2016 Chicago Cubs World Series hero on latest BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot
As Chicago Cubs fans wait for the team's offseason activity to begin in earnest, they can take some time out of their day on Monday to celebrate the latest accomplishment for 2016 World Series MVP, Ben Zobrist.
With 2019 being Zobrist's last season in Major League Baseball, the former Cubs' super-utility man is on this year's ballot for Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame.
Zobrist spent the final four seasons of his Major League career with the Cubs from 2016 through 2019 and while he did spend the first nine years of his career with the Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago seems to have become his home. Zobrist, in the seasons since he last played, has routinely been spotted among the Wrigley Field faithful, cheering on the Cubs.
During his four years with the Cubs, Zobrist compiled a 6.7 bWAR while slashing .269/.362/.411 with an OPS+ of 104. Of course, Zobrist cemented his Cubs' legacy forever during Game 7 of the 2016 World Series when his double in extra innings plated the game-winning run for the Cubs against the Cleveland Guardians.
While Zobrist seems like a foregone conclusion to be inducted into the Cubs' Hall of Fame, he may be facing an upward climb toward making Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame. Considering the other names on the ballot, Zobrist almost certainly will not be inducted in this year's class.
Along those lines, there are a pair of fringe former Cubs in this year's class.
Fernando Rodney spent part of the 2015 season pitching out of the Cubs' bullpen. In 14 appearances with the Cubs in 2015, Rodney posted a 0.75 ERA.
Carlos González will be remembered most for his time with the Colorado Rockies when he was one of the National League's most feared hitters, but he had a brief stint with the Cubs in 2019. During the 2019 season, González had 1 home run in a Cubs uniform while totaling 49 total plate appearances before being granted free agency later that season. Fun fact about González's time with the Cubs, that was his stretch of games at the Major League level for his career.