Chicago Cubs: Ranking the top five Kyle Schwarber moments

His time with the Cubs may be over, but Kyle Schwarber’s legacy will endure.

Regardless of where you stand on Kyle Schwarber as a ballplayer, his tenure as a Cub, or whether it was a mistake to non-tender him, one thing cannot be argued: the powerful slugger provided some iconic moments for Chicago Cubs fans.

Schwarber was a larger than life figure in Chicago and in all of baseball for his titanic blasts, throwback look and miraculous feats. While he may not have lived up to the hype or potential many (myself included) thought he would achieve in Chicago, no one will ever be able to take away the fact that the guy helped the Cubs win a World Series in Willis Reed-style. In fact, Chicago does not win the 2016 World Series without Schwarber’s contributions or improbable comeback.

The front office’s decision to non-tender him has caused a stir amongst both diehard and fairweather fans who, despite their frustration with his erratic performance, loved seeing the big guy in blue pinstripes. No one knows where he’ll end up or what club he’ll be belting home runs for in the future, but what we do know is that his time in Chicago produced many special moments.

For now, let’s appreciate those special moments and take a look back at his five biggest and more iconic moments with the Cubs. You won’t be disappointed with these five picks.

Chicago Cubs: Cole’s look said it all…

Gerrit Cole on the mound. 2-1 count. 88 mph slider. Rawlings orb deposited into the Allegheny.

Every Cubs fan knows the moment and the importance to not only that game but the Cubs franchise. If Jake Arrieta was responsible for delivering the Cubs to the 2015 Wild Card Game with confidence, Schwarber was responsible for putting the league and all of baseball on notice with his 450-foot shot off then-Pirates ace Cole.

Hammered out of the park at 111.3 MPH and deposited safely into the Allegheny, Schwarber’s bomb served as his postseason introduction to the world: a masher with unlimited power and potential, set to be a historic home run hitter for the North Siders.

While most of that is true, the holes in the above projection have been the most glaring and hard to swallow for the Cubs organization and its fans. Schwarber has been capable of big moments and bigger bombs in his career, but he just hasn’t put it all together for a number of different reasons.

On this day, however, Schwarber’s pitch selection, swing and well-known power were on full display as he homered off one of the best pitchers in the game to help send the club on to the 2015 Division Series against the bane of Cubs fans existence in the St. Louis Cardinals.

Chicago Cubs: His return in 2016 was nothing short of magical

2016 was a magical year for the Chicago Cubs. That’s pretty much what people remember. What most tend to forget, however, is how the season inauspiciously started.

The dive and subsequent injury to Schwarber’s knee in the fourth game of the 2016 season was a major blow to a team who had been picked as a World Series favorite after a deep and somewhat surprising 2015 run to the NLCS.  Full tears of the LCL and ACL in his left knee was said to have ended his first full big league season before it even began. He was pretty much an afterthought and ghost for the team’s uber successful tear through the National League during the regular season.

A forgotten man, the news of his addition to the Arizona Fall League roster on October 22 sent both chills and a jolt of adrenaline through many Cubs fans as they remained one win away from a possible trip to the World Series. The thought that Schwarber could even walk around the dugout in Cleveland was farfetched; the idea that he could actually hit was preposterous. Or was it?

On October 25, Schwarber was named to the World Series roster and penciled into the roster for Game 1 against Corey Kluber, where he had a near-home run double off Kluber and walk off the toughest lefty reliever in the game, Andrew Miller.

It didn’t end up being a win for the Cubs that night in Game 1, but it sure as heck was a harbinger for Schwarber’s success and ultimately, the Cubs’ triumph in the Series.

Chicago Cubs: The ball is on the scoreboard

The greatest gif ever created is one of Schwarber sending a moonshot on top of the Wrigley scoreboard with a laser tail. I’d say I’m alone in my ability to watch that clip over and over and over again, but I know I’m not. I’ve seen the gif used so many times when discussing Schwarber, the Cubs and home runs on Twitter that it’s practically the epitome of monster shots.

While the home run is just absolutely breathtaking and awe-inspiring because of the confluence of raw power, trajectory, and its final resting place, the fact is that the situation was the best part of the bomb.

The St. Louis Cardinals have long been the bigger, stronger, faster, smarter and better-looking older brother to the Cubs. They’ve won historically, they’ve won lately and they’ve been a model franchise just about every step of the way. Heck, their fans are even considered the “best fans in baseball.” There’s a lot of envy that emanates from Cubs fans when it comes to the Cards, and it seems as though the players feel it too. While it isn’t quite Yankees-Red Sox in terms of rivalry, it may very well be the second best in the majors. Problem is, the Cards have always won.

That is, until 2015. Despite having won the division in an incredible three-horse race in ’15, the Cardinals actually may have been considered the underdogs in the NLDS matchup against the Cubs considering how hot Chicago was coming into the series. After winning Game 1 4-0, the Cards may have thought they could turn that momentum around. Not so fast though, as the Cubs won the next three – including Game 4 at Wrigley, when Schwarber hit his mammoth blast off left-hander Kevin Siegrist (who was 7-1 with a 2.17 ERA that year, no less) to put the Cubs up 6-4 in the seventh inning, completely demoralizing every St. Louis fan and player.

It eventually landed on top of the Budweiser scoreboard and was even encased in plastic as a testament to majesty and moment.

Chicago Cubs: THE moment it all seemed possible

No one needs me to talk about this one. I could just leave the picture above and it would probably do the trick for most Cubs fans.

Coming out of the most memorable rain delay the Cubs have ever had, Schwarber led off the top of the 10th inning in a 6-6 tie with a scorched single that beat the shift into left field. Coming off a 94 MPH cutter thrown by lockdown reliever Bryan Shaw, the single actually got Schwarber pulled from the game.

Not like that of course. We all know the way the rest of the inning went: Almora tagged up on a fly ball, Zobrist and Montero both shot balls the other way for RBI hits, and the rest is history.

Schwarber started all that. After being out all season with torn ligaments in his knee. You literally couldn’t have written a better script for the team or player that season… and while there may not be any more to write in Schwarber’s Cubs script, there’s no doubt he will provide whoever signs him with some more memorable moments. I can still hope it’s the Cubs, right?

Still processing my feelings about the non-tendering of Schwarber, thinking about all these good moments over the last few years definitely helped give some perspective on the legendary place Schwarber will always hold in Cubs history. That much is undeniable.