Tag / Pirates

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150 Years Of Cubs Baseball – Shortstops

Originally founded in 1869, the Chicago Cubs became a charter member of the National League in 1876.  Over the next 150 seasons, the Cubs have played more than 22,000 games, scored over 103,000 runs and recorded more than 200,000 hits, more than any other team in baseball history.  Nearly 2,300 players have worn a Cubs uniform, earning eight division titles, 17 NL pennants, and three World Series championships.

Fans have witnessed generations of unforgettable players, from historical heroes like Joe Tinker, Gabby Hartnett, Ernie Banks, and Billy Williams to more recent stars like Ryne Sandberg, Derrek Lee, Kerry Wood, and Anthony Rizzo.  The team has called Wrigley Field home for 110 of those 150 seasons.

To celebrate this milestone, the Cubs are holding a fan vote to select the franchise’s anniversary team.  Each week, we will go through the provided options for each position and declare who should, and, if different, who will, win the fan vote.  We continue today with the eight selections for shortstop.

Javier Baez was drafted by the Cubs in the first round in 2011 and debuted with the big-league club in 2014.  He became a starter in 2016, helping the Cubs end their 108-year championship drought by winning the World Series.  His best season came in 2018, when he led the league in RBI and finished second in MVP voting.  His tenure with the Cubs ended in 2021, traded to the Mets for a young prospect named Pete Crow-Armstrong.  During his time on the north side, he was a two-time All-Star, the 2016 NLCS MVP, and won both a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger.

Ernie Banks played his entire 19-year career with the Cubs, earning back-to-back MVP honors in 1958 and 1959.  At the time of his retirement following the 1971 season, he ranked ninth all-time in career home runs with 512.  He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1977 and became a team ambassador, never seen without a smile on his face.  Known as Mr. Cub, his #14 was retired by the team in 1982, making him the first Cub to receive that honor.

Bill Dahlen spent eight seasons with the Colts and Orphans through most of the 1890s.  Playing in a dead ball era, he had a good amount of power, finishing among the NL’s top ten players in home runs four times and in slugging percentage three times.  He set a new record with a 42-game hitting streak in 1894.  He was traded away following the 1898 season.  He is considered to have the most career WAR of any eligible player, except those tainted by scandal, to not be in the Hall of Fame.

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150 Years Of Cubs Baseball – Third Basemen

Originally founded in 1869, the Chicago Cubs became a charter member of the National League in 1876.  Over the next 150 seasons, the Cubs have played more than 22,000 games, scored over 103,000 runs and recorded more than 200,000 hits, more than any other team in baseball history.  Nearly 2,300 players have worn a Cubs uniform, earning eight division titles, 17 NL pennants, and three World Series championships.

Fans have witnessed generations of unforgettable players, from historical heroes like Joe Tinker, Gabby Hartnett, Ernie Banks, and Billy Williams to more recent stars like Ryne Sandberg, Derrek Lee, Kerry Wood, and Anthony Rizzo.  The team has called Wrigley Field home for 110 of those 150 seasons.

To celebrate this milestone, the Cubs are holding a fan vote to select the franchise’s anniversary team.  Each week, we will go through the provided options for each position and declare who should, and, if different, who will, win the fan vote.  We continue today with the eight selections for third baseman.

Kris Bryant was selected by the Cubs as the second-overall pick in the 2013 draft.  An injury to Mike Olt early in the 2015 season got Bryant called up to the big leagues and he did not waste time making his presence felt.  Hitting .275 with 26 HRs and 99 RBIs, Bryant won the Rookie of the Year award while leading the surprising Cubs to the NL Wild Card and an appearance in the NLCS.  Things were even better the following year, as Bryant won the NL MVP and the Cubs ended their 108-year title drought by defeating Cleveland in the World Series.  Unfortunately, neither Bryant nor the Cubs could replicate the highs of that year.  He was traded to the Giants at the trade deadline in 2021, finishing his time on the north side as a four-time All-Star and winner of the 2016 NL Hank Aaron Award.

Stan Hack spent his entire 16-year career with the Cubs, becoming the full-time third baseman in 1934.  He appeared in four World Series for the Cubs, losing efforts in 1932, 1935, 1938, and 1945.  When he retired following the 1947 season, he ranked second in team history behind Cap Anson in games played, at bats, and hits.  He twice led the National League in stolen bases and was a five-time All-Star selection.  He is a member of the Cubs Hall of Fame.

