Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full) 

42 players are at MLB Spring Training 

31 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE at MLB Spring Training, and nine players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 
11 players are MLB Spring Training NON-ROSTER INVITEES (NRI) 

Last updated 3-17-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 17
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
Daniel Palencia
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

NRI PITCHERS: 5 
Colten Brewer 
Carl Edwards Jr 
* Edwin Escobar 
* Richard Lovelady 
* Thomas Pannone 

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

NRI CATCHERS: 2  
Jorge Alfaro 
Joe Hudson 

INFIELDERS: 7
* Michael Busch 
Nico Hoerner
Nick Madrigal
* Miles Mastrobuoni
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson
Patrick Wisdom

NRI INFIELDERS: 3 
David Bote 
Garrett Cooper
* Dominic Smith

OUTFIELDERS: 5
* Cody Bellinger 
Alexander Canario
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

NRI OUTFIELDERS: 1 
* David Peralta

OPTIONED:
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, RHP 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, RHP 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

 



Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

The Hall of Fame Case for Ron Santo (Part 1 of 3)

On Monday December 8th, the Baseball Hall of Fame will announce the voting results of the Veterans Committee.  In a three part series, guest columnist and reader, “Dying Cub Fan” takes a look at the candidacy of former Cubs third basemen, Ron Santo. We ran this piece two years ago, but it's lost in Internet limbo and well, Santo deserves it, so we're running it again. Plus, the voting process has changed this year, as there are only 10 players for the committee to consider, so here's hoping this is the year.



“Red Sox Nation: In your opinion, who’s the best player not in the HOF?
Bill James: Ron Santo”

10/27/04 Interview with Bill James on RedSoxNation.Net, 1
http://www.redsoxnation.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=11048

Ron Santo has a meritorious case for election to the Baseball Hall of Fame. There are currently thirteen third basemen2 in the Hall of Fame: Frank “Home Run” Baker, Wade Boggs, George Brett, Jimmy Collins, Ray Dandridge, Judy Johnson, George Kell, Freddy Lindstrom, Eddie Mathews, Brooks Robinson, Mike Schmidt, Pie Traynor and Jud Wilson (who was inducted in 2006). When compared to the ten major league third basemen currently in the Hall of Fame (leaving aside, for purposes of this discussion, the three Negro League players, Johnson, Dandridge and Wilson), Santo’s offensive numbers fit squarely in the middle of that group. The offensive numbers demonstrate that Santo was better than five of the major league third basemen currently in the Hall of Fame. The numbers indicate that Schmidt, Mathews, Brett, Baker and Boggs (in roughly that order) were better than Santo. Santo has a clear edge on everyone else.

During his career Ron Santo was a nine-time All-Star. He finished in the top ten in MVP voting four times. He had the fifth highest RBI total of all major league players during the 1960s (topped only by Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Harmon Killebrew and Frank Robinson). During that period no player in the National League drew more walks. 3 He won five consecutive Gold Gloves at third base, and led NL third basemen in putouts, assists, chances and double plays in many seasons. He was among the league leaders in on base percentage and slugging percentage throughout the 1960s; he finished in the top 10 in both categories in his league in every season from 1964 through 1967. He hit more home runs in his career than any third baseman currently in the Hall of Fame other than Mike Schmidt and Eddie Mathews. He combined power and defense to a degree that was unprecedented for third basemen. He coupled that with an ability to draw walks that added value in a manner that has often gone unappreciated.

In his 2001 Historical Baseball Abstract Bill James ranked Santo as the 6th best third baseman of all time; he ranked Robinson 7th. He ranked Traynor as the 15th best third baseman (behind Stan Hack, Darrell Evans, Sal Bando, Ken Boyer, Graig Nettles and Al Rosen), Collins 17th (after Ron Cey), Kell 30th and Lindstrom 43rd.

Santo fits squarely within the middle of the group of third basemen in the Hall of Fame. Santo was arguably the best player at his position in the major leagues for an extended period of time, a dominant hitter and a great defender. He should be in the Hall of Fame.

