Dempster making a lasting impression on Cubs and fans

GLENDALE, Ariz. - There's only one Mr. Cub. That title rightly belongs to Ernie Banks.

But in each snapshot of franchise history, there's always one player who is the face of the Cubs. Sammy Sosa, Mark Grace, Kerry Wood and Ryne Sandberg all have owned or shared the title.

How about today? Wood is gone. Mark DeRosa was a fan favorite and media darling, but he was a Cub for only two years.

Carlos Zambrano has seniority, but he's had his ups and downs with teammates, managers, the media and fans. Derrek Lee is a quiet leader.

If there's one player who has the total package, it's pitcher Ryan Dempster.

The 31-year-old right-hander has been through everything with the Cubs. He signed as a rehab project in early 2004 after coming off elbow surgery. He has gone from a starting pitcher to a successful closer and back to a starting pitcher who won 17 games last year and received votes for the Cy Young award. The four-year contract he signed this off-season is his third with the Cubs, meaning he has twice chosen to stay in Chicago rather than leave via free agency.

Dempster also is active in the community, with the Cubs nominating him twice for baseball's Roberto Clemente award, given annually to a player for his skills on the field and his devotion to public service.

During your morning coffee run on the North Side, you might run into Dempster walking to Wrigley Field. And media members find Dempster one of the team's go-to guys in the clubhouse.

"When you've been somewhere, and it's five years now, and potentially I'm going to be here nine years with this new contract, that's a long time to play, especially in today's game," Dempster said Tuesday. "It's something I treasure. I always thought, 'What a great thing to be able to play a long time in one city and especially a city like Chicago.'

"Hopefully, I can do right by the 'C' on the front of my jersey and go out there and represent the Cubs really well and go out there and win ballgames."

In a day and age when the wall between players and the public has grown higher, Dempster (and many other Cubs, as well) hasn't been one to shy away from signing autographs or mingling with fans.

"I understand it comes with some responsibility, being here a long time and having a big contract," he said. "But I enjoy it."

Playing for the Cubs, especially in recent years when expectations have risen, can be a double-edged sword, and some players have found it too much. Dempster didn't hesitate when asked what the best or "coolest" aspect of being a Cub is.

"Wrigley Field," he said. "Playing at Wrigley Field and getting cheered when you go warm up and not booed."

As far as the tough part, he acknowledges the cutting side of the Wrigley sword.

"It's a different lifestyle, right?" he said. "You realize that you're in the public eye no matter where you go, even if you're just going to the grocery story or the coffee shop. Part of it's really enjoyable, and sometimes you lose that obscurity that you get in some other places. If you weigh both sides, the good far outweighs any of the bad."

In other words, Dempster won't stop walking to work or riding the bike around town.

"I'm never going to change that," he said. "If you make yourself at home in the community where you live, that's exactly what it feels like - it feels like home, and it feels like you get to know everybody around," he said. "For me, that'll never change, no matter how much success you have or how much failure."

Part of being the face of the franchise means having success on the field. Dempster ranks fourth on the Cubs' all-time saves list with 87, including a 33-for-35 mark in 2005 and 28-for-31 in 2007. Last year, he won a career-high 17 and posted a 2.96 ERA. He also struck out the side in the ninth inning of the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium.

As far as his place in Cubs history alongside Banks and Billy Williams and Ron Santo and Sandberg, Dempster says he's willing to wait on that one.

"Every one of them probably dreamed of wearing no other uniform but that," Dempster said. "It's the same thing. I would love to play here through the next four or five years and hopefully a long time after that and play here the rest of my career."

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