Because he’s been on the Cubs longer than any other current player. Because he battled back from injury after injury, criticism after criticism, setback after setback. Because he reinvented himself as a player, refined his talents and proved to be a reliable, and sometimes lights-out, closer, a stopper good enough to make it on the 2008 National League All-Star roster. Because it was a fairy-tale story, one that was of personal triumph, no matter how disappointingly the team’s season ended. Because we’ll never forget the day he struck out twenty. And because even now, ten years after that remarkable performance, the guy’s still got that rocket for an arm.