Randy Jackson spent parts of seven seasons across his two stints with the Cubs.  He debuted in 1950 and earned All-Star nods in 1954 and 1955.  Traded to the Dodgers following that 1955 season, he returned in 1959 for a final season after a knee injury derailed the trajectory of his career.

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150 Years Of Cubs Baseball – First Basemen

Originally founded in 1869, the Chicago Cubs became a charter member of the National League in 1876.  Over the next 150 seasons, the Cubs have played more than 22,000 games, scored over 103,000 runs and recorded more than 200,000 hits, more than any other team in baseball history.  Nearly 2,300 players have worn a Cubs uniform, earning eight division titles, 17 NL pennants, and three World Series championships.

Fans have witnessed generations of unforgettable players, from historical heroes like Joe Tinker, Gabby Hartnett, Ernie Banks, and Billy Williams to more recent stars like Ryne Sandberg, Derrek Lee, Kerry Wood, and Anthony Rizzo.  The team has called Wrigley Field home for 110 of those 150 seasons.

To celebrate this milestone, the Cubs are holding a fan vote to select the franchise’s anniversary team.  Each week, we will go through the provided options for each position and declare who should, and, if different, who will, win the fan vote.  We continue today with the eight selections for first baseman.

Cap Anson was one of the first superstars of professional baseball.  He joined the Cubs franchise, then known as the White Stockings, in 1876, the first year of the new National League.  In addition to managing the team from 1879-1897, he was the NL batting champion in both 1881 and 1888 and led the league in RBI eight times between 1880 and 1891.  He helped the team to five pennants between 1880 and 1886.  He was posthumously elected to the Hall of Fame in 1939.

Bill Buckner joined the Cubs in 1977, moving to first base due to a staph infection in his ankle the previous year.  He would win the NL batting title in 1980 and be named to his lone All-Star team in 1981.  In 1982, he set the major league record for assists at first base with 159.  Following some late acquisitions in 1984, Buckner found himself the off man out and was traded at the end of May.  He is a member of the Cubs Hall of Fame.

Phil Cavarretta spent 20 seasons with the Cubs, making his debut in September of 1934, just two months past his 18thn birthday.  He was a four-time All Star and, in 1945, he won the NL batting title and the MVP award while leading the Cubs to the pennant, their last one for over 70 years.  In his final season with the Cubs, he set the modern franchise record by playing in his 1938th game.  All told, he would hit .317 in three World Series appearances for the Cubs.

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The First Time

Previously, we’ve looked at the most recent time I’ve seen each of the 30 major league baseball teams play.  Three weeks into the 2026 season, I thought it would be worth going into the wayback machine and see when the first time was that I saw each team live and in person, to the best of my knowledge.  My records only go back to 1984, so anything before that is as yet unidentified.

Breaking it down by decade, we have twelve teams I saw originally during the 80s, eleven in the 90s, and the remaining seven came in the 2000s.  For franchises that have moved, I have lumped them all together.

Earliest Game

Team Name Year
Texas Rangers 8/14/1984
Chicago White Sox 8/14/1984
Toronto Blue Jays 8/30/1984
Boston Red Sox 4/19/1985
San Diego Padres 7/8/1985
Chicago Cubs 7/8/1985
Baltimore Orioles 7/26/1985
New York Mets 8/4/1985
Kansas City Royals 8/20/1985
Cleveland Indians/Guardians 7/16/1987
Seattle Mariners 9/18/1987
California/Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels 7/28/1988
Detroit Tigers 4/20/1991
Milwaukee Brewers 7/18/1993
Pittsburgh Pirates 8/2/1993
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All Time Team Records

After a long winter, the 2026 baseball season got underway yesterday.  To celebrate, it is time once again to look at the all-time team records for games that I have identified as having attended dating back to 1984.  Last year, I posted my thirteenth highest total, an increase of twelve games from the year before, and managed to see 21 out of the 30 teams, so there should be some nice changes.

The White Sox are coming off their third-straight 100 loss season and are hoping to avoid adding a fourth this year.  On the other side of town, the Cubs made it back into playoff contention last year and are hoping to move beyond the NLDS this year.  The 2026 season may look completely different on each side of town.

