Paid for Ernie Banks funeral.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2388657-ernie-banks-funeral-expenses-to-be-paid-by-cubs
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2388657-ernie-banks-funeral-expenses-to-be-paid-by-cubs
Classy move by the Cubs
- Thread starter pepsicock
- Start date
True. But, the Cubs did what they could. The family issue will have to be resolved in the courts it seems. But, having in unseemly funeral bill out there was terrible.
I wonder if Ernie didn't have any money. At least in later years he didn't market himself. Compared to today's ballplayers he didn't make a fortune playing baseball. He married repeatedly and poorly.
Theo has made a couple of statements that he's more than willing to welcome Sammy back. And despite what some people think of him, the fact remains that he was the face of the franchise for a decade and one of the 2-3 best players ever to suit up for them.
One of the best 2-3 players to play for them? No, just no. He could hit the long ball and thats it. That doesn't place him above Banks, Williams, Jenkins, Santo, Maddux, Sandberg, or Dawson just off the top of my head. This is coming from someone who grew up with Sosa as my second favorite player behind Sandberg.
Sosa only went 30/30 twice in his career. I wouldn't call that a perennial threat. Dawson was a better rounded player, and probably didn't use roids.
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Posted from Rivals Mobile
Top 2-3 might be pushing it, top 5 isn't. And I was including the guys who did most or all of their damage in a Cubs uniform. Guys like Dawson, Maddux, Jenkins (and many old school guys like Hornsby and Cuyler) did as much or more wearing other uniforms.
Sure, he's in the Hall of Shame. But, time heals all wounds. If he says the right things publicly you bring him back if you are the Cubs. I was one of the people who screamed and shouted when he was mashing 50 homers. We all knew players were juicing. One of my favorite Cubs memories was a Sunday night game at Wrigley. I was on a roof top on Sheffield as the Cubs and Cardinals played. Both McGwire and Sosa homered.
Should guys like McGwire and Bonds go into the HOF? No. But, they can be rehabbed and honored by their teams. Let them come out and tip the cap to the fans.
1993: 33/36
1994: 25/22 (105 games - 155 game pace was ~37/32)
1995: 36/34
1996: 40/18
1997: 36/22
1998: 66/18
He would have three seasons had it not been for the strike in 1994. He came pretty close in 1997. I guess I'd call 6 seasons with those numbers a "perennial threat" for 30/30. Especially when you consider that only four players in history have more 30/30 seasons than Sosa.
Multiple Career 30/30 Seasons:
Barry Bonds - 5
Bobby Bonds - 5
Alfonso Soriano - 4
Howard Johnson - 3
Sammy Sosa - 2
Raul Mondesi - 2
Willie Mays - 2
Ryan Braun - 2
Bobby Abreu - 2
Ian Kinsler - 2
So did everyone else in the 1990s. And 1980s. And probably 1970s. And possibly quite a few in the 1960s. Mike Schmidt and everyone else used amphetamines. Tom House claimed there were "six or seven guys" on each team experimenting with steroids or growth hormone in the 1970s. A 1973 congressional report investigating drug use in professional sports stated that "the degree of improper drug use, primarily amphetamines and anabolic steroids, can only be described as alarming."
The guys in the 1990s are unfairly targeted a bit compared to the previous eras because they also benefited from smaller parks, juiced balls, and terrible pitching (relatively speaking).
