Yes, it's true, I'm not doing an update of EveryCubEver this season. On the other hand, I do plan on featuring every Hall of Fame Cub this year right here on this blog. And those entries will be from EveryCub Ever.
Two Hall of Famers were born this week. Bruce Sutter (1/8/53) and Dizzy Dean (1/16/1910).
Bruce Sutter 1953–2022 (Cubs 1976-1980)
The man who perfected and popularized the split fingered fastball. One of the greatest closers of all-time. How good was he? He won the Cy Young Award in 1979, closing for a 5th place Cubs team. Heard he played for some other teams too and is wearing one of their hats in the HOF, but Bruce Sutter had his best years as Cub. He appeared in six All Star games (4 as a Cub), and either won or saved the All-Star game for the NL every year between 1978-1981. Bruce passed away in 2022.
Dizzy Dean 1910-1974 (Cubs 1938-1941)
He was colorful, exciting, cocky, and the best pitcher in baseball. Unfortunately, that last description only applied to his years before he joined the Cubs in 1938. His best years were with the Cardinals, where he led the league in strikeouts four times, wins twice (including 30 wins one year), innings pitched three times, complete games three times, and even saves once. In 1934, he won the Most Valuable Player award when he led the Cardinals to the World Championship. During those years he was undoubtedly the cockiest player in the game. He suffered an arm injury, however, and by the time Cubs owner P.K. Wrigley ordered his scouts to acquire Dean at any cost, he was just an ordinary pitcher. They signed him for $185,000 in 1938, which was a huge contract for the time. Dean helped the Cubs win the 1938 National League pennant, and pitched pretty well in Game 2 of the World Series before losing to the New York Yankees in what became known as “Ol’ Diz’s Last Stand.” After that, he was done. He tried to pitch for the Cubs until 1941, but he just couldn’t do it anymore. He retired after that season. That’s when he started his second popular career: radio broadcaster. Dizzy’s malapropisms were legendary, and fans loved it. In 1950 he began doing baseball’s Game of the Week on national television. He remained in sportscasting for more than 20 years.
