He Played for the Cubs? - An All-Time Team

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*

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*

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

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.)

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

A Merry Cubs Christmas to You!

Here's a short Christmas-themed post featuring cards from my Cubs collection:

Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas!

Hope you got some nice gifts. Maybe six geese a laying?

Or four calling birds? 

Three French hens?

How about a diamond ring?

If you didn't do much for gifts, maybe you enjoyed some Christmas carols. 

The Holly and the Ivy is a classic.

Or Hark the Herald Angels Sing.

Maybe We Three Kings.

(Technically a Chicago White Stocking, but it's the same franchise!)

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer is another popular one.

Deck the Halls is always fun.

Hope you had some treats, too. Maybe a cherry candy cane:

Or some fudge?

Yeah, I know I fodged on that one a little. 

Well, regardless, from the words of White Christmas, I hope your days will be merry and bright.

 And that your Christmas is white (but that the snow is manageable).

Some Guys You Might Know: Donruss Names Series Finale

Welcome to the final part of the Donruss Names Series, where we look at some of the more interesting names on the back of Donruss baseball cards. This series takes advantage of the fact that from 1981 to 1992, Donruss printed the players full legal name on the back of their cards. If you're new to this series of posts or just want to reminisce, here's what we've covered so far:

Part 1: Famous players who went by their middle name

Part 2: Players who you thought had a nickname, but their nickname was their real name

Part 3: Players with a unique first name (Part 1)

Part 4: Players with a unique first name (Part 2)

Part 5: Players with a unique middle name

Part 6: Players who went by a nickname (Part 1 - 70s/80s)

All of the previous posts in the Donruss Names Series can be accessed by clicking here.

The final installment of the series today will feature players from the 80s/90s era who went by a nickname. I'm using a quiz format again to spice things up a bit, but if you want to skip ahead to the answers, feel free. The questions and answers are repeated below along with the cards that show the info. 

Let's dive in!

1) Which three-time all-star slugger had the given first/middle name Charles Theodore?
A) Cecil Fielder

B) Chili Davis

C) Danny Tartabull

D) Chet Lemon

2) Which pitcher who spent 13 years as a starter and reliever in the American League (and only played part of one season in the National League), had the given first/middle name George Earl?

A) Storm Davis

B) Goose Gossage

C) Turk Wendell

D) Tug McGraw

3) Which speedy one-time all-star had the given first/middle name Leon Joseph?

A) Otis Nixon

B) Willie Wilson

C) Bip Roberts

D) Mickey Rivers

4) Which long-time reliever had the given first/middle name Richard Michael?

A) Rollie Fingers

B) Goose Gossage

C) Willie Hernandez

D) Sparky Lyle

5) Which athletic outfielder had the given first/middle name Vincent Edward?

A) Kenny Lofton

B) Lonnie Smith

C) Bo Jackson

D) Barry Bonds

6) Which future manager had the given first/middle name Harry Ralston?

A) Bud Black

B) Torey Lovullo

C) Terry Francona

D) Dusty Baker

7) Which star shortstop had the given first/middle name Osborne Earl?

A) Ozzie Guillen

B) Ozzie Canseco

C) Ozzie Virgil

D) Ozzie Smith



Ok, let's see how you did!

1) Which three-time all-star slugger had the given first/middle name Charles Theodore?
A) Cecil Fielder

B) Chili Davis

C) Danny Tartabull

D) Chet Lemon

Chili got his nickname after a particularly bad haircut as a child. Other kids made fun of the haircut by saying it looked like someone had put a chili bowl over his head to cut around.

2) Which pitcher who spent 13 years as a starter and reliever in the American League (and only played part of one season in the National League), had the given first/middle name George Earl?

A) Storm Davis

B) Goose Gossage

C) Turk Wendell

D) Tug McGraw

Storm apparently got his nickname from a book his mother read while pregnant with him.

3) Which speedy one-time all-star had the given first/middle name Leon Joseph?

A) Otis Nixon

B) Willie Wilson

C) Bip Roberts

D) Mickey Rivers

Bip got his nickname from pronouncing certain words incorrectly during childhood, such as "bip" instead of "bit."

4) Which long-time reliever had the given first/middle name Richard Michael?

A) Rollie Fingers

B) Goose Gossage

C) Willie Hernandez

D) Sparky Lyle

A friend thought Rich looked like a goose when he looked in to read the signs from the catcher.

5) Which athletic outfielder had the given first/middle name Vincent Edward?

A) Kenny Lofton

B) Lonnie Smith

C) Bo Jackson

D) Barry Bonds

Bo was short for "boar hog," which Vincent was compared to as a child due to his penchant for getting into trouble.

6) Which future manager had the given first/middle name Harry Ralston?

A) Bud Black

B) Torey Lovullo

C) Terry Francona

D) Dusty Baker

Harry's sister started calling him Bud after the son in the 1950s sitcom Father Knows Best.

7) Which star shortstop had the given first/middle name Osborne Earl?

A) Ozzie Guillen

B) Ozzie Canseco

C) Ozzie Virgil

D) Ozzie Smith

Thanks for reading the final installment of the Donruss Names Series. As a thank you, I'm happy to announce you've stumbled into a "Pick 3" giveaway! 

Anyway, this giveaway is simple. There are three sets of players. Pick one player from each of the groups of names. Enter your names in the comments below. The first 6 people that comment will win and receive a PWE of cards of those three players. I'll try to include some interesting cards if I have them. Also, in the comments, if you want cards of that player from a particular team, you can say so, and I will try to accommodate. No doubling up on names. Once a player is taken by someone, you need to pick someone else in the group.

