Entering the regular season’s final weekend, we still don’t know whether the Cubs will make the playoffs. We still haven’t tallied all the catastrophes that have befallen the White Sox. And we still haven’t reached a definitive answer to the question: Which team’s manager has taken more crap on social media?
But we most certainly have settled on the Sun-Times’ 2023 All-Chicago team, as designated by beat reporters Maddie Lee and Daryl Van Schouwen, along with yours truly.
Only two rules guided our process. Rule 1: A player absolutely must appear at his primary position, or else he cannot, under any circumstances, be a part of this team. Rule 2: OK, fine, forget Rule 1 and just get Cody Bellinger in there somewhere!
Our team:
SP: Justin Steele, Cubs
Trailed off a bit at the end, but what a breakthrough for the likely Cy Young runner-up. The mound at Wrigley: home, sweet home.
C: Yan Gomes, Cubs
Carried himself like a winner and played like one. Quality mentorship, lots of big hits — everybody’s happy.
1B: Cody Bellinger, Cubs
Had 100-plus more at-bats as a center fielder, but who’s counting? Here’s your city MVP for 2023.
2B: Nico Hoerner, Cubs
All those hits, all those steals, all that defense — here’s a guy who would have excelled in any era.
3B: Yoan Moncada, White Sox
There are things to quibble about, but his talent isn’t one of them. Without reaching 100 games played, he gets the nod by default.
SS: Dansby Swanson, Cubs
When you lead all qualified position players in defensive outs above average, per Fangraphs, you get to play as much as you dang well please.
LF: Ian Happ, Cubs
Fans moaned a lot about how often he hit third — and a Gold Glover, he was not — but he still swung one of the most productive bats in a good lineup.
CF: Luis Robert Jr., White Sox
Top 10 in homers: check. Finally, a full season: check. The best player on the Sox: a million times, check.
RF: Seiya Suzuki, Cubs
When the offense needed him most — it rode on his shoulders for weeks down the stretch — he didn’t drop the ball.
DH: Christopher Morel, Cubs
Sorry, Eloy Jimenez, but Morel is our man thanks to his electric power, boundless enthusiasm and eagerness to get better.
RP: Adbert Alzolay, Cubs
RP: Mark Leiter Jr., Cubs
RP: Gregory Santos, White Sox
The Cubs needed a closer, and Alzolay more than delivered. Leiter was so good against lefties, he might as well have been one himself. And Santos? Good on him for doing all he could to class up a down-and-out Sox ’pen.