Understanding Context

One of the difficult things in evaluating players is determining what statistics mean in different eras. Yet understanding the context in which Santo played is important to understanding how good he was, and understanding what the game was like during the time Collins played, or when Lindstrom or Traynor played, is important to understanding what their numbers mean. Santo never hit .379 like Lindstrom did in 1930, or .366 like Traynor did that same year. In what was an off-year for him, he hit .246 in 1968, the “Year of the Pitcher,” with 26 homers (6th in the league) and 98 rbi (2nd) when the league batting average was .243, the average team scored 3.43 runs a game and the league ERA was 2.98. In 1930, the league batting average in the NL was .303, the average team scored 5.68 runs per game and the league ERA was 4.97. In 1930, Bill Terry hit .401, Babe Herman hit .393, Chuck Klein hit .386 and Lefty O’Doul hit .383;4 Lindstrom’s high batting average that year was fifth in the league, Traynor’s ninth. In 1930, the New York Giants’ team batting average was .319; the Cubs had a team on base percentage of .378 and a team slugging percentage of .481. The 106 rbi that Lindstrom had in 1930 did not rank in the top ten in the league that year; Traynor’s 119 rbi that year were 8th in the league. In Lindstrom’s other big year, 1928, the average team scored 4.70 runs per game, the league batting average was .281 and the league ERA was 3.99. In 1967, the NL batting average was .249, the average team scored 3.84 runs per game and the league ERA was 3.38. Santo hit .300 with 31 homers (3rd in the league) and 98 rbi (7th) that year. Santo and Lindstrom finished in the top ten in batting average the same number of times, three. Traynor, Lindstrom and Collins all played before the color line was broken. Traynor, Lindstrom and Collins did not have to face Koufax, Drysdale, Marichal, Gibson, et al. in the mid-to-late sixties, or contend with night baseball. Santo did.

In January 1963, the strike zone was expanded by rule. After 1968, a year in which the American League batting champion hit .301, rule changes were instituted lowering the height of the mound from fifteen inches to ten and reverting the strike zone to its 1962 dimensions. In the 2001 Historical Baseball Abstract, Bill James described the 1963 strike zone change in this way:

The effect of this redefinition was dramatic. The action was taken . . . because there was a feeling that runs (and in particular home runs) had become too cheap. Roger Maris’ breaking Babe Ruth’s single-season home run record contributed to that feeling. The thinking was that, by giving the pitchers a few inches at the top and bottom of the strike zone, they could whittle the offense down just a little bit.

The action cut deeper than anticipated. Home run output in 1963 dropped by ten percent, and total runs dropped by 12%, from 4.5 per game to 3.9. Batting averages dropped by twelve points. Baseball’s second dead ball era had begun. (2001 Historical Baseball Abstract, p. 249)

James has also noted that some teams (the most notable example being the Dodgers) took advantage of the fact that mound height was not closely regulated during the ’60s to build mounds even higher than the fifteen inches the rules then permitted, giving power pitchers even more of an advantage. Santo’s best years coincided exactly with this period.5

One of the best ways of trying to assess the historical context of a player’s numbers is to examine that player’s performance relative to his contemporaries. Of readily available statistics, the OPS+ stat does this pretty well. The correlation of OPS (compiled by adding a player’s on base percentage to his slugging percentage) to a player’s ability to produce runs has been well demonstrated. OPS+ measures a player relative to the OPS league average on a scale based on 100. A 100 OPS+ in any year is the league average. When evaluated in terms of OPS+, as will be shown below, Santo stands out. Another way of evaluating historical context is by using Win Shares. Here as well Santo stands out.

As will be shown below, Santo had a much higher level of peak offensive performance than every major league Hall of Fame third baseman other than Schmidt, Mathews, Brett, Baker and Boggs. In this analysis, he is very close to Baker and Boggs, however, closer to them than the third basemen below him are to him. His career numbers stack up solidly in the middle of all major league Hall of Fame third basemen as well.

