The real Cubs All-Quarter Century Team

A couple of weeks ago, Jayson Stark of The Athletic published his All-Quarter Century MLB team. It's 2025, and that's how quarters of centuries work, I guess. I'm sure it was well reasoned and thought out as most of Jayson's stuff is, but I was blinded with rage when the catcher was Yadier Molina. I mean, Buster Posey was right there, and much better for a long time than Yadi.

Last week, The Athletic apparently asked fans to vote for a Cubs All-Quarter Century team. I must have missed the balloting. They had Sahadev write the story and defend the choices. If you missed it, and judging by the hits it got, you did--here was the fan voted team.

1B - Anthony Rizzo
2B - Nico Hoerner
SS - Javier Baez
3B- Kris Bryant
LF - Ian Happ
CF - Petecrow Armstrong
RF - Sammy Sosa
C - Willson Conteras
UT - Ben Zobrist
SP - Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, Mark Prior, Carlos Zambrano
RP - Pedro Strop
Closer - Carlos Marmol

I mean, those are certainly some choices. You're asking fans to vote and you're asking for their opinions, so are there really any right or wrong answers?

Yes, there can be wrong answers, and there were actually quite a few.

Since Cubs fans can't be trusted, I'll just pick the team, and we'll all agree that it's the official one. OK with you?

Fine.

First Base
Readers' pick - Anthony Rizzo

There actually is a real choice to be made here. Three Cubs have been All-Stars at first base during the 2000s so far. Derrek Lee, Rizzo and Bryan LaHair. Since the argument is between Lee and Rizzo, let's just go with LaHair and be done with it!

OK, fine. No. Derrek Lee was a stud for the Cubs for seven seasons. He out slashed Rizzo .298/.378/.524 to .261/.361/.467. Lee won a batting title in 2005, and nearly the triple crown. If the Cubs hadn't sucked he probably would have been MVP. Lee won three Gold Gloves, Rizzo won four. What it really should tell you is that from 2004 through 2021 with just 2011 as the exception (Lee was in Baltimore and Rizzo was in San Diego), the Cubs had a great first baseman. Carlos Pena was the first baseman in 2011, and he was even pretty good. LaHair started the 2012 season at first, made the All-Star team because some Cub had to and moved to right at midseason to accommodate Rizzo. That's 18 years of mostly great first base play. Maybe that's why it's so hard to get excited about Michael Busch being "fine."

Rizzo played more years for the Cubs than Lee so he has more homers and RBI. Rizzo also played in 10 playoffs series compared to Lee's two. Granted, Rizzo didn't hit very well in eight of them, but he hit .320 with a 1.010 OPS in the 2016 NLCS versus the Dodgers and .360 with a 1.084 OPS in the World Series against Cleveland.

Remember when he let us all breathe just a little easier in game six?

Both Rizz and DLee were great players and are awesome guys. The hardware gives Rizzo the edge. But hey, Lee gets to go into the Utility Tunnel of Fame first. So there's that.

Pointless Exercise Cubs All-Quarter Century First Baseman - Anthony Rizzo

Second Base
Readers' pick - Nico Hoerner

Nico is a really good baseball player. He's a stud defensively, he's an excellent baserunner, and he hits a bunch of singles, which is pretty good. There's not much to not like about him. So I get the choice here.

But I'm going with Javy Baez. As good as he is/was at shortstop, second base was where quite a bit of the real El Mago shit happened. He was incredible in the 2016 playoffs there, winning game one of the division series with a homer, and coming up huge in the game four ninth inning rally. He was even better in the NLCS against the Dodgers where he was co-MVP with Jon Lester. Javy was a full-time second baseman for the Cubs in fewer seasons than Eric Young in the decade. Darwin Barney was as full-time second baseman more than Javy or Nico. I don't care. Javy was every bit as good defensively as Nico at that spot and a much more impactful hitter.

