Chicago Cubs: Greatest players of the decade – #30-21

Chicago Cubs: No. 23: Carlos Marmol

A lot of Chicago Cubs fans are probably wondering what Carlos Marmol is doing on this list; after all, his career with the Cubs did not end well. However, because of that, it’s easy to forget that he actually had a solid run of a few years as the team’s closer.

Marmol was a tremendous middle reliever for the 2007 and 2008 NL Central Championship teams. In 2009, he got to earn 15 saves. Then, he had a great year as the full-time closer in 2010: Marmol led the league with 70 games finished and earned 38 saves while posting a 2.55 ERA. In 2011, the right-hander wasn’t quite as good, though he still got 34 saves, and in 2012 he earned 20 saves.

Marmol had always had command issues, but for a good part of his career, he was able to pitch around them. It may have finally caught up with him in 2013, as things fell apart, with him putting up a 5.86 ERA before the Cubs traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Many Cubs fans have memories of Marmol throwing the ball all over the place and blowing games, yet he earns this spot on the list because of the success that he did have.