In subsequent giveaways, players chosen in the previous giveaways will not be available to choose again until some unknown date in the future. (Names with strikethrough below are not available.)

If you win, please provide your name and address via email by accessing my Blogger profile. If I've traded with you or have sent you cards before, you can skip this step. 

Remember, pick one player from each group!

HOF - Group 1

Roberto	Alomar		Whitey	Herzog		Cal	Ripken Jr.
Sparky	Anderson		Trevor	Hoffman		Ivan	Rodriguez
Jeff	Bagwell		Reggie	Jackson		Pete	Rose
Harold	Baines		Randy	Johnson		Babe	Ruth
Craig	Biggio		Chipper	Jones		Nolan	Ryan
Bert	Blyleven		Barry	Larkin		Mike	Schmidt
Wade	Boggs		Tony	LaRussa		Tom	Seaver
George	Brett		Tommy	Lasorda		Lee	Smith
Steve	Carlton		Greg	Maddux		Ozzie	Smith
Gary	Carter		Edgar	Martinez		John	Smoltz
Andre	Dawson		Pedro	Martinez		Bruce	Sutter
Dennis	Eckersley		Paul	Molitor		Don	Sutton
Carlton	Fisk		Jack	Morris		Frank	Thomas
Tom	Glavine		Eddie	Murray		Jim	Thome
Goose	Gossage		Mike	Mussina		Alan	Trammell
Ken	Griffey Jr.		Phil	Niekro		Larry	Walker
Vladimir	Guerrero		Tony	Perez		Dick	Williams
Tony	Gwynn		Mike	Piazza		Dave	Winfield
Rickey	Henderson		Kirby	Puckett		Robin	Yount
			Tim	Raines
			Jim	Rice

Grover	Alexander		Reggie	Jackson
Luke	Appling		Fergie	Jenkins
Earl	Averill		Walter	Johnson
Ernie	Banks		Chuck	Klein
Johnny	Bench		Nap	Lajoie
Jim	Bottomley		Joe	Morgan
Lou	Brock		Stan	Musial
Rod	Carew		Brooks	Robinson
Mickey	Cochrane		Frank	Robinson
Joe	Cronin		Tris	Speaker
Bob	Feller		Willie	Stargell
Rollie	Fingers		Bill	Terry
Jimmie	Foxx		Honus	Wagner
Frankie	Frisch		Paul	Waner
Bob	Gibson		Billy	Williams
Goose	Goslin		Ted	Williams
Lefty	Grove		Carl	Yastrzemski
Gabby	Hartnett
Rogers	Hornsby

Past Stars - Group 2

Mark	McGwire		Curt	Schilling
Kevin	Mitchell		Mike	Scioscia
Raul	Mondesi		Gary	Sheffield
Dale	Murphy		Ruben	Sierra
Graig	Nettles		JT	Snow
John	Olerud		Sammy	Sosa
Paul	O'Neill		Dave	Stewart
Magglio	Ordonez		Darryl	Strawberry
Rafael	Palmeiro		Rick	Sutcliffe
Dave	Parker		Danny	Tartabull
Lance	Parrish		Miguel	Tejada
Larry	Parrish		John	Valentin
Lou	Piniella		Fernando	Valenzuela
Darrell	Porter		Andy	Van Slyke
Aramis	Ramirez		Greg	Vaughn
Manny	Ramirez		Mo	Vaughn
Jeff	Reardon		Robin	Ventura
Edgar	Renteria		Omar	Vizquel
Kenny	Rogers		Tim	Wakefield
Scott	Rolen		Tim	Wallach
Bret	Saberhagen		David	Wells
Tim	Salmon		Vernon	Wells
Deion	Sanders		Lou	Whitaker
Benito	Santiago		Frank	White
Steve	Sax		Bernie	Williams
			Matt	Williams
			Willie	Wilson
			Don	Zimmer

Current/Recent Stars - Group 3

Jose	Abreu		Robinson	Cano
Ronald	Acuna Jr.		Matt	Carpenter
Ozzie	Albies		Starlin	Castro
Jose	Altuve		Matt	Chapman
Elvis	Andrus		Willson	Contreras
Chris	Archer		Carlos	Correa
Nolan	Arenado		Nelson	Cruz
Jake	Arrieta		Yu	Darvish
Josh	Bell		Khris	Davis
Cody	Bellinger		Jacob	deGrom
Andrew	Benintendi		Ian	Desmond
Mookie	Betts		Josh	Donaldson
Charlie	Blackmon		Jacoby	Ellsbury
Michael	Brantley		Freddie	Freeman
Alex	Bregman

Joey	Gallo	Kyle	Schwarber
Paul	Goldschmidt	Chris	Sale
Didi	Gregorius	Carlos	Santana
Zach	Greinke	Max	Scherzer
Bryce	Harper	Jean	Segura
Felix	Hernandez	Luis	Severino
Jason	Heyward	Andrelton	Simmons
Aaron	Judge	George	Springer
Clayton	Kershaw	Giancarlo	Stanton
Dallas	Keuchel	Trevor	Story
Cory	Kluber	Stephen	Strasburg
Jon	Lester	Dansby	Swanson
Francisco	Lindor	Ichiro	Suzuki
Evan	Longoria	Noah	Syndergaard
Manny	Machado	Masahiro	Tanaka
Trey	Mancini	Troy	Tulowitzki
JD	Martinez	Justin	Turner
Andrew	McCutchen	Trea	Turner
Yadier	Molina	Justin	Upton
Matt	Olson	Joey	Votto
Salvador	Perez	Adam	Wainwright
Tommy	Pham	Christian	Yelich
Buster	Posey
David	Price
Jose	Ramirez