Pointless Exercise Cubs All-Quarter Century Second Baseman - Javier Baez

Shortstop
Readers' choice - Javier Baez

Can't argue with this. Javy played more short than second in his time with the Cubs, mostly because Addison Russell scumbagged his way out of professional baseball. Dansby Swanson has been a great defender and decent (at best) offensive player during his years there. Ryan Theriot was...shitty. How about Nomar? Never mind. Starlin Castro has the strongest case outside of Javy. he put up 5.7 WAR on terrible Cubs teams in 2010 and 2011. He was a good hitter, but erratic (at best) on defense.

Javy won his Gold Glove at short. He should have been MVP season in 2018 was at short. He stole first base in Pissburgh while playing short.

But Javy's already the second baseman!

When has that ever stopped Javy?

Besides, do any other players have nearly five minute videos dedicated just to his tags? Hell no.

Pointless Exercise Cubs All-Quarter Century Shortstop - Javier Baez

Third Base
Readers' pick - Kris Bryant

This is probably the closest spot on this entire list. KB is a legend. He won Rookie of the Year and then MVP. He was a World Series star, and his homer in game five is the biggest homer in Cubs' history.

We also can cheat and play him somewhere else. He was an excellent left fielder. He played every position except catcher and second base.

E-ramis Ramirez was also a great player. E-ramis played longer than Kris and was more durable (as incredible as that might seem to Bob Brenly). E-ramis was also a great clutch hitter. In nine years with the Cubs, E-ramis slashed .283/.356/.531 with 239 homers. In seven years with the Cubs, KB slashed .279/.378/.508 with 191 homers.

It's a tough choice. I'll defer to the ring. Unless you think we should just go with Luis Valbuena? No?

Pointless Exercise Cubs All-Quarter Century Third Baseman - Kris Bryant

Left Field
Readers' choice - Ian Happ

What the fuck? Seriously. Ian Happ? Cubs fans are the dumbest. Well, no, because there are White Sox and Cardinals fans, but Cubs fans are pretty dumb.

I can see not picking Moises Alou. He only played three years for the Cubs and he was pretty useless in 2002. In 2003 he had a pretty good regular season, but he was big down the stretch and great in the playoffs. Moises hit .500 (10-for-20) in the NLDS against the Barves and OPS'd .907 with two homers and five RBI in the NLCS against the Marlins. His best season as a Cub was in 2004, when he played 155 games, slashed .293/.361/.557 with 39 homers and 106 RBI.

Moises 4.0 WAR when he was 38 years old is better than all but one Happ season ever.

Kyle Schwarber hit 121 homers in six* seasons with the Cubs. One of those seasons was two games. Happ has 152 in nine. Schwarber struggled in 2017 and in the Covid season, but his career OPS+ as a Cub is 113 compared to Happ's at 114.

The only other player to lead the Cubs in games in left in the 2000s in multiple seasons is Alfonso Soriano who did it for seven years, compared to Happ's three.

Fonzie was not what you'd call a strong fielder.

He was a converted second baseman who had played one season in left before the Cubs signed him in 2007 with the plan to pay him in center. He injured his quad early in the year and when he came back he was in left and he stayed there through 2013.

But don't get me started on Happ's three* Gold Gloves. He's been a below league average fielder for the last two of them. And he was never that good out there in the first place.

Soriano struck out too much (so does Happ), and he mostly stopped stealing bases once he got to the Cubs (he had stolen 40 three times in his career and thirty or more five times, but with the Cubs he stole 19 in each of his first two seasons and 18 in 2013 (but eight of them came after his trade back to the Yankees). He hit 181 homers as a Cub and had an .812 OPS (Happ's career total is .788). Fonzie struggled in his two playoff appearances for the Cubs, but in the run to the playoffs in 2007 he was incredible. In September that year he hit .320/.354/.754 with 14 homers and 27 RBI. He led off 12 games with homers, which was the National League record at the time. When he did it, he held the record for leadoff homers in both leagues, as he hit 13 for the Yankees in 2003.

