Chicago Cubs Trophy Case

Kris Bryant and the San Francisco Giants are visiting the Cubs at Wrigley Field this weekend, marking the first time that Bryant has played against his old teammates. When Bryant in 2016 made the most important assist by a Cub since at least 1908, he was in the midst of a streak that saw him win College Player of the Year, Minor League Player of the Year, National League Rookie of the Year, and National League Most Valuable Player in consecutive seasons. It seems fair to doubt whether anyone will ever equal that particular feat again.

KRIS BRYANT

    

Below are some of the noteworthy honors won by Bryant and other Cubs over the years.

Retired Numbers

10 - Ron Santo

14 - Ernie Banks 

23 - Ryne Sandberg

26 - Billy Williams

31 - Fergie Jenkins

31 - Greg Maddux 

World Championship Managers
1907 - Frank Chance
1908 - Frank Chance
2016 - Joe Maddon

World Series Most Valuable Player
2016 - Ben Zobrist

National League Most Valuable Player
1911 - Frank "Wildfire" Schulte
1929 - Rogers Hornsby
1935 - Gabby Hartnett
1945 - Phil Cavarretta
1952 - Hank Sauer
1958 - Ernie Banks
1959 - Ernie Banks
1984 - Ryne Sandberg
1987 - Andre Dawson
1998 - Sammy Sosa
2016 - Kris Bryant

The Sporting News Major League Player of the Year
1972 - Billy Williams
1984 - Ryne Sandberg
1998 - Sammy Sosa

National League Cy Young Award
1971 - Fergie Jenkins
1979 - Bruce Sutter
1984 - Rick Sutcliffe
1992 - Greg Maddux
2015 - Jake Arrieta

National League Rookie of the Year
1961 - Billy Williams
1962 - Ken Hubbs
1989 - Jerome Walton
1998 - Kerry Wood
2008 - Geovany Soto
2015 - Kris Bryant

National League Batting Champion
1876 - Ross Barnes
1879 - Cap Anson
1880 - George Gore
1881 - Cap Anson
1886 - King Kelly
1887 - Cap Anson
1888 - Cap Anson
1912 - Heinie Zimmerman
1945 - Phil Cavarretta
1975 - Bill Madlock
1976 - Bill Madlock
1980 - Bill Buckner
2005 - Derrek Lee

National League Home Run Leader
1884 - Ned Williamson
1885 - Abner Dalrymple
1888 - Jimmy Ryan
1890 - Walt Wilmot
1910 - Frank "Wildfire" Schulte
1911 - Frank "Wildfire" Schulte
1912 - Heinie Zimmerman
1916 - Cy Williams
1926 - Hack Wilson
1927 - Hack Wilson
1928 - Hack Wilson
1930 - Hack Wilson
1943 - Bill Nicholson
1944 - Bill Nicholson
1952 - Hank Sauer
1958 - Ernie Banks
1960 - Ernie Banks
1979 - Dave Kingman
1987 - Andre Dawson
1990 - Ryne Sandberg
2000 - Sammy Sosa
2002 - Sammy Sosa 

National League Runs Batted In Leader
1876 - Deacon White
1880 - Cap Anson
1881 - Cap Anson
1882 - Cap Anson
1884 - Cap Anson
1885 - Cap Anson
1886 - Cap Anson
1888 - Cap Anson
1891 - Cap Anson
1906 - Harry Steinfeldt
1911 - Frank "Wildfire" Schulte
1912 - Heinie Zimmerman
1929 - Hack Wilson
1930 - Hack Wilson
1943 - Bill Nicholson
1944 - Bill Nicholson
1952 - Hank Sauer
1958 - Ernie Banks
1959 - Ernie Banks
1987 - Andre Dawson
1998 - Sammy Sosa
2018 - Javier Baez

National League Leader in Victories
1876 - Al Spalding
1881 - Larry Corcoran
1885 - John Clarkson
1887 - John Clarkson
1890 - Bill Hutchison
1891 - Bill Hutchison
1892 - Bill Hutchison
1909 - Mordecai Brown
1912 - Larry Cheney
1918 - Hippo Vaughn
1920 - Grover Alexander
1927 - Charlie Root
1929 - Pat Malone
1930 - Pat Malone
1932 - Lon Warneke
1938 - Bill Lee
1964 - Larry Jackson
1971 - Fergie Jenkins
1987 - Rick Sutcliffe
1992 - Greg Maddux
2015 - Jake Arrieta
2018 - Jon Lester
2020 - Yu Darvish

