Come to Think of It...The Greatest Chicago Cubs of All-Time (part I)

What better time than early in a brand new baseball season to look back and honor the greatest Cubs of all time?

So, in that spirit, I present to you, fellow Cubs fans, and the curious alike, this two-part series of my unofficial list of best Cubs of all-time at each position.

Some are no-brainers. Some were very difficult to decide. Still, it was a labor of love to produce and hopefully will be just as much fun to read. Thanks to espn.com for the stats and to my Dad for his memory.

Feel free to join in and let our Cubs Community know what you think of these selections. Go ahead and argue for your favorite player and tell me why your guy is a better choice than mine.Without further ado, here goes...

The Position Players

1st Base

Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks, actually ended up playing more games at first base than at his original position, shortstop. However, I decided to rate him as a SS, and leave first base open to debate.

There have been some terrific Cubs first basemen over the years. Mark Grace led a decade in doubles, hit .303 and played the best defense of any Cubs first baseman ever. Not much power for a position that usually demands power.

Frank Chance, he the first base counterpart of the famous Tinkers-to-Evers-to-Chance fame, is the only Cubs first baseman in the hall of fame (other than Banks). Playing in the dead ball era, he hit .296 with 401 stolen bases and an on-base percentage close to .400. 

Honorable mention: “Jolly” Charlie Grimm was a player-manager for the Cubs in the 20s and 30s who hit .290. Billy Buckner, his well chronicled gaffe with the Red Sox in the World Series notwithstanding, was a solid hitter for several years as well. Leon 'Bull' Durham had a few nice seasons with the Cubs in the '80s.  

Choice: Frank Chance

2nd Base

It's tempting to call this one an easy pick. But Billy Herman did hit .304 in his career. And the great Rogers Hornsby played four seasons with the Cubs late in his career, hitting .380 in 1929 with 39 homers and 149 RBIs

Still, it's impossible to ignore Ryno's numbers. He retired with the best fielding percentage of all-time, and the most home runs of any second sacker in history (since broken). The 1984 MVP and Hall of Famer also ended up with 344 stolen bases to go along with a .285 career batting average.  

Honorable mention: Johnny Evers was a slick fielding second baseman who hit .270 with 324 stolen bases. Glenn Beckert hit .342 in 1971.

Choice: Ryne Sandberg

3rd Base

Ron Santo is the obvious choice here. The colorful Cubs ambassador and current radio analyst finished his career with 342 home runs, 1331 RBIs and five gold gloves.

Honorable mention: Aramis Ramirez already has 223 home runs and a .283 batting average at the age of 29 and may end up No. 1 here eventually. Stan Hack hit .301 with 165 stolen bases but little power. Bill Madlock had a terrific career but played only three seasons with the Cubs, though he won batting titles in two of them.

Choice: Santo.

Shortstop

Ernie Banks hit 512 home runs and 1636 RBIs in a glorious, Hall of Fame career with the Cubs. He won back-to-back MVPs with losing teams. Heck, he was Mr. Cub for cryin’ out loud! The man has a statue!

Honorable mention: Don Kessinger was a fine fielder after Banks switched to first base. Joe Tinker was a slick fielding shortstop with 336 stolen bases from 1902 to 1916

Choice: Duh.

Catcher

Gabby Hartnett, he of the “ homer in the gloamin’ ” fame, was the best Cubs catcher of all-time because he was a solid receiver and a great hitter. He was known to be the first catcher to throw out base stealers from the crouch. He hit .297 with 236 home runs in parts of seasons from 1922 to 1941.  

Honorable mention: Randy Hundley was a solid defensive backstop in the 60s and early 70s. Jody Davis hit 112 homers from 1982 through 1987.

Choice: No competition here. Hartnett.

Outfielders

Lots and lots of great choices here, but we’ll have to settle for three.

Hall of Famer ”sweet swinging'' Billy Williams hit 426 home runs, with 1475 RBIs and a .290 batting average. Number 26 was my favorite player as a kid.

And Hack Wilson, when he wasn’t drunk, was a powerful left fielder for the Cubs. Though not gifted with the glove, Hack had perhaps the best season of a Cub player ever. In 1930, Wilson hit 56 homers with 191 RBIs (that total stands as the most ever in a season) and a .356 batting average. He was a career .307 hitter, though he ended up with "only" 244 homers for his career. He played in a total of only five full seasons out of the 13 he was in the majors.

Like it or not, Sammy Sosa has to make the team until proven guilty. Sure, he cheated and not just with a corked bat. But there’s no denying the numbers he put up in a Cubs uniform.

Honorable mention: Augie Galan hit .287 with a .390 OBP for his career. Andy Pafko was a smooth fielding center fielder who hit .285 with 213 homers. Kiki Cuyler was a fantastic hitter in the 20s and 30s who spent only eight years of his 19 year career with the Cubs. Cuyler was a career .321 hitter with 328 stolen bases. Andre “the Hawk” Dawson was a great player for the Cubs and won the NL MVP in 1987 despite the team’s last place finish. Yet the strong armed right fielder played only six seasons with the Cubs.

Choice: Billy Williams, Riggs Stephenson and Sammy Sosa.

Now your turn. What do you think?

Next up: The Pitchers.