My Favorite 75 Cubs Whom I've Seen Playby Vvvergeer - 75 cards (Last updated on Aug 14, 2021) |
September 21, 2020. Yu moves in. Hamels never made it. Kimbrel doesn't look like he has much of a chance.
I've been a Cubs fan all my life. The conscious-of-baseball part of my life starts in about 1970. I've watched some pretty bad teams, but there were always players -- some great, some just fun -- whom I loved to watch. This is my attempt to compile my favorite 75, roughly in order of preference. (It started as 50, expanded to 91, then I cut it back to 75 -- so many players I remember). As you can see, it's not just about stats. There are some odd choices in here. Some, I just liked their grit. Some just had great nicknames. The deeper you get into the list, the more they blend together in order of preference. And I'm probably forgetting quite a few....
The representative cards are the the oldest card I have of each player as a Cub. (Had to pick SOME criteria).
Hope you enjoy it. Feel free to remind me of players I probably loved but left off the list.
11. 1985 Topps #72 Rick Sutcliffe
16-1. Won the Cy Young Award after switching leagues mid-season. Helped make the Cubs actually good for the first time in my life. |
12. 2014 Topps #438 Jake Arrieta
Two no hitters? A Cy Young award? Sexy body. Nice work. (He's gone now, though, and that was probably the right decision.) I like that he just called out Harper.
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13. 1999 Topps #20 Kerry Wood
I remember listening to that 20 strikeout game. He was awesome. Even with the injuries, he ranks high in the Cubs record books and on the all-time K/inning ranks. |
14. 2015 Topps #354 Kyle Hendricks
Grit and success. A lesser Maddux. More of a Jamie Moyer, who almost made the list, but I liked Moyer more after he left the Cubs. |
15. 1993 Topps #156 Sammy Sosa
Performance enhancing drugs? Corked bats? Sure, I feel guilty. But he was an absolute joy to watch and just personally carried the Cubs to so many wins. And helped save baseball. Maybe just put him in the Hall and be done with it. |
16. 2015 Topps #315 Javier Baez
He's moving up even more. Less frustrating to watch than he was, and probably the most exciting player in the National League -- on defense, offense, the base paths. Don't know if he'll ever match his 2018 season, but, man, he's fun.
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18. 1978 Topps #570 Dave Kingman
Another one to be ashamed of, but he was good for the Cubs -- hit .288 one year. And his batting stance is among the best ever. And he hit three home runs in a game I was at at Wrigley against the Mets, 12-9 final, I think. We were jawing playfully with Mets fans the whole time. One of my most memorable games. |
19. 2016 Topps #441 David Ross
Grandpa went out soooooo well. I'm glad he's still affiliated with the team. Love him. |
20. 2015 Topps #201 Tommy La Stella
Ok, this isn't a Cubs card -- because I don't have one! Topps has left him off the list for the last three years. But this guy disappeared and said he'd retire before he would play for a team other than the Cubs. And in 2018, he was one of the league's best pinch-hitters. I always said, you cannot stop Tommy LaStella; you can only hope to contain him. Alas, he's gone now, so it seems he'll never have a Cubs card. |
Comments
As usual, your commentary is the star of the list. | ||
Awww, thanks, Billy. | ||
Fun list to look at. As a Cardinals fan who detests the Cubs but loves baseball, I grew up watching the Cubs just about every day in the 80s. And yes, I emphasize the word "day"! We lived too far east in Illinois to get the Cardinals channel. So I especially enjoyed your cards from that era. Also, I was hoping to see Warren Brusstar. | ||
As a Cubs fan growing up deep in Cardinal territory, where they had their AA affiliate in Little Rock, Arkansas, I enjoyed catching all the gmes on WGN in the 80's and 90's listening and watching Harry and Steve's broadcasts. Yes, I did go see the minor league team play quite a bit. The team is no longer affiliated with the Cardinals which made a ton of Cardinals fans there VERY unhappy. I have to say my favorite Cubs player is Mark Grace. Though he was not a prolific home run hitter he was a very consistent contact hitter with some pop who saved Shawon Dunston a ton of errors in the field over the years. I was happy to see him win the World Series with the Diamondbacks in 2001. Ryno is a close second.
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What, no Dennis Lamp?! Among the starters, he was the Cubs' ERA leader in '78 and '79, but pitched in hard luck. I've seen about 20 MLB games in person and Lamp started the first Cubs game I attended, Aug. 11, 1978 at Olympic Stadium. Ross Grimsley tossed a two-hit shutout, 1-0. The player I really wanted to see was Dave Kingman, but his only appearance was pinch-hitting for Lamp in the 9th inning, where he drew a walk. The Big O had foul lines painted on its inner rim, which were put there after Kingman hit a monster shot off that part of the stadium in an earlier game. |