Career Statistics

Here are the career offensive statistics for the ten major league Hall of Fame third basemen (with Santo included) ranked by career OPS+:

 

R

H

2B

3B

HR

RBI

BA

OBP

SLG

OPS+

Schmidt[1972-1989]

1506

2234

408

59

548

1595

.267

.380

.527

147

Mathews[1952-1968]

1509

2315

354

72

512

1453

.271

.376

.509

143

Brett[1973-1993]

1583

3154

665

137

317

1595

.305

.369

.487

135

Baker[1908-1922]

887

1838

315

103

96

987

.307

.363

.442

135

Boggs[1982-1999]

1513

3010

578

61

118

1014

.328

.415

.443

130

Santo[1960-1974]

1138

2254

365

67

342

1331

.277

.362

.464

125

Collins[1895-1908]

1055

1999

352

116

65

983

.294

.343

.409

113

Kell[1943-1957]

881

2054

385

50

78

870

.306

.367

.414

111

Lindstrom[1924-1936]

895

1747

301

81

103

779

.311

.351

.449

110

Traynor[1920-1937]

1183

2416

371

164

58

1273

.320

.362

.435

107

Robinson[1955-1977]

1232

2848

482

68

268

1357

.267

.322

.401

104

Santo is behind only Schmidt and Mathews in career home runs. He ranks behind Schmidt, Mathews, Brett and Robinson in career RBI, but Brett and Robinson each had nearly 2,000 more career at bats than Santo.

Peak Value

Santo put up more big years, relative to his contemporaries, than did Robinson, Collins, Kell, Lindstrom or Traynor. What follows is an evaluation of how Santo and the ten current major league third basemen in the Hall of Fame performed offensively when compared to their contemporaries, using the OPS+ statistic on a season-by-season basis.

Here are the ten major league Hall of Fame third basemen (with Santo included) listing number of seasons with an OPS+ over 110, 130 and 150 (or 10%, 30% and 50% better than league average):

 

Seasons Over 110

Seasons Over 130

Seasons Over 150

Schmidt

15

13

10

Mathews

15

10

7

Brett

16

12

4

Boggs

11

8

4

Santo

11

6

3

Baker

9

6

3

Collins

9

2

0

Lindstrom

5

2

0

Robinson

8

1

0

Kell

8

1

0

Traynor

6

0

0

As this table shows, Santo had more big years, relative to his contemporaries, than did Lindstrom, Collins, Traynor, Robinson or Kell. From 1964 though 1967, Santo’s numbers stacked up favorably with the very best offensive players in the National League; at the same time he was winning Gold Gloves at a key defensive position. During the ’60s, Santo was third in the entire National League in RBI, with 937; the only players with more were Aaron and Mays (Frank Robinson had more as well, but he was traded to the AL after the 1965 season). Santo was a dominant offensive player for a sustained period, something that cannot be said of Lindstrom, Collins, Traynor, Robinson or Kell. Robinson had one year when he performed at such a level (1964).

Kell, Traynor and Lindstrom were similar players offensively: despite high batting averages, none of them had much power and none of them walked very much. Santo’s power and plate discipline give him a clear edge over these three players.

The Bill James Win Shares analysis supports the conclusion that Santo was a dominant force in the ’60s, having at least 30 win shares in 4 consecutive years (1964-1967). According to James, a 30 win share season is “in general, an MVP-candidate season.” (2001 Historical Baseball Abstract, p. 335). Santo never won an MVP, but a reasonable argument can be made that he was the best player in his league in several years, particularly in 1964 and 1966. Neither Traynor nor Kell ever had a 30 win share season. Robinson, Collins and Lindstrom each had one.

References

1 Bill James has written several times on Santo’s merits for Hall of Fame induction. See James, The Politics of Glory: How Baseball’s Hall of Fame Really Works, Macmillan (1994) at 343-44; James, 2001 Historical Baseball Abstract, Free Press (2001) at 541-42. For another piece supporting Santo, see http://espn.go.com/mlb/columns/neyer_rob/1514118.html.

2 See list at http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/lists/pos&3B.htm. There are fewer third basemen in the Hall of Fame than there are players from any other position, even after giving effect to the induction of four third basemen in the past ten years (three from the major leagues and one, Jud Wilson, from the Negro Leagues).

