Lon Warneke was relatively ineffective during the beginning of his run as a Major League Baseball player.   This would change when Cubs Manager Rogers Hornsby noticed that he was staring at his feet rather than at the plate when he threw.  That correction turned him into an also-ran to an MVP runner-up.

We finally get to the third of the famed "Tinkers to Evers to Chance" with the middle component, Johnny Evers, who was considered by his peers as one of the most intelligent and also surly baseball players of the Game.  Evers would win the starting Second Baseman's job in 1903, and while he was not always known for hitting for Average near the end of the decade, he was developing an incredible batting eye, and he had his first of three .400 OBP seasons in 1908.  Evers was a vital cog of the back-to-back World Series titles in 19097 and 1908, and he batted .350 in both of those Fall Classics.  He would become the Player/Manager for Chicago in 1913, but he was fired and took the same job with the Boston Braves.  Ironically, Evers would win the National League MVP in 1914, the first year that he was not with the Chicago Cubs.  He would also win his third World Series Ring.

Phil Cavarretta debuted for the Chicago Cubs in 1934 a couple of months after his 18th birthday, and he would play there until he was released after the 1953 Season.  Cavaretta had a good 1935 season, but he would be riddled with injuries over the next few years, and it took until the 1942 season, where he had a year with 450 Plate Appearances.  Granted, World War II depleted the Major League roster, but Cavarretta was finally healthy, and he would go on the best run of his career.  Named an All-Star every year from 1943 to 1947, he would have three seasons where he batted over .300, and he would lead the NL in Hits in 1944.  Cavarretta would win the National League MVP in 1945, where he won the Batting Title and led the Cubs to the pennant where he batted .423 with an OPS of 1.115 in Chicago’s World Series loss to the Detroit Tigers.  He would have a reduced workload over the years to come, but his longevity made him a favorite of the Cubs faithful.  He would accumulate 1,927 Hits as a Chicago Cub.

Chicago selected Cavarretta for their franchise Hall of Fame in 2021, the inaugural class.

Greg Maddux is always thought of first as an Atlanta Brave, but it was with the Chicago Cubs where he first rose to prominence.  Maddux started slowly with Chicago, but the talent was there, and in 1988, his third year in the Majors, he was chosen for the All-Star Game with an 18 Win season.  He was solid for the next three seasons, winning 19, 15, and 15 Wins, and in 1992, he would lead the NL with 20 Wins and had an ERA of 2.18.  He would win the National League Cy Young Award that year, would go to his second All-Star Game, and he had won his third straight Gold Glove.  Sadly, for the fans at Wrigley, Maddux was a Free Agent, and talks broke down, and he signed with Atlanta winning the next three Cy Youngs.  Maddux would, however, return later for two more seasons in 2004.