Chicago Cubs: Ranking the top 10 home runs of the decade

Chicago Cubs: Who’s ready for some debut blasts?

#10 “Twinkle, Twinkle, little Starlin”

Way back when the decade started, the Cubs stunk. Period. Big payroll, little in the farm and a shell of a core that won several division titles a few years back. The one bright spot was 20-year-old prospect Starlin Castro.

Castro was making his MLB debut on 5/7/10 in Cincinnati against the eventual division champion Reds. In his first at-bat in the second inning he was facing Homer Bailey with two on. He hit a 2-2 hanging curve the opposite field and into the first row in right field for a three-run shot. It was an exciting debut as he went on to drive in six runs that game. It was a very memorable home run for Castro, who played for the Cubs through the 2015 postseason.

#9 Schwarber sinks the Pirates

The 2015 NL Wild Card game saw a number of Cubs playing postseason baseball for the first time in their young careers. One of those youngsters was Kyle Schwarber.

That night at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on October 7, 2015 featured one of the most majestic home runs hit by a Cubs in October in a while. In top of the third with the Cubs up 1-0, Schwarber put a padding on that lead when he took All-Star pitcher Gerrit Cole deep on a 2-1 pitch. The ball left a vapor trail and ended up in the Allegheny River. A 450-foot blast at 111.3 MPH off the bat.

It was the first Cubs postseason homer since Mark DeRosa hit a two-run shot off Derek Lowe in the 2008 NLDS.

#8 Kris Bryant lift the Cubs over the mountain

Late July in 2015 saw the rejuvenated Cubs slump a bit. Some rough losses to a bad Phillies team, including getting no-hit by Cole Hamels, had the team in a jam and they needed a spark. What happened on the night of July 27 changed the course of the season for good.

In a game against a pretty “blah” Colorado Rockies team, it looked like the little Cubs slump was going to be easily busted when they took a 7-4 lead into the ninth needing just three more outs. Wrigley Field turned into a morgue when Carlos Gonzalez ripped a go-ahead homer into the right field seats to give the Rockies a 8-7 lead.

Bottom of the ninth, do or die. Veteran John Axford needed just one more out with one man aboard to seal a Rockies victory. Enter eventual Rookie of the Year and All-Star Kris Bryant. The 23-year-old third baseman took a 1-0 pitch deep into the night and into the left-center bleachers which sent Wrigley into a frenzy. The Cubs won 9-8 and wound up going 45-19 the rest of the way.