3 Decade stats courtesy of http://www.baseballimmortals.net/decades/decades.shtml.

4 Klein and O’Doul were teammates on the Phillies in 1930. Their high batting averages helped the Phillies to a last place finish with a 52-102 record. The Phillies scored 944 runs (over six runs per game), but gave up an astronomical 1199 runs (nearly eight runs per game).

5 For an interesting take on the large strike zone era, see http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/re-imagining-the-big-zone-sixties-part-1-1963-1965/; and http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/re-imagining-the-big-zone-sixties-part-2-1966-1968/.

Comments

It will always bother me, using contemporary stastical analysis to examine players who played 40 to 90 years ago. You should evaluate players for the HoF on how they were evaluated at the time. It's not the Hall of Stastically Superior Players based on Analysis Begun in the 1980's. It's the 'Hall of Fame'. How many of these guys would have had higher OBP's if their managers told them to have higher OBP's?

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

I wasn't looking at league wide OBPs. I showed the leaders from year to year and the career leaders. We are having a discussion of Hall of Famers. You indicated that we shouldn't look at OBP for those who played before it was a popular stat because those players wouldn't be trying to have a high OBP. I demonstrated, convincingly, that the top players who played before OBP was popular put up equivalent if not better OBP numbers than players who played after. This, in my mind, makes consideration of OBP for potential Hall of Famers from previous eras, such as Santo, entirely valid.

[ ]

In reply to by WISCGRAD

I don't think you're grapsing what I am saying. If you watched or listned to a baseball game for 100 years (one hundred years!), there would very rarely be any mention of OBP, and if there was it was only sort of a curiosity. If you want to build a case for Santo being a hall of famer - build it around how he was measured when he played - good defense, OK, good baserunning - not so much - good power - OK - good BA skills - solid but not spectacular. Good RBI man. If you take the facets of the game that he was judged at when he played, and this is the part that seems to elusive to many - he was a good, occasionally great player. Is the hall of fame for good occasionally great players, who don't have particuarly long careers? No. Now if you throw in his OBP - which I am not denying at all helped the Cubs win a lot of games - or lose them by less runs - he certainly had a streak of great years - However, since no one recognized it at the time - he did not accumulate 'Fame' - thus he is not one of the most famous baseball players and consequently falls a bit short of the Hall of Fame. Maybe I am not playing the game that you and the guys over at BP want to play - but I think it's a silly game. Another way to look at it. Without looking it up, who were the top 10 OBP guys from the 70's? The 80's? The 90's? The '00's? I bet you will do a lot better at listing the guys from this decade than the previous three. And the guys who you do list from the previous three, you're going to know from one of two reference points - a new found appreciation of the value of OBP, which you've discovered over the last five years or the guys who had typically high BA's. Had I asked you in October of 1989 who were the decades best 10 OBP guys, I doubt you could name four - and two are gimmees.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

