Chicago Cubs: A nostalgic look back into the ghosts of Wrigley’s past
Rooting for a franchise as historic as the Chicago Cubs, you’re bound to overlook some of the names to don the uniform. But some are hard to forget.
Every so often it is fun to peruse the Chicago Cubs old rosters of yesteryear, creating a retrospective of players in the process. Many names are forgotten, erased from our memory. Some names however seemingly stick with us throughout history.
The Cubs are currently one of the best teams in baseball and stacked with unbelievable franchise-changing talent. Over the last four seasons, the club has averaged 97 wins, appeared in three NLCS and won a World Series – not too shabby. But, as many fans know all too well, it certainly has not always been this way. In fact, throughout much of the last couple decades, there has been more bad than good.
Nonetheless, through much of the muck emerged some exciting and fun players. The decade of 2000-10 marked a period which saw some great success as well as some significant failure. It also saw a smorgasbord of lineups thrown together in an attempt to develop a continued run of winning. Let the nostalgia take the wheel.
Chicago Cubs: Kosuke Fukudome, RF, 2008-10
Our first stop down Cubs memory lane is Kosuke Fukudome, who starred in Chicago’s outfield across three seasons. The offseason of 2008 saw the Cubs land the big left-handed outfielder from Japan on a four-year, $48 million deal. Fukudome had been compared as “a cross between Ichiro and young, healthy Mark Kotsay,” according to one MLB GM long ago.
For the Cubs, Fukudome was supposed to be the one to end the “curse.” While he never completely panned out as he was supposed to, Fukudome was not a complete failure in any regard. His first season in Chicago, Fukudome stayed consistent, appearing in 150 games. He was voted as an All-Star, finishing sixth in National League Rookie of the Year voting.
Fukudome’s best season came in 2009, his second year with the Cubs, as he slashed .259/.375/.421 with 11 HR and 54 RBI in 146 games. Most impressively, Fukudome posted a solid .353 wOBA and above-average wRC+ of 110, good for a 2.4 WAR.
Across the spectrum of his Cubs career, Fukudome slashed a modest .259/.368/.410 with a .778 OPS. He finished with a career .346 wOBA and 105 wRC+. Most impressively, Fukudome struck out at only a 17.4 percent clip while registering a ridiculous walk rate of 14.7 percent.
Chicago Cubs fans will never forget the legend of Kosuke.
Chicago Cubs: Fred McGriff, 1B, 2001-02
At the tail end of his potential Hall of Fame career, Fred McGriff accepted a trade from the Tampa Bay Rays, landing him on the North Side of the Windy City. Midway through the 2001 season, McGriff was sent to the Cubs in a deal which netted prospects in return. Simple enough.
Nevertheless, McGriff ended up being an excellent addition for the Cubs, despite the fact he was 37, going on 38. In 2001, McGriff appeared in 49 games following the trade and was as solid as they could have hoped for, slashing .282/.383/.559 with a .942 OPS, 12 HR and 41 RBI in 201 plate appearances.
The following season, at the ripe age of 38, McGriff slashed .273/.353/.505 with a .858 OPS. He also hit a resounding 30 home runs, while driving in 103 runs. Finishing with a .366 wOBA and 125 wRC+ in 595 plate-appearances, it was clear McGriff did not slow down. While the 2002 season culminated in only 67 wins, the ageless wonder McGriff did his best to provide some last stitched fireworks of his own.
Chicago Cubs: Kenny Lofton, CF, 2003
It is impressive to look at the career of Kenny Lofton between 2002 and 2003 and understand he played for four different teams across that span. The Chicago Cubs fit in as one pit stop along the way, finishing the year out for Lofton as he played 56 games in Chicago.
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Midway through the 2003 season, the Cubs sent a player by the name of Jose Hernandez and prospects Matt Bruback and Bobby Hill, both of whom never amounted to anything, to the Pirates. Aramis Ramirez also went to the Cubs in that deal, making it one of the best in club history.
In his time in Chicago, Lofton posted a ridiculously great .327/.381/.471 line with a .367 wOBA and above-average 121 wRC+ at the age of 36. Lofton also posted more than respectable numbers in the postseason that year too, finishing with a .308/.368/.346 line and just a 10.3 percent strikeout rate over 58 plate appearances.
During this decade, the Jim Hendry-led Cubs relied on bringing in aging veterans to remedy an up-and-down franchise.
However, Lofton became another player who somehow found the Fountain of Youth at the Friendly Confines.
Chicago Cubs: Angel Pagan, OF, 2006-07
One of the last few times Cubs fans saw Angel Pagan, he was looking directly up into the basket above which held Javier Baez‘ solo home run in Game 1 of the 2016 National League Division Series. However, many people forget that Pagan was once a Cub himself.
The New York Mets originally drafted Pagan before the Cubs eventually purchased his contract. At just 24 years old, Pagan made his official big league debut in 2006, appearing in 73 games. He was unfortunately underwhelming, slashing just .247/.306/.394 with a porous .306 wOBA and 75 wRC+.
The following year did not go much better for Pagan. While he slashed .264/.306/.439, he saw a minimal increase in wOBA to .321 as well as an 85 wRC+, still far below league average. Shortly after that, the Cubs shipped Pagan to the New York Mets in exchange for an outfielder named Corey Coles and a pitcher named Ryan Meyers.
Pagan never worked out for the Cubs and the team never gave him a legitimate chance to secure a spot on the roster. Pagan finished with a nice career, most of which he spent in San Francisco. He ended up being a .280 hitter with a career .322 wOBA and 102 wRC+. His best season came in 2010 as a member of the Mets, where he posted a 5.0 WAR.
Chicago Cubs: Felix Pie, OF, 2007-08
The final “do you remember” player on this list is none other than the legend himself, Felix Pie. Following the 2006 and 2007 seasons, Pie found his name at the top of the Cubs’ prospect list as the teams’ top up-and-coming talent.
Pie made his debut in 2007, appearing in 70 games, registering 194 plate-appearances, and 177 at-bats. Pie slashed a measly .215/.271/.333 and finishing his first big league stint with a laughably bad 51 wRC+.
The following season, the young outfielder looked a smidge better. However, he played in only 35 games, registering 93 plate-appearances, slashing .241/.312/.325. Pie struck out in 31.2 percent of at-bats, posting a 65 wRC+.
Following the 2008 season, the club dealt Pie to the Baltimore Orioles, in exchange for Garrett Olson and Henry Williamson. Now 33, Pie is in the Mexican League, and he is crushing the competition. In 212 plate appearances, Pie has managed to slash .334/.414/.515 with 10 home runs and 32 RBI. He is currently posting a .454 wOBA and 161 wRC+. For Cubs fans, Pie will always be one more ‘what if.’