This is a post that I've had in my mind for a couple years now. Using just the cards in my Cubs collection, I wanted to put together an all-time Cubs team, consisting of players that made most of their impact on other teams. Accompanying each member of the roster is an image of their Cubs card in my collection. I used WAR (Wins Above Replacement) as a quick metric to try to measure the player's relative impact on the Cubs compared to their whole career. In some cases, I favored a player with lower WAR in my starting lineup. Enjoy the 25-man roster and let me know your thoughts in the comments. Happy New Year!
The Batting Order:
*Hall of Fame
1. Lou Brock - RF*
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| 2010 Topps Update - Cards Your Mom Threw Out |
Career: 19 seasons / 45.3 WAR
Cubs: 4 seasons / 3.6 WAR
2. Richie Ashburn - CF*
Career: 15 seasons / 58.1 WAR
Cubs: 2 seasons / 4.1 WAR
3. Fred McGriff - 1B*
Career: 19 seasons / 52.6 WAR
Cubs: 2 seasons / 3.3 WAR
4. Ralph Kiner - LF*
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| 1977-84 Galasso Glossy Greats |
Career: 10 seasons / 48.1 WAR
Cubs: 2 seasons / 4.6 WAR
5. Nomar Garciaparra - SS
Career: 14 seasons / 44.3 WAR
Cubs: 2 seasons / 1.5 WAR
6. Tony Lazzeri - 2B*
Career: 14 seasons / 47.6 WAR
Cubs: 1 season / 0.7 WAR
7. Gary Gaetti - 3B
Career: 20 seasons / 42.1 WAR
Cubs: 2 seasons / 0.8 WAR
8. Roger Bresnahan - C*
Career: 17 seasons / 42.0 WAR
Cubs: 4 seasons / 3.8 WAR
9. Robin Roberts - P*
Career: 19 seasons / 86.1 WAR
Cubs: 1 season / -0.7 WAR
Goose Gossage - Closer*
Career: 22 seasons / 41.1 WAR
Cubs: 1 season / -0.2 WAR
Bench:
Kenny Lofton - OF
Career: 17 seasons / 68.4 WAR
Cubs: 1 season / 1.8 WAR
Jim Edmonds - OF
Career: 17 seasons / 60.4 WAR
Cubs: 1 season 1.1 WAR
Luis Gonzalez - OF
Career: 19 seasons / 51.6 WAR
Cubs: 2 seasons / 4.7 WAR
Jason Kendall - C
Career: 15 seasons / 41.7 WAR
Cubs: 1 season / -0.3 WAR
D.J. LeMahieu - SS
Career: 12 seasons / 30.3 WAR (still active)
Cubs: 1 season / -0.2 WAR
Davey Johnson - 3B
Career: 13 seasons / 27.4 WAR
Cubs: 1 season / 0.5 WAR
Chris Speier - Utility
Career: 19 seasons / 30.6 WAR
Cubs: 2 seasons / 0.9 WAR
Other Starting Pitchers:
Cole Hamels - #2 Starter
Career: 15 seasons / 59.0 WAR
Cubs: 2 seasons / 5.0 WAR
Burleigh Grimes* - #3 Starter
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| 1961 Fleer Baseball Greats #37 |
Career: 19 seasons / 52.8 WAR
Cubs: 2 seasons / -0.6 WAR
Curt Simmons - #4 Starter
Career: 20 seasons / 43.3 WAR
Cubs: 2 seasons / -1.1 WAR
Dan Haren - #5 Starter
Career: 13 seasons / 35.1 WAR
Cubs: 1 season / 0.2 WAR
Other Relief Pitchers:
Hoyt Wilhelm*
Career: 21 seasons / 46.8 WAR
Cubs: 1 season / -0.2 WAR
Tom Gordon
Career: 21 seasons / 35.0 WAR
Cubs: 2 seasons / 0.8 WAR
Bobby Shantz
1964 Topps Style Custom
(Shantz never had a Cubs card issued.)
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| 1964 Topps Style Custom (Shantz never had a Cubs card issued.) |
Career: 16 seasons / 34.7 WAR
Cubs: 1 season / -0.1 WAR
Craig Kimbrel
Career: 13 seasons / 21.8 WAR (still active)
Cubs: 3 seasons / 1.8 WAR
Others considered:
Rick Aguilera, Jeff Blauser, George Bell, Rod Beck, Joe Carter, Nick Castellanos, Tommy Davis, Cliff Floyd, Jimmie Foxx* (I don't have a Cubs card of Foxx, or else he would have made the team), Monte Irvin*, Eric Karros, Harvey Kuenn, Phil Nevin, Carlos Pena, Joc Pederson, Benito Santiago, Bobby Thomson, Willie Wilson
Good stuff, always interesting to see those brief pick-ups by teams. I did something like this on the occasion of Albert Pujols joining the Dodgers. https://nightowlcards.blogspot.com/2021/05/late-term-dodgers-ones-not-mentioned.html
ReplyDeleteKind of an interesting mix of players on the Cubs before or after their primes....Lou Brock...ouch. Not sure if the Eloy trade will be worse or not. Maybe Gleyber Torres, but 2016 WS may not have happened if that didn't get made...
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I think the only two I knew for sure were Brock and Nomar. The rest were either complete surprises... or I vaguely remember them playing for them.
ReplyDeleteI really like these kind of posts. I had no idea that most of the more modern guys in here were ever Cubs. Pretty good team though. It'd be interesting to see how they would stack up against other teams that have been composed using the same guideline.
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