The reason I didn't grasp what you are saying is because you are saying something quite different now that you did earlier. Earlier you indicated that players themselves changed their stats based on what is popular. Now you are saying the stats are roughly the same over time but we focus on different ones. I get what you are saying now. I, however, disagree. We revise how we analyze history all of the time. Quite a few negro league players have been enshrined in the Hall despite not being appreciated or having much "fame" during their time. We have better perspectives and better tools to measure players' value now. I don't see anything wrong with reevaluting performances from previous eras based on these. If you truly believe it's about "fame" and popularity, then you maybe wouldn't want to do this. I think the Hall is for honoring the players who played the game the best. If we can show that some guy who played long ago is in fact one of the best players ever but was overlooked during his time because the ways of measuring players' values was myopic, then I say do it. Also, I cannot name the top OBP people from most of those decades because I was not alive then, but that's not the point. If you want to cling to antiquated ways of examining and comparing players, that is fine with me. But absent the OBP discussion, I think you are way off with Santo. You say this: "However, since no one recognized it at the time - he did not accumulate 'Fame' - thus he is not one of the most famous baseball players and consequently falls a bit short of the Hall of Fame." and this: "he was a good, occasionally great player. Is the hall of fame for good occasionally great players, who don't have particuarly long careers? No." I disagree with those two points. He was a NINE-time All-Star and 5-Time Gold Glove Winner. This sounds like he was in fact recgonized at the time and did have some "fame" during his playing days. Being an All-Star for a decade doesn't to me mean he was occassionally great. Let me put this another way. Can you name players from the 1980s and 1990s that made 9 or more All-Star Games? I also don't think long careers should have anything to do with it. You basically just contradicted your own point. You said it was about fame and not padded stats by a long career. So by your own argument being GREAT and FAMOUS for 10-12 years would be better than being occassionally great and having a long career. Oh, and here is a list of those players who were All-Stars in 9 years or more durin their career: Hank Aaron, Roberto Alomar, Luis Aparicio, Ernie Banks, Johnny Bench, Yogi Berra, Wade Boggs, Barry Bonds, George Brett, Rod Carew, Steve Carlton, Gary Carter, Roger Clemens, Roberto Clemente, Dave Concepcion, Bill Dickey, Joe Dimaggio, Bobby Doerr, Carlton Fisk, Nellie Fox, Jimmie Foxx, Bill Freehan, Steve Garvey, Tom Glavine, Joe Gordon, Goose Gossage, Ken Griffey Jr., Tony Gwynn, Rickey Henderson, Billy Herman, Elston Howard, Carl Hubbell, Reggie Jackson, Derek Jeter, Randy Johnson, Al Kaline, George Kell, Harmon Killebrew, Barry Larkin, Fred Lynn, Mickey Mantle, Juan Marichal, Eddie Mathews, Willie Mays, Mark McGwire, Joe Medwick, Johnny Mize, Joe Morgan, Stan Musial, Mel Ott, Mike Piazza, Kirby Puckett, Manny Ramirez, Pee Wee Reese, Cal Ripken Jr., Mariano Rivera, Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, Alex Rodriguez, Ivan Rodriguez, Pete Rose, Ryne Sandberg, Ron Santo, Mike Schmidt, Red Schoendienst, Tom Seaver, Gary Sheffield, Enos Slaughter, Ozzie Smith, Warren Spahn, Joe Torre, Arky Vaughan, Ted Williams, Dave Winfield, and Carl Yastrzemski. I guess if you think Santo looks more like Garvey and Torre on this list then you would think he is not a Hall of Famer. I think he looks more like the Hall of Famers on this list than those few that are not (or won't be). I guess we will just have to agree to disagree.

[ ]

In reply to by WISCGRAD

"Quite a few negro league players have been enshrined in the Hall despite not being appreciated or having much "fame" during their time. " White guilt. I am not changing what I am saying, I am just tryint to illustrate it to you differently. Let me try yet again. In 2008 a 5th batter is much much much much much less likely to be taken to task by his manager for taking a two-out walk with runners on base than a fifth place batter in 1965. In 1965 walks were a good thing for one player - the leadoff hitter - for everyone else, they were supposed to get hits and RBI's - not walks. That's generalizing a little, but really not that much. If you talk to some of these middle of the order hitters you hear things like 'expanding the strike zone with ducks on the pond' they were told that their job is to drive in runs , not to take walks. If your job is to drive in runs, and you're taking walks, you're not doing your job. If you're not doing your job, how are you a HoF player? Now that you want to change the discussion to something else, that he was an alll star 9 times. Based on that, it makes a pretty good case for him being a HoF'r. My rule of thumb is 10 times makes a HoF'r.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

You do change what you say, quite a bit actually. Is it about stats, about fame, about respect by managers during the time? Pick one. If your manager is stupid and is telling you to do something counter-productive to your team, and you don't do it, but are in turn, a more productive player over your career than other players - then why punish the guy because he didn't follow the myopic, counter-productive views of the day? Maybe he was doing his "job" which was to produce and help the team win, it just wasn't realized until later. But it really doesn't matter. You've put up a strawman. It's not like Santo was great at OBP and not great at stats valued at the time. I mean read the 3-part article being posted on this website. It's pretty clear he was one of the best players of his era and of all time at his position based on however you want to measure it. If your cut-off is 10 All-Star game appearances for the Hall of Fame then Maddux, McCovey, Campanella, etc. would all be left out. I will say once again, if you think the Hall of Fame should be much more restricted than it is now, and you have higher criteria for the Hall of Fame than I do, then we can just agree to disagree. But if you agree wih the majority of those in the Hall of Fame belonging then by any measure Santo should be among them.

