5 longtime Chicago Cubs who looked odd in other uniforms
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It's not often you have a guy like Ernie Banks who plays for one franchise for 19 years. Many of the other all-time great Chicago Cubs wore another team's uniform at some point in their careers. Even if for a brief time. Here are five longtime Cub greats who played elsewhere at the end of their careers.
#5 Carlos Zambrano - Miami Marlins
"Big Z" was a staple in the Cubs rotation for 11 seasons from 2001-2011. He was a three-time All-Star, three-time Silver Slugger winner, finished top-five in Cy Young Voting three times, and pitched to a 3.60 ERA, 3.98 FIP, 1.32 WHIP and 1,542 strikeouts in 1,826.2 innings on the North Side.
Unfortunately, among the domination was a hot head that ruffled some feathers among his teammates over the years. His final season as a Cub was rough on the mound as well, pitching to a 4.82 ERA and 4.59 FIP. Theo Epstein dealt Zambrano to the Miami Marlins in January 2012 in exchange for pitcher Chris Volstad straight up.
Zambrano was joining a Marlins team that was rebranded in a new stadium, replaced "Florida" with "Miami" and hired former White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. Z's 2012 season with the Marlins would be his last in the MLB, pitching to a 4.49 ERA, 4.49 FIP, 1.5 FIP, and 5.1 BB/9 in 132.1 innings. He never did get a chance to pitch against the Cubs. In 2013 he signed with the Phillies organization but never pitched at the MLB level.
Roughly 93% of Zambrano's MLB innings were in a Cubs uniform, and 7% in a Marlins uniform.
#4 Phil Cavarretta - Chicago White Sox
Boasting the sixth-most games played in a Cubs uniform, Phil Cavarretta called the North Side home from 1934-1953. In that span, he slashed .292/.371/.416 with 1,927 hits and only 585 strikeouts in 7,511 plate appearances. He was also the National League MVP in 1945. In 1951 he became the player/manager of the team.
In the Spring of 1954, Cavarretta was fired by Cubs owner P.K. Wrigley. Apparently, Cavarretta did not give a glowing assessment of his team's chances, so Wrigley canned him. Cavarretta would then sign with the Chicago White Sox that May and the Cubs replaced him with Stan Hack.
Cavarretta would play with the White Sox from 1954-1955 and hit .309/.408/.401 in 77 games. All of his 50 hits, 26 walks, and 24 RBI came in 1954. In 1955 he went hitless for six games and was eventually released by the Sox in May. That would spell the end of Cavarretta's MLB playing career.
Roughly 97% of Cavarretta's plate appearances came in a Cubs uniform, and 3% in a White Sox uniform.
#3 Gabby Hartnett - New York Giants
Hall of Fame catcher Gabby Hartnett spent 19 seasons in a Cubs uniform from 1922-1940. He slugged 231 home runs and slashed .297/.370.490 while winning the 1935 National League MVP and earning six All-Star nods. Hartnett's shining moment was his "Homer in the Gloamin'" against the Pirates on September 28, 1938.
Like Cavarretta, Hartnett would be named a player/manager in his later seasons. After a losing season in 1940 (75-79) and only 37 games played, Hartnett was dismissed. That December he signed a contract with the New York Giants.
The 40-year-old Hartnett played in 64 games with the Giants in 1941, hitting .300/.356/.433 with five home runs. He played alongside Hall of Famer Mel Ott, but the Giants finished 25.5 games behind the pennant-winning Brooklyn Dodgers. Despite playing well as a backup catcher, Hartnett was released in September. He would then retire.
Roughly 97% of Hartnett's games played were in a Cubs uniform, with 3% being in a Giants uniform.
#2 Billy Williams - Oakland A's
"Sweet Swingin'" Billy Williams boasts the third-most hits (2,510) by a Cub in franchise history and has his #26 retired by the team. The Hall of Fame left fielder was a six-time All-Star and 1972 batting champ. He slashed .296/.364/.503 with 392 home runs and .867 OPS in 2,213 games (1959-1974) as a Cub and rarely missed a game.
After the 1974 season, Williams was traded to the Oakland A's in exchange for infielder Manny Trillo, Bob Locker, and Darold Knowles.
While the other players on this list had pretty forgettable tenures with their second team, Williams did accomplish some things in an A's uniform. On June 12, 1975, Williams hit his 400th home run and later that year would finally see postseason action. He went 0-7 with a walk in the A's ALCS loss to the Boston Red Sox. In total, he hit .231/.333/.387 with 34 home runs in 275 games in green and yellow (1975-1976). He would then retire.
Roughly 88% of Williams' games played were in a Cubs uniform, with 12% being in an A's uniform.
#1 Ron Santo - Chicago White Sox
Beloved Hall of Fame third baseman Ron Santo has been part of Cubs lore since his debut in 1960. Even over a decade after he passed, he is still as celebrated now as he was when he was alive. In his 14 years as a Cub (1960-1973), he slashed .366/.472/.838 with 337 home runs. Santo won five Gold Gloves and was a nine-time All-Star.
In December of 1973, the Cubs were putting together a deal that would send the 33-year old Santo to the Angels. However, Santo did now want to go out west and desired to stay local, so he used the rights provided to him by the 1972 CBA to veto the trade. Instead, he was dealt to the White Sox in exchange for Steve Stone, Steve Swisher, Ken Frailing, and Jim Kremmel.
Santo donned the white and red South Side uniform for 117 games in 1974. Surely some Cubs fans would journey their way to old Comiskey Park to see their former hero play. He played a mix of third base, second base and DH. The reason he played those multiple positions was because of Bill Melton already being the primary third baseman for the Sox and he was apparently not too fond of being a DH. He struggled at the plate with the Sox, hitting just .221/.293/.299 with five home runs and .591 OPS. That 1974 season with the Sox was his last as an MLB player.
Roughly 94% of Santo's games were in a Cubs uniform, with 6% being in a White Sox uniform.
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