Fan Favorite

As Christians, we’re taught to love the sinner and the sin. That’s how I feel about the Cubs—root for the occasional player while hating his team. Some Cubs I wouldn’t even mind on the White Sox, Ron Santo excepted, of course. One of those players was Larry Biitner, the pride of Pocahontas Iowa, who played on the North Side, 1976-1980. What I remember most about Biitner was his helmet flying off as he ran the bases. The man had a nice head of hair to go with a decent eye. Biitner had a career .273 BA over fourteen seasons. Ted Williams liked what he saw when Biitner came up with the Senators, so there’s that. Biitner’s kids also seemed to have liked their dad. One of them told the story of how, at the age of six, he was walking around in the Cubs’ clubhouse, only to get hit in the head with a bat when Scot Thompson (!) took a practice swing. Daddy Biitner, in uniform, drove his son to the hospital, where he had stitches; drove the two of them back to the ballpark; then won the game with a pinch hit. Biitner told his son, “You should get hit more often.” (Des Moines Register, 1-3-22). Biitner transferred from Drake University to play baseball at Buena Vista; I’m pretty sure Clare played their softball team a few times in Florida. Assuming Buena Vista didn’t move down a division or two since he played, Biitner went from D-III to the majors. So, there’s that, too. Here's what I really like—he moved back home. The Ft. Dodge Messenger (1-2-22) even referred to Biitner as the “Pocahontas legend,” high praise, indeed. I know all this because Biitner died on Sunday, and baseball-reference.com included his name for its In Memoriam section. Just about every story, as well as the SABR biography, mentioned Biitner’s hustle. You could see it from how his hair bounced with every stride as he ran from first to third.