Guess who currently holds the record?

I would put Kris Bryant ahead of Happ on this list. Hell, I'd probably put Chris Coghlan ahead of him. OK, maybe not.

Pointless Exercise Cubs All-Quarter Century Left Fielder - Alfonso Soriano

Center Field
Readers' pick - Petecrow Armstrong

Oh, for fuck's sake. I love Petecrow. We all love Petecrow. But at the time of this voting he'd been a productive hitter for two full months (August 2024 and May 2025) in his career. Barring Jed fucking something up, royally (always a risk), Petecrow will be the center fielder on the next Cubs All-Quarter Century team.

But this should not have been hard.

The Cubs have been victims of inconsistent (at best) play in center, pretty much forever. But one guy this century was the engine for the two best Cubs' teams any of us have ever seen.

No, not Corey Patterson.

Dexter Fowler.

The reason this is easy is, just check out the list of the primary center fielders for the Cubs since 2000.

Damon Buford (2000)
Gary Matthews Jr. (2001)
Corey Patterson (2002-2005)
Juan Pierre (2006)
Jock Jones (2007)
Reed Johnson (2008) (Just barely over Jim Edmonds. Just as well.)
Kosuke Fukudome (2009)
Marlon Byrd (2010-2011)
Tony Campana (2012)
David DeJesus (2013)
Arismendy Alcantara (2014) - Really? Yikes.
Dexter Fowler (2015-2016)
Albert Almora (2017-2019)
Ian Happ (2020)
Rafael Ortega (2021-2022)
Mike Tauchman (2023)
Petecrow Armstrong (2024-2025 and beyond)

The only players to have a WAR of even 3.0 or better over a full season in center over that span are Dexter (4.0 in 2016), Byrd (3.7 in 2010) and Corey (3.0 in 2004).

Dexter's combined WAR of 6.3 over two years is better than anybody's total over that span, even (maybe especially) Corey and Albert who had more years there. The only All-Stars in that span were Dexter in 2026 and Byrd in 2010.

Yeah, it's bleak. Petecrow will take the mantel in short order, but not yet.

Pointless Exercise Cubs All-Quarter Century Center Fielder - Dexter Fowler

Right Field
Readers' choice - Sammy Sosa

Sammy played just five seasons in right in the century, compared to the seven seasons that Jason Heyward did (seems like more). But this isn't close. Sammy's 2001 season alone was better than the seven seasons Heyward played combined. Sure, Sammy didn't make any rain delay speeches.

He was too busy hitting .328/.437/.737 with 64 homers, 160 RBI and scoring 146 runs. He was pretty good in 2000, too. He led the league in homers with 50, drove in 138 and hit .320.

Here are Sammy's stats for the 2000s. .295/.390/.612, 238 homers, 589 RBI and 25.8 WAR.

If that seems good, it's because it is.

Better than this commerical.

Pointless Exercise Cubs All-Quarter Century Right Fielder - Sammy Sosa

Catcher
Readers' choice - Willson Contreras

This is not a tough decision, though I'm surprised a bunch of dopes didn't vote for Carson Kelly for his one good month this year. The Cubs have had some interesting catchers this century so far. Joe Girardi got a token All-Star nod in 2000 because he was close enough to an airport to get to Atlanta in time. Mike Piazza got hit in the head by Roger Clemens in the final game before the break. Joe was not the first catcher to get called, but he was the first to actually answer. I wish I was making this up. Michael Barrett caught like the converted third baseman he was. He wasn't a bad hitter, but other than a walk-off double against the A's, the only thing anybody remembers him hitting was his face hitting Carlos Zambrano's fist. Geovany Soto had two good years for the Cubs. He was Rookie of the Year in 2008 and should have been an All-Star in 2010. Welington Castillo was solid, but is probably best remembered for nearly killing Tyler Colvin.

