FanPost

Cubs nearing 1,500 modern players with hits

Jonathan Villar's single at Pittsburgh on April 13 made him the fifth Cubs newcomer this season to make a hit.

When 5 more do so, the total count will be 1,500 different players who have made hits for the team since the start of the Modern Era in 1901.

In a previous post, I described in detail the 500th and 1,000th Cubs to do so: rookie catcher Ted Pawelek, in 1946, and veteran pitcher Matt Keough, in 1986.

Now I have determined each of the 12 others who were the 100th through 1,400th players to get their first hit for the team.

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HISTORIC HITTERS

Following are all 14, in chronological order. Some of them are pretty obscure. How many do you recognize?

100th: Jimmy Archer, 1909

200th: Harry Wolter, 1917

300th: Red Shannon, 1926

400th: Carl Reynolds, 1937

500th: Ted Pawelek, 1946

600th: Ted Tappe, 1955

700th: Dave Gerard, 1962

800th: Jack Hiatt, 1970

900th: Mike Vail, 1978

1,000th: Matt Keough, 1986

1,100th: Brian McRae, 1995

1,200th: Todd Dunwoody, 2001

1,300th: Jake Fox, 2007

1,400th: Miguel Montero, 2015

Read on to learn the details of when each made his historic hit and about the rest of their careers as a Cub.

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100th: Jimmy Archer

Date: June 23, 1909

How: Rookie catcher took over from Pat Moran with the host Cubs losing to the Reds, 6-1, after 4 innings. Archer's first at bat came in the seventh, with 1 out and a runner on first. He "caromed a safe one off [third baseman Mike] Mowrey's ample shins" for a hit, according to the Chicago Tribune. Archer scored the second of the Cubs' 3 runs in the inning. He singled again in the eighth. The Cubs lost, 6-4.

Cubs career: Archer became the Cubs' regular catcher in 1910 and stayed with the team through 1917, when he played last 2 of 780 games at age 34. He had 630 hits as a Cub, slashing .254/.292/.633, with an OPS+ of 80 and WAR of 10.3

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200th: Harry Wolter

Date: April 11, 1917

How: 32-year-old outfielder smacked a triple with nobody out in the third inning to drive home the Cubs' first run on Opening Day. He scored on a sacrifice fly. He was safe on an error and singled later in the Cubs' 5-3 win over the Pirates.

Cubs career: Wolter played 117 games and made 88 hits during season, batting .249/.324/.331. It was last of his 7 seasons in MLB. He had appeared in 396 games for Yankees in 1910-13, then spent 3 years with Los Angeles of Pacific Coast League before coming to Cubs. He played in PCL again in 1918-20.

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300th: Red Shannon

Date: April 22, 1926

How: In bottom of ninth, with the Cubs trailing the Reds, 5-4, Gabby Hartnett drew a 1-out walk. Shannon, pinch hitting, doubled Hartnett home. He stayed in the game, playing shortstop. In the 11th, with the score still tied at 5, 1 out, and runners first and second, Shannon grounded into a doubleplay. The game then was called on account of darkness.

Cubs career: Shannon, 29, had not played in the majors since 1921. He was batting .333/.414/.431, with 17 hits, through June 7, when the Cubs sent him, another player and cash to Indianapolis of the American Association for outfielder Riggs Stephenson and infielder Hank Schreiber.

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400th: Carl Reynolds

Date: Sept. 14, 1937

How: In his second game and first start as a Cub, the 34-year-old left fielder flied out and lined into a double play, then singled with 2 out in the sixth. He struck out leading off the ninth of the Cubs' 4-2 loss to the visiting Braves.

Cubs career: Reynolds was a regular for the Cubs in 1938-39, the last of his 13 big league seasons. In 220 total games, he produced 222 hits and slashed .281/.323/.398.

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500th: Ted Pawelek

Date: Sept. 26, 1946

How: The catcher nicknamed "Porky" delivered a pinch-hit double at home against the Pirates in the bottom of the fifth and was immediately lifted for a pinch runner. The Cubs trailed, 3-1, but rallied for 4 runs in the eighth to win, 5-4.

Cubs career: 4 games, 4 at bats, 1 hit, 1 inning in the field.

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600th: Ted Tappe

Date: May 5, 1955

How: Tappe hit home run as a pinch hitter with 1 out and nobody on in the seventh inning at the Polo Grounds in New York. His homer made the score 5-3 in favor of the Giants. They won by 6-3.

Cubs career: Ted Tappe was no relation to catcher and "College of Coaches" manager Elvin Tappe. He was a 24-year-old outfielder who had played 8 games for the Reds in 1950-51. Then he injured his heel and played only 39 games in the minors in 1952 and sat out all of 1953.

He hit 33 homers for 2 farm teams in 1954, prompting the Cubs to acquire him as part of a 5-player trade with the Reds during the off season.

Six days after his first hit as a Cub, he made his first start. In that game and the next 13, he hit 3 more homers and a double, slashing .268/.423/.512.

On May 29, at home against the Braves, he struck out in the second inning, then was walked intentionally in the third, after which Ernie Banks hit a grand slam.

In the fifth, with 2 out and runners on the corners, Tappe doubled but hurt his foot on the play. It was first reported as an ankle sprain. In fact, he had torn his Achilles tendon.

