There are great pitchers on the list along with some of the best hitters in team history. [31] Piazza and his wife had feuded with Luca Vecchi, then mayor of Reggio Emilia, during their time as owners of the club. A 12-time All-Star and 10-time Silver Slugger Award winner at catcher, Piazza produced strong offensive numbers at his position; in his career, he recorded 427 home runs—a record 396 of which were hit as catcher—along with a .308 batting average and 1,335 runs batted in (RBI). 1B - No … [25] Due to the coronavirus pandemic and cancellation of the 2020 European Baseball Club competitions, Piazza was unable to do so. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. The game was to be called after nine innings since Wrigley Field didn’t have lights and would have had to be played in its entirety again the next day. There are many players who could have topped this list but Banks is the only one that played his entire career with the Cubs. Piazza signed as a free agent with the Oakland Athletics on December 8, 2006. [18] The jersey he wore in that September 21, 2001 game was purchased in April 2016 for $365,000, the highest price ever paid for a modern-day jersey, and is displayed on a rotating basis among the 9/11 Memorial Museum, Citi Field, and the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Joe Torre is the fourth best catcher of all time??? Playing for 19 years in Chicago, Gabby Hartnett was the best catcher the Cubs ever had in their history. Piazza is currently the manager of the Italy national baseball team.[1]. His 204 homers at catcher (out of 236 career blasts) are a club record.

Cubs catcher Randy Hundley on April 13, 1976. [29], In 2016, Piazza purchased a majority ownership stake of the third-division Italian soccer club A.C. Reggiana in Reggio Emilia, with an estimated investment of $3 million. He drew a walk in his first plate appearance and then doubled to deep center field in his first official at-bat, against Mike Harkey of the Cubs. Eligibility for position players requires 1,500 plate appearances, starting pitchers require 75 games started, and relief pitchers require 300 innings pitched. He also set the record for most home runs in a season without ever hitting more than one in a game, passing a mark previously set by Rogers Hornsby in 1929. Overall, Baez is ranked 61st. On January 29, 2005, Piazza married Playboy Playmate Alicia Rickter at St. Jude's Catholic Church in Miami, Florida, before 120 guests, including Brande Roderick, Lisa Dergan, Anjelica Bridges, Al Leiter, John Franco, Iván Rodríguez, Eddie Trunk, and his best friend Eric Karros.

We've narrowed it down to several players for both Cubs and White Sox but need your help in choosing the best of the best. One afternoon many years ago, she was telling me about the great Gabby Hartnett and a home run she would never forget. The ten players who did make this list played at least ten seasons each for the Cubs. "And then I got that feeling, the kind of a feeling you get when the blood rushes out of your head and you get dizzy. The 20 Greatest Chicago Cubs of All-Time. Top 10 Catchers in Chicago Cubs Franchise History . The franchise has been in existence since 1876 and has seen many Hall of Fame players step onto the field in a Cubs uniform. In his eight seasons with the Cubs, Davis reached double digits in home runs six times, including a career-high 24 in 1983.

When Davis launched 24 home runs in 1983, it marked the first time a Cubs catcher had belted at least that many since 1930. Wood pitched 12 seasons for the Cubs with an 80-68 record, 35 saves as a reliever and a 3.67 ERA. A fresh take on sports: the biggest news and most entertaining lists. After the 2005 season, Piazza left the Mets to play one season each for the Padres and Athletics before retiring after the 2007 season. Piazza is known as among the best-hitting catchers of all time, hitting 427 career home runs and having an OPS of .922. The Cubs run of three straight pennants came to an end in '09 and Kling failed to defend his billiards title.

The legend of Sandberg started on that fateful Saturday afternoon. His famous "Homer in the Gloamin'" won a key late-season game against the Pirates in 1938. Piazza and Todd Zeile went to the Marlins in return for Gary Sheffield, Charles Johnson, Bobby Bonilla, Manuel Barrios, and Jim Eisenreich.

That took him out of consideration for this particular list. He struggled with diabetes throughout his life and has had a walk in Chicago since 1979 to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account.

[27] He was an instructor for the Italian Baseball Academy when it won back-to-back European Baseball Championships in 2010 and 2012.

Jordan Bastian covers the Cubs for MLB.com.

There is no arguing that Sandberg deserves to be on this list after 15 great seasons with the Cubs. While Wilson has the Major League Baseball record of 191 RBIs in a single season in 1930, the rest of his career achievements along with the fact that he played less than half of his career with the Cubs take him off this list. Clemens was widely criticized by Mets fans for the incident, but Clemens maintained that the pitch was not intentional. Hartnett collected various accolades across his two-decade-long career, including eight top 20 MVP finishes, two top-two finishes, and one MVP award in 1935. Michael Barrett at Cubs spring training in 2007. While he did play the last two seasons of his career with the Oakland Athletics, he is still looked at one of the greatest Cubs players of all time. Piazza immediately impressed with his ability to hit for power and average. In December 2018 the team declared bankruptcy for the third time in twenty years. Only nine other players have ever had over 400 home runs with over a .300 lifetime average while never striking out more than 100 times in a season (Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Lou Gehrig, Mel Ott, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Vladimir Guerrero, Albert Pujols, and Chipper Jones). With the Shea Stadium crowd giving him a standing ovation, Piazza humbly bowed to the stands and blew kisses to the adoring fans.

In each of his three full seasons with the Cubs, Barrett hit 16 home runs and 25 or more doubles.

Only nine other players have ever had over 400 home runs with over a .300 lifetime average while never striking out more than 100 times in a season ( Ted Williams , Stan Musial , Lou Gehrig , Mel Ott , Hank Aaron , Babe Ruth , Vladimir Guerrero , Albert Pujols , and … [16] He only appeared in five games with the Marlins, where he hit .278. Despite his mother being raised in the Jewish faith, Piazza is a devout Roman Catholic. Cubs catcher Randy Hundley on April 13, 1976. So I decided to include all three on this list.

[8], He graduated from Phoenixville Area High School in 1986, after which he went to South Florida and joined the Miami Hurricanes his freshman year; receiving no playing time that season, Piazza transferred to Miami-Dade North.[10].

That doesn’t work however in this case. Vote for your favorite Cubs catcher below. During that '86 campaign, Davis also earned a spot on the NL All-Star team and later took home an NL Gold Glove Award for his work behind the plate.

Hartnett made six consecutive all-star games from 1933-1938 and was named to the MLB Hall of Fame in 1955. Johnny Bench was that one catcher …