[ ]

In reply to by WISCGRAD

No I didn't change what I said. You tried to change the topic, which I was nice enough to address for you, but I never changed what I said. I will be very clear here: In 1965 #5 hitters were judged by three things: 1. How many RBI's they had 2. How many HR's they had 3. Their Batting Average They were judged by their GM's that way, by their managers, by the sports writers and by the general public. Ron's job was to drive in 150 runs a year, not to take 100 walks and drive in 98 runs. Bitch and moan about it, but those are the facts. Was it a good idea that his job was defined that way? No. But the context of the coversation is not Hall of WARP3 or Hall of OPS+, it's Hall of Fame and no matter what you say, walks were not valued as highly in the 1960s as they are today, so Ron's accomplishments don't stand out as well. Have you ever heard of the 'Triple Crown'? Notice how it doesn't include Slugging or OBP?

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

I'm not sure where 1965 got into the conversation or #5 hitters, but wtf?

Ron's job was to drive in 150 runs a year, not to take 100 walks and drive in 98 runs. Bitch and moan about it, but those are the facts. Was it a good idea that his job was defined that way? No. But the context of the coversation is not Hall of WARP3 or Hall of OPS+

when has anyone ever been expected to drive in 150 runs a year?

and Santo batted 4th for most of his career and most of 1965, he finished 8th in RBI's in the NL that year, which was 3rd best on the team.

during his peak of '64 to 70, he finished, 2nd, 8th, 10th, 7th, 2nd, 2nd, 7th in RBI's in the NL. I'm sure there's somewhere on the web that would tell you who had the most RBI's during that period or the 60's and he'd be up near the top of both lists (the entire decade of the 60's might be tough since he only played a half season in 1960).

The biggest problems for Santo making the Hall aren't his stats, it's that he was widely considered the 3rd best player on his team, the 2nd best third basemen of his time and his career was cut short because of diabetes.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Oh, so he was a cleanup hitter who never lead the league in RBI's and that's his claim to being a HoF'er? You're making the case worse, not better. "The biggest problems for Santo making the Hall aren't his stats, it's that he was widely considered the 3rd best player on his team" No. That's 100% wrong. The biggest reason he doesn't make the HoF now is because he was widely disliked. The biggest reason that he didn't make the HoF with the BBWAA is because he never lead the league in a triple crown category or won an MVP. Take a look at Wiscgrad's list of 9 time all-stars, how many can you say the same thing about? You are right about one thing. His career being cut short due to the ravages of diabetes effected his total stats, and that hurts him as well. I am not even arguing that he shouldn't be a HoF'er - I am just pointing out why he's not.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

Hank Aaron 1, 10 Luis Aparicio0,0, 9 SB titles Ernie Banks 2,4, Johnny Bench 2,5 Yogi Berra 3,0 Wade Boggs 0,5 Barry Bonds 7,5 George Brett 1,3 Rod Carew 1,7 Steve Carlton 4,10 Gary Carter 0,1 Roger Clemens 6,16 Roberto Clemente 1,4 Dave Concepcion 0,0 Bill Dickey 0,0 Joe Dimaggio 3,6 Bobby Doerr 0,0 Carlton Fisk 0,0 Nellie Fox 1,0 Jimmie Foxx 2,9 Bill Freehan 0,0 Joe Gordon 1,0 Goose Gossage 0,0 3 saves titles Tony Gwynn 0,8 Rickey Henderson 1,0, 12 SB titles Billy Herman 0,0 Carl Hubbell 3,7 Reggie Jackson 1,5 Al Kaline 0,1 George Kell 0,1 Harmon Killebrew 1,9 Mickey Mantle 3,6 Juan Marichal 0,3 Eddie Mathews 0,2 Willie Mays 2,4 Joe Medwick 1,5 Johnny Mize 0,8 Joe Morgan 2,0 Stan Musial 3,9 Mel Ott 0,7 Kirby Puckett 0,2 Pee Wee Reese 0,0, 1 SB title Cal Ripken Jr 2,0 Brooks Robinson 1,1 Frank Robinson 2,3 Ryne Sandberg 1,1 Ron Santo 0,0 Mike Schmidt 3,13 Red Schoendienst 0,0 1 SB title Tom Seaver 3,11 Enos Slaughter 0,1 Ozzie Smith 0,0 Warren Spahn 3,16 Arky Vaughan 0,1, 1 SB title Ted Williams 2, 14 Dave Winfield 0,1 Carl Yastrzemski 1,5 So there you have it. If Santo gets elected this year, he'll be the first position player elected who played 9 ASG's and never lead the league in a triple crown category, or won an MVP, other than catchers and middle infielders and one closer.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

