Ernie Banks

With so much talk in Cubs' camp this spring training surrounding top prospect Starlin Castro, I decided to take a look back at so of the top rookie performances in team history.

I went back as far as 1947, which was the first year that the Rookie of the Year Award was handed out. I only looked at the stats that the player posted during their rookie season when ranking them.

Billy Williams, Fergie Jenkins, Ryne Sandberg, Ernie Banks.

The Chicago Cubs have had some of the all-time greats run out onto Wrigley Field.

While they haven't been to the World Series since 1945, there is more than enough talent in the Cubs' history to fill out a dream team twice over. From Rogers Hornsby to Derrek Lee, the Cubs have had incredible depth and production throughout their lineup.

One question remains. Which Chicago Cub had the greatest ever offensive season at his position?

We all know that picking a top ten list of players in any sport must contain some subjectivity. Sure, one could simply use statistics to support their choices, but how do you compare the relative worth of a pitcher versus a hitter, for example?

Players we remember from our childhoods often have special meaning for us, and it can be difficult to block out those emotions when rating players on your favorite team. We may have looked up to these players as heroes at the time.

Well, we are older now and smart enough to understand that you shouldn't use athletes as role models.

A good Hall of Fame doesn't just collect the best of the best. That's why we all think Ron Santo belongs in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. Santo is not an elite player, not one of the true greats of the game's history, but he exemplifies, no embodies what baseball should be all about. He hustled; he had fun playing the game; he showed intensity, even fire. And he also did everything well on both sides of the ball.

The Cubs cause a lot of pain. Unless you're a true Cubs fan, you have no idea. 101 years is a long time to wait for a championship.

A lot of people ask me, "Why do you invest so much into a team that produces so little?" That is a great question. I finally sat down to think of why.

Here are the reasons:

Because we play two.

Because we had Ernie, Ronny, Billy, Fergie, and Phil all on one team.

Because we experienced the magical summer of 1969.

Because we call 1969 magical even though we choked in August.

This is the fifth article in a series dedicated to selecting all-time teams for all 30 current MLB franchises. To view the others, click http://bleacherreport.com/users/67791-Schmitters

Team Name: Chicago Cubs

Year Established: 1870

City: Chicago

Ballpark: Wrigley Field

Previous Nicknames: White Stockings (1870-1889), Colts (1890-1987), Orphans (1898-1901)

League: National League

Division: NL Central

Other Leagues: National Association (1870-1875)

Sammy Sosa has been out of the game for almost two years now. He hasn't officially retired, as he is waiting for the phone to ring with the hopes that a team somewhere will give him one more shot. Recently, there have been reports surfacing that Mr. Sosa is going to call it quits.

This begs the question of whether or not Sosa will be elected to the Hall of Fame after being out of baseball for five years. Let's take stock of his numbers.

Neither Hal Steinbrenner nor Randy Levine has to worry about clearing a date on their busy calendars during the off season to receive an award that Phil Wrigley received in 1957.

The New York Chapter of the Baseball Writers' of America presented Mr. Wrigley with the coveted Bill Slocum Award for long and meritorious service to the game. Bill Slocum was a former baseball writer who made many contributions to baseball.