Who should be next in the Cubs Hall of Fame? |
The Cubs have recently made some additions to the Cubs Hall of Fame.
At the Cubs Convention, customary over the past few winters, the Cubs have announced who will enter their franchise’s Hall of Fame. Sammy Sosa, returning to his fans' good graces, and Derrek Lee headline the class of 2025. The Cubs Hall of Fame features players, coaches, and broadcasters who have contributed significantly to the organization and spent over five years with the club. Lee and Sosa make 65 Cubs Hall of Famers, joining 41 players elected in the first version of the Hall of Fame from 1982 to 1986, nine players in the 1992 to 1998 Cubs Walk of Fame, six recent Hall of Famers who spent time with the Cubs, and the more recent classes. Here’s a look at those Cubs Hall of Fame classes: 2023: Shawon Dunston and Mark Grace 2024: Aramis Ramirez and Kerry Wood 2025: Sammy Sosa and Derrek Lee So who could be next? If you scan back to that 2005-2012 era of Cubs baseball, it would be hard not to consider Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Zambrano. Soriano was a two-time All-Star with the Cubs and clubbed 181 of his 412 career-long balls in a Cubs uniform. Meanwhile, Zambrano is a three-time All-Star and Silver Slugger award winner and is second all-time in Cubs history in strikeouts. Zambrano’s iconic no-hitter against the Astros in Milwaukee is one of the most memorable moments from this era. Beyond those two, the infrastructure of the 2016 team needs to be discussed. Theo Epstein and Joe Maddon, the architects of it all, feel like strong bets to be immortalized. Tom Ricketts and Jed Hoyer also do. However, their connections to the second rebuild may taint their legacy, depending on how the Cubs fare over the next few seasons. Then, in terms of ball players, there were so many contributions to the Cubs 2016 Championship that it feels difficult for the Cubs to decide who gets into the Cubs Hall of Fame and where they draw the line. I’ve broken down some of the options into tiers based on how I would think. Locks to make the Cubs HOF: Jake Arietta Javier Baez Should get in based on 2016 title season, but also had tremendous Cubs longevity: They made undeniable contributions to the Cub's World Series run, but the rest of their career in Chicago wasn’t elite: He had that one awesome speech: Excellent clubhouse leader but not as good manager: The rest of the 2016 team likely will be commemorated on a plaque once their careers end, but those 12 players and four coaches/executives seem like a good pool to choose from. Plus, how fitting would it be to honor 16 Cubs from 2016?
