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

Chicago Cubs Greatest All-Time Players: No. 23 – Greg Maddux

WAR: 36.1

Had Greg Maddux spent his entire career with the Cubs, he’d appear far higher up on this list. Still, the soft-tossing hurler played 10 years on the North Side across two separate stints. His most notable, of course, kicked off his illustrious Hall of Fame career.

After two pretty underwhelming seasons to begin his 23-year stint in the Show, the right-hander started to put it all together. He won 18 games in 1988, earning the first All-Star nod of his career. From ’88 to ’92, Maddux was a horse for the Cubs – never throwing fewer than 237 innings in a season and working to a 3.01 ERA.

In 1992, though, he really took that next step, winning 20 games and tossing 268 innings — a number that’s hard to even fathom in today’s game. Of course, he rode that season to National League Cy Young honors and a big payday from the Atlanta Braves.

Over a decade later, the Cubs brought a 38-year-old Maddux back and while he wasn’t what he once was, he earned his 300th career win with the club, something only one other Cub has accomplished. Even in his late 30s, he ate innings with the best of them – and went on to amass over 5,000 regular season frames and another 198 in the postseason.

Accomplishments & Awards

• Four-time Cy Young Winner (1992,1993,1994,1995)
• Eight-time All-Star
• 18-time Gold Glove Winner (Most for any player in history)
• Four-time ERA Leader