Chicago Cubs: Ranking the greatest duos in team history

There are plenty of great players who have put on a Chicago Cubs uniform. Some worked together great in pairs – a look at some of the greatest duos in team history.

Most die-hard Chicago Cubs fans know the old trio of Tinkers-to-Evers-to-Chance from the early 1900s. There are not many other trios like that, but there are plenty of famous duos of players within the team’s history.

What can be defined as a “duo” on a team? It is pretty loose, but mainly two players who are the center core of a team and/or two players who work together on the field. For example, a popular duo on a baseball team is usually two top-starting pitchers, corner infielders/outfielders, middle infielders or even set-up men and closers.

Here is a list of top-five duos in Cubs history. Obviously, this is up for debate, so let the conversations begin!

Chicago Cubs: #5: Mark Prior and Kerry Wood

These are the guys Cubs fans always look at and wonder what might have been. Two young stud arms who hit their peaks in 2003 and were then riddled with injuries for the rest of their careers. Mark Prior was coming into his own in 2003 when Kerry Wood was hitting the prime years of his career since joining the league as a 20-year-old in 1998.

This was a fierce duo really only in 2003 due to the fact that they could not stay healthy and on the field together from 2004 and onward. While Wood was able to reform himself into a successful closer, Prior pitched his final big league game in 2006 at only age 25. Still really tough to remember considering how unreal he looked as a 21 and 22-year-old.

But, this still makes the list just because of that ’03 season. The two combined for a 2.81 ERA in 422 1/3 innings and 511 strikeouts in 62 starts that season while both representing the Cubs in the All-Star Game. 266 of those 511 Ks belonged to Wood, who led the National League that year in strikeouts. Prior led the majors in FIP (2.47) that year. Neither man would start 30 or more games ever again.

Chicago Cubs: #3: Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez

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First and third was covered very well from 2004-2010 when Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez played on the Cubs together. Both guys were on the Cubs pretty much the same amount of time. Ramirez came over mid-2003 and left after 2011. Lee came over in 2004 and left near the end of 2010. Overall they played together on the Cubs for six and a half years.

Over that time, the two combined for 418 home runs, 1380 RBI and a .296/.367/.528 slash. Both made the All-Star Game in 2005, each making it a total of two times as a Cub. Outside of Lee missing most of 2006 and Ramirez missing much of 2009, the two put up consistently productive numbers no matter how good (or bad) the rest of the team was doing.

The two began under Dusty Baker from 2004-2006 and then both contributed to back-to-back division titles in 2007-2008 under Lou Piniella. They never accomplished their goal of a World Series, but they had plenty of success here on the North Side in the mid-2000s.

Chicago Cubs: #2: Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant

What can you say about this current duo at Wrigley Field? These two have been the center of the Cubs’ core since the team resurgence in 2015 when Kris Bryant came up. Anthony Rizzo suffered through the rebuild from 2012-2014, but every since Bryant arrived they have made the postseason each year.

So far they have combined for a .276/.377/.496 slash with 227 home runs and 746 runs batted in from 2015-Present. That’s not to mention a dozen long-balls and 34 RBI in the postseason. Rizzo has an average 4.3 fWAR per season since 2015 while Bryant has a 5.8 average fWAR per season.

Among other accomplishments include two All-Star nods together in 2015 and 2016, multiple Gold Gloves for Rizzo, a Rookie of the Year for KB in 2015 followed by his NL MVP season. And perhaps most important of all, the 5-3 putout to win the 2016 World Series. They have plenty of years ahead of them to pad their stats and add to their trophy cases.

Chicago Cubs: #1: Ernie Banks and Ron Santo

It is hard to argue against the two Hall of Fame infielders who held the corners for many years. “Mr. Cub” Ernie Banks and Ron Santo have defined what it means to be an all-time Cub, and are still arguably the two most favorite players of all time amongst Chicago Cubs fans.

The two played together on the Cubs from 1960-1971 before having both of their numbers retired at Wrigley and earning election into Cooperstown. In those years the two hit a combined 584 homers, drove in 2,114 runs, slugged .469 and totaled 3,420 hits.

In those 11 years, Banks made six All-Star games and Santo made seven. The famed duo also won a combined six Gold Gloves. While they did not have the postseason success (they never made the postseason) that Rizzo and Bryant have had so far, these guys will hold the title of the best duo for a while.