Remembering a former Cubs prospect who fell flat after earning his big chance

The Chicago Cubs selected Matt Shaw with their first-round pick out of the University of Maryland 19 months ago. With Isaac Paredes gone, Shaw's path to the third base job appears unimpeded. And what is wrong with that? He reached Double-A at the tail end of his first professional season, and in 2024, Shaw excelled there and spent two very productive months at Triple-A Iowa, slashing .298/.395/.534. After the season, Shaw participated in the Premier12 Tournament with Team USA and was outstanding.

Being a Cubs fan has rarely been easy. I am sure younger readers think of Kris Bryant when they reflect on recent draftees being given the third base job. Older Cub fans think of Gary Scott.

Scott was a second-round pick out of Villanova University in 1989. He was productive from the start and finished his first full professional season at the Double-A level with two months of production rivaling Shaw's Triple-A numbers. The Cubs had Luis Salazar and his 0.4 WAR at third base in 1990, so they were definitely in need of an upgrade for the 1991 season.

It is not as if the 1991 Cubs were in a rebuilding phase. The had won the division in 1989 and added three big-name free agents, George Bell, Dave Smith, and Danny Jackson in the 1990-91 offseason. The third base job was considered open and manager Don Zimmer was swayed by Scott's hot spring training performance to give him the job. It was a disaster.

Scott did not hit at all. The Cubs got off to a mediocre start highlighted by a historic collapse on a rainy Sunday in Pittsburgh. Less than five weeks into the season Scott was sent to the minors with a slash line of .165/.305/.241. Zimmer was fired less than a week later. Scott appeared briefly for the Cubs in 1992 with slightly worse results and was finished in the Majors at the age of 24.

History is not destiny and comparisons are not predictive. But like bad memories from the past, my 50+ years of watching the Cubs have left scars. I remember all the wounds.