The 47 Best Players from the 1998 Chicago Cubs - #4 Glenallen Hill

4. Glenallen Hill
Objectively, Glenallen Hill is too high on this list. But this is not a list of WAR contributions. There has to be some subjectivity involved, and subjectively, it is really tough to find a cooler member of the 1998 Chicago Cubs than Glenallen Hill.

Hill is a guy who bounced around, starting in Toronto, heading to Cleveland, then to the Cubs for his first stint in 1993, over to the Giants, followed by the Mariners, back to the Cubs in 1998, before stops with the Yankees and Angels before wrapping up his career. But let's just focus on that second stint with the Cubs that started in 1998 when the Cubs selected him off waivers from the Seattle Mariners.

He would put up eight home runs with a line of .351/.414/.573, and he hit a nearly unbellievable .459/.524/.973 at home. I wouldn't believe those numbers if it were anyone but Glenallen Hill. As great as those numbers are, Hill has his place this high on this list because of how he got to those numbers. This man, more than any other player in baseball history, crushed baseballs like no other.

Good God, that is a thing of beauty. You can tell just by how hard he hits and how confidently he drops the bat that not only was it a home run, but there was now way the friendly confines of Wrigley Field were going to keep that ball within its premises. He crushed it to the street, because that's just what Glenallen Hill did.

Since baseball is awful at YouTube, let's look at a home run from 2000 since it is probably what Glenallen Hill is most remembered for.

I'll be honest. If Glenallen Hill had hit that home run in 1998, he might have been number two on this list.

Somehow, since the Cubs felt it necessary to challenge my fandom, Glenallen Hill only played in Game 2 of the NLDS. He went 1-3 which made him one of the Cubs best hitters during the playoffs. In the top of the tenth inning, he made his impact felt even more when he led off the inning and did this.

At first, he takes the base because he knows it was what was good for the team, but after walking a few feet down the line, he gives the pitcher a look as if to say, "You just made the best decision of your life by not giving me something in the strike zone." Even though Hill couldn't make an impact with his bat in extra innings, he wasn't going to let Braves pitchers off easy.

This big, burly man stole third base in extra innings of a tied game, and who could blame him? It's not like he could trust Jeff Blauser to knock him in. Hill made it so all Blauser had to do was put the ball in play and he could score. Blauser, of course, struck out, and Mickey Morandini was called out at second base for a strike out double play to end the inning.

That following year with the Cubs, he hit .300/.353/..581. In 2000, he split time with the Cubs and Yankees and hit .293/.336/.600. He went to the Angels in 2001 and 16 poor games was enough for the entire league to decide he didn't deserve a spot on an MLB roster anymore.

Most importantly, I was able to meet Glenallen Hill at a Cubs convention before the 2004 season. They had a dual signing with him and Kevin Tapani, so I was more excited for this than any sexual encounter I have experienced. First was Tapani, and I expressed that the 1998 team was my favorite team of all-time, and he kind of blew me off. Whatever, Kevin Tapani, your ERA was a far better indicator of your performance than your win-loss record. But then, I told Glenallen Hill the same thing, and he replied, "Man, if we would have beat the Braves, we would have won it all." I KNOW, GLENALLEN HILL, And that is why I am still proclaiming it 20 years later. Glenallen Hill is the coolest player in baseball history, and nobody will ever convince me otherwise.

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

The 47 Best Players from the 1998 Chicago Cubs - #11 Steve Trachsel

11. Steve Trachsel
Earlier, I wrote about how Jose Hernandez embodied the 1998 season. Steve Trachsel more embodies mid-1990s Cubs. He was a guy who was good, but not quite good enough for the role that he was given. He had one really good year where he became an All-Star (1996), but there was no way that performance would ever last, and for Trachsel, it didn't. He wasn't known for his pitches, but for how long it took him to throw them as he earned the nickname of The Human Rain Delay.

