The 47 Best Players from the 1998 Chicago Cubs - #13 Brant Brown

13. Brant Brown
Brant Brown was selected by the Cubs in the third round of the 1992 MLB draft. After tearing it up for a couple years, Brown was the Cubs second best prospect in 1994, just behind Brooks Kieschnick. He followed it up with two disappointing years before crushing it in Iowa and making his major league debut in June of 1996. He was great in limited time in 1996 but still spent the majority of 1997 in Iowa while not making much of an impact when he was in the big leagues. If he could spend the majority of year in the major leagues in 1998, it would be a huge victory for Brown.

He did MUCH more than that.

At the beginning of the year, it looked as though he would just spend time as a fourth or fifth outfielder, getting the occasional start when guys needed a rest. But one man's misfortune was Brown's lucky day as Lance Johnson suffered an injury early on that would cost him nearly half the season, and Brown was there to fill in as the starting center fielder.

And he filled his role well. He hit incredibly well. At the end of April, he was hitting .357/.419/.607. Although he didn't quite keep up that pace, he was still hitting incredibly well. On June 12, he hit three home runs against the Philadelphia Phillies with Mark Portugal getting abused for two of those home runs. Even an injury that cost him most of July didn't stop him as he came back and continued to hit well.

In August Lance Johnson retook his job as the starting center fielder and Glenallen Hill had joined the team and hurting baseballs like no other so Brown found it more difficult to find consistent starts, even going a ten day stretch in August between starts. But even playing sparingly down the stretch, he still ended the year with a .291/.348/.501 line in 124 games that season.

Now it was a little odd that Brown would be able to spend the majority of his time in center field since most of his time in the minor leagues was at first base. The Cubs had Mark Grace at first, so they turned Brown into an outfielder, even using him as a defensive replacement in left when he wasn't patrolling center field. They did this despite him not actually being a good fielder in the outfield.

Now, even I can admit that Glenallen Hill and Henry Rodriguez are not your ideal defensive players, but Brant Brown committed seven errors which is an incredibly high number for an outfielder, especially since he wasn't even a full-time starter. Oh well, it's not like any of those errors will be costly.

And that brings us to September 23rd. Both the Cubs and Mets were tied at 88-70 for the wildcard spot, while the Giants were in third at 85-72. Although the Giants would win that day, the Mets lost to the Astros, and the Cubs had a chance to take a lead over the Mets and effectively bury the Giants by winning. Everything started out great as the Cubs used a bunch of walks and a balk to put up two runs in the second, added another in the third, and the Cubs used Sammy Sosa's 65th and 66th home runs in the fifth and sixth inning to take a 7-0 lead. Today was a good day to be a Cubs fan.

But then the Brewers mounted their comeback. It started when the Brewers got hit after hit to put up four runs before the Cubs took out Steve Trachsel and put in Matt Karchner to end the rally. In the eighth, the Brewers finally got to Karchner with a walk, hit-by-pitch, and single which cut the lead to 7-5 going into the ninth. No big deal, the Cubs had Rod Beck to come in and close this game down for the team.

Now Rod Beck was a heart attack for Cubs fans throughout the entire season. He made every game exciting, and this one was no different. Although he got the first out, he then gave up a single and a double before walking Jeromy Burnitz to load the bases. But in classic Rod Beck form, he got Marquis Grissom to pop out to third for the second out. All that was left was Geoff Jenkins. Luckily, Beck induced a fly ball to left field to end the...

Aw, fudge.

I talked earlier about how Orlando Merced's game-winning home run was my favorite game of the season. Well, the Brant Brown game may have been my least favorite game of the season. I remember watching the end of it in my kitchen and just being dumbstruck at what happened. The Cubs did find a way to bounce back and ended up making the playoffs, but they lost all faith in Brant Brown who saw his reduced role turn into a nearly nonexistent one as he had just a single pinch hit at bat in the playoffs.

And even though that is by far my most vivid memory of Brown, I still remember him fondly. He came out of nowhere and hit the ball really well. And let's face it, no child gives a shit about defensive performance; it's all about the hitting, baby. Brant Brown did that part really well in 1998, and he even provided value to the Cubs for future seasons.

After the 1998 season concluded, the Cubs flipped Brown to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Jon Lieber who would provide four very good years of pitching, including a fourth place finish for the Cy Young Award in 2001. Meanwhile, Brown would spend one year with the Pirates before being traded to the Marlins who traded him halfway through the season back to the Cubs, but 2000 would be his last season in the major leagues. He is still in baseball today as he went on to coach in the minor leagues and is currently on the Los Angeles Dodgers staff.

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

The 47 Best Players from the 1998 Chicago Cubs - #28 Jason Hardtke

28. Jason Hardtke
Jason Hardtke was a utility infielder who didn't quite have the skills to play shortstop. The latter part of that sentence really limited Hardtke's potential. Had he been able to play shortstop, he may have gotten more of a chance to prove himself at the major league level. Unfortunately, Hardtke's time in the big show was sporadic and limited.

1998 was Hardtke's third straight season with major league experience, the first two with the New York Mets. He spent the majority of the year at AAA, playing for the Iowa Cubs where he sprayed the ball all over the field with a .288/.361/.453 line.

