JULY 28: Fernando Rodney.(at Miller Park in Milwaukee): It's not often that you get a Fernando Rodney (57). The relief pitcher was dealt to the Cubs from Seattle late in the 2015 season and that was it. Known for his "bow and arrow" celebration after a save.
Bruce Miles/bmiles@dailyherald.com
It started as a whim.
During my daily rounds at Wrigley Field covering the Cubs, I see all manner of jerseys being worn by fans. Of course the most popular these days have RIZZO 44 or BRYANT 17 or SCHWARBER 12 on the back.
And players from the past are always well-represented, including Derrek Lee, Sammy Sosa, Ryne Sandberg and Carlos Zambrano.
But every now and then I see something obscure, such as a CEDENO 5, as in former infielder Ronny Cedeno, who once was thrown out going from first base to second on a walk (he overslid the bag and was tagged out.)
So a year or so ago, I started taking photos of the odd jersey and posting them on Twitter and Facebook. It seemed to be a hit, with fans tweeting others back at me. One guy sent me a FOX 5, as in former catcher Jake Fox.
This year alone, I've seen fans wearing SOTO 18, NORTON 50 and GONZALEZ 8.
The oddest, a BIITTNER 26.
The wearer? Former Cubs outfielder Larry Biittner himself. Turns out Larry was a guest of the Cubs that day.
Here is a selection of some of the more recent posts I made on Facebook, edited for space.
JULY 29: Mickey Morandini.I'm going to do my best impersonation of Naperville great and longtime Phillies Hall of Fame announcer Harry Kalas here: Mic-key Mor-an-di-ni. He'll be fol-lowed by Kruk and Daul-ton.The second baseman spent most of his career with Philadelphia but stayed with the Cubs for 1998-99. Steve Stone called him the "Dandy Little Glove Man."
Bruce Miles/bmiles@dailyherald.com
Bobby Murcer, Sept. 2:Got a good one today in our "jersey seen" game.(Murcer, who had been projected to be the next Mickey Mantle, bookended his career with the Yankees, but spent 1977-79 with the Cubs and was, at that time, the highest paid Cub ever.
Bruce Miles/bmiles@dailyherald.com
Sept. 17: Geovany SotoThe 2007-08 Cubs are still pretty popular among jersey wearers. Saw two of these today. Also a Piniella, a Lee. You still get a lot of Theriot. As for Soto, in September of 2007, Soto went .426/.462/.745 with 3 homers and helped the Cubs get to the playoffs in '07. Soto was 2008's Rookie of the Year.
Bruce Miles/bmiles@dailyherald.com
Sept. 9: Jody DavisYou know this one. Feel free to sing it. A special thank you to colleague Carrie Muskat for telling me of a Reed Johnson jersey sighting last night. Jody Davis became the Cubs starting catcher in 1981 as a rookie. Hit the 4,000th home run in the history of Wrigley Field ... not all his.
Bruce Miles/bmiles@dailyherald.com
Sept. 12: Phil NortonI'm digging as deep as I can possibly dig for today's "jersey seen." Of course, all of you remember lefty Phil Norton (2000, 2003). I don't know what his signing bonus was, but when I talked to him one off-season, he was working as a UPS driver in Schaumburg while in the Cubs' system.
Bruce Miles/bmiles@dailyherald.com
Sept. 16: Alex Gonzalez and Kris BryantFor this series, I really want to find a Brock next to a Broglio or a Cubs Edmonds next to a Cardinals Edmonds, and I almost had that one. Pickings were slim today until I found this one on my search today. (Gonzalez's bobble in Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS contributed to one of the most infamous innings in Cubs history.)
Bruce Miles/bmiles@dailyherald.com
Sept. 14: Munenori KawasakiMunenori Kawasaki is one of several Japanese players the Cubs had. Jen-Ho Tseng on this day became the first player born in Taiwan to appear with the Cubs. The Cubs have had players born in 49 states, the District of Columbia, and 23 territories and foreign countries. Three from Germany in recent years: Will Ohman, Jeff Baker and Edwin Jackson.
Bruce Miles/bmiles@dailyherald.com