Five Random Cubs Cards

I decided to change the rules of Five Random Cubs cards. Instead of making it totally random, I want a random card from different decades. I'm making this change because there are just so many cards from the 1990's. By decade, I've got:

1950's - 180
1960's - 301
1970's - 333
1980's - 1,030
1990's - 2,548
2000's - 1,704

You can see how '90's can overwhelm and give us too many of the crummy cards. I was getting tired of all the '90s cards. So instead, I'll get one random card from the 50's/60's, the 70's, the 80's, the 90's, and the 2000's.



The 50's/60's - Topps 1965 #27 Dick Bertell He was on the Cubs before my time, and honestly, I never heard of him. He was one of a slew of catchers the Cubs had during the early sixties, none of which were any good. In 1965 he played in only 34 games and hit .214. On May 29 the Cubs sent him to the Giants, and the Giants sent him to AAA.



The 70's - Topps 1970 #265 Randy Hundley The Rebel played in only 73 games in 1970 after averaging over 150 the previous four. He missed the first week of the season due to an ankle sprained in a spring training game. He then played only seven games before damaging cartilage in his knee on April 21. It wasn't until July 10 that he was able to play again. The Cubs were 45-28 with him in the lineup, and 39-50 without him. Obviously, his leadership behind the plate was missed.



The '80's - Donruss 1986 #117 Steve Trout A reliable starter for the '84 Cubs, in 1986 Trout's career began to fall apart. By the end of the season, he was being used out of the bullpen. He finished the season 5-7 with a 4.75 ERA.



The 90's - Topps Chrome 1998 #453 Kevin Tapani 1998 was the season that rookie Kerry Wood burst onto the scene, but it was Kevin Tapani, with 19 wins, that was the ace of the staff. In fact, his 19 wins were the most by a Cubs pitcher since Greg Maddux won 20 in 1992.



The 2000's - Fleer 2004 #392 Mark Grudzielanek Grud had an achilles heel problem and spent more than two months on the disabled list. As a result he played in only 81 games, the fewest since his rookie year of 1995. His hitting didn't seem to be affected, as he hit .307 for the season.