His time in Chicago was less impressive as he failed to record a single extra base hit leading to a very empty .238 average. And although he only had two RBI on the season, he used one of those to make a huge impact.

The Cubs were in a battle with the Florida Marlins. Legendary aces Mark Clark and Brian Meadows were having one of their world-famous pitching duels. The Marlins broke through in the fourth inning when perennial All-Star snub, Todd Dunwoody, led off the inning with a double before Cliff Floyd knocked him in for a one-run lead.

The Cubs refused to go down easy as in the sixth inning, Cubs legend, Brant Brown, took Meadows deep to tie the game. After that, the runs stopped as each starter lasted eight innings while giving up just a single run. The Cubs turned to Terry Adams who immediately walked Gregg Zaun to start off the inning. Craig Counsell bunted Zaun over to second base to put a runner in scoring position with just one out. The Marlins turned to pinch hitter Ryan Jackson, but he was no match for Adams as he struck out in his lone at bat. Still, this led to Dunwoody. Somehow, possibly by an act of God, Adams induced a ground out from the Marlins stud.

This led to the bottom of the ninth. Felix Heredia was tasked with taking over for Meadows. He wasted no time in making the home town crowd sweat when he struck out early game hero, Brant Brown, with a pitch that froze him with nothing but a bat on his shoulder and a look of dejection in his eyes. But things turned around with the next batter as Mickey Morandini managed an infield hit. This was followed by the big slugger, Sammy Sosa, improbably also getting an infield hit. The Marlins chose not to challenge Mark Grace and intentionally walked the bases loaded instead.

The Cubs sent Terrell Lowery up to the plate, but the Marlins countered with stud reliever, Jay Powell. This led the Cubs to counter the counter and send up who? You guessed it, Jason Hardtke, up to the plate. In what was surely a battle for the ages, Hardtke eventually got the better of Powell as he singled up the middle to drive home the winning run.

Hardtke played about six more weeks before the Cubs sent him back to Iowa. He would never make the major leagues again. Hardtke is an example of when a stat line doesn't tell the whole story. Clutch may or may not be a real thing, but when the Cubs needed him, Hardtke came through when it mattered most. In a year where the Cubs needed every win they could get, it's important to remember the contributions of guys like Hardtke that helped lead to such a magical season.

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

I Miss The Steroid Era - Everything Great About 1998

There is a lot of vitriol aimed towards the late 90s and early 00s baseball years. It is referred to as the Steroid Era, and sports writers (the most honest and honorable people in the world, if you didn't know) just can't believe that players would use drugs that enhance their performance. There was no testing for things like that, so it wasn't really against the rules, but they like, shouldn't have done it, because it's bad. Anyway, I could go into an hour long diatribe about steroids, but instead, I just want to state that I love the Steroid Era. That baseball was awesome. No year better exemplifies the awesomeness of the era than 1998. I will always remember that year fondly, but it truly is amazing all of the awesome things that happened in 98.

The Sosa-McGwire home run chase was undoubtedly the most exciting thing that has happened in baseball during my lifetime. Everybody loved baseball at the time due to those two players. Sure there was steroid use, but the baseballs in play likely had way more to do with the home runs than any PEDs. The whole nation was following two guys playing in the Midwest, because it was that totally awesome.And it's not like we didn't know about steroids. I remember making fun of Cardinals fans for McGwire using androstenedione. It was right there in his locker, but nobody gave a shit and life was grand. 

But that's not all that was great about 1998. There were all of these awesome things as well.

It wasn't just McGwire and Sosa. Ken Griffey Jr. hit 56 home runs. 1998 takes us to a time before Griffey was hurt every year, and that is a wonderful thing to remember. 

Kerry Wood struck out 20 dudes in a game and nearly had a no-hitter. This was the greatest pitching performance ever. Nobody will ever touch it in my mind. Wood made baseballs do things that physics should not allow. And he did all of this while not even being old enough to drink. God, I hate injuries so much, but in 1998, I barely even knew they existed.

Rod Beck was the Cubs Closer. This was not only fun for Cubs fans; it was fun for all fans. Rod Beck made sure to make every game close no matter what the lead. The Cubs could be up by 3 runs, and Beck would give up two runs, have the bases loaded with no out, and then get a strike out and a double play and act like it was his plan the whole time. Rod Beck was stupid fun.

Greg, not Mo, but Greg Vaughn hit 50 home runs. He only had 18 the year before. Good for him at becoming 2.5 times better at offense at age 32.

Oh, speaking of a surprising late career power spike, there is no way I can make it through this without mentioning Toronto Blue Jays legend, Jose Canseco, who hit 46 bombs about ten years past his prime. Anytime you bring up a baseball season and have a reason to bring up Jose Canseco, you know it's a good year.

Albert Belle hit 49 home runs, which I actually feel is totally legitimate. What is more impressive is that he played in 163 games. He isn't Mr. 24/7, he's Mr. 25/8. 

Glenallen Hill. Just that he existed is amazing. I love Glenallen Hill WAY too much.