If your criteria is someone has to lead the league in a triple crown category or win an MVP to get in the Hall of Fame, then that's your perogative. I think there are many ways to measure a players value and I prefer to use all of them when evaluating their Hall of Fame credentials. When I do so, I see Santo in it. I also think that he was doing his job for the time or he wouldn't have been hitting clean up, winning gold gloves, ranking in the top 5-10 in the league in major statistical categories annually, elected to 9 all-star games, etc. Those all seem like perfectly reasonable ways in which to judge a player against his contemporaries and whether he was doing the job expected of him.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

You're making the case worse, not better.

I was just pointing out how you were making up shit.

No. That's 100% wrong.

I'm glad you've deemed my opinion 100% wrong and that you've got a survey from the writers and now Vet Committee that proves those are the reasons.

But I do agree, he wasn't particularly liked by the writers from my understanding.  Didn't player, manages and coaches select the ASG during his time? He couldn't have been that disliked by his peers.

I think we all understand your points, many of us disagree, some don't. There's a lot of good reasons for Santo be in the Hall, a few for why he shouldn't. Obviously enough people agree with you at this point, so you got that going for you.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

Actually, it seems fairly clear that Santo is among the most famous players of his time. Look at all the fan support he has for his Hall bid. It's the writers and veterans holding him up. But it's really not so much the Hall of Fame is it is the Hall of the Best Baseball Players. Santo was one of the best ballplayers of his time, and we shouldn't ignore his OBP. Just because the analysts of his time handicapped their understanding of the game by not considering that facets of baseball doesn't mean we should do the same. Our guest columnist has made a very, very strong case for Santo's inclusion in the Hall of Fame. I still don't think he'll make it, but he should be there considering who is already there.

Well, as an old fart friend of mine said to me while we were watching Ronny play one day, "You know, he ain't no Brooksie maybe, but he is one fine mutha fucka ballplayer." Sometimes stats get in the way a bit. He was damn good in his day, and that's all that matters to me. Analysis has its first four letters there for a reason, sometimes.

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    SF snags b.snell...2/62m

  • Cubster (view)

    AZ Phil: THAT is an awesome report worth multiple thanks. I’m sure it will be worth reposting in an “I told you so” in about 2-3 years.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The actual deadline to select a post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agent signed to 2024 minor league contract (Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta) to the MLB 40-man roster is not MLB Opening Day, it is 12 PM (Eastern) this coming Sunday (3/24). 

    However, the Cubs could notify the player prior to the deadline that the player is not going to get added to the 40 on Sunday, which would allow the player to opt out early. Otherwise the player can opt out anytime after the Sunday deadline (if he was not added to the 40 by that time). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Today is an off day for both the Cubs MLB players and the Cubs minor league players.  

