Chicago Cubs: Production from the unlikeliest of sources
The 1984 Cubs starting lineup boasted the likes of Ryne Sandberg, Gary Matthews, Ron Cey and Leon Durham. A fairly formidable group. That being said, much of the success for the Cubs that season was found in unlikely places.
The first was outfielder Thad Bosley. In a platoon role, Bosley saw action in 55 games that year, totaling 112 plate-appearances. In that span, Bosley slashed .296/.375/.418 with two home runs and 14 RBI. He also posted an above-average wOBA of .353 and wRC+ of 116. He became a consistent player for the Cubs for a couple of seasons before being shipped out and fading out of baseball a couple of years later.
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Richie Hebner was a second prominent producer for the club who nobody batted an eye. Hebner was a 36-year-old journeyman third baseman who spent the bulk of his career with the Pirates. After leaving Pittsburgh, Hebner jumped between the Phillies, New York Mets and Detroit Tigers before landing with the Cubs for his final two seasons.
That year, he played in just 44 games, however, saw 91 plate-appearances and slashing .333/.407/.444 with 2 HR and 8 RBI. Hebner also managed to produce a way-above-average .380 wOBA and 135 wRC+. It would be the final year of his career, as Hebner went out in style while helping the team in a big way to the postseason.
The final guy of the underrated group is Jay Johnstone. Similar in a sense to Hebner, Johnstone was a whopping 38 years old, his second-to-last season in the big leagues. Because Johnstone was a platoon guy as well, he saw just 52 games. The veteran did, however, record 82 at-bats, making the most of them.
While not hitting a single home run across the span and driving in only three runs, Johnstone still slashed .288/.350/.370 with a .308 wOBA. As a 38-year-old, not too shabby. While the production is also not as great as Bosley or Hebner, Johnstone still found a way to keep his average up enough to help out the club.