1998 was his eighth with the organization and sixth straight in the majors. And even though it wasn't his best season, it was definitely the most memorable. When the season started, it looked as though Trachsel had rediscovered his 1996 magic. In his first ten starts, he never gave up more than three runs, and his ERA was a tidy 3.13. His first start of the season was the most special in that stretch as not only did he make it through seven innings, but he did it in the first home game without Harry Caray. Here is the seventh inning stretch, performed by Harry's widow, Dutchie.

I'm not crying; YOU'RE crying.

After the hot start, Steve Trachsel's true performance began to show up. He did not give up less than four runs in any of his next six starts. He was solid, and he did enough to give the Cubs more wins than losses in his starts. His lowlight would come on August 7th against the St. Louis Cardinals when he gave up seven runs while recording just a single out. It would not be his last memorable start against the Cubs' rival as he was also the man who gave up Mark McGwire's 62nd home run.

Good God, can we please bring back steroids?

Despite how memorable those moments were, what mattered the most from that season was one start at the end of September.

At the end of 162 games, both the Cubs and San Francisco Giants were tied for the Wildcard at 89-73. They would play a single game to decide who would move onto the playoffs at Wrigley Field on Monday, September 28. Yes, with their livelihood on the line, the Cubs turned to Trachsel, and his 4.60 ERA. Although on paper, the Giants choice of Marc Gardner wasn't much better, with him accumulating a 4.27 ERA, but Gardner had been red hot as the only time he gave up three runs in his last five starts was when he pitched a complete game against the Dodgers. He had gone at least seven innings in each of those starts; Trachsel had one quality start in that same time frame.

Through four innings, both managers looked smart for their choices. Gardner had given up just two singles and a walk while Trachsel had not given up a single hit but command was an issue as he had walked four and hit one batter with a pitch, including loading the bases in the fourth inning before striking out Brian Johnson to get out of the jam.

Somehow, Trachsel kept the zeros going in the fifth, despite yet another walk to the Giants. And in the bottom half, the Cubs finally broke through on Gardner thanks to a Gary Gaetti two-run homer. Trachsel had a 1-2-3 inning in the sixth before the Cubs added another two runs on a Matt Mieske pinch-hit single. Trachsel got one more out before allowing his first hit and another walk which was enough for Riggleman to take him out of the game and have the bullpen get out of the jam. Overall, he went 6.1 innings, gave up six walks, hit a batter, and gave up one hit, all without giving up a run. Somehow, despite all of those walks, Barry Bonds never reached base during the game. Although the Giants made a comeback in the ninth, it was too little, too late, as the Cubs held on 5-3 to advance to the playoffs.

And that would be the last game the Cubs would win that season as they got swept by the Braves before Trachsel could start Game Four. He would end his season at 15-8, with a 4.46 ERA in 208 innings.

He lost 18 times with a 5.58 ERA in 1999 and the Cubs let him go to the Rays in free agency. He was then traded to the Blue Jays before signing with the Mets in 2001. He put up three really strong years with ERAs of 3.37, 3.78, and 4.00 from 2002-2004. In 2007, he signed with the Orioles before they traded him to the Cubs at the waiver deadline, but he was awful for the Cubs, putting up an 8.31 ERA. He signed again with the Orioles for 2008, but the magic was gone, and he retired after eight starts and and 8.39 ERA.

No, Steve Trachsel wasn't the best pitcher on the Cubs that year, but there is nobody on the staff who had more memorable performances (good and bad) than him. 1998 was such a weird year that even The Human Rain Delay was exciting.

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

The 47 Best Players from the 1998 Chicago Cubs - #23 Sandy Martinez

23. Sandy Martinez
Sandy Martinez never really hit the ball. His best year going up through the minors was back in 1993 in low-A where he put up a .263/.313/.396 line which is usually a line that gets you released. His numbers were worse the next year, and he was rewarded by being named the 77th best prospect by Baseball America. Vladimir Guerrero was eight spots lower despite having a OPS that was more than 250 points better than Martinez.

