Chicago Cubs history: The 10 greatest games of Ernie Banks

There are few players of whom it can be said that they are the most popular in the history of their franchise, but that statement certainly applies to Ernie Banks of the Chicago Cubs. He is, by clear consensus, Mr. Cub.

Banks, who died in 2015, played 2,528 games across 19 seasons, every one of them in a Chicago Cubs uniform. That games played total, by the way, is a Cubs record. So are his 9,421 at-bats, his 10,396 plate appearances, his 4,706 total bases and his 1,009 extra-base hits.

With 2,583 base hits, he ranks second in Cubs history (to Cap Anson). He’s also second to Sammy Sosa in home runs (512), and second to Anson in RBI (1,636).

He was twice voted the National League’s Most Valuable Player (1958 and 1959), both times winning that award despite the handicap of playing for a second division club.

Banks’ greatness led to his first-ballot election to the Hall of Fame in 1977.  All of that makes Mr. Cub an obvious candidate for examination of the 10 greatest games of his career.

Those 10 greatest games are assessed on the metric of Win Probability Added.

Win Probability Added is used because it calculates the individual’s role in influencing the game’s outcome. For that reason, it emphasizes late-inning game-turning accomplishments. It judges the player’s contribution within the broader context of winning the game.

Here are the 10 greatest games in the career of Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer Ernie Banks

10. July 17, 1968, Cubs 8, Phillies 4. Facing Woodie Fryman at Connie Mack Stadium, Banks got the Cubs offense going with a first inning three-run home run into the left field seats. But the Phillies fought back to tie the score at 3-3 when Banks came up again with Ron Santo on base in the fifth. His second home run reached the center field seats and gave the Cubs a 5-3 lead they never relinquished. His eighth-inning single provided an insurance run. Win Probability Added: 0.549.

9. Aug. 24, 1969, Cubs 10, Houston 9. These were the final critical moments of the Cubs’ 1969 season; they entered a doubleheader at Wrigley Field with a seemingly safe six-game lead on the runner-up Mets. Banks homered into the left field bleachers leading off the second inning against Jack Billingham and, in the fourth, his single set up a Jim Hickman run-producing hit.

Then with the game tied 8-8 in the bottom of the eighth, Banks launched another home run into the left field bleachers, scoring Ron Santo ahead of him and giving the Cubs a 10-8 lead that would hold up in the ninth. It was one of the season’s final great moments for the Cubs, who would lose 21 of their last 33 games and finish second to the Mets. Win Probability Added: 0.551.

8. May 1, 1963, Cubs 13, Cardinals 8. Banks’ three-run first inning home run off Ray Sadecki set the tone for an offensive evening at Busch Stadium. The Cubs trailed 8-6 when Banks came up in the seventh, blasting a three-run home run off Harry Fanok. One inning later, Banks singled off Diomedes Olivo, scoring Billy Williams with Chicago’s 11th run. Win Probability Added: 0.569.

7. April 12, 1965, Cubs 10, St. Louis 10. Opening Day is always a hopeful one, unless you are a Cubs fan coming off an eighth place season with few expectations of improvement. Add to that a five-run top of the first by the World Champions and the prospect of facing Bob Gibson and things looked pretty dark.

But Banks’ third-inning base hit scored George Altman and pulled the Cubs within 5-2. Then in the bottom of the ninth, with his team trailing 9-6, Ron Santo and George Altman on base and down to their final swing, Banks sent a Barney Schultz knuckleball into the left field bleachers for a game-tying home run. Two innings later, each team having scored in the 11th, darkness forced a halt to the proceedings, the game officially going into the books as a tie. Win Probability Added: 0.569.

6. July 8, 1955, Cubs 6, Cardinals 4. If there was a single day when Ernie Banks became a star, this was it. Only 24 and in his second full season, he homered in the first inning off Floyd Wooldridge at Busch Stadium to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead. But the game was tied 4-4 at the end of nine innings, and neither team pushed across a run in the 10th. Gene Baker opened the Cubs’ 11th by drawing a base on balls off Gordon Jones. One out later, Banks sent a home run into the left field seats for what would soon become the winning margin. One week later, he would make his All-Star Game debut, starting for the National League at shortstop. Win Probability Added: 0.604.

5. June 29, 1970, Cardinals 8, Cubs 6. Banks seemed to save his best performances for the Cubs’ geographic rivals; four of his 10 best games came against St. Louis. That included this one, when he starred in defeat.

His first-inning sacrifice fly produced the game’s first run, and his sixth-inning home run tied the game at 3-3. With the game still tied, now 4-4, Banks homered for the 507th time in his career and the 64th time against the Cardinals, giving the Cubs a 6-4 lead. But the Cardinals touched Ken Holtzman and Phil Regan for four runs in the bottom of the eighth to gain the victory. Win Probability Added: 0.615.

4. Aug. 11, 1959, Cubs 5, Dodgers 4. On his way to a second straight MVP, Banks homered off Johnny Podres in the fifth at Wrigley Field to tie the game at 1-1. Chicago trailed 3-2 when Banks stood in against Sandy Koufax — who was still trying to establish himself as a starter — with one out and the tying run at second. Banks delivered a base hit that sent the game into extra innings, when the Cubs finally won. Win Probability Added: 0.633.

3. Aug. 21, 1968, Cubs 5, Braves 4. In the first game of a mid-week doubleheader at Wrigley Field, Banks’ home run leading off the second against Milt Pappas put Chicago ahead. They didn’t stay ahead; the Braves scored four times in the third and led 4-3 when Banks faced Cecil Upshaw with two out and Billy Williams on first in the bottom of the seventh. His home run into the left field bleachers restored the Cubs’ lead, which relief ace Phil Regan was able to protect. Win Probability Added: 0.638.

2. April 18, 1962, Cubs 3, Astros 2. On a crisp 50-degree day at Wrigley Field, Banks sent a first-inning triple to the wall in center, scoring Elder White with the game’s first run. But Astros pitchers held the Cubs to just one more run, sending the game to the bottom of the ninth in a 2-2 tie. After Turk Farrell retired Ken Hubbs and Billy Williams on fly balls, Banks stepped up and powered a game-ending home run into the left-center field bleachers. Win Probability Added: 0.669.

1. July 12, 1957, Cubs 5, Phillies 2. Three days after playing in the All-Star Game, Banks was on the field at Connie Mack Stadium against the Phillies. The game meant little to the Cubs, who were buried in last place at the time and who would only rise as high as seventh by season’s end.

The Cubs wasted both Banks’ second-inning double and his fourth-inning single and, as a result, trailed 2-1 against Robin Roberts entering the eighth. Then after Walt Moryn looped a base hit into right, Banks got hold of a Roberts mistake and sent it flying into the left field seats for a two-run home run that gave Chicago a 3-2 lead. It was one of 82 home runs Banks would hit against the Phils, his favorite home run foil. Chicago would add two more runs in the ninth but, on this day, it was Banks’ slugging that made the difference. Win Probability Added: 0.695.