Chicago Cubs: Ranking the greatest players of the decade – #10-1

Chicago Cubs: No. 1: Anthony Rizzo

I deliberated quite a bit in putting together this list, but there is one selection that I didn’t have much trouble with, and that is putting Anthony Rizzo in the no. 1 spot. By almost any measure, he’s been the Chicago Cubs’ best player of the decade.

The Cubs lucked out when they traded for Rizzo from the San Diego Padres prior to the 2012 season, as the Padres decided they would rather go with Yonder Alonso as their future first baseman. Rizzo came up to the majors in the middle of 2012 and made a big first impression, hitting 15 home runs while driving in 48 and batting .285.

Since then, Rizzo has hit at least 23 home runs for seven consecutive years, including four years of over 30. He’s also driven in over 100 runs four times and posted an OPS of at least .899 five times.  (For what it’s worth, he’s also led the league in getting hit by pitches three times.) And let’s not forget his solid defense at first base, as the left-hander has won two Gold Glove awards.

There’s not much else we need to say to make the case that Rizzo earned the no. 1 spot on this list. He is only 30 years old, so there’s still plenty more for him to accomplish in this game. However much longer he is with the Cubs, we have to figure that he will already go down as an all-time Cubs great.