My list goes back to 1970 when I first remember watching baseball on TV.

Frank Thomas
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Billy Williams
Dick Allen
Bill Madlock
Ryne Sandberg

Note:
1. Fuck that racist cu nt William Wrigley for trading Madlock for Bobby fucking Murcer because Bill wasn't docile like Ernie and Billy. Madlock should have played the rest of his career as a Cub, and having him protect Sandberg in the lineup would have been amazing. The single trade I'm still pissed about 40+ years later.
2. Ernie Banks would rate #2 or #3 if I had seen him in his prime before his knee injury, as opposed to his last year and a half.
3. I don't think any of the South Side Hit Men really played long enough for the White Sox to qualify. Dick Allen was a special case, and he should be in the Hall of Fame but he was an asshole. Today in the age of Twitter, he'd be a beloved asshole and again would have played much longer for the White Sox.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

if i need a hit. i'm putting in d-lee

Soriano absolutely destroyed #3/4/5 starters and middle relievers because he was an extreme bad ball hitter. But he dropped off more precipitously than his peers against top 25 starters with better control.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

Soriano had a 111 OPS+ for the Cubs. Dan Pasqua was at 112.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

Right hand hitters would hit the other way to move guys on 2nd to 3rd. Now, isn't that mostly gone? Sandberg must have gave himself up 2 dozen times a year. Suprising not one Harold Baines mention.

Soriano sucked as a cub, Aramis Ramirez was a much better Cub.

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Were it not for that injury Carlos Quentin would be a mainstay on these lists.

Aroldis Chapman

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Sammy Sosa

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

Magglio Ordonez gets overlooked a lot.

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yeah, he seems to have the roid taint.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

I go back to '77 with the Cubs so just missed Madlock who has highest career average in Cubs history (.336) and 5th in OBP (.397). I remember him mashing for the Bucs however. As to the list, one must define "hitters" so as to separate sluggers from average guys, but anyway, I will combine the 2 and will emphasize a combo of guys who had great years as well.

1. Frank Thomas - hands down the best
2. Sosa (albeit PED driven)
3. Kingman (his '79 48 HR campaign was awesome and just a pleasure to watch hit and always a "must watch")
4. Buckner (the man could flat out hit and in the clutch as well and hardly ever struck out. If he had healthy knees, he'd be a HOFer as he could run like hell before the injuries)
5A. The Hawk ('87 MVP Season of 47 HR, 137 RBI was awesome)
5B. D. Lee (His '05 season was incredible: 46 HR, 50 2B, .335 BA)

Best cubs hitters I've seen myself..
Dawson.
Sandberg.
Sosa.
Grace.
Probably have to throw Rizzo or DLee as the 5th.

Not much great hitting on the north side during my time.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

I loved Buckner. Great contact hitter. His injuries cost him 3000 hits and, as you said, his ability to run. Gil Hodges, Buckner, Munson, Whitaker (not in yet, right?), Dick Allen...some of those guys should be in the Hall of Fame. Plus some pitchers.

In '82 when he drove in 105 with only 15 HR, he K'd 26 times in 709 plates appearances. Incredible. Finished his Cub career at an even .300 in 4043 AB's. He also stole 15 bases in '82 when he could hardly walk without a limp. And many of those steals were consequential too. Watching him in that 23-22 game with Kingman is just awesome. Am glad that game still exists on video unlike most of those old WGN games that somehow got destroyed which really sucks. Hopefully Marquee will uncover a bunch of old games somehow but doubtful from what I've read.

Kingman's '79 was epic. 48 115 288 343 613 956 146

HOFer Lou Boudreau on the call.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0vFMwBESelg

Epic indeed. This video is decent although to much recent stuff:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDnfPezN_jM

I agree about Derrick Lee. I remember watching him play for the RC Quakes when he was 18 years old. Met he and his mom at a couple of games while we were cheering for him. Nice kid and mother.

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An Ode to the Texas man who shot an Antifa terrorist:

Oh, he might have went on livin'
But he made one fatal slip
When he tried to match the Ranger
With the big iron on his hip

Why the ever loving fuck was Steve Ontiveros batting after Kingman?

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

I always loved Madlock's approach to hitting. I talked with Tommy Davis one time about his approach and he talked about a player trying to hit as if he was in a picture frame meaning that the head wouldn't move but the hands and arms would rotate around the head and to the ball. In that same discussion he mentioned Bill Matlock as an example of the same kind of approach.

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An Ode to the Texas man who shot an Antifa terrorist:

Oh, he might have went on livin'
But he made one fatal slip
When he tried to match the Ranger
With the big iron on his hip

Matlock raked in the courtroom too

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

One of the all time great theme songs.

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