Every era of Chicago Cubs baseball, one lineup. These are the highest-rated Chicago Cubs legends across the 1960s to today — a full nine-man batting order plus an ace, chosen by iKnoBall's era-adjusted engine — and the record they'd post over a 162-game season.
Hitting is weighted 62%, the ace 38% — exactly how iKnoBall scores an MLB lineup. Think you'd start a different nine? Prove it.
Ferguson Jenkins headlines the group at a 91 overall — the kind of number only genuine all-time greats reach on iKnoBall's scale. Around Jenkins, the model fills out a complete lineup that balances the ace, the middle of the order, up-the-middle defense, and outfield power across Chicago Cubs history, then simulates all 162 games. The result — 135–27 — reflects both the raw talent and how the pieces fit at the plate and on the mound.
Every Chicago Cubs legend in the iKnoBall pool, ranked by era-adjusted overall. The top group forms the starting lineup above; the rest are the depth chart and the debate.
| Player | Position | Era | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ferguson Jenkins | Starting Pitcher | 1970s | 91 |
| Willson Contreras | Catcher | 2010s | 87 |
| Ernie Banks | First Baseman | 1960s | 93 |
| Ryne Sandberg | Second Baseman | 1980s | 93 |
| Ron Santo | Third Baseman | 1960s | 91 |
| Javier Baez | Shortstop | 2010s | 89 |
| Sammy Sosa | Outfielder | 2000s | 92 |
| Billy Williams | Outfielder | 1960s | 91 |
| Andre Dawson | Outfielder | 1980s | 91 |
| Anthony Rizzo | First Baseman | 2010s | 91 |
| Kris Bryant | Third Baseman | 2010s | 91 |
| Derrek Lee | First Baseman | 2000s | 89 |
| Jon Lester | Starting Pitcher | 2010s | 89 |
| Jake Arrieta | Starting Pitcher | 2010s | 89 |
| Aramis Ramirez | Third Baseman | 2000s | 88 |
| Lee Smith | Starting Pitcher | 1980s | 87 |
| Kerry Wood | Starting Pitcher | 2000s | 87 |
| Carlos Zambrano | Starting Pitcher | 2000s | 87 |
| Rick Sutcliffe | Starting Pitcher | 1980s | 87 |
| Kyle Hendricks | Starting Pitcher | 2010s | 87 |
| Kyle Schwarber | Outfielder | 2010s | 87 |
| Rick Reuschel | Starting Pitcher | 1970s | 86 |
| Bill Madlock | Third Baseman | 1970s | 86 |
| Mark Prior | Starting Pitcher | 2000s | 86 |
| Ken Holtzman | Starting Pitcher | 1960s | 84 |
| Jose Cardenal | Outfielder | 1970s | 83 |
| Rick Monday | Outfielder | 1970s | 83 |
| Leon Durham | First Baseman | 1980s | 83 |
| Shawon Dunston | Shortstop | 1980s | 83 |
| Glenn Beckert | Second Baseman | 1960s | 83 |
Draft your own all-time Chicago Cubs — or any franchise across five sports — build your lineup, and sim a full season chasing a perfect 162–0. Free to play.
Build Your All-Time LineupGet the AppBy iKnoBall's era-adjusted ratings the all-time Chicago Cubs lineup is Ferguson Jenkins (SP, 1970s), Willson Contreras (C, 2010s), Ernie Banks (1B, 1960s), Ryne Sandberg (2B, 1980s), Ron Santo (3B, 1960s), Javier Baez (SS, 2010s), Sammy Sosa (OF, 2000s), Billy Williams (OF, 1960s), Andre Dawson (OF, 1980s), Anthony Rizzo (DH, 2010s). Together they project to a 135–27 regular season.
iKnoBall's simulation projects this 10-man lineup at 135–27 over a 162-game season, with an average starter rating of 91. The model runs each game as a probability from the lineup's combined hitting and pitching strength, so an all-time team contends for a historic year but nothing is guaranteed.
Each player's overall is era-adjusted so a 1960s legend and a modern superstar sit on the same 70–99 scale. Hitting (the nine-man batting order) is weighted 62% and the ace pitcher 38%, and only true all-time greats reach the mid-to-high 90s.
Yes — iKnoBall is a free game where you draft one legend per era, build your all-time lineup, and simulate a full season chasing a perfect 162–0. Play it free at play.iknoball.com.
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Ratings are era-adjusted and computed by iKnoBall's simulation engine. Records are model projections for entertainment, not predictions. Player names belong to their respective owners; iKnoBall is an independent fan-made game.