Rickey Henderson was still leading the league in stolen bases, with 66. If Rickey were somehow still playing in his 50s today, he'd probably finish in the top 10 in stolen bases and have an above average on base percentage. Never underestimate Rickey.

Derek Jeter edged Tony Womack for most singles, 151 to 149. I loved Tony Womack. Scrappy, fast dudes were my jam in the late 90s. OBP didn't mean shit, and it was awesome.

Larry Walker led the league in batting average. You know who came in 2nd? John Olerud, and if you don't smile thinking of John Olerud wearing a batting helmet in the field, something is wrong with you. John Olerud was totally tubular.

Barry Bonds was in what should have been his prime, finished fourth in WAR but not in the top-10 in home runs. Let me just say that Barry Bonds was amazing, even before anyone ever questioned whether he was all natural. Do you need proof? I think I might be able to provide that.

Mark McGwire hit 33 more home runs than Barry Bonds, but Bonds still drew more intentional walks that year, because Barry Bonds is a goddamned national treasure.

It was Pedro Martinez's first year in Boston, and he put up the 7th best ERA in baseball, just behind Omar Daal. You could say that Omar Daal was dealing that year, but really, he was more Daaling than anything else.

Ben Grieve was the AL Rookie of the Year. I was a HUGE Ben Grieve believer (A BeGriever?). That obviously didn't turn out to great, but I had no doubt he'd hit 500 homers in his career after 1998. 

El Duque made his debut, which helped me learn that all Cubans are great at baseball, a lesson that actual baseball teams just learned, like, in the last 18 months.

Mike Caruso came 3rd in AL Rookie of the Year voting. I do not remember this guy AT ALL. He played another full year in 99, and then only got 21 more plate appearances in 2002. I bet Mike Caruso fucking loves talking about 1998.

Honestly, that 1998 Cubs team was my favorite team of all time. I should write about it every year, because it made me feel feelings. Reliving that year brings me incredible joy and also takes me back to when I had tears in my eyes after the evil, big money, Atlanta Braves, swept the lovable, scrappy, Chicago Cubs in three games. Everybody remembers the big names, but I would like to point out that Brant Brown slugged over .500 that year, and Gary Gaetti had a line of .320/.397/.594. Yep, Gary Gaetti hit over .300 and slugged nearly .600 at age 39 after being traded to the Cubs at the deadline. God, 1998 was awesome.

Still, some people try to shit on that year, because "Durrr, steroids," but those people are idiots. I will always love that 1998 season, and my larger point is that you shouldn't worry when people shit on something you love. It's not something to be embarrassed about, because you shouldn't let people take away great times and fond memories. On a related note, my first concert (which was probably a couple years earlier than 1998) was Weird Al Yankovic. I used to be embarrassed by this, but fuck that. Weird Al is awesome, and he put on a hell of a show that I guarantee I would still enjoy today. 

So love what you love, don't worry about what others think, because nostalgia is the one thing that never gets old.

Kerry Wood Was Special

Even though he will forever be remembered for one, Kerry Wood was much more important than his numbers. Everyone brings up his 20 strikeout game, and it is for good reason. Just look at this video. It's almost unfathomable that a pitcher could be that good. But he really was. He was not the best Cub of my lifetime, but he may have been the greatest. It's the reason articles like this one hit me on a level that most sports articles can't. When he retired, I really just wanted to read any interesting article I could find about him. Like many Cubs fans, I wanted to hang on to something that was gone.

He was the most Cub player of the last twenty years. Mark Grace is up there, but not quite. He went to Arizona and won a World Series, and as Cubs fans, we all felt great for him. But he never came back. Kerry left too. First to the Indians, and then traded to the Yankees. But he came back. Nobody ever comes back. Leaving the Cubs is supposed to be a blessing. Only Kerry would (pun unavoidable) come back to the curse.

He had opportunities to go other places, but he said he wanted to live in Chicago. Hell, he still could have gone to the White Sox for more money and lived in Chicago, but he couldn't do that. He hated the White Sox. And he really hated the fucking Cardinals. "Fuck those guys" was always the fan's attitude, but it's really something special when the players feel the same way.

And maybe it means a little more to people around my age. That 1998 Cubs team will forever remain my favorite team of all time, and this marks the end of that team in the major leagues. Kerry Wood was the last member to still be playing baseball. And a part of me always remembered that anytime I saw Wood take the mound. I will never have that experience again. I won't see a player and instantly be taken back to Sosa's historic season, Glenallen Hill hitting absolute bombs, Oh Henry! bars covering the field, Gary Gaetti crushing the ball after being a late season pickup, Rod Beck's heart attack inducing saves, hell, even Brant Brown's drop brings back nostalgia, but now it's gone. I won't watch life baseball and be taken back to that team.

Honestly, that sucks. But even though Kerry Wood's career may have not lived up to the hype, it certainly didn't suck. It was awesome. I came around about 20 years too late to see Ernie Banks, and although he'll never be Mr. Cub, Kerry Wood is my generation's version of it.

He put himself on the map in his fifth start because of his strikeouts. In a storybook ending, he finished his career like this.

We'll miss you, Kerry. Thanks for the memories.