This is all just a way of saying that this was a man who was valued strictly for his defense. The Cubs traded a minor league pitcher to the Blue Jays to acquire Martinez before the 1998 season. When you have the chance to get a guy who put up a .304 slugging percentage at Triple-A the previous season, you have to find a way to get that guy on your roster.

When you hit very little and are mostly known for defense, there isn't a lot of room for memorable moments, but Martinez was involved in possibly the most memorable moment of the season as he was Kerry Wood's catcher when Wood struck out 20 batters in one game. As good of a game as I'm sure Martinez called, I'm going to have to give slightly more credit to Wood so you'll have to wait to read about that game.

And he did manage his best offensive season for the Cubs that year, managing a .264/.363/.391 line. That is a shockingly good on-base percentage. I know he nearly exclusively batted eighth, but what kind of pitcher is walking Sandy Martinez and his sub-400 slugging percentage, especially if it meant having to face Kerry Wood in the lineup.

Martinez's offensive prowess carried over to the playoffs. In Game 3 of the NLDS, the Cubs entered the eighth inning down just 1-0. Greg Maddux was pitching a gem for the bad guys. Still, Jose Hernandez led off with a single. Sandy Martinez, who had just entered as a defensive replacement, came through in the clutch and also hit a single. Then, Lance Johnson hit a single to load up the bases with no outs. The Braves took Maddux out of the game, and Mickey Morandini got the Cubs first run across with a sacrifice fly. Sammy Sosa struck out, but Mark Grace managed to hit a single and bring in Martinez for what should have been the go-ahead run. Unfortunately, this all took place in the bottom of the eighth after the Braves had put up five runs in the top of the eighth, so instead of the Cubs taking a 2-1 lead, it just brought the Cubs to 6-2. They did not win this game, but Martinez had a perfect batting average in the playoffs.

The Cubs kept him around for 1999 but Martinez hit .167 in just 30 at bats that year. He would then bounce around to the Marlins, Expos, Indians, and Red Sox before his career was over. Sandy Martinez was never going to light the world on fire with his bat, but he did as well as anyone could have expected in 1998, was involved in the most memorable regular season game of the year, and managed to come through in the clutch in his one playoff at bat. There may not be much to get excited about Sandy Martinez, but there is nothing to fault him for either. That's about as impressive as it gets for a third catcher.

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

2017 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers - AL East

Although baseball season is still a few weeks away, fantasy baseball season is here as draft rooms are opening and people are spending fake auction dollars on their favorite players. Everybody knows about the Mike Trouts and Clayton Kershaws of the world, so what you need to do stand out is find those hidden gems on each roster to propel yourself to fantasy greatness. I am going to go through each MLB roster to find at least one underrated player who will have you looking like a genius at the end of the season.

Today, after going with the less sexy divisions in the American League, we go with the most talked about division in all the land, the AL East.

Baltimore Orioles - Dylan Bundy
I've been all-in on Dylan Bundy since he was drafted in 2012, so the fact that I can still buy low on him excites me. He's probably not going to be the game changing pitcher I expected when he was blowing through every minor leaguer that stood in front of him. Due to injuries, he's a different pitcher, but he's still shown that he could be a very good pitcher. Even though he struggled more as a starter in the second half, he was still striking out over a batter an inning, and he's still building up his strength after coming back from injuries. Right now, he's a ranked as a late round flyer, but I think he can produce a mid 3 ERA with a strikeout per inning which wouldn't be a bad haul for a final round pick.

Boston Red Sox - Eduardo Rodriguez
It's damn near impossible to find an underrated Red Sox player. I mean, even Pablo Sandoval made the top 300. Hanley Ramirez ranked 69 which is nice. Maybe I could take a flyer on their top prospect, Andrew Benitendi, but he's already ranked ahead one of the greatest hitters ever, Albert Pujols, so yeah, I can't really say he's underrated. Let's go with Rodriguez who struggled at the beginning of the year but basically pitched like a number two starter in the second half of the season. I doubt he'll be quite that good, but if he gets anything close to that, then he'll be worth it.

