Chicago Cubs: 25 best all-time players in franchise history

Chicago Cubs Greatest All-Time Players: No. 8 – Fergie Jenkins

WAR: 53.6

In the 1967 All-Star Game in Anaheim, Fergie Jenkins struck out a group of batters we all strive to attain in modern video games: Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew, Jim Fregosi, Tony Conigliaro, Tony Oliva and Mickey Mantle.

Casual work.

The Canadian right-hander is beloved by Cubs fans of all ages and is widely considered the best pitcher to ever call the Friendly Confines home. He ranks as the all-time franchise leader in pitcher WAR, games started and strikeouts — with over 2,000 to his credit with Chicago.

If you want to talk about his heyday with the team, that came from 1967 to 1973. He won 141 games during that span, averaging 20 wins annually. Now, there’s a whole hullabaloo over a guy winning 20 here or there. Jenkins hit or surpassed that mark for six consecutive seasons.

He was a Cy Young finalist four times in his career, winning the league’s top pitching honors in 1971. That year, he won 24 games, racked up an unthinkable (and league-leading) 325 innings of work, all while putting up a 2.77 ERA and 2.38 FIP. Oh, and he walked just one batter per game, too.

Jenkins had decent success in his thirties with the Rangers and Red Sox before returning to Wrigley for two years to round out his Hall of Fame career. Taking all this into account, I’d bet the next statue erected at 1060 W. Addison belongs to the big righty.

Accomplishments & Awards

• NL Cy Young Winner
• Three-time All-Star