Mark Prior

 

Mark Prior was one of the most heralded amateur pitching prospects of all-time. His stardom wasn't just predicted, but it seemed to be all but certain. Of course, the way his career panned out became a cautionary tale, filled with injuries and expectations and very little time to actually prove his merits on the field. When healthy, Prior seemed capable of amazing success, but he simply wasn't able to stay that way for long.

 

Before being drafted in the 2002 draft by the Chicago Cubs he was actually drafted in 1998 by the New York Yankees, but never signed. In 2002 he signed an enormous $10.5 million contract, still one of the highest ever for an amateur pitcher that has never played professional ball, let alone baseball in the major leagues.

 

From there it didn't take him long to get to the big club, as he made his debut on May 22nd of 2002. He started 19 games in that season and finished with a respectable 3.32 ERA while going 6-6.

 

The next year is when Prior really took off, and all of those expectations about his career really took off. He went 18-6 on the season and finished with a 2.43 ERA and 245 strikeouts. It earned him an All-Star appearance and he finished third in the Cy Young balloting. With his young teammate Kerry Wood also turning heads and striking out batters, it seemed like the Chicago Cubs pitching staff would be stellar for a decade at the top. Of course, that's unfortunately not the way it worked out for the team or either of those young players.

 

The postseason that year was when the infamous Steve Bartman incident took place. It was Mark Prior who was on the mound for the incident. After that play, Prior started to lose his command and with some poor defensive play, the Cubs of course lost the 3-0 lead they had, lost the game 8-3, and then lost game 7 to get tossed from the playoffs.

 

After 2003 he was never completely healthy again, going 18-17 over three seasons, beset by injuries ranging from an Achilles heel problem, to a line drive that went off his elbow and more. He hasn't pitched in the majors since 2006, although he has been trying to get back into the game recently, and is now with the Texas Rangers organization after previously reappearing with the San Diego Padres organization.

 

The story of Mark Prior and the Chicago Cubs is more sad than anything else, and it shows that all of the promise in the world doesn't necessarily mean anything. Most Chicago Cubs fans would probably like to see Prior make it back to the big leagues and see some success before his career is officially over for good. Like the team for the past century, Prior's career is about hard luck and bad breaks, and while he was disappointing, it was only because of how great he could have been.

 

Shop Chicago Cubs Merchandise and Memorabilia