Chicago Cubs: The 2010s All-Decade Team
By Bill Felber
The Chicago Cubs All-Decade team is dominated by players from the 2016 World Series champions. The decade was the franchise’s winningest since the 1930s.
The second decade of the 21st Century was a roller coaster for Chicago Cubs fans, although that was OK because the coaster ride at least included some major highs.
The highlight, obviously, was the franchise’s 2016 World Series victory, the first for Cubs fans in 108 years. The Cubs also won the 2017 NL Central title and closed the decade with an 817-803 cumulative record, their first plus-.500 decades since the 1930s.
Between 2015 and 2019, the Cubs strung together four consecutive winning seasons for the first time since the early 1970s.
The decade saw the election of nine Cubs starters to the National League All-Star team, and most of those spots came in a burst. In the 2016 championship season, the entire infield – first baseman Anthony Rizzo, second baseman Ben Zobrist, shortstop Addison Russell and third baseman Kris Bryant – was elected, as was center fielder Dexter Fowler.
Then in 2018 and again in 2019, infielder Javier Baez and catcher Willson Contreras were both elected.
As always with the Cubs, there were also lowlights. In 2013 and again in 2014, they finished last in the NL Central. In 2012 they lost 101 games and struggled to a .377 winning percentage, the team’s worst since 1953.
Before Joe Maddon arrived to stabilize dugout leadership in 2015, the Cubs tore through four managers in the decade’s first five seasons.
Naturally, the Chicago Cubs All-Decade team is heavily influenced by that 2016 World Series title. Even in their dark days, however, the Cubs featured individual talents, some of whom also deserve recognition. Here’s the lineup