Jim Edmonds – Chicago Cubs (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
There have been plenty of opposing players over the years who have tortured the Chicago Cubs in one way or another. Some of them eventually became Cubs…and it felt weird.
Hard to find a Chicago Cubs fan who does not cringe when they hear names like Steve Garvey, Albert Pujols or Ryan Braun. These guys are often classified as “Cubs villains” or “Cubs killers” among fans.
These players are classified as such due to either past performances against their team, previous scraps with a Cubs player(s), merely being a good player on a rival team, etc. Rarely is it ever because the player is evil, just to make that clear. Many great players throughout history were seen as villains to their rival teams just for how they played against them.
Those players just mentioned undoubtedly are some of the big Cub killers of the past 35-some years, but there are plenty of others. Sometimes these types of players eventually make their way to Chicago and put on Cubbie Blue uniforms, which usually gets met with mixed feelings from the fans. Sometimes a fan dreams of a great player on a rival team finally joining theirs’ while others refuse to forget the numerous times that player killed them in big games.
There is an interesting mix of long-time Cubs villains who eventually became Cubs. Some of them worked out great, others not so much. Here is a list of former Cubs villains that ultimately joined them.