
tenacious playing style and infectious smile, Sweet Billy is remembered fondly
by the old-timers and is respected by the generations that came after.
7. Charles Leo “Gabby”
Hartnett
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| Photo courtesy of Detroit Public Library |
Stats: .297/.370/.489; 59.1 WAR (19 seasons)
Bio: To remind the reader how ridiculously crazy the 1920s
and 1930s were in the history of baseball, Gabby got his start on the Cubs
after the starter, Bob O’Farrell, had his SKULL BUSTED OPEN by an errant pitch
while catching in a game. Gabby played for 19 seasons in that environment and was
consistently one of the best players in his era by both statistical reporting
and on-field observations.
While notoriously quiet,
Gabby’s playing style roared with passion and love for the game. A well-remembered
and quintessential Cub, for sure.
6. Kerry Wood
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| Photo courtesy of the Associated Press |
Stats: W-L: 80-68; ERA: 3.67; 25.5 WAR (12 seasons)
Bio: Our first pitcher! This one’s for my 10-year-old
self, so indulge me for a second. On
May 6th, 1998, Kerry threw a one-hit shutout game against the
Astros. To accomplish this feat, Wood threw 20 strikeouts and drew no walks in
a match that has gone down in history as easily one of the greatest pitching performances
of all time.
That performance along with Sammy’s home run chase later in the season, solidified my fanhood with the Cubs. Regardless of his rapidly declining performance in following seasons, this one moment in time elevates him to a stature beyond measure. Thank you, Kerry!
5. Ron Santo
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| Photo courtesy of the New York Times |
Stats: .279/.366/.472; 70.5 WAR (14 seasons)
Bio: The Cubs fan Cubs fan. Ron Santo loved the
Chicago Cubs so much that he was the first player to invoke his no trade clause
by refusing to sign with the Angels in 1973. A mainstay in Chicago until his death
in 2010, Santo is as close to “bleeding Cubbie blue” as you can get without
being name Ernie Banks.
On the field, Santo had one of the highest year-over-year
WAR as any player on this list, and his contributions definitely felt. After retiring
from the field in 1974, Santo then joined the Cubs broadcasting team in 1990 as
a color commentator.
4: Ferguson “Fergie”
Jenkins
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| Photo courtesy of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame |
Stats: W-L: 167-132; ERA: 3.20; 52.9 WAR (10 seasons)
Bio: Like any good Cubs player, Fergie is an oddity. First,
he is a Canadian, the first Canuck to be inducted in to the Hall of Fame and
the first to win a Cy Young award.
Second, Fergie performed really well as a pitcher
in what was considered one of the friendliest “hitter’s parks” in the National League.
Third, the man played with the Harlem Globetrotters during
the 1967-1969 seasons while not playing baseball. Fergie had a career to
remember and a life worth hearing about!
3. Anthony Rizzo
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| Photo courtesy of Ron Vesely |
Stats: .277/.376/.496; 32.7 WAR (9 seasons)
Bio: The picture here captures the Cubs infielders
embracing Montgomery, the closer, after the last out of the 2016 World Series. After
break the 107-year World Series drought, the man who has jumped the highest
with the biggest grin on his face is Anthony Rizzo. This photo perfectly
encapsulates Anthony Rizzo as a Cubs player. In 2013, he signed a team-friendly
contract, one of the friendliest in the free agency era. In how he comports himself,
Rizzo loves being a Cub and I, for one, am so glad he’s here. Vive Rizzo!
2. Ryne “Ryno”
Sandberg
Stats: .285/.344/.452; 68.1 WAR (15 seasons)
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| Photo courtesy of Getty Images North America |
On June 23rd, Sandberg, still a young and not yet
proven player, faced off against the Cardinals’ shut-down closer in the bottom
of the ninth inning and belted a frozen over the left field to tie the game.
That wasn’t the end of the heroics. In the tenth, the Cardinals went up 2 runs
against the Cubs when once again Sandberg stepped up to the plate. With 2 outs
and one man on, Sandberg belted his 2nd homer of the day to tie it
up. Here’s Harry Caray to
help you understand the magnitude. This game, of course, has become known as “The
Sandberg Game.” In the intervening years, Ryno was a workhorse for the Cubs and
is still thought of very fondly.
1. Ernie “Mr. Cub”
Banks
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| Photo courtesy of the Wall Street Journal |
Bio: With a nickname like Mr. Cub, who’s gonna stop Ernie
from being at the top? To get poetic for a moment, Ernie is the embodiment of a sun-soaked
late May afternoon when the birds are chirping and everyone is itching to smell
the leather and hear the crack of the bat. Of all his quips, his most famous is
unquestionably, "It's a beautiful day for a ballgame ... Let's play
two!"
Unflappably cheerful, he was also undeniably loyal to the
club that signed him to his first and only major deal.
After his retirement
from playing in 1971, Banks became a mainstay in and around the Cubs organization
for the next 40 years until his death in 2015. Number 14 will remain now and
for a long time, the great Cubs player to have ever played the game.