Tappe missed the rest of the season and all of 1956. The Cubs released him the following April.

He played 75 games for 4 minor league teams that year, then signed again with the Cubs in January of 1958. He didn't make the big league roster, was returned to the minors and was released once more in late July.

Tappe continued to play in the minors through 1961, then retired at age 30.

His slash line in his 23 games with the Cubs was .260/.413/.540, for an OPS of .913 and an OPS+ of 152.

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700th: Dave Gerard

Date: May 27, 1962

How: In first big league at bat, Gerard singled with 1 out and nobody on in sixth inning. Cubs trailed, 7-0, at Cincinnati and lost, 10-0.

Cubs career: 25-year reliever appeared in 39 games in only MLB season. He batted 8 times and made 3 hits, all singles.

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800th: Jack Hiatt

Date: May 12, 1970

How: Made infield single off Hoyt Wilhelm with 1 out and nobody on in bottom of 10th inning at home against Braves. Was doubled off first base on line drive moments later. Cubs won, 4-3, in 11th on bases-loaded walkoff hit by Ron Santo.

Cubs career: Hiatt, a catcher in his seventh big league season, began May 12 in New York with the Expos. When told he had been traded to the Cubs, for outfielder Boots Day, Hiatt hopped on a plane bound for Chicago and arrived at Wrigley Field in time to take over behind the plate in the top of the ninth inning.

Hiatt, 27, played in 66 games as a Cubs, batting .242/.352/.354, with 43 hits. On Dec. 1, he was sold to the Astros.

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900th: Mike Vail

Date: June 25, 1978

How: With 2 out in the ninth inning at Philadelphia, Vail delivered a pinch-hit, RBI single that made score 4-2. Next batter lined out, ending game.

Cubs career: Vail, a 27-year-old outfielder, came to Cubs from Cleveland on June 15, in swap for Joe Wallis. He went 0 for 4 as pinch hitter before making his first hit. He batted .333 in 74 games in 1978, then .335 and .298 the next 2 seasons, when he started a majority of 201 games. He was traded to the Reds, for Hector Cruz, in December of 1980. His slash line as a Cub: .317/.347/.458, with 213 hits.

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1,000th: Matt Keough

Date: April 12, 1986

How: Singled at Pittsburgh in fifth inning with 1 out, nobody on and Cubs ahead 1-0.

Cubs career: Signed as a free agent in February, the 30-year-old pitcher was a non-roster invitee to spring training and pitched well enough to start the fourth game of the season. He pitched 7 shutout innings, allowing 4 hits, but the Cubs lost the game, 3-1.

Keough appeared in 18 more games, starting only once, and had a 2-2 record with a 4.97 earned run average when he was released on June 14. As a batter, he was 2 for 5. His second hit was a double.

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1,100th: Brian McRae

Date: April 26, 1995

How: Made Cubs' first hit of season, a single, leading off the third inning at Cincinnati. He later double and tripled in a 7-1 victory.

Cubs career: Traded to the Cubs for 2 minor leaguers on April 5, the 27-year-old became the Cubs' starting center fielder. He slashed .271/.348/.416, with 439 hits, in 402 games over 3 seasons. On Aug. 8, 1997, he was traded to the Mets, along with pitchers Mel Rojas and Turk Wendell, for outfielder Lance Johnson and a player to be named later.

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1,200th: Todd Dunwoody

Date: May 16, 2001

How: In first big league game, singled in second at bat, with 2 out in bottom of fourth, against Astros. Julio Zuleta had just walked and was thrown out trying to go to third. Score was 2-2. Cubs lost, 6-2.

Cubs career: Dunwoody, a 26-year-old center fielder, played in 33 games for the Cubs, starting 13, through July 7, when he was sent to Iowa, never to return. He batted .213/.250/.328, with 13 hits. He became a free agent after the season and played only 2 more MLB games, for Cleveland in 2002.

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1,300th: Jake Fox

Date: Aug. 15, 2007

How: After going 0 for 2 as pinch hitter, Fox celebrated his first start by hitting a double in his first at bat, leading off the bottom of the second against the Reds. He scored moments later on a double by Matt Murton, and 2 more doubles gave the Cubs a 3-2 lead. They ultimately lost, 11-9.

Cubs career: A 24-year-old right fielder, Fox went 2 for 14 in 7 games in 2007, then spent 2008 in the minors before returning to bat .259/.311/.468 in 82 games in 2009. He had 58 hits for the Cubs, who dealt him to the Athletics after the season, with Aaron Miles, for pitcher Jeff Gray and 2 minor leaguers.

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1,400th: Miguel Montero

Date: April 12, 2015

How: Doubled home first run of game with 1 out in second inning at Colorado. Cubs scored 3 runs with 2 down in top of ninth, last 2 on homer by Dexter Fowler, to win, 6-5.

Cubs career: Veteran catcher, 31, had been All Star twice in 9 seasons with Diamondbacks. He spent 3 years with Cubs, slashing .242/.342/.395, with 166 hits.

Hit tie-breaking, 2-out, eighth-inning grand slam in Game 1 of 2016 NL Championship Series against Dodgers. His RBI single in 10th inning of Game 7 of 2016 World Series at Cleveland put Cubs in front, 8-6.


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