Chicago Cubs should bring back the captain title for Anthony Rizzo

Chicago Cubs: The Don Baylor years

Along with Sosa, former Cubs skipper Don Baylor attached the ‘captain’ label to several other players in the early 2000s.

First, it was right-handers Kevin Tapani and Rick Aguilera and another great Cubs first baseman in Mark Grace (along with Sosa). Of course, Grace headed to Arizona and played a role on the historic 2001 World Series champion Diamondbacks and Aguilera hung it up after the 2000 campaign.

For Baylor, the title carried weight.

"“To me, it’s a responsibility,” Baylor said. “It’s not just thrown out there. It means something.”"

In 2001, infielder Eric Young and current New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi earned the designation. At the time, both were key pieces for the Cubs – but it’s hard to mention these guys with the likes of Sosa or even Grace when you think about some of the leaders in franchise history.

What does this tell us? Something we all already know. Naming captains is largely a choice of management – and the man at the helm now, Joe Maddon, doesn’t seem keen on the idea of bringing it back.

"“I like the fact that it (leadership) is spread out among them. The topic was leadership. I think that has to be taken more than it’s being given.”"