#60–#99: SIXTY AND BEYOND
| 60 | |
| Player | Years |
| Lou Klein (coach, head coach) | 1961–65 |
| Mitch Atkins | 2009–10 |
| Chris Carpenter | 2011 |
| Manny Corpas | 2012 |
| 61 | |
| Babe Phelps | 1933–34 |
| Roy Johnson (coach) | 1935–36 |
| Bob Kennedy (coach, head coach) | 1963–65 |
| Jose Reyes | 2006 |
| Ryan Kalish | 2014 |
| 62 | |
| Walt Dixon (coach) | 1964–65 |
| Felix Sanchez | 2003 |
| Bob Howry | 2006–08, 2010 |
| Marcos Mateo | 2010–11 |
| Henry Rodriguez | 2013 |
| Donn Roach | 2015 |
| 63 | |
| Charlie Metro (coach, head coach) | 1962 |
| George Freese (coach) | 1964–65 |
| Jon Leicester | 2003 |
| Carmen Pignatiello | 2007–08 |
| Kevin Gregg | 2009, 2013 |
| Brian Schlitter | 2014–15 |
| 64 | |
| Joe Macko (coach) | 1964 |
| Les Peden (coach) | 1965 |
| Justin Berg | 2009–11 |
| Emilio Bonifacio | 2014 |
| Henry Blanco (coach) | 2015 |
| 66 | |
| Rafael Dolis | 2011 |
| 67 | |
| Tsuyoshi Wada | 2014 |
| 68 | |
| Jorge Soler | 2014–15 |
| 70 | |
| Joe Maddon (manager) | 2015 |
| 71 | |
| Gonzalez Germen | 2015 |
| 72 | |
| Robert Machado | 2001–02 |
| 74 | |
| Jose Castro (coach) | 2014 |
| 76 | |
| Daniel Garibay | 2000 |
| 77 | |
| Eric Hinske (coach) | 2014–15 |
| 81 | |
| Mike Quade (coach) | 2006 |
| 94 | |
| Felix Heredia | 2001 |
| 96 | |
| Bill Voiselle | 1950 |
| Mike Brumley (coach) | 2014 |
| 99 | |
| Todd Hundley | 2001 |
Forty men have dared to wear a Cubs uniform bearing a number 60 or higher. Those who have tempted mojo with this numeric audacity have often paid the price by having performance numbers that did not approach the uniqueness of their uniform numbers.
Babe Phelps, a backup catcher who hit .286 in 77 at-bats in 1933 and 1934, was the first to reach for such heights. The reasons he chose #61 are lost to the mists of time; Phelps went to the Dodgers on waivers in early 1935 and made three All-Star teams in Brooklyn. On Phelps’s departure, #61 was claimed by coach Roy Johnson, who wore it for two years and later also appeared in #20 and #42.
After that, though, only one man wore a number higher than 60 for the Cubs until…well, the ’60s. That was Bill Voiselle, acquired by the Cubs for Gene Mauch on December 14, 1949, from the Boston Braves, for whom he had lost the last game of the 1948 World Series. Voiselle hailed from Ninety-Six, South Carolina, a town so named because early settlers thought (incorrectly) that it was 96 miles from there to a Cherokee Indian village. So he insisted on wearing #96. Voiselle, an All-Star in 1944 with the Giants, posted an 0–4, 5.79 mark in 19 games (seven starts) with the Cubs in 1950 and then retired back to Ninety-Six.
High numbers then took a hiatus until the College of Coaches got men back into the big digits. Coaches Lou Klein and Bob Kennedy, both of whom eventually served as “head coach,” wore #60 and #61, respectively. Charlie Metro, #63 in ’62, also served as head coach. Klein has the distinction of being the final “head coach” of the College of Coaches system; after the Cubs slipped from their winning 82–80 record in ’63 to 76–86 in ’64 and a 24–32 start under Bob Kennedy in ’65, Kennedy was moved to the front office, Klein finished the ’65 season, “guiding” the team to a 48–58 record before being replaced by the man who said, “I’m the manager”—Leo Durocher.
Three other coaches: Walt Dixon (#62, 1964–65), Joe Macko (father of future Cub Steve, the only one of these coaches to wear the number of the year he served, #64 in ’64), and Les Peden (#64 in ’65), also wore the higher numbers reserved for coaches in the late and unlamented College of Coaches era.
The 60-pluses were not seen again until more than thirty years later, at the very end of the 20th century. When pitcher Daniel Garibay broke camp with the Cubs for the 2000 season, his #76 was the highest uniform number worn by anyone other than Bill Voiselle. Garibay pitched in 30 games (eight starts) with little distinction; a 2–8 record and 6.03 ERA sent him back to the Mexican League from whence he came.
While there wasn’t much rhyme or reason for the 60s preferences of Jon Leicester (#63, 2003)—whose name is said the same way as #34 Jon Lester, he of the Sports Illustrated cover in Cubs garb before he ever threw a pitch—Bob Howry (#62, 2006–08), and Carmen Pignatiello (#63, 2007–08), a few of the higher-numbered Cubs have used numerological reasons for their choices. Pitcher Felix Heredia, who wore #35 and then #49 from 1998–2001, gave up #49 to the more-senior David Weathers when he was acquired in 2001. Heredia then reversed the #49 to make #94. Too bad his poor pitching that year—a 6.17 ERA—couldn’t have also been reversed (or maybe that would have just made it worse). Similarly, coach Mike Quade, who wore #18 in 2007, gave it up to Jason Kendall when the catcher was acquired from Oakland, and reversed the digits to make #81.
