Heading into the Cubs current season, I don’t recall any of the local scribes referencing the 1998 team. As I posted a couple of weeks ago, I’m going to reference that season and not just the Roid-Homer run.

Because expectations were so low back in the mid-90’s (and they hadn’t won) there was no talk of a tear-down or rebuild after the abysmal 1997 season. Jim Riggleman’s Cubs were a God awful 68-84, good for 5th place in the newly created NL Central.

Coincidentally, 1997 was the end of an era in Cubs lore. From 1989-97, Shawon Dunston, Ryne Sandberg and Mark Grace were fixtures in the Cubs infield (Dunston spent 96 in SF before returning and Sandberg sat out the ’95 season). Grace did stick around for a few more seasons, but the vibe wasn’t the same.

In fact, the Cubs shook things up considerably heading into the ’98 season. Jose Hernandez got more at-bats and contributed. Braves stalwart, Jeff Blauser was added to the mix and helped although his numbers were pretty ugly. Second baseman, Mickey Morandini had a very nice first season. The bigger improvements came from Glenallen Hill (who returned after a 3-year+ absence) 8 homers, 23 RBI and a slash of .351/.414/.573 in 131 at-bats, Henry Rodriguez (remember the Oh Henry bars) and Matt Mieske. Holdovers, Brant Brown, Lance Johnson, and Tyler Houston added more value. The biggest offensive boost (and morale) came with Gary Gaetti.

While mostly unchanged, the starting pitchers were much better in 1998 although their ERA’s were pretty hideous save for the rookie, Kerry Wood. They also had a more capable closer in “Never a dull moment” Rod Beck,

At the time, the front office thought an infusion of veterans would improve the team’s chances. Everyone knew that these weren’t going to be long term fixes, but their eventual return to the postseason was a very nice diversion-especially for this fan.

Editor’s note: Sammy Sosa hit .251 with 36 homers and 119 RBI in 162 games in 1997. In ’98 he won the NL MVP after hitting .308 with 66 homers and 158 RBI in 159 games.

Heading into the 2023 season, the front office decided to go with more proven veteran players (who they can flip midway through the season) if they fall short. Mancini, Hosmer, Bellinger and Swanson have all won World Series rings.

In the coming weeks, I’ll make some more comparisons between the two teams.