Chicago Cubs: Top 20 best hitters in franchise history
By Ryan Sikes
18. player. 9. . 1B/OF. (1981-88). Leon Durham
Leon Durham was drafted No. 15 overall by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1976 MLB Amateur Draft. He made his debut on May 27, 1980 with the team and slashed .271/.309/.426 with eight home runs and 42 RBI in 96 games. The Cardinals didn’t like what they saw in Durham, as they traded him to the Cubs in exchange for reliever Bruce Sutter.
Durham would go onto play eight seasons with the Cubs and slashed .279/.362/.484 with 138 home runs and 485 RBI. He made two All-Star appearances in the 1982 and 1983 seasons while finishing 12th in the National League MVP voting in the 1984 season.
He’s perhaps most known for something he’d like to never remember. During the 1984 National League Championship Series, the Cubs were clinging to a 3-2 lead in the decisive Game 5.
San Diego Padres infielder Tim Flannery hit a sharp ground ball toward Durham’s direction that went right through his legs, which would be mirror two years later in the 1986 World Series by Bill Buckner with the Boston Red Sox.
The following season, Durham put up his best season since 1982 when he slashed .282/.357/.465 with 32 doubles, 21 home runs, 75 RBI and was intentionally walked a league-high 24 times.
Durham got off to a painfully slow start in the 1988 season. With Mark Grace seeing more time at first base, he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds with rumors swirling around him about potential drug use.
He played in just 21 games for the Reds before entering a rehab facility. Flash forward to the 1989 season, he hit just .056 in 29 games for the Cardinals and decided to call it quits. Nonetheless, he was one of the best hitters the Cubs franchise has ever seen. Unfortunately, he will always be remembered for his critical error in Game 5 of the 1984 NLCS.