All-Time Team Records

Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
California Angels 2 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 17 4 0.810
Florida Marlins 15 8 0.652
Cleveland Guardians 7 4 0.636
Toronto Blue Jays 20 12 0.625
New York Yankees 20 13 0.606
Philadelphia Phillies 13 10 0.565
Boston Red Sox 22 17 0.564
Colorado Rockies 11 9 0.550
Los Angeles Angels 20 17 0.541
Washington Nationals 7 6 0.538
Detroit Tigers 35 30 0.538
Cleveland Indians 31 27 0.534
Chicago Cubs 246 217 0.531
Houston Astros 27 25 0.519
Chicago White Sox 387 378 0.506
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Pirates All Time Leaders – Through 2025

pirates-primaryTo paraphrase from a famous movie, the one constant through all the years has been baseball.  With the winter meetings starting today, we continue our look at the all-time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. Today, we take a deeper dive into the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Pirates began life in 1887 as the Alleghenys, before taking on the Pirates moniker in 1891.  I’ve seen 245 players don the Pirates uniform in the 49 games of theirs that I’ve attended live, including a double header sweep in 2003, enabling the Cubs to clinch their first NL Central title and a work outing in 2008 against the White Sox.

Home Runs

Name Total
Brian Giles 3
Andrew McCutchen 3
Nate McLouth 2
Carlos Garcia 2
Craig Wilson 2
Jack Wilson 2

Hits

Name Total
Jack Wilson 27
Jason Kendall 14
Aramis Ramirez 14

Runs

Name Total
Jack Wilson 16
Brian Giles 10
Nate McLouth 9

RBI

Name Total
Jason Kendall 12
Brian Giles 11
Jack Wilson 8
Andrew McCutchen 8

Doubles

Name Total
Freddy Sanchez 5
Aramis Ramirez 4
Abraham Nunez 4

Triples Continue reading →

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Back To The Playoffs

For the first time since 2020, the Cubs are heading back to the postseason.  They clinched their spot in the playoffs yesterday, defeating the Pirates 8-4.  While they are only the third NL team to qualify, they are still five games behind the Brewers in the NL Central and look like they will be the top Wild Card heading into October.  If the season ended today, they would host the Padres in the Wild Card series at Wrigley Field.

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Looking Ahead To 2026

Eschewing their traditional day after the All-Star Game release, Major League Baseball released their tentative 2026 schedule on a random Tuesday at the end of August.  For the fourth year in a row, MLB is keeping with a balanced schedule, playing 52 games against division opponents, 64 games against non-division opponents in the same league, and 46 interleague games, with series against every team in the opposite league.  With a young and improving White Sox team already looking ahead to next year and the Cubs trying to lock down a Wild Card spot, the 2026 season looks like it could be an interesting one for the city of Chicago.  So, for one day, at least, let’s turn our attention to next summer for both teams.

The White Sox open their season on March 26, the earliest North American start in league history, under the dome in Milwaukee against the Brewers, followed by a trip to South Beach to face the Marlins.  They open up their home schedule against the Blue Jays on April 2.

Aside from the Brewers and Marlins, the interleague schedule sees the White Sox going on the road to face the Phillies, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, and Padres, while the Pirates, Reds, Dodgers, Braves, Mets, Rockies, and Nationals make their way to Rate Field.  The rivalry with their north side foes continues with a three-game weekend series at home Wrigley Field in mid-May followed by a weekday series at Wrigley Field in mid-August.

The White Sox wrap up the 2026 season in September with series against the Twins, Guardians, and Tigers, should it matter.  The season ends at home with a three-game series against the Rockies.

On the north side, the Cubs kick off their season at home against the Nationals and the Angels before heading out on the road in early April.  Aside from the Angels, the Cubs will host the Twins, A’s, Yankees, Blue Jays, and Tigers, while travelling to visit the Mariners, Orioles, Guardians, Red Sox, and Royals.

Twelve of their 24 games in September are against their NL Central rivals, with six coming against the Brewers, which could make a difference should the Cubs find themselves in contention once again.  They end the year with a three-game road trip to Boston to face the Red Sox.

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And That Deadline Was A Bit Of A Dud

The MLB trade deadline has come and gone and neither the Cubs nor the White Sox made the big moves they were expected to make.  The Cubs made two late moves, adding utility man Willi Castro from the Twins and reliever Taylor Rogers from the Pirates.  The White Sox made a single move, sending Adrian Houser to the Rays.

