Even though tonight has been the only time we’ve had to focus upon its membership composition, The Pecan Park Eagle is proud to present its choices for the All Time 25-Man Chicago Cubs Modern Era Baseball Club. We eliminated consideration of Cub players from the 19th century period only because of the vast differences between the game played back then and the changes that were only beginning to appear with any rules similarity to the 2016 game, Besides, we didn’t want to take on the extra work of even trying to remediate the likes of Anson “Cappy” Jones prior to his first practice with the rest of the team.
Players were picked for their excellence in one particular season as a Cub. They had to have played for the Cubs in that year from either the 20th or 21st centuries. It does not take any researcher long to affirm or discover that the recent 2016 World Series win by the Cubs may have ended the 108-year old victory drought in the franchise’s history, but there has been no such absence of extremely talented people who have passed through or spent their entire careers without ever even sniffing a shot at the baseball season’s seminal moment while they played for the Cubs. Ernie Banks survives as the poster boy for the disappointment of Cubs Nation over their long, foreboding, some-say “cursed” absence from the World Series, but Banks sadly remains as perhaps the greatest player in history to have missed out as a player on the field of baseball’s greatest glory call. Almost needless to say, Ernie Banks was the easiest pick for our particular all time greatest modern era Cubs team.
We may have missed out on somebody, but we would be willing to go into battle with this Cubs team against the best of any other club tomorrow afternoon, if that were possible.
These final observations are begging to be written here: (1) As will be noticeable quickly, a goodly number of these players already are members of the Baseball Hall of Fame; (2) We decided early on that we just couldn’t field an all time Cubs club without the roster presence of “Tinker and Evers and Chance”, even if that trio of bear cubs spends most of their time on the bench; (3) we also didn’t want the 2016 World Champion Cubs to be shut out here, so we picked the one man we think the Cubs could not have done without in the Series with the Indians; and (4) with the 8-man staff, most of whom are capable of winning complete games and also throwing some relief without regard for pitch count that the two specialist relievers we have picked should be enough to handle the rare occasion that this club shall see victory dancing in the wind on the wings of hoped-for success by a single closer. And, when a club does face our Cubs closer, they are going to be the ones whose fates are now blowing in the wind.
Publisher, Editor, Writer
The Pecan Park Eagle
Houston, Texas
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Here it is:
Amendment Note: Close to 10:45 PM, Monday, 11/07/16, we replaced Charlie Root of 1927 on the staff with Jon Lester of 2016. We needed a great lefty to go with all of our other right handed starters. – We never made any claims of perfection here on the first bounce. Besides, Charlie Root took the news pretty good for a man of his antiquity. 🙂
Pecan Park Eagle All Time Chicago Cubs Modern Era 25-Man Roster
| POS | FIELDERS | YEAR | BA | R | RBI | HR | SB |
| C | Gabby Hartnett | 1930 | .339 | 84 | 122 | 37 | 0 |
| C | Johnny Kling | 1906 | .312 | 45 | 46 | 2 | 14 |
| 1B | Phil Cavarretta | 1945 | .355 | 94 | 97 | 6 | 5 |
| 2B | Ryne Sandberg | 1990 | .306 | 116 | 100 | 40 | 25 |
| 3B | Ron Santo | 1964 | .313 | 94 | 114 | 30 | 3 |
| SS | Ernie Banks | 1958 | .313 | 119 | 129 | 47 | 4 |
| SS | Joe Tinker | 1908 | .266 | 67 | 68 | 6 | 30 |
| 2B | Johnny Evers | 1908 | .300 | 83 | 37 | 0 | 36 |
| 1B | Frank Chance | 1903 | .327 | 83 | 81 | 2 | 67 |
| 2B/PH | Rogers Hornsby | 1929 | .380 | 156 | 149 | 39 | 2 |
| 1B/PH | Charlie Grimm | 1931 | .331 | 65 | 66 | 4 | 1 |
| 2B/3B | Billy Herman | 1935 | .341 | 113 | 83 | 7 | 6 |
| LF | Billy Williams | 1970 | .322 | 137 | 129 | 42 | 7 |
| CF | Hack Wilson | 1930 | .356 | 146 | 191 | 56 | 3 |
| RF | Sammy Sosa | 2001 | .328 | 146 | 160 | 64 | 0 |
| OF | Andre Dawson | 1987 | .287 | 90 | 137 | 49 | 11 |
| OF | Kiki Cuyler | 1929 | .360 | 111 | 102 | 15 | 43 |
| USAGE | PITCHERS | YEAR | WON | LOST | ERA | SO | BB |
| START | Mordecai Brown | 1909 | 29 | 9 | 1.31 | 172 | 53 |
| START | Grover C. Alexander | 1920 | 27 | 14 | 1.91 | 173 | 69 |
| START | Ferguson Jenkins | 1971 | 24 | 13 | 2.77 | 263 | 37 |
| START | Greg Maddux | 1992 | 20 | 11 | 2.18 | 199 | 70 |
| START | Jon Lester | 2016 | 19 | 5 | 2.44 | 197 | 52 |
| START | Lon Warneke | 1932 | 22 | 6 | 2.37 | 106 | 64 |
| R (31 Sv) | Bruce Sutter | 1977 | 7 | 3 | 1.34 | 129 | 23 |
| R (16 Sv) | Aroldis Chapman | 2016 | 1 | 1 | 1.01 | 46 | 10 |
The Pecan Park Eagle 
November 7, 2016 at 6:39 am |
Bill, you stipulated that “Players were picked for their excellence in one particular season as a Cub.”