New York Yankees - Gary Sanchez
I know this isn't a deep sleeper or anything, but it was the only way I could avoid recommending Chris Carter (I always recommend Chris Carter). I know he's ranked as the second best catcher, but he was only at 113 overall, and that seems at least 30 spots too low. I don't think he's Catcher Babe Ruth, but he's still damn good, and considering the lack of options at catcher, he's worth going above his ranking to go out and secure his services for the year.

Tampa Bay Rays - Jake Odorizzi
Odorizzi's only real issue last year was health, and before that, he had proved to be rather durable. The split may put some extra strain on his arm, but considering the strong track record, he's a pitcher I'd like to have this year. Computer projections continue to love the Rays, so eventually they're going to have to be right...right?

Toronto Blue Jays - Troy Tulowitzki
Making a case with my head for Tulowitzki isn't the easiest. He has been a disappointment since getting traded from Colorado to Toronto. Still, he wasn't too bad last year as he hit 24 home runs, and had he had a better BABIP, he could have easily raised his batting average 20 points. That's what I see happening this year as a little better luck gets him closer to his former glory although not quite all the way there. Is this my head talking? No, but the heart wants what the heart wants. 

My Weird Obsession With Marcus Stroman

As I get older, I find myself becoming less of a sports fan. It just doesn't mean quite as much as it used to mean to me. When my team loses, they lose; it's not the end of my world, and that is what works for me. If you still live and die with your sports teams, that's awesome for you; I definitely come close when it comes to Iowa Wrestling, so I totally get it.

Nowhere is this more evident in picking a favorite player. It's not like any player is going to be my hero, or I will ever see them as unflappable. Even as a kid, this would be tougher as Twitter has given people a fuller picture of who an athlete is, or at least who he is for the general public. So instead of looking for larger than life heroes, I look toward the fringes. The guys who aren't otherworldly overall, but have one quality that make me say wow. Right now, my favorite hitters are Travis Snider, who I still totally believe in, and Chris Carter, because he hits the ball really hard, and that is really cool, even if he does strike out a ton along with that.

But my favorite pitcher is Marcus Stroman. He's way better than Travis Snider and has great potential to be a better player than Chris Carter, so it's not like I'm going out on a limb with him, but as for relating to players, this is the guy I get. He, like me, is a smaller guy. I'm 5'9" and Stroman is right around there as well. Our similarities mostly end there, as anyone who has ever seen me throw can attest. But still, Marcus Stroman represents the little guys, and that is why he is my guy.

That's why I was so bummed to hear he tore his ACL in a fielding drill. That story is just dumb. It's so stupid that he won't pitch this year because of a fluke injury. It's not anybody's fault, but it still sucks. Selfishly, I really wanted to draft Stroman this year, because I thought he was poised for a huge breakout year where he challenged for the Cy Young. I usually pick out one guy that I must have, and he was my guy this year. I usually write a recap of my fantasy drafts, and I was so obsessed with Stroman that I had already written the following paragraph in anticipation of drafting him.

He is the crown jewel for me. I want him more than any single player in this draft. Now, I could draft him in the first round, but I feel like that might slightly depress his value, so it is a matter of waiting. I am in a 12-team league, and I was eyeing him in the 11th round at pick 121. He was ranked around 160, so this seems safe enough, but I was terrified for a month going into my draft.

I refused to confirm that I had drafted him, as I thought that may jinx it. But it appears the above paragraph was enough to still do the job.

Now my fantasy draft means nothing in the grand scheme of things. I just really like Marcus Stroman as a player. Anybody who gets underrated because of their lack of size will always have a special place in my heart. And as Stroman says, HDMH, Height Doesn't Measure Heart. I can't wait to see what he does in 2016.