If you think about the Chicago Cubs in the 1990s, the first name that has to come to mind is Mark Grace. He was the only player that was with the team throughout the entire decade, and even though he played with another team later in his career, he's about as Cub of a player as you can find outside of Ernie Banks.
By 1998, Mark Grace was already 34 years old, which would seem to mean that he should be declining, but Grace defied all reasonable expectations by being even more productive at age 34 than he was at 24. This was especially shocking as Grace was never known as a fitness fantatic. He smoked cigarettes before, during, and after games. He also wasn't afraid of the occasional beer or ten.
Since everyone was freaking out about Sammy Sosa's home run chase, people overlooked that Mark Grace also set a personal home run record. He went from a previous career high of just 16 home runs all the way up to 17 home runs in 1998 and put up a line of .309/.401/.471 on the year.
Although he had a very good year, Mark Grace just wasn't a highlight guy. I mean, maybe you remember him hitting for a cycle in 1993, but without YouTube, I sure wouldn't have. But a hitter that good was bound to have a few highlights and September 13, in the tenth inning of a tie game, Mark Grace came to the plate ready to make an impact.
It was a season where the Cubs needed every win they got, and it's good that Grace got to play the hero on this occasion as he was most often second fiddle to Sammy Sosa. But to illustrate his lack of highlights, I would just like to point out that his second biggest highlight from 1998 was a game in May against the San Francisco Giants where he walked four times. Pretty incredible, but unfortunately YouTube does not have that clip posted.
His best highlight from any season is this poster.
He was more of a highlight machine with his quotes, which would later lead to a career in broadcasting. He summed up the 1998 season better than anyone when he said, "This team makes your ulcers have a baby."
He would play one more season with the Cubs, and ended up leading the league in hits for the entirety of the 1990s which is pretty crazy considering he never had a 200 hit season. But he left on bad terms as the Cubs kept him hanging during free agency before finally telling him that they were not going to resign him for the 2000 season. He would continue to be productive for a couple years for the Diamondbacks, winning a World Series in 2001, so at least things worked out for him.
After his playing career, he has done some coaching but has mostly been in the broadcast booth. He has battled alcoholism but appears to be doing well now. But instead of ending on a somber note, instead, let's focus on this fan site that is so overwhelmingly positive that I couldn't help but smile when I went through it: http://www.markgrace.com/
Seriously, go to that website; it's fucking awesome.
In case you missed it:
Introduction
#47 - Matt Karchner
#46 - Jose Nieves
#45 - Rodney Myers
#44 - Justin Speier
#43 - Tony Fossas
#42 - Kennie Steenstra
#41 - Chris Haney
#40 - Bob Patterson
#39 - Pedro Valdes
#38 - Derrick White
#37 - Ben Van Ryn
#36 - Terrell Lowery
#35 - Don Wengert
#34 - Kurt Miller
#33 - Jason Maxwell
#32 - Kevin Foster
#31 - Mike Morgan
#30 - Felix Heredia
#29 - Jeff Blauser
#28 - Jason Hardtke
#27 - Dave Stevens
#26 - Manny Alexander
#25 - Marc Pisciotta
#24 - Kevin Orie
#23 - Sandy Martinez
#22 - Terry Adams
#21 - Matt Mieske
#20 - Amaury Telemaco
#19 - Tyler Houston
#18 - Geremi Gonzalez
#17 - Orlando Merced
#16 - Scott Servais
#15 - Mark Clark
#14 - Lance Johnson
#13 - Brant Brown
#12 - Jose Hernandez
#11 - Steve Trachsel
#10 - Henry Rodriguez
#9 - Kevin Tapani
#8 - Mickey Morandini
#7 - Gary Gaetti
#6 - Rod Beck
#5 - Terry Mulholland
#4 - Glenallen Hill
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