Todd Hundley couldn’t get his dad’s old #9 when he was signed as a free agent in 2002; his former Mets teammate Damon Buford already had it. So Hundley doubled the digit and made #99. Unfortunately, his performance was about half as good as his previous years with the Mets, and it didn’t get any better when Buford left and Todd took over #9. Another catcher, Robert Machado (2001–02), took #72 to honor Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk, who was the catcher when Machado was coming up in the White Sox organization. (Fisk had famously reversed the #27 he’d worn with Boston when he came to Comiskey.) Machado couldn’t bring any Pudginess to the North Side in his season and a half as a Cub. Hard as it is to admit, numbers can only do so much.
Since the first edition of this book came out, the numerical upper echelon got a lot more popular. Not only did the number of Cubs 60-plusers more than double in just seven seasons, but one of the new guys brought a little cache to the room. Joe Maddon came to Wrigley Field set on changing the situation on the North Side in a big way. That his Chicago managerial debut coincided with changes to the ballpark in 2015 was a coincidence, but taking the Cubs to the postseason for the first time since 2008, and winning the franchise’s second-ever postseason series—against the rival Cardinals, no less—is a tribute to Maddon. He does things differently, and he does them well. Yes, #70 never looked so good. Tell the truth, it never looked like anything, since no Cub ever wore #70 before Maddon.
One of Maddon’s outfielders, Cuban defector Jorge Soler, broke in #68. Soler whiffed a ton, but when someone hits .474 with three home runs in just 26 postseason at bats (while walking 12 times in seven games) you can put up with a lack of contact. New uniform numbers were broken in by lesser known Cubs: reliever Rafael Dolis, who pitched once at #66 in 2011, pitcher Tsuyoshi Wada (#67, 2014), and reliever Gonzalez Germen (#71, 2015). Two numbers were worn for the first time in 2014 by a pair of coaches: Jose Castro (#74) and Eric Hinske (#77).
And while we’re here in this relatively uncrowded neighborhood so close to book’s end, why not mention the remaining wearers of these high numbers since the first Cubs by the Numbers came to pass. It may be the only thing that reminds you that some of these guys were Cubs at all.
At 60 were Mitch Atkins (2009–10), Chris Carpenter (2011)—alas, not one of the better known Cardinal Carpenters—and Manny Corpas, whose only year outside of Colorado was as a 2013 Cub. The Panamanian pitcher managed the highest home run ratio of his career in his lone year away from the mile high air. Outfielder Ryan Kalish clocked in on highway 61 in 2014, and then clocked right back out.
Kevin Gregg racked up 56 saves in just two Cubs seasons, which were four years apart.
Marcos Mateo (2011–12), Henry “Not Oh Henry!” Rodriguez (2013), and Donn Roach (2015) all wore beards and No. 62. Kevin Gregg wore number 63 in 2009 and 2013 for the Cubs and accumulated 56 saves while blowing just 12, an 82.3 save percentage for teams with a cumulative .461 win percentage. Through 2015 Gregg is 10th all-time in Cubs history for saves. Maybe the extra “g” in Gregg’s name is for “getting the job done without looking overly impressive doing it.” Speaking of names, say 2014–15 Cub Brian Schlitter’s name 63 times fast and you could get yourself almost as deep in the Schlithouse as someone with a 5.40 career ERA.
Standing in at number 64: pitcher Justin Berg (2009–11); Emilio Bonifacio, your 2014 Cubs leader in steals—and caught stealing (14 of 20); and Henry Blanco, former Cubs catcher who was Joe Maddon’s first coaching hire. Heir to Bill Voiselle at 96 was 2014 assistant hitting coach Mike Brumley, let go not long before Maddon was hired and Blanco was added. And the last Cub to brush next to triple digits was No. 99 So Taguchi, former pet of Tony LaRussa in St. Louis, who had his last major league at bat on the last day of 2009. So, we guess this is the end.
MOST OBSCURE CUB TO WEAR #60 OR ABOVE: Felix Sanchez (#62, 2003). Sanchez, a southpaw signed out of the Dominican Republic as a teenager, debuted on September 3, 2003 at Wrigley against the Cardinals at age twenty-three, pitching to lefty-swinging Fernando Vina. He walked him. J.D. Drew, another lefty, followed with a three-run homer. The Cubs were down, 6–0, but they rallied to win, 8–7, and Sanchez got another chance in two losses in Pittsburgh as the Cubs were trying to take the NL Central crown. He got Matt Stairs to bounce into a double play; the next night Sanchez sandwiched a double and a walk in between two strikeouts. The problem was that the walk was to the pitcher and Sanchez never appeared again in the bigs after that.
GUY YOU NEVER THOUGHT OF AS A CUB WHO WORE #60 OR ABOVE: Jose Reyes (#61, 2006). Gotcha! The speedy shortstop has never been a Cub, or you might have heard about it before now. The Cubs did have a slow-footed catcher of the same name born in the same country (Dominican Republic) a few months before the others Reyes (1983). Jose Ariel Reyes spent the last few weeks of 2006 as a Cub, with his lone major league hit a two-run single to cap off a 14–6 rout of the Brewers at Wrigley on September 26. After that he joined the Mets’ minor league system and started confusing people over there.
Zero Zeroes
The Cubs have never had a player wear zero or double zero. So 0 and 00 are a subset of a minority of single and double-digit numbers that haven’t been worn by any Cubs players, managers, or coaches. The missing numbers read like a Who’s Who of linemen and wide receivers: 65, 69, 73, 75, 78, 79, 80, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 95, 97, and 98.