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

Chicago Cubs: There have been plenty of memorable home runs hit this decade by the North Siders. Which ones were the very best?

“This ball has got a chaaaaaaaance, gone!” The distinct call of Pat Hughes on the radio when the Chicago Cubs hit a home run is held near and dear to fans every season. Hughes has made that call plenty of times this past decade, including some of the biggest round trippers in franchise history.

From 2010 to 2019, between regular season and postseason, the Cubs hit a total of 1,824 home runs. Twice this past decade the team eclipsed 200 homers in a season (2017 and 2019) and 45 of that total came in the postseason. Long story short, that is a lot of long balls. Even the most die-hard of Cubs fans will likely not remember each one of those home runs…but if you do, that is very impressive.

However for this article we are going to go back and look at 10 home runs in particular of this past decade. So, looking at less than one percent of the total hit over the past decade. Here is a list of the 10 greatest homers the Cubs hit from the dark days of 2010 through 2019 which saw a World Series championship and several postseason runs in between.

Of course, these are based on opinion and are always up for debate. So please leave your list of top 10 Cubs homers this past decade in the comments.

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.

Chicago Cubs: Hard to forget one of the greatest walk off homers of all time.

#7 Javy decks the Cards

Before the pennant and World Series in 2016, the 2015 NLDS victory over the St. Louis Cardinals was really the biggest accomplishment of the Chicago Cubs franchise since 1945. Think about it, it was only their second playoff series victory since 1908 and it was against their biggest and oldest nemesis.

The series-clinching game at Wrigley Field on October 13, 2015 got off to a rough start for the home team when they fell behind 2-0 early. However they began to rally in the bottom of the second facing future-Cub John Lackey.

With a run in and two on, Javier Baez swung at Lackey’s first offering and drove a 94 MPH fastball the other way into the right field bleachers to give the Cubs a 4-2 lead. It was Javy’s first career postseason homer and a complete game-changer.

#6 Bryant starts the comeback

Our first World Series homer on the list.

Down 3-1 in the series and 1-0 in the fourth inning of Game 5, the Cubs were 18 outs away from elimination. Wrigley was quiet as the dreams of the first World Series win in 108 years were fading fast. Eventual NL MVP Kris Bryant stepped up against Trevor Bauer.

1-1 pitch, *crank*. The ball sailed into left center field and just over the wall for a game-tying solo shot. The 41,711 spectators roared with a thunderous cheer that could be heard blocks away. Wrigley was alive again. This was the turning point in the series as the Cubs not only rallied for two more runs in the inning and win the game, they would never trail the series again.

#5 SANTA MARIA!

Every kid who plays baseball dreams of hitting an epic walk-off home run in the majors. Imagine the ultimate walk-off hitting a grand slam down by three with two outs…well that is exactly what David Bote did on August 12, 2018 against the Washington Nationals.

A nationally televised game on ESPN saw the Cubs and Nationals play in a fairly important game as both teams were chasing postseason spots. Max Scherzer shut out the Cubs through seven and trailed 3-0 heading to the ninth inning with Nats reliever Ryan Madson on the mound to get the final three outs.

A single and two HBP would load the bases with two outs for pinch-hitter David Bote. It was veteran vs. rookie for all the marbles. Bote was patient and worked a 2-2 count before he swung at a 95-mph at the bottom of the zone and drove it to deep center.

The ball bounced off the green batter’s eye as Bote sprinted around the bases with and entire stadium going absolutely nuts around him. Bote’s third career home run was one for the history books and no doubt the best regular season walk-off homer in a very long time.

Chicago Cubs: “GRAND SLAM MONTERO! Game one hero!”

So our number one selection is the game-winning grand slam by veteran catcher Miguel Montero in Game 1 of the 2016 NLCS. Why this blast? Well here is the justification.

This home run set the tone for the series. When Chicago lost a late 3-1 lead in the eighth inning, it felt like another “Here we go again,” moment for fans. While the Cubs were favored in this series, the Dodgers were certainly talented enough to go far in 2016. The last NLCS game win the Cubs recorded was Game 4 in Miami back in 2003. While it was just the first game, a lot rode on it.

So back to the game itself. Bottom of the eighth, the Cubs were trying to take the lead back with the game tied at three. Ben Zobrist began the frame with a double and the Cubs eventually loaded the bags. Montero came in to pinch hit facing veteran Joe Blanton. It looked like a potential failed inning when Montero was behind 0-2. That all changed when Blanton threw an 0-2 breaking ball over the heart of the plate and little spin.

WHAM!

Wrigley Field was up for grabs as the ball sailed deep into the right field bleachers. The place even began to shake. It was probably one of the loudest moments in the 100+ year old history of the ballpark and for good reason. If the Cubs do not win this game, they lose to the Dodgers and the drought continues.

That is our top-10 list of Cubs home runs this decade. There are certainly others that are worthy of being on the list. What is yours?