Vance Law

[Brandon Glick]

Vance Law is a former MLB infielder who spent 11 years in the major leagues, including two seasons with the Chicago Cubs from 1988-89.

Quick: According to WAR, who was the fourth-most valuable position player on the 1988 Cubs after Andre Dawson, Ryne Sandberg, and Rafael Palmeiro? Well, if you purposefully clicked into this player page, I hope you guessed Vance Law, because that is the correct answer.

Yes, among the whopping six All-Stars the Cubs had in 1988 (that aforementioned quartet, plus Greg Maddux and Shawon Dunston) was Law, a 31-year-old journeyman who had arguably the finest season of his career in Chicago. The team's starting third baseman for nearly every game that season, Law slashed .293/.358/.412 with 11 home runs, producing 2.2 WAR that bested every season of his career besides 1983 with the White Sox and 1985 with the Expos.

If you're wondering how Law got voted into the All-Star game with solid but unspectacular numbers, look no further than his torrid stars, when he set the franchise record for consecutive games with a hit to open a season with 16. No one else comes within five games of that hit streak, with second-place serving as a three-way tie between Jimmy Slagle (1905), Ray Grimes (1923), and Frank Baumholtz (1952) at 11.

The son of 1960 Cy Young winner Vern Law, Vance unfortunately fell back to earth in 1989, posting a .651 OPS and -0.4 WAR in 130 games as the team surged to a division title. He drew just three at-bats in the five-game NLCS loss to the Giants, striking out all three times. He left the Cubs after that season for a successful one-year stint with the Chunichi Dragons of the Japan Central League, which he parlayed into one final MLB season in 1991 with the Oakland Athletics.

Before coming to the Cubs, Law played for the Pirates (1980-81), White Sox (1982-84), and Expos (1985-87). After his playing career, he returned to his alma mater and became the manager of Brigham Young's baseball team from 2000-2012, going 397–347–2 as BYU's head coach. 

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