National League Leader in Earned-Run Average
1882 - Larry Corcoran
1898 - Clark Griffith
1902 - Jack Taylor
1906 - Mordecai Brown
1907 - Jack Pfiester
1910 - King Cole
1918 - Hippo Vaughn
1919 - Grover Alexander
1920 - Grover Alexander
1932 - Lon Warneke
1938 - Bill Lee
1945 - Ray Prim
2016 - Kyle Hendricks

National League Leader in Strikeouts
1880 - Larry Corcoran
1885 - John Clarkson
1887 - John Clarkson
1892 - Bill Hutchison
1909 - Orval Overall
1918 - Hippo Vaughn
1919 - Hippo Vaughn
1920 - Grover Alexander
1929 - Pat Malone
1938 - Clay Bryant
1955 - Sam Jones
1956 - Sam Jones
1969 - Fergie Jenkins
2003 - Kerry Wood

National League Manager of the Year
1984 - Jim Frey
1989 - Don Zimmer
2008 - Lou Piniella
2015 - Joe Maddon

 

Check out our book Heydays: Great Stories in Chicago Sports on Amazon.  

El Mago Joins Cubs Gold Glovers

Javier Baez has always said that he is naturally left-handed, which would explain his lightning-fast and acrobatic tags with his glove hand. It doesn't explain the strength of his throwing arm or the quickness of his feet, but maybe some things don't need to be explained. After all, Baez's nickname is "El Mago" (the Magician).

     Baez bounced around at second base, third base, and shortstop for the first few years of his career, became a full-time shortstop in 2019, and now has won his first Gold Glove Award for excellence at that position. 

     Baez is the first Cubs shortstop to win a Gold Glove since Don Kessinger in 1970. He and first baseman Anthony Rizzo are the first Cubs teammates to win Gold Gloves in the same year since Rizzo and Jason Heyward did so in 2016. 

 

JAVIER BAEZ

Below is the complete list of Cubs Gold Glove winners by position.

Pitchers
1990 - Greg Maddux
1991 - Greg Maddux
1992 - Greg Maddux
2004 - Greg Maddux
2005 - Greg Maddux
2006 - Greg Maddux

Catchers
1986 - Jody Davis

First Basemen

1992 - Mark Grace

1993 - Mark Grace

1995 - Mark Grace

1996 - Mark Grace

2005 - Derrek Lee

2007 - Derrek Lee

2016 - Anthony Rizzo

2018 - Anthony Rizzo

2019 - Anthony Rizzo

2020 - Anthony Rizzo

 

 

Second Basemen

1962 - Ken Hubbs

1968 - Glenn Beckert

1983 - Ryne Sandberg

1984 - Ryne Sandberg

1985 - Ryne Sandberg

1986 - Ryne Sandberg

1987 - Ryne Sandberg

1988 - Ryne Sandberg

1989 - Ryne Sandberg

1990 - Ryne Sandberg

1991 - Ryne Sandberg

2012 - Darwin Barney

 

Shortstops

1960 - Ernie Banks

1969 - Don Kessinger

1970 - Don Kessinger

2020 - Javier Baez   

 

Third Basemen
1964 - Ron Santo
1965 - Ron Santo
1966 - Ron Santo
1967 - Ron Santo
1968 - Ron Santo

Outfielders

1984 - Bob Dernier

1987 - Andre Dawson

1988 - Andre Dawson

2016 - Jason Heyward

2017 - Jason Heyward 

Check out our book Heydays: Great Stories in Chicago Sports on Amazon.

Cubs Honor Roll

CAP ANSON

Cubs retired numbers:
10 - Ron Santo
14 - Ernie Banks
23 - Ryne Sandberg
26 - Billy Williams
31 - Fergie Jenkins
31 - Greg Maddux

World championship managers:
1876 - Al Spalding
1880 - Cap Anson
1881 - Cap Anson
1882 - Cap Anson
1885 - Cap Anson
1886 - Cap Anson
1907 - Frank Chance
1908 - Frank Chance

National League Most Valuable Player:
1911 - Frank "Wildfire" Schulte
1929 - Rogers Hornsby
1935 - Gabby Hartnett
1945 - Phil Cavarretta
1952 - Hank Sauer
1958 - Ernie Banks
1959 - Ernie Banks
1984 - Ryne Sandberg
1987 - Andre Dawson
1998 - Sammy Sosa

