Chicago Cubs 2026

#626      
EllderIlliniFan
EyeoftheIllini said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/2054184822721966485
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Ernie's Quotes

"It's a great day for a ball game; let's play two!"

"I was thinking (when he hit his 500th home run) about my mother and dad, about all the people in the Chicago Cubs organization that helped me and about the wonderful Chicago fans who have come out all these years to cheer me on. They've been a great inspiration to me."

"The Cubs are due in sixty-two."

"The Cubs are gonna shine in sixty-nine."

"The only way to prove that you're a good sport is to lose."

"The riches of the game are in the thrills, not the money." Source: The Sporting News (May 12, 1970)

"You must try to generate happiness within yourself. If you aren't happy in one place, chances are you won't be happy anyplace."
 
#627      
2X2L
EllderIlliniFan said:
What a great Cub and great person. My hero from the time I could listen to the Cubs on WGN radio. Wore number 14 whenever I could.
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As a kid in the '50s, I copied his batting stance, magic wiggling fingers. All wrong for me (like Stan the Man's stance).

Ernie was quite an imposing figure at the plate and a fierce competitor at short and first. Check out clips and the determined look on his face as he turns a double play and throws to first. Gold Glove ss. MVP back to back on losing teams. I guess voters were as impressed with him as much as I was.

Oh, by the way, who hit more homers than anyone in the majors 1955-60?

Yep.

No. 14, my hero.
 
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#628      
champaignchris
Ernie was the prototype “big” shortstop. They just didn’t make them like that before he came along and they’ve been few and far between since he left.

Only A-Rod’s 96-03 rivals Ernie’s 55-61 in terms of offensive production by a shortstop. No one else is even in the same ball park. Jeter and Ripken did it longer, but never as well, and neither were the defender that Ernie was.

Robin Yount, Francisco Lindor and Bobby Witt Jr might be the only other guys that even merit mention. Beyond them, great short stops have all been in the Ozzie mold.
 
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