Ernie Banks – Mr Cub The Best I ever Saw
Ernie Banks – Mr Cub The Best I Ever Saw
Bewfore we get to Mt Cub the best I ever saw list, a little bit about Ernie Banks spent his entire 19-year career (1951-71) with the Chicago Cubs, finishing with a .274 average and 512 home runs. The right-handed hitting slugger, who lead the league in home runs and runs batted in twice, belted 40 home runs five times and drove in 100 runs eight times – almost always for clubs closer to the cellar than first place.
Banks was brilliant in 1958, perhaps his best season ever, as he established career highs in at-bats, hits (193), triples, homers (47), runs (119), batting average (.313), and slugging percentage (.614). Banks topped the league in four departments that year (at-bats, home runs, slugging percentage, and RBI). He even led the league in assists by a shortstop with 519—quite a feat for a man who also collected 379 total bases. Banks came back in ’59 with another superb season. His 143 RBI again led the Senior Circuit, and he batted .304 with 45 home runs… Banks had three very similar seasons offensively in 1957, 1958, and 1959. But the latter year was arguably his finest. He led the NL in RBI with 143, slugging 43 home runs – an unheard-of total for a shortstop at the time. Playing in every game, he led all shortstops with a .985 fielding average. Banks batted .304 with a .596 slugging percentage and 97 runs scored. His OPS was .973 as he won his second straight MVP award.
As a boy, Ernie Banks’ father had to pay his son a nickel to play catch with him. Later that would seem ridiculous, as Banks became a symbol of baseball enthusiasm. He often expressed great joy at getting paid to play the game he loved. He was known for his gung-ho cry of, “Let’s play two!” Mr. Cub admits that even he was less than enthusiastic about getting into the box against Sandy Koufax or junk baller Stu Miller. “Koufax had everything – the pitches and the smarts to go with them.” “Miller would drive me crazy with that junk he threw. Every time you’d think you had him timed. You’d still be out in front.” “One of our hitters once said that what made Stu Miller aggravating was that you’d take this big swing and still see the ball over your back shoulder as you complete your arc. The ball never got there!”
Home Run Facts
Banks set a record in 1955 when he slugged five grand slams, the last one off Lindy McDaniel on September 19. The record-setting slam came in McDaniel’s first major league start. Banks five base-clearing blasts broke the record previously shared by Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ralph Kiner, Frank Schulte, Rudy York, Tommy Henrich, Vince DiMaggio, Sid Gordon, Al Rosen, and Ray Boone… Banks also broke Vern Stephen’s record for most home runs by a shortstop in a single season. His slugging vaulted him to the top of baseball – from 1955 to 1960, his 248 home runs were more than anyone else in the majors, including Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, and Hank Aaron… Banks hit 210 homers as a first baseman and 277 as a shortstop.
Mr Cub The Best I Ever Saw (these are players he played with or against) Outfield – Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle Around the Horn – Eddie Mathews (3b), Pee Wee Reese (SS), Jackie Robinson (2b), Gil Hodges (1b) Battery – Robin Roberts (RH), Sandy Koufax (LH) and Roy Campanella (c)
Some audio and video treats:
Ernie Banks vs Jackie Jensen 1959 Homerun Derby
Banks receive Medal of Freedom 60+ Chicago Cubs Vintage Broadcasts All these games are available on Vintage Baseball Reflections.
Youtube Audio Specials: Vic Scully calls 715
Roy Campanella – Final Ebbets Field Homerun
Jackie Robinson – Hall of Fame Speech
Last week we listed Luke Appling, previous articles – Luis Aparicio, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth’s team.