Bleed Cubbie (ick) Blue would have you believe that Rick Wilkins is the 99th greatest Cub of all time. I would have you believe that Wilkins is the 61st worst Cub, just of my time. Who are you going to believe?

To make a case for Rick Wilkins as one of the worst Cubs of my time, it’s actually just simpler to take direct quotes from the argument for Wilkins as the 99th best of all time.

Despite his Peoria numbers not exactly calling for a promotion, Wilkins spent the 1989 season playing for the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Spirits of the Class A Carolina League, where he hit .249 in 132 games. Again, the numbers didn’t demand a promotion, but Wilkins found himself in Double A for the 1990 season, staying in North Carolina to play for the Charlotte Knights. Somewhat predictably, his numbers were even worse in Double A: he hit .227 in 127 games, though he did manage to hit 17 home runs, his professional high thus far in his career.

Sounds great! I can’t wait to see how his Major League career goes!

Wilkins finished the season hitting .222 with six home runs and 22 RBI in 86 games.

Wilkins’ 1992 season wasn’t a huge improvement, but it was better…

I’m not feeling “99th greatest Cub of all time” yet. Maybe the case for Wilkins will improve.

Two quite mediocre seasons bring us to 1993. To recap, going into the 1993 season, Wilkins had hit .248 and slugged .387 in 169 career games; he also had 14 home runs and 44 RBI.

Wait, aren’t you guys making a case for Wilkins? None of you are attorneys, are you? Wilkins had a great year in 1993, yes, but what happened after that?

Wilkins’ salary jumped to $350,000 in 1994 from $212,500 the previous year; whether the $137,500 raise was due to his 1993 performance is not known for sure, but it probably was. Unfortunately for Wilkins, if it was a raise, he sure didn’t earn it in 1994, somehow actually regressing below his mean with a .227/.317/.387, seven home runs, and 39 RBI in 100 games (though he did lead the team with 25 doubles). His .227 average was the worst of any player on the team with over 100 at bats (Steve Buechele came closest, hitting .242 in 104 games).

So, he was the worst regular player on an awful 49-64, team? And he blew worse than Steve Buechele? Well, thanks for at least validating my ranking system, BCB.

But what of his awesome 1993 season? What? Of? That?

We all recognize that 1994 was a lost season for pretty much everything, especially for the Cubs (who were 49-64 when the strike stopped play), so Wilkins had the chance to rebound in 1995 and prove that his ’93 season was not a fluke. This was not to be, however, as he posted a .191/.340/.315 (no, that’s not a typo) in 50 games. Obviously fed up with his inept performance, newly hired General Manager Ed Lynch jettisoned Wilkins to the Houston Astros in exchange for Scott Servais and Luis Gonzalez on June 28, 1995.Say what you will about Lynch, but he took the Astros for a ride on this trade. Wilkins played only 99 games total over two seasons in Houston, hitting .218 in the process, before he was traded to the San Francisco Giants with cash for Kirt Manwaring in July 1996…This ends Wilkins’ tale with the Cubs, and his future performance indicated that his ’93 season was indeed a fluke…What makes Wilkins’ career so puzzling was that he posted one of the greatest offensive seasons ever by a Cubs catcher (and a decent argument can be made that it was one of the best ever by a catcher in major league history), yet his other seasons gave no indication that it was anything but an aberration. Players who have one great season are not uncommon, but after 1993 it looked like the Cubs had their catcher for the rest of the decade. Instead, he was gone before the All-Star break in 1995.

So, wait. Why is Wilkins the 99th Greatest Cub of All Time?

But even though his ’93 season appears to be one of the biggest fluke seasons in baseball history, he must be recognized as one of the top Cubs just for having it. (I don’t know where he is on the list as I write this, so draw your own conclusions as to what it says about the history of this franchise that one good season, and absolutely nothing else, earns a player a spot as one of the 100 greatest Cubs ever.)

Oh, I see. Thanks for making my case BCB. You saved me a half hour!

Low Point: Being ranked the 99th Greatest Cub of All Time by BCB.

Did You Know? The Rick Wilkins Foundation is having a grill out on May 17th for developmentally disabled adults. Wilkins is not just a founder, but also a client.