Looking back at the last Cubs' cycle prior to Carson Kelly - Mark Grace in 1993

The Chicago Cubs didn't much care that the Athletics were celebrating the dawn of the Sacramento era in franchise history Monday night, playing spoiler and hanging 18 runs on the board in a lopsided victory. To make matters worse, the Chicago catcher Carson Kelly became the 11th player in Cubs history to hit for the cycle to set the tone for the offensive onslaught.

Despite all the highs the 2010s brought - including three-straight NLCS appearances and a World Series championship, not to mention the numerous individual accolades, no Cubs managed to hit for a cycle during that stretch. The last player prior to Kelly to accomplish the feat? Mark Grace.

On a sunny, warm afternoon at Wrigley Field, the Chicago first baseman quickly got to work against the San Diego Padres, doubling in his first at-bat against starter Greg Harris. Singles and doubles were Grace's bread and butter. We're talking about a guy who played 16 seasons and had more than 2,400 base hits - but didn't hit 20 homers even once.

In his next trip to the plate, Grace went right back up the middle for a single - knocking out the most straightforward half of the cycle in short order. At that point, nobody is even thinking cycle. Guys have games with a single and double all the time - it's adding on that three-bagger and homer that prevents most from making history.

An ill-fated leap at the wall by Padres left fielder Guillermo Velazquez helped Grace cross that triple off his to-do list when he went to the opposite field off right-hander Greg Harris, narrowly missing a home run with a ball that bounced off the ivy-covered wall and headed toward the left-field foul line. By the time he fired the ball back into the infield, Grace was diving head-first into third with just a home run left to complete the cycle.

No pressure, right? Heading into your final AB and all you need to do is go yard. The Cubs entered the bottom of the ninth down 5-1 and, while their late-inning comeback bid fell short, Grace did his part. Despite the Padres going to left-hander Rich Rodriguez for the lefty-lefty matchup, Grace drilled a middle-middle fastball, depositing it into the sea of bleacher bums in the right-field seats to make it a 5-4 game.

At that point in the '93 season, Grace was pushing a .350 batting average - and it wound up being the year he made his first All-Star team, while also bringing home a Gold Glove for his work at first. He struck out just 32 times in 155 games (nearly 700 at-bats) - in an all-around impressive campaign that was highlighted by an unforgettable afternoon at the Confines in early May.