Today’s Cubs Birthdays (August 8)

~Anthony Rizzo 1989– (Cubs 2012-present)
Rizzo was one of the first young studs acquired by new Cubs president Theo Epstein after taking over the Cubs, and they built their whole club around him. The very highly regarded prospect had been drafted by Epstein and company in Boston, and was acquired from Jed Hoyer’s previous team San Diego for Cubs pitcher Andrew Cashner. Rizzo burst onto the scene in the middle of 2012 and hit 15 homers the last few months of the season. In 2014, Anthony really announced his arrival with an All-Star season, and has never looked back. Anthony’s all-world 2015 led the Cubs to the NLCS. He slugged 31 homers and drove in 101, was named an All-Star, and finished fourth in the MVP voting. In 2016, Rizzo set career highs in average, homers, and RBI, won a Silver Slugger Award, and his first Gold Glove. In fact, he won the Platinum Glove award for being the best defensive player in the National League. But he did much more than that. He led the Cubs to a World Series championship. Who can forget the sight of Anthony putting that last-out ball in his back pocket as bedlam ensued in Cleveland? That clearly wasn’t the last act for Anthony. In 2017, Rizzo slugged 32 homers, drove in 109, scored 99, and walked more often than he struck out (91 BB, 90 K). But after leading the team in RBI in the NLDS, he was ineffective in the NLCS, going only 1 for 17. The Cubs regressed a bit in 2018, and only made it to the Wild Card game, but Rizzo was not the reason for that. He still knocked in over 100 runs, and won his second Gold Glove. During the 2019 season Anthony surpassed 200 homers in a Cubs uniform, making him one of only eight Cubs to achieve that feat. He was the most steady member of the team once again, and has undoubtedly cemented his status as the Mr. Cub of the 21st century. (Photo: Topps Retro Baseball Card)

~Tot Pressnell 1906–2001 (Cubs 1941-1942)
His real name was Forest Charles Pressnell, but Forest’s brothers were much older, and people around his hometown of Findlay, Ohio knew Forest as the “tot” who always tagged along with his siblings. The nickname stuck to him the remainder of his life. It was an ironic nickname in the majors, because Tot was a 31-year-old rookie for the Dodgers in 1938. In Brooklyn, Pressnell was a decent starting pitcher. He was traded to the Cubs before 1941, and turned into a reliever. Tot was a knuckleball pitcher, and like many knuckleballers, couldn’t find his control. After the ’42 season, at the age of 36, Tot went back to his crib in Ohio.

~Chad Meyers 1975– (Cubs 1999-2001)
Chad was a utility man for the Cubs, playing second base, third base, and all three outfield slots when he was needed. Unfortunately for Meyers, he wasn’t a very strong hitter. In 212 lifetime big league at-bats, his batting average was only .208. Meyers finished his career with the Mariners.

~Ray Fontenot 1957– (Cubs 1985-1986)
Fontenot was acquired by the Cubs just after their close call in the 1984 playoffs. Fontenot couldn’t crack the starting rotation on his merits, but when everyone started getting hurt, he got the call. In 1985 he started 23 games, won 6 and lost 10, and posted an ERA of 4.36. He was traded to the Twins in the middle of ’86.

~Dave Meier 1959– (Cubs 1988)
Meier was a journeyman outfielder who played the final two games of his big league career with the Cubs. The outfielder/pinch hitter got two singles in five plate appearances. He had earlier played for Minnesota and Texas.

~Vern Morgan 1928–1975 (Cubs 1955-1956)
Morgan was a third baseman, but with Randy Jackson firmly entrenched at that position, Vern was used primarily as a pinch hitter. He batted .225 in 77 plate appearances over two seasons. Morgan spent most of his playing career in the minors. He had over 5000 minor league at-bats. Ironically, he spent most of his coaching career in the majors, with the Minnesota Twins. He coached until he died in 1975, after his body rejected a kidney transplant. Vern was only 47 years old.

~Chick Keating 1891–1959 (Cubs 1913-1915)
Keating played 14 years of minor league ball, but did have two brief tastes of the big-time. Chick was a backup infielder for the Cubs during their last three seasons at West Side Grounds. He didn’t get many opportunities, probably because he was definitely a liability as a batter. In 43 at-bats, he only managed to scratch out four hits (a double and three singles). Eleven years after his Cubs stint, he returned to the big leagues for a cup of coffee with the Phillies.

~Vincente Amor 1932– (Cubs 1955)
Amor appeared in four games for the Cubs out of the bullpen in April of 1955. He was 22 years old at the time. They sent him back down to the minors after Vincente allowed more than two baserunners an inning. He never returned to the big leagues for the Cubs, but he did get one more cup of coffee with the Reds.

~Ken Raffensberger 1917–2002 (Cubs 1940-1941)
Ken was a versatile lefty for the Cubs in 1940, starting and relieving. He won 7 games and saved 3 more. The Cubs traded him to the Phillies during the war, and it was probably a miscalculation. Raffensberger became an All-Star and pitched another 13 seasons in the big leagues for the Phillies and Reds.

~Cupid Childs 1867–1912 (Orphans 1900-1901)
Cupid was a very tough out. The second baseman retired with a lifetime on-base percentage of .416, which was tremendous even for his era. He had a great career for Cleveland, but was coming off a bout of malaria when he signed with the Cubs (then known as the Orphans), and it affected his hand-eye coordination. He was never quite the same player again. On the other hand, that hand-eye coordination didn’t seem affected the day he got into a fist fight with the Pirates manager Fred Clarke. It was in public at a train station. Childs was said to have been the instigator. After his playing days, Cupid Childs did something that a lot of unskilled laborers did — he went to work in the coal business. He died at the age of 45 in his native Baltimore.