But nobody comes close to Willson. His 20.5 WAR in seven years dwarfs the rest of these bums. He made three All-Star teams as a Cub, hit 117 homers and had an .807 OPS. And he started his Cubs career with a bang.

Pointless Exercise Cubs All-Quarter Century Catcher - Willson Contreras

Utility
Readers' choice - Ben Zobrist

A great choice. Ben was a versatile player even in the waning years of his career. He had a great season in 2016 playing second, left, right, first and short and putting up a 121 OPS+. He was the World Series MVP. Oh, and he got the biggest hit in franchise history.

Gotta be Ben, right? I mean, was anybody else better at as many positions?

Well, I mean...

Pointless Exercise Cubs All-Quarter Century Utility Player - Javier Baez

Does Zobrist have a seven and a half minute video dedicated just to his slides? No, he does not.

Starting Pitchers
Readers' choices: Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, Mark Prior, Carlos Zambrano

Honestly? The readers nailed this. Jake was the most dominant pitcher pitcher the game has ever seen for more than half of the 2015 season and won two World Series games a year later. Lester was worth every penny they paid for him and one of the best clutch pitchers ever. Kyle won an ERA title, beat Clayton Kershaw for the pennant and started the greatest game seven ever. The Franchise's career was cut senselessly short, but at his best he was the very best. And Big Z? He ended up having a better career than the stars he broke in with, Kerry Wood and Prior. Oh, and Juan Cruz. Wood deserves some mention here, but there's a pretty easy way to get him on this team.

These guys could hit a little, too. Big Z hit 24 homers in his career, and Jake did this off the best postseason pitcher of his generation.

Pointless Exercise Cubs All-Quarter Century Starting Pitchers - Arrieta, Lester, Hendricks, Prior, and Big Z

Relievers
Readers' choices: Carlos Marmol, closer; and Pedro Strop, set-up

Strop is a slam dunk choice. He might be the best Cubs' middle reliever in history. That sounds like an exaggeration, but he pitched eight years for the Cubs and posted a 2.88 ERA in 413 games. He allowed just 246 hits in 375 innings and struck out 428. Remember when he always struggled against the Cardinals?

He sure did. And so when he mowed them down in the 2015 playoffs, he let them know that things had changed...for him and for his team...forever.

Marmol did lead the Cubs in saves in four different seasons, but he did his best work in 2007 and 2008 as a set up man. He wasn't just good in those seasons, he was insanely good. In those two seasons, Marmol pitched 156.2 innings and struck out 210 batters and allowed just 81 hits. He was worth 5.7 WAR as a setup man. In 2010 he struck out 138 batters in just 77 innings. Because he pitched way too much over a four year stretch (313 appearances!) he wore out. No more frustratingly when he blew a save chance against the Cardinals in the final days of the 2011 season that would have kept St. Louis out of the playoffs. But when Carlos was good he was very good. I think he should be the other setup man on this team.

Which leaves closer for:

I know, it's ridiculous. He only saved 35 games ever for the Cubs, and 34 of them came in this one season. You can make a far better argument for guys who pitched part of, or just one season like Aroldis Chapman or Wade Davis. Hell, Hector Rondon has a much better argument.

But he's Kerry Wood! What is the fun of having this stupid, fake ass team if you can't find a spot for him? Besides, he was really good that year. 84 strikeouts in 66 innings. It was his second and last All-Star season.

Pointless Exercise Cubs All-Quarter Bullpen - Set up men - Pedro Strop and Carlos Marmol; closer - Kerry Wood

I wonder what Jeff "no team gets better by trading Scott Feldman" Samardzija thinks of seeing both guys the Cubs got for Feldman and Steve Clevenger (Jake and Pedro) on this team? I know what he thinks. He doesn't give a shit.

So there you have it. The real All-Quarter Century team. My only concern is that there might not be enough Javy Baez on it.

This would make a cool shirt, right?

And you know what? There might even be others.

Buy some crap