The Chicago Cubs All-Time rookie team

Chicago Cubs Ernie Banks (14)- (Photo by Walter Iooss Jr./Sports Illustrated/Getty Images) (SetNumber: X14118 TK2)

Shortstop: Ernie Banks (1954)

Well, this wasn’t a mystery.  Who else other than “Mr. Cub” would be at this spot?

Banks loved baseball – loved to play the game and was great at it too.  Defensively he was very good, but he did struggle some at first.  His rookie year he’d commit 34 errors in 821 chances while turning 105 double plays.

The 34 errors would be his career high, but considering he was still just 23 years old and learning the Major League game – I find that to be a solid glove.

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As we all know – it wasn’t his glove that put him in the Hall of Fame.  Banks put on a show at the plate – putting up a stat line of .275 batting average, 19 home runs, and 79 runs batted in.

While that stat line was great – it would land him second place in the NL Rookie of the Year race – losing out to the Cardinals outfielder Wally Moon.

His rookie season was the first of 19 legendary seasons with the Chicago Cubs – as he went on to hit over 500 home runs and win the hearts of millions of fans all throughout baseball.

No matter what list you make about All-Time Great Cubs – you’ll always find #14 Mr. Cub Ernie Banks on that list.

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