Cubs 365, March 9

Every day in 2012, the Just One Bad Century blog will feature a story about this day in Cubs history. We're calling it Cubs 365.

On this day in 1965, future Cub catcher Benito Santiago was born. Santiago was a four-time all-star, three-time Gold Glover, a Rookie of the Year, and of course, none of that occurred during his time with the Cubs.

He was signed to a one-year deal by the Cubs after a horrible automobile accident almost ended his career in 1998. It was considered a reasonable gamble because the price was right, and it was a short term deal. The Cubs brass was right about one thing: Santiago still had a few good seasons in that bat and arm.

Unfortunately, it didn't happen on the Cubs. Three years after leaving Chicago he led the Giants to the World Series, and was named the NLCS MVP.