Castro, 28, is a switch hitter who can play pretty much anywhere.  He’s posted a .742 OPS with the Twins this year and will hit free agency at year end.  Going back to the Twins are two Double A pitchers: Ryan Gallagher and Sam Armstrong.  Rogers, 34, was acquired by the Pirates on Wednesday in the Ke’Bryan Hayes trade before being flipped to the Cubs.  His walk rate this year is the highest it has been in his career, but a veteran lefty is always good to have around down the stretch.  High A outfielder Ivan Brethowr is headed back to the Pirates.  He is 22 and striking out in nearly 30% of his at bats this season.

Houser, 32, joined the White Sox in late May and has had the best stretch of his career.  In return, the Rays are sending infielder Curtis Mead, pitcher Duncan Davitt, and pitcher Ben Peoples.  Mead, 24, is a former top 100 prospect who has yet to find his way in the big leagues, spending parts of three seasons with the Rays and posting 0.4 career WAR.  Davitt, 25, and Peoples, 24, were both in Triple A for the Rays.

Despite those moves, when the bell rang at 5 PM CT yesterday, the Cubs were still lacking a proven starter who can help their beleaguered rotation, and the White Sox still employed Luis Robert, Mike Tauchman, and Aaron Civale.  None of which was the expected outcome of the day.

 

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Crossing Sides Of Town

So far in 2025, Brad Keller, Mike Tauchman, Nicky Lopez, and Reese McGuire pushed the total of players I’ve seen take the field in person for both the Cubs and the White Sox to 47.  With the final round of crosstown kicking off tonight at Rate Field, here’s a look at those players, in alphabetical order.

David Aardsma

After posting a decent season with the Cubs in 2006, Aardsma was traded to the White Sox for Neal Cotts.  Aardsma lasted one season with the Sox, where he was unable to duplicate his success from the year before.

Jason Bere

Drafted by the White Sox in the 36th round in 1990, Bere debuted with the big-league club in 1993, finishing 2nd in Rookie of the Year voting.  After an All Star selection in 1994, injuries marred the remainder of his tenure on the South Side, which ended in 1998.  He resurfaced with the Cubs in 2001 and had a decent season, but he went 1-10 in 2002 before being let go.

Emilio Bonifacio

Bonifacio spent back-to-back partial seasons in Chicago, first for the Cubs in 2014 after signing as a free agent, where he played decently enough to be flipped at the trade deadline, along with James Russell, to the Braves for a young catching prospect by the name of Victor Caratini.  He returned to Chicago in 2015, signing with the White Sox, where he he did not do well at all, hitting .167 in 47 games before being released in August.

Welington Castillo

Debuting with the Cubs in 2010, Castillo spent time behind the plate for the Cubs until May of 2015, when, having been replaced in the starting lineup by Miguel Montero, he was flipped to the Mariners.  He returned to Chicago in 2018 after signing with the White Sox as a free agent.  On May 24th of that season, he was suspended 80 games for a violation of the PED policy.  The White Sox then cut bait following the 2019 season, shipping him off to the Rangers.

Neal Cotts

Acquired by the White Sox in the Billy Koch trade, he debuted with the team in 2003.  He was a key contributor in the bullpen during the 2005 championship season and was the only relief pitcher to appear in all 3 rounds of the playoffs that season.  Following the 2006 season, he was traded to the Cubs for David Aardsma, and he spent the next 3 injury filled seasons on the North Side.

Scott Eyre

Joining the White Sox organization in a 1994 trade with the Rangers, he debuted with the big-league team in 1997.  He split the next 4 seasons between the rotation and the bullpen, not to mention between Chicago and Charlotte, before being moved to the Blue Jays following the 2000 ALDS loss to the Mariners.  He joined the Cubs as a free agent for the 2006 season and enjoyed 2 seasons of relative success, before falling apart in 2008, when he was traded to the Phillies.

Clint Frazier

After missing the second half of 2021 with an injury, Frazier was DFA’d by the Yankees.  He signed a deal with the Cubs that offseason, though he notched just 45 plate appearances before being DFA’s once again.  He chose to finish the year in the Cubs system before becoming a free agent following the season.  After failing to catch on with the Rangers, he signed a minor league deal with the White Sox, eventually hitting .197 in 33 games with the big-league club.

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