Best Chicago Cubs’ I’ve seen play second base in my lifetime

Who was the best Chicago Cubs second baseman I’ve ever seen? I assume you can answer that. But what follows will be a little bit strange, and I like it.

The Chicago Cubs have had many second basemen I’ve seen in my lifetime. Well, from 1982 through 1997. This touched off a series of small ‘series of blocks’ of second basemen. I wanted to stick with four years or more–excluding two-year players or less. Which honestly were pretty good–just not long enough.

Just so you know, I left Ben Zobrist off this list. He was extraordinary, but yet I didn’t see him play. The brain surgery in 2018, plus the resection in 2019 kept from seeing him.

One player was Mark Grudzielanek. He had a successful time–albeit short–in Chicago. He had a slash line of .312/.360/.421 with a .781 OPS, and an OPS+ of 102–the highest of his career. He only had nine home runs and 50 knocked in, but he was a workhorse on the field.

The other was Todd Walker. He had 33 home runs and 130 RBI–eight fewer RBI than in Minnesota in two more years. He also slashed an impressive .286/.353/.447 with a .800 OPS. He nodded to going to college, which was crucial to his success.

“Had I been picked in the second round (out of high school), I could have taken the bonus and skipped those years I had in Baton Rouge,” Walker said. “It’s something I tell the kids today: I’m certainly a strong believer in going to college.” h/t Ron Morris, Baseball America

I can’t tell you if I’ve seen them before. I really can’t. I’ve been to a plethora of games–and I’ll admit I don’t know. But I’ll start it off by introducing you to ‘The Riot.’

Chicago Cubs – Darwin Barney

I’ll be honest. I named Darwin Barney because he won the Gold Glove over Brandon Phillips in 2012. He broke it up, and I’m very proud of that. Regardless if I didn’t want to include ‘spot players,’ he’s the only player who qualifies for it. Get at me, bro.

In all? Barney only had one good season, and that was his 2011 season. He averaged RBI totals 43, 44 and 41, respectively, from 2011 to 2013. He had nine stolen bases, six triples and 146 hits in his 2011 season. I kept thinking he was going to get better–and he wasn’t. He only hit 23 RBI in the 2014 season, and he only managed 25 in his last year in Toronto before he retired.

Still, his defense was top notch. Phillips won despite Barney being an outstanding performer in his prime years. In his 2012 season, he committed three errors and had an RF/9 (Range factor per 9) of 5.16–the highest of his career.

I was on the bandwagon would get Barney would get up here. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t pan out. But he did win a Gold Glove, and I thank you for that. It’s nice to see Barney burst his bubble.

Chicago Cubs – Ryne Sandberg

The Cubs’ Ryne Sandberg was impressive. He made 10 All-Star appearances. He won nine consecutive Gold Gloves and six Silver Sluggers. But he only knocked in 100 runs twice (1990 and 1991). He was ‘vanilla.’ He didn’t dive for balls. He didn’t give that extra effort for them. But that was fine; he made the plays he should have.

He had five seasons over .300, including his 1984 season, which included a slash of .314/.367/.520 and an OPS of .887. He added 114 runs scored, 19 triples, 19 home runs and 84 RBI. Did I mention he won MVP that year? He did. Side note? Rick Sutcliffe did win the Cy Young Award because of his 16-1 record.

He came back for the 1996 and 1997 season after not playing the 1995 season. In all honesty, he was choice in the 1996 season. He hit 25 home runs and 94 RBI, but he only hit .244. Still impressive nonetheless. Not bad after taking a year off. Bravo.

Editors Note: Sadly, I did not get to watch Ben Zobrist. The brain cancer kept me from it for a few years. Resection, as well as right-side weakness, did me in.