National League Cy Young Award:
1971 - Fergie Jenkins
1979 - Bruce Sutter
1984 - Rick Sutcliffe
1992 - Greg Maddux

National League Rookie of the Year:
1961 - Billy Williams
1962 - Ken Hubbs
1989 - Jerome Walton
1998 - Kerry Wood
2008 - Geovany Soto

Batting champions:
1876 - Ross Barnes
1880 - George Gore
1881 - Cap Anson
1884 - Mike "King" Kelly
1886 - Mike "King" Kelly
1888 - Cap Anson
1912 - Heinie Zimmerman
1945 - Phil Cavarretta
1972 - Billy Williams
1975 - Bill Madlock
1976 - Bill Madlock
1980 - Bill Buckner
2005 - Derrek Lee

Home Run leaders:
1884 - Ned Williamson
1885 - Abner Dalrymple
1888 - Jimmy Ryan
1890 - Walt Wilmot
1910 - Frank "Wildfire" Schulte
1911 - Frank "Wildfire" Schulte
1912 - Heinie Zimmerman
1916 - Cy Williams
1926 - Hack Wilson
1927 - Hack Wilson
1930 - Hack Wilson
1943 - Bill Nicholson
1944 - Bill Nicholson
1952 - Hank Sauer
1958 - Ernie Banks
1960 - Ernie Banks
1979 - Dave Kingman
1987 - Andre Dawson
1990 - Ryne Sandberg
2000 - Sammy Sosa
2002 - Sammy Sosa

Runs Batted In leaders:
1876 - Deacon White
1880 - Cap Anson
1881 - Cap Anson
1882 - Cap Anson
1884 - Cap Anson
1885 - Cap Anson
1886 - Cap Anson
1888 - Cap Anson
1891 - Cap Anson
1906 - Harry Steinfeldt
1911 - Frank "Wildfire" Schulte
1929 - Hack Wilson
1930 - Hack Wilson
1943 - Bill Nicholson
1944 - Bill Nicholson
1952 - Hank Sauer
1958 - Ernie Banks
1959 - Ernie Banks
1987 - Andre Dawson
1998 - Sammy Sosa
2001 - Sammy Sosa

Leaders in victories:
1876 - Al Spalding
1881 - Larry Corcoran
1885 - John Clarkson
1890 - Bill Hutchinson
1891 - Bill Hutchinson
1892 - Bill Hutchinson
1909 - Mordecai "Three-Finger" Brown
1912 - Larry Cheney
1918 - Hippo Vaughn
1920 - Grover Alexander
1927 - Charlie Root
1929 - Pat Malone
1930 - Pat Malone
1932 - Lon Warneke
1938 - Bill Lee
1964 - Larry Jackson
1971 - Fergie Jenkins
1987 - Rick Sutcliffe
1992 - Greg Maddux
2006 - Carlos Zambrano

Leaders in Earned-Run Average:
1883 - Larry Corcoran
1898 - Clark Griffith
1902 - Jack Taylor
1906 - Mordecai "Three-Finger" Brown
1907 - Jack Pfiester
1910 - King Cole
1918 - Hippo Vaughn
1919 - Grover Alexander
1920 - Grover Alexander
1932 - Lon Warneke
1938 - Bill Lee
1945 - Ray Prim

Leaders in strikeouts:
1880 - Larry Corcoan
1885 - John Clarkson
1892 - Bill Hutchinson
1909 - Orval Overall
1918 - Hippo Vaughn
1919 - Hippo Vaughn
1920 - Grover Alexander
1929 - Pat Malone
1938 - Clay Bryant
1946 - Johnny Schmitz
1955 - Sam Jones
1956 - Sam Jones
1969 - Fergie Jenkins
2003 - Kerry Wood