I would like to mention a player who won the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 1962 as well as a Gold Glove that same year. He was the starting second baseman for the Chicago Cubs in the first game ever played by the Houston Colt .45s on April 10, 1962–Kenny Hubbs.
Unfortunately, he was killed in a plane crash on February 13, 1964
November 7, 2016 at 10:58 am |
Thanks for the continuing Cubs coverage, Bill. Nice selections for the All Time Chicago Cubs Team.
The one trade-off I’d make, if the governing factor is going to be a single season’s performance and the Tinker-Evers-Chance combo is a given, is I’d substitute Rick Wilkins for Johnny Kling as backup catcher. In 1993, Wilkins hit .303, with 30 HR, 73 RBI, and 78 runs scored. He played well defensively. Can’t say much about the rest of his career, but that was a banner year for him.
Might also have to think about substituting 2016 Anthony Rizzo for Charlie Grimm. Would give up points on the batting average, but gain substantially in slugging and RBI.
Bill Hickman
November 7, 2016 at 12:22 pm |
Hello Bill,
Charlie Root went 8-7 in ’38 as a spot starter and reliever; however, he was 26-15 in ’27.
November 7, 2016 at 3:25 pm |
How did Mordicah 3 fingers Brown lose his fingers. Rollie Fingers wants to know
November 7, 2016 at 4:10 pm |
According to his biography, he suffered two separate injuries to his right hand. The first and most famous trauma came when he was feeding material into the farm’s feed chopper. He slipped and his hand was mangled by the knives, severing much of his index finger and damaging the others. A doctor repaired the rest of his hand as best he could. While it was still healing, the injury was further aggravated by a fall he took, which broke several finger bones. They were not reset properly, especially the middle finger – Wikipedia
Brown actually only lost the right index finger. He got the nickname from the boost that the three-fingered and mangled right hand grip gave him on certain pitches.
Hard to even imagine how painful it must have been to stick one’s hand into an animal feed chopper. Yikes!
November 8, 2016 at 4:08 am |
Excellent choices Bill. My one quibble is with the inclusion of Frank Chance just because his name was made famous in a poem, when it means leaving Anthony Rizzo or Kris Bryant off the roster. Both those guys are superstars I’d love to see on the Astros or Yankees.
November 8, 2016 at 4:10 am |
Then there’s also Arrieta and/or Hendricks.
November 8, 2016 at 5:13 am |
FROM FATHER GERRY BEIRNE (RHODE ISLAND):
Hi Bill,
Neat concept on Cubs all-time team by best season, but you might make a few more decisions
a) why Sandberg over Hornsby;
b) the old Big Mac lists Billy Herman as 152 games at 2B, no mention of 3B, which he did play, but less than 100 games later on according to Baseball-Reference.com;
c) a very powerful OF;
d) which single starting pitcher would you pick for RHP and LHP?
I can’t believe that Iwill turn 80 on Rabbit Maranville’s birthday.
(Fr) Gerry Beirne
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MY E-MAIL RESPONSE TO FATHER GERRY BEIRNE:
Hi, Father Gerry!
Glad you enjoyed my all time Cubs roster.
Regarding your a,b,c,d comments:
a) Hornsby or Sandberg are both great as starters – and if Hornsby hits as his stats for the given year show, his BA and superior power would undoubtedly win the starter job over from the faster, better fielding Sandberg before season’s end, but they will still see plenty of action either way.
b) Herman’s designation as 2b/3b here were just show that he played a little 3rd, which offered some utility value to his roster selection.
c) Yes. Williams-Wilson-Sosa ~ a most powerful outfield, indeed.
d) I pick Mordecai Brown as our ace RHP starter; and to get an ace LHP starter, we had to repair an oversight by replacing Charlie Root of 1927 with Jon Lester of 2016 as our lefty ace – and only – lefty starter.
Peace and Love too to the most baseball knowledgeable cleric in America! 😊
Also, Happy Birthday, Father Gerry! It will be Friday, Nov. 11th before you can again say “Rabbit Maranville.”
Bill McCurdy
November 8, 2016 at 9:10 pm |
Hi Bill.
This is for the gentleman who mentioned Rollie Fingers questioning how Three Finger Brown got hurt. Rollie, who has my book and likes it, can find out about Brown’s terrible accident in my book.
Also Happy 80th Father Gerry!