Saturday, June 4, 2011

Chicago Cubs

1B  Mark Grace – MLB’s hit leader for the ’90s; batted over .300 nine times; hit .647 in the ’89 NLCS; four Gold Gloves.
2B  Ryne Sandberg – Outstanding fielder (nine straight Gold Gloves) with speed and power; NL MVP in ’84; stole 30+ bases five times.
SS  Ernie Banks – Two-time NL MVP; hit 40+ HRs five times; drove in 100+ RBI eight times (143 in ’59); ready to play two.
3B  Ron Santo – Power hitter with eight 90+ RBI seasons; twice led the NL in OBP; won five straight Gold Gloves.
OF  Hack Wilson – Led the NL in HRs four times; hit over .300 and drove in 100+ runs in five of his six years in Chicago; his 191 RBI in ’30 remains the MLB single-season record.
OF  Billy Williams – Consistent hitter with 13 seasons of 20+ HRs for Chicago (42 in 1970); drove in 90 or more runs ten times; won NL batting title in ’72 with .333 mark.
OF  Sammy Sosa – Became a disciplined and dangerous hitter as a Cub; PEDs inflated his stats, but even without the ’roids, he still would’ve put up outstanding numbers.
C  Gabby Hartnett – Hit the “Homer in the Gloamin’” to help win the NL flag for Chicago in ’38; a great catcher, offensively and defensively; batted .299 or better seven times; NL MVP in ’35.
Bench  Kiki Cuyler – Batted .330 or better four times as a Cub; led the NL in steals three seasons in a row (1928-30); decent power.
Pitcher  Mordecai Brown – Devastating curveball; won 25 or more games four times; posted an ERA below 2.00 five straight seasons (1.04 in ’06).
Pitcher  Ferguson Jenkins – Won 20+ games for Chicago six consecutive years (1967-72); workhorse with four 300-inning seasons as a Cub; led NL in Ks in ’69.
Pitcher  Lon Warneke – Won 20 games three times; led NL in wins, ERA, and winning pct. in 1932; posted an ERA of 2.00 the following year; won two games in the ’35 World Series.
Closer  Lee Smith – Led NL with 29 saves in ’83; recorded 30+ saves for Chicago in the four seasons that followed.

Some great ballplayers here ... and one of them even won a world championship with the Cubs.

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