Manager of the Year:
1984 - Jim Frey
1989 - Don Zimmer
2008 - Lou Piniella

Kid K, No Longer a Kid, Returns to Cubs

     When he left the Cubs after the 2008 season, righthander Kerry Wood made no secret of the fact that he hoped to return someday. “Someday” turned out to be Friday, when free-agent Wood agreed to rejoin the Cubs for one year at $1.5 million, declining several other offers, including one from the New York Yankees that was said to be for two years at $5 million per. For Wood, it clearly isn't about the money as much as it is about being where he and his family prefer to be.
     Wood is following a number of prominent Cubs pitchers of the past (Fergie Jenkins, Ken Holtzman, Rick Reuschel, Greg Maddux, and Jon Lieber) who also returned after playing elsewhere. None of them was as good the second time around, and none could have been realistically expected to be. The same is true of Wood, who was an occasionally unhittable starting pitcher in his heyday, and is now a 33-year-old seventh- or eighth-inning man out of the bullpen.
     When Wood first came on the scene in 1998, he was a pitching prospect unlike any that Cubs fans had seen in many years. Few could have guessed that he’d win only 77 games in the first ten years of his career, while suffering through 12 separate stints on the disabled list—but that is what happened.
     Wood was National League Rookie of the Year in 1998, and his future stretched promisingly before him. The highlight of that season, of course, was his sensational 20-strikeout game on May 6, which is described below.

Kerry Wood

     In 1998, Kerry Wood’s babyface made him look even younger than his 20 years of age, but with a baseball in his hand he was a menacing presence. He was six-foot-five and 225 pounds, and his combination of a 100-m.p.h. fastball, devastating curveball, and wicked slider was unprecedented. So was his effort on a drizzly Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley Field, when in just his fifth major-league start, he pitched one of the greatest games of all time.
     From the day he was drafted out of high school in 1995, Wood had been the most highly touted prospect in the Cubs organization. Every scout who saw him in the minor leagues swore he was the real thing, and every team that talked trade with the Cubs asked about him. When, at the close of spring training in 1998, the Cubs decided to send him out for a little more seasoning, Anaheim Angels manager Terry Collins facetiously said he would put all his money on the Cubs to win the World Series. “If they have five [starting] pitchers better than Kerry Wood,” he said, “they’re going all the way!”
     Recalled after just one start at Iowa, Wood went 2-2 with a 5.89 earned-run average in his first four outings for the Cubs, looking brilliant at times and awful at others. Then, on May 6, he faced a Houston Astros club that had won nine of its last ten games and boasted the National League’s most potent offense. He struck out the first five batters. He fanned one more in the third, two in the fourth, and three in the fifth.
     Wood struck out one man in the sixth and struck out the side in the seventh. When he fanned the first batter in the eighth, the bleacher fans who had brought placards to mark each “K” ran out. They had brought 16. Wood struck out the next two Astros as well, whereupon other fans were recruited to augment the placards by lining up and painting K’s on their chests. Wood’s 18 strikeouts surpassed the franchise record, set in 1906, and tied the major-league record for rookies.
     Wood had worked with a scant one-run lead since the second inning, as Houston’s Shane Reynolds held the Cubs in check. The Cubs got an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. When Wood took the mound for the ninth, the crowd of 15,758 was going wild. Billy Spiers came up to pinch hit for Reynolds. With the crowd chanting Wood’s first name, Spiers struck out. That gave Wood seven strikeouts in a row and 19 for the day. Nineteen strikeouts in one game had been accomplished five times before, including once by Nolan Ryan—Wood’s fellow Texan and his idol, in whose honor the youngster wore number 34. But even Ryan, baseball’s all-time strikeout leader, had never whiffed 20 in a game. Only another Texan, Roger Clemens, had done that—first in 1986 and again in 1996.
     Craig Biggio, the Astros’ excellent leadoff man, strode to the plate. He tapped a soft grounder to shortstop and was roundly booed for having hit the ball. Now both Wood and the Astros were down to their final out. Derek Bell was the hitter. He flailed in vain at two nasty curveballs. A steady roar now replaced the “Ker-ree!” chants. Bell let the next pitch go to make the count 1-and-2. Catcher Sandy Martinez called for another curveball.
     Bell had no chance. He was strikeout victim number 20. Wood pumped his fist once, rather sheepishly, before he was mobbed by his teammates.
     If it wasn’t the greatest single-game pitching performance in history, it was certainly the most dominant. Only two men reached base: one on a scratch single off the glove of third baseman Kevin Orie (which might easily have been ruled an error) and the other when he was hit by a pitch. Only eight pitches were hit into fair territory, just two out of the infield. Houston’s three-four-five hitters—Jeff Bagwell, Jack Howell, and Moises Alou—came to bat a total of nine times and struck out nine times.
     “It was just one of those days,” said Wood. “It just felt like playing catch out there.”

