Jake Arrieta – the myth, the beard, the Pilates poster boy. The memories are great, but now that he’s onto playing Spencer Tracy/Father Flanagan in Philadephia’s version of Boys Town, it’s a good time to assess his true place in Chicago Cubs history.
This is tricky. His tenure was short, but boy, did his peaks tower: Best trade of the Epstein era. One of the best halves for a starter in baseball history. Second most no-hitters in Cubs history. Third best arm in a stacked title-winning rotation. And the franchise’s fifth Cy Young winner.
But given a mere 4½-year tenure, he never cracked many key Cubs’ career Top 10 categories.