Keeping Up With The Jones'

Reader Jeff made a generous offer...I accepted.

The card is from this year's Heritage set, a certified autograph of Clarence Jones on a reprinted card.  I must admit that I know nothing about Clarence Jones.  His career with the Cubs was just a little before my time.  He played in 53 games in 1967, which led to his inclusion in the 1968 set.  In '68, however, he was with the Cubs for just five games.  He spent most of the season in AAA.  The Cubs then traded him to the Reds in a deal that brought Ted Abernathy to the north side.  The submariner Abernathy, him I remember.  Jones would go on to play nine seasons in Japan.

Despite my lack of Jones knowledge, its still nice to add another autograph to my collection.  Thank you Jeff!!

And how did Topps do in creating the reprint card?

 

They switched the burlap!  I guess if you've been wondering for the past 49 years what Clarence Jones' card would have looked like if it was in the first series, you now have your answer.

The Opening Day Cubs Since 1970

Let's wrap this up by looking at the entire run from 1970 through 2017, 48 years worth of lineups.

The position with the most stability has been first base.  There have been 16 different first basemen over the 48 years.  The least-stable position surprised me.  I assumed it would be third base.  But the long runs of Santo and Ramirez mitigated that.  The biggest turn-over was a tie between left field and center field.  Each of those positions saw 29 different players.

Here's the breakdown for each positions:

First Base - 16 players
Second Base - 22 players
Shortstop - 17 players
Third Base - 24 players
Catcher - 23 players
Left field - 29 players
Center field - 29 players
Right Field - 20 players
Pitcher - 23 players

And here's a look at 48 opening day Cubs lineups:

The Opening Day Cubs of the 2010s

Today we get current, as we look at this decade.

We start with the remnants of the Lou Piniella Cubs and finish with the World Champions.

Anthony Rizzo has the longest active streak, five years.  None of the other current players has started on opening day more than twice.  I'd like to think that Rizzo, Baez, Russell, and Bryant will be together for the next several years.

Contreras is the fourth catcher over that past four years.  I'm thinking he's starting a streak too.

If the starting pitcher flips between Lester, Arrieta, and Hendricks over the next couple years, I'm ok with that, too.

The Opening Day Cubs of the 2000s

The Cubs had some success in this decade, winning three division titles.  Playoff flops followed, but, hey, you can't have everything.

Mark Grace's 12 year run starts this decade, but then Derrek Lee picked things up and finished with a six year run.  Sammy Sosa finished his run with five more years, and then right field turned into a merry-go-round.  There were just three starting pitchers, the fewest of any of the decades that I've been looking at.

But the best thing with this decade is that the merry-go-round at third base finally came to an end. Aramis Ramirez begins a run of eight years in 2004.

The Opening Day Cubs of the 1990s

After a little break for the start of the season, let's get back to the opening day lineups from the different decades.  Today we look at the 1990s.

Despite having Grace, Sandberg, Sosa, and Maddux, the Cubs of the '90s were not very good.  90 wins and a wild card spot in 1998 was the best they could manage.

Three-fourths of the infield was fairly consistent, with Grace, Sandberg, and Dunston.  In fact, this is the only tile we'll see that has the same player in each of the ten seasons , Mark Grace at first base.  Sosa started for eight of the ten seasons.  But otherwise, it was a revolving door at most positions.

It's Opening Day 2017!

And away we go!!!  Let's get two in a row!!!

The Cubs open the season on the road again this year.  This is the second season in a row that they've opened away from the friendly confines.  My guess is that with all the off-season renovations, the Cubs asked to have their home opener a little later to give the construction work a little more time.

To celebrate the Cubs opening day, I've got their all time opening day lineup. The lineup features a majority of the players from the '60's and later. That seems odd to me, considering the long history of the Cubs. In fact, of the entire lineup, I have seen all but three (Hartnett, Grimm and Pafko) of them play (and I'm not that old).

All of the cards that I picked this year are cards that were issued by the Cubs..  I've also got the opening day count for today's Cubs lineup.  The interest thing with the Cubs current lineup is that though they are the defending WS champs, Anthony Rizzo is the only player with more than two Cubs opening day starts.  It is a very young lineup!

Pitcher: Fergie Jenkins, 7 Opening Day starts. 

Jon Lester is making his second start today.

Catcher: Gabby Hartnett, 12 starts

Willson Contreras is making his first Opening Day start

 

First Base (since 1900): Charlie Grimm and Mark Grace, 12 starts

Anthony Rizzo makes his fifth opening day start.

Second Base: Ryne Sandberg, 13 starts 
Javier Baez makes his first opening day start.

Shortstop: Shawon Dunston, 11 starts
Addison Russell is making his second start

Third Base: Ron Santo, 13 starts
Kris Bryant makes his second opening day start

Left Field: Billy Williams, 10 starts
Kyle Schwarber is making his second opening day start.

Center Field (since 1900): Andy Pafko, 7 starts
Jason Heyward makes his first opening day start in center field, his second overall as a Cub

Right Field: Sammy Sosa, 12 starts
Ben Zobrist is the starting right fielder for the first time.

Your 2017 Chicago Cubs

Let the title defense begin!

The Cubs open the season tomorrow night on the road against the Cardinals.

It should be another interesting season.  Offensively, they should be even better than last year with Schwarber and Contreras playing the entire year.

Pitching is what has me worried.  Can the starters be as good this year as they were last year?  The bullpen didn't impress me at all this spring.  Do they have a shut down guy?

These question and more will be answered over the next six months, hopefully the next seven months.  That's why you play the games!

Here are the 25 players that open the season:

Infielders

 

 

Catchers

 

Outfielders

 

 

Starting Pitchers

  

Bullpen