Cubs Gold Glovers

GREG MADDUX

     This year's Cubs did not earn any Gold Glove awards, although center fielder Marlon Byrd performed well enough to at least merit consideration. Who will be the next Gold Glover for the Cubs? It's hard to say, now that perennial contender Derrek Lee has been traded.
     The Cubs have been well represented in past years, with second baseman Ryne Sandberg earning nine Gold Gloves for them, third baseman Ron Santo five, and first baseman Mark Grace four. Pitcher Greg Maddux won "only" six of his Gold Gloves for the Cubs, thanks to the disastrous mismanagement that allowed him to leave via free agency after the 1992 season. Maddux won 12 Gold Gloves elsewhere, mostly in Atlanta, for an astounding career total of 18.
     Below is a list of all Cubs Gold Glovers since the awards were first given in 1957.

Cubs Gold Glove Award Winners

Pitcher
1990 - Greg Maddux
1991 - Greg Maddux
1992 - Greg Maddux
2004 - Greg Maddux
2005 - Greg Maddux
2006 - Greg Maddux

Catcher
1986 - Jody Davis

First Baseman
1992 - Mark Grace
1993 - Mark Grace
1995 - Mark Grace
1996 - Mark Grace
2005 - Derrek Lee
2007 - Derrek Lee

Second Baseman
1962 - Ken Hubbs
1968 - Glenn Beckert
1983 - Ryne Sandberg
1984 - Ryne Sandberg
1985 - Ryne Sandberg
1986 - Ryne Sandberg
1987 - Ryne Sandberg
1988 - Ryne Sandberg
1989 - Ryne Sandberg
1990 - Ryne Sandberg
1991 - Ryne Sandberg

Shortstop
1960 - Ernie Banks
1969 - Don Kessinger
1970 - Don Kessinger

Third Baseman
1964 - Ron Santo
1965 - Ron Santo
1966 - Ron Santo
1967 - Ron Santo
1968 - Ron Santo

Outfielder
1984 - Bob Dernier
1987 - Andre Dawson
1988 - Andre Dawson

Bill James's Greatest Chicago Players

EDDIE COLLINS

     Bill James and his fellow sabermetricians--so named after the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), through which they operate--seek to go beyond the traditional figures that have populated the sports pages for more than a century (batting average, home runs, runs batted in, wins, strikeouts, and earned-run average), in order to measure every aspect of a player's performance and value.
     Their work leads inevitably to the ranking of players, which is always interesting, often controversial, and sometimes changes considerably over time (for example, Ernie Banks was ranked 40th in an early version of James's list of the greatest players of all time, but has since slipped to 77th). The rankings have made James's books best sellers and are surefire conversation starters.
     The best Chicago player of all time, according to James, was Eddie Collins. "Collins is described by various sources," James wrote, "as the best bunter in the history of baseball, the best hit-and-run man in the history of baseball, the best defensive second baseman in the history of baseball, the best sign-stealer who ever lived, and the greatest World Series star who ever lived. Kid Gleason, who managed Collins on the White Sox, said that Collins was the greatest team player who ever lived. Connie Mack [who managed Collins with the Athletics] said that Collins was the greatest team player who ever lived."
     Below is a list of all the Chicago players in James's most recent top 100. (Note that some of them played only briefly in Chicago, and therefore earned their ranking elsewhere.) Notable by his absence from this list is Sammy Sosa, whose steroid-tainted career remains difficult to evaluate at present.

18. Eddie Collins, White Sox 1915-1926

20. Grover Alexander, Cubs 1918-1926

22. Rogers Hornsby, Cubs 1929-1932

29. Jimmie Foxx, Cubs 1942, 1944

38. Tom Seaver, White Sox 1984-1986

58. Ryne Sandberg, Cubs 1982-1994, 1996-1997

66. Joe Jackson, White Sox 1916-1920

71. Al Simmons, White Sox 1933-1935

73. Ken Griffey Jr., White Sox 2008

75. Frank Thomas, White Sox 1990-2005

77. Ernie Banks, Cubs 1953-1971

78. Steve Carlton, White Sox 1986

80. Roberto Alomar, White Sox 2003-2004

81. Tim Raines, White Sox 1991-1995

83. Mordecai Brown, Cubs 1904-1912, 1916

85. Minnie Minoso, White Sox 1951-1957, 1960-1961, 1964

87. Ron Santo, Cubs 1960-1973; White Sox 1974

92. Greg Maddux, Cubs 1986-1992, 2004-2006

96. Robin Roberts, Cubs 1966

97. Carlton Fisk, White Sox, 1981-1993

100. Billy Williams, Cubs 1959-1974