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    For those of you keeping track, so far nine players have been called up to Mesa from the Cubs Dominican Academy for Minor League Camp and they will be playing in the ACL in 2024: 

    * bats or throws left 

    Angel Cepeda, INF 
    * Miguel Cruz, P
    Yidel Diaz, C 
    * Albert Gutierrez, 1B
    Fraiman Marte, P  
    Francis Reynoso, P (ex-1B) 
    Derniche Valdez, INF 
    Edward Vargas, OF 
    Jeral Vizcaino, P 

    And once again, despite what you might read at Baseball Reference and at milb.com, Albert Gutierrez is absolutely positively a left-handed hitter (only), NOT a right-handed hitter.

    Probably not too surprisingly, D. Valdez was the Cubs #1 prospect in the DSL last season, Cepeda was the DSL Cubs best all-around SS prospect not named Derniche Valdez, Gutierrez was the DSL Cubs top power hitting prospect not named Derniche Valdez, E. Vargas was the DSL Cubs top outfield prospect (and Cepeda and E. Vargas were also the DSL Cubs top two hitting prospects), Y. Diaz was the DSL Cubs top catching prospect, and M. Cruz was the DSL Cubs top pitching prospect. 

    F. Marte (ex-STL) and J. Vizcaino (ex-MIL) are older pitchers (both are 22) who were signed by the Cubs after being released by other organizations and then had really good years working out of the bullpen for the Cubs in the DSL last season. 

    The elephant in the room is 21-year old Francis Reynoso, a big dude (6'5) who was a position player (1B) at the Cardinals Dominican Academy for a couple of years, then was released by STL in 2022, and then signed by the Cubs and converted to a RHP at the Cubs Dominican Academy (and he projects as a high-velo "high-leverage" RP in the states). He had a monster year for the DSL Cubs last season (his first year as a pitcher). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    DJL: The only players who definitely have opt outs are Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta (Opening Day, 5/1, and 6/1), and that's because they are post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agents who signed 2024 minor league contracts and (by rule) they get those opt outs automatically. 

    Otherwise, any player signed to a 2024 minor league contract - MIGHT or - MIGHT NOT - have an opt out in their contract, but it is an individual thing, and if there are contractual opt outs the opt out(s) might not necessarily be Opening Day. It could be 5/1, or 6/1, or 7/1 (TBD).

    Because of their extensive pro experience, the players who most-likely have contractual opt outs are Alfaro, Escobar, and D. Smith, but (again), not necessarily Opening Day. 

    Also, just because a player has the right to opt out doesn't mean he will. 

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    I love the idea that Madrigal heads to Iowa in case Morel can’t handle third.

    The one point that intrigues me here is Cooper over Smith. I feel like the Cubs really like Smith and don’t want to lose him. Could be wrong. He def seems like an opt out if he misses the opening day roster

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Childersb3: Both Madrigal and Wisdom can be optioned without any restriction. Their consent is not required. 

    They both can be outrighted without restriction, too (presuming the player is not claimed off waivers), but if outrighted they can choose to elect free agency (immediately, or deferred until after the end of the MLB season).

    If the player is outrighted and elects free-agency immediately he forfeits what remains of his salary.

    If he accepts the assignment and defers free agency until after the conclusion of the season, he continues to get his salary, and he could be added back to the 40 anytime prior to becoming a free-agent (club option). 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Phil, 
    Madrigal and Wisdom can or cannot refuse being optioned to the Minors?
    If they can refuse it, wouldn't they elect to leave the Cubs org?

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    In my opinion, the biggest "affirmative" mistake the Cubs made in the off-season (that is, doing something they should not have done), was blowing $9M in 2024 AAV on Hector Neris. What the Cubs actually need is an alternate closer to be in the pen and available to close if Alzolay pitched the day before (David Robertson would have been perfect), because with his forearm issue last September, I would be VERY wary of over-using Alzolay. I'm not even sure I would pitch him two days in a row!  

    And of course what the Cubs REALLY need is a second TOR SP to pair with Justin Steele. That's where the Cubs are going to need to be willing to package prospects (like the Padres did to acquire Dylan Cease, the Orioles did to acquire Corbin Burnes, and the Dodgers did to acquire Tyler Glasnow). Obviously those ships have sailed, but I would say right now the Cubs need to look very hard at trying to acquire LHSP Jesus Luzardo from the Marlins (and maybe LHP A. J. Puk as well).