The Chicago Cubs is an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. The Cubs competed in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. The team plays its home game at Wrigley Field, located on the North Side of the city. The Cubs is one of two major league teams in Chicago; the other, the Chicago White Sox, is a member of the American League (AL) Central division. The Cubs, first known as White Stockings, was a founding member of NL in 1876, becoming the Chicago Cubs in 1903.
The Cubs have appeared in a total of eleven World Series. The 1906 Cubs won 116 matches, finishing 116-36 and posting a winning percentage of the modern era record of 0.763, before losing the World Series to the Chicago White Sox ("The Hitless Wonders") by four games in half. The Cubs won the World Series back-to-back championship in 1907 and 1908, becoming the first premier league team to play in three consecutive World Series, and the first to win it twice. Recently, the Cubs won the 2016 National League Championship Series and the 2016 World Series, which ended 71 years of National League drought and 108 years of World Series drought, both of which are drought-hit records in Major League Baseball. The 108-year drought is also the longest occurrence in all major sports in North America. Since the start of the division game in 1969, the Cubs have appeared in the postseason nine times through the 2017 season.
The Cubs are known as "North Siders", references to the Wrigley Field location in the city of Chicago, and are different from the White Sox, whose home field (Guaranteed Rate Field) is located on the South Side.
The Cubs have a lot of competition. There is a divisional rivalry with St. Louis Cardinals, a new rivalry with Milwaukee Brewers and an interleague rivalry with the Chicago White Sox.
Video Chicago Cubs
History
Early club history
1876-1902: National League
The Cubs began playing in 1870 as Chicago White Stockings , joining the National League (NL) in 1876 as a charter member. Owner William Hulbert signed several star players, such as pitcher Albert Spalding and infielder Ross Barnes, Deacon White, and Adrian "Cap" Anson, to join the team before the first season of N.L. The White Stockings play their home game on the West Side Grounds and quickly prove themselves as one of the top teams of the new league. Spalding won forty-seven games and Barnes led the league in a hitting in.429 when Chicago won its first National League banner, which at the time was the grand prize of the game.
After the banners returned in 1880 and 1881, Hulbert died, and Spalding, who had retired to start Spalding sporting goods, assumed club ownership. The White Stockings, with Anson acting as a player-manager, won the last three consecutive titles in 1882, and Anson proved himself to be the first true superstar of the game. In 1885 and '86, after winning N.L. banner, White Stockings met the champion of the short-lived American Association in World Series versions of that era. Both seasons resulted in a match with St. Louis Brown Stockings, with the club tied in 1885 and with a St. Louis in 1886. This is the origin of what will eventually become one of the greatest rivalries in sport. Overall, Anson's Chicago Base Ball Club won six National League banners between 1876 and 1886. As a result, the Chicago club's nicknames were diverted, and in 1890 they were known as Chicago Colts , or sometimes "Colts Anson", refers to the influence of Cap in the club. Anson was the first player in history to be credited with collecting 3,000 career hits. After a disappointing 59-73 record and finishing ninth place in 1897, Anson was released by both Cubs as a player and manager. Due to Anson's absence from the club after 22 years, local newspaper reporters began to refer to the Colts as "Orphans".
After the 1900 season, the American Base-Ball League was formed as a rival professional league, and coincidentally the nickname of the old White Stockings club (eventually shortened to White Sox) will be adopted by the new American League neighbors in the south.
1902-1920: The Cubs Dynasty
In 1902, Spalding, who at that time had changed the roster to boast what would soon become one of the best teams of the beginning of the century, sold the club to Jim Hart. The franchise was nicknamed the Cubs by Chicago Daily News in 1902, although it was not officially a Chicago Cubs until the 1907 season. During this period, known as the era of baseball balls, supporters of Cub Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers , and Frank Chance was made famous as a double-play combination by my Franklin P. Adams' Baseball's Sad Lexicon poem. The poem first appeared in the July 18, 1910 edition of the New York Evening Mail . Mordecai "Three-Finger" Brown, Jack Taylor, Ed Reulbach, Jack Pfiester, and Orval Overall are some of the major pitchers for Cubs during this period. With Chance acting as a player-player from 1905 to 1912, the Cubs won four banners and two World Series titles over a five-year span. Although they fell to the "Hitless Wonders" of the White Sox in the 1906 World Series, the Cubs recorded 116 wins and the best percentage of victory (0.763) in Premiership history. With most of the same list, Chicago won the World Series back-to-back championship in 1907 and 1908, becoming the first Major League club to play three times in the Fall Classic and the first to win it twice. However, the Cubs will not win any other World Series until 2016; this remains the longest championship drought in North American professional sports.
The following season, veteran catcher Johnny Kling left the team to become a professional pocket billiard player. Some historians consider Kling's absence significant enough to prevent the Cubs from also winning a third straight title in 1909, when they finished 6 games from first place. When Kling returned the following year, the Cubs won another banner, but lost to the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1910 World Series.
In 1914, advertising executive Albert Lasker acquired a large block of club stock and before the 1916 season assumed majority ownership of the franchise. Lasker brings a rich mate, Charles Weeghman, owner of a popular lunch outlet network that formerly owned Whale Chicago from the short-lived Federal League. As the main owner, the couple moved the club from West Side Grounds to the much more recent Weeghman Park, which had been built for the Pope just two years earlier, where they remain to this day. The Cubs responded by winning banners in the 1918 short season, where they played a part in another team's curse: the Boston Red Sox beat Grover Cleveland Alexander Cubs four games into two in the 1918 World Series, Boston's last Series championship until 2004.
Beginning in 1916, Bill Wrigley's fame-gabus fame gained an increasing amount of stock in the Cubs. In 1921 he was the majority owner, retaining that status to the 1930s.
Meanwhile, in 1919 witnessed the commencement of Bill Veeck's term of office, Sr. as team leader. Veeck will hold the post throughout the 1920s and into his 30s. The management team of Wrigley and Veeck came to be known as "Double Bills."
The Wrigley years (1921-1981)
<19> 1929-1938: _Every_three_years "> 1929-1938: Every three years <19>Towards the end of the first decade of the double-bills guidance, the Cubs won the NL banner in 1929 and then achieved remarkable achievements to win the banner every three years, following up the 1929 banner with league titles in 1932, 1935, and 1938. Unfortunately, their success extends to the Fall Classic, as they fall into their AL rivals each time. The '32 series against the Yankees featured a so-called "shot called" Babe Ruth at Wrigley Field in game three. There are some historic moments for Cubs as well; In 1930, Hack Wilson, one of the top home bats in the game, had one of the most memorable seasons in MLB history, hitting 56 home runs and setting a current record with 191. 1930 Club, boasting six people who eventually became members of fame ( Wilson, Gabby Hartnett, Rogers Hornsby, George "High Pockets" Kelly, Kiki Cuyler, and manager Joe McCarthy) set an average team record of 0.309. In 1935 the Cubs claimed the banner in a thrilling fashion, winning a record of 21 consecutive games in September. The '38 club saw Dizzy Dean lead the team's pitching staff and give a historic moment when they won an important end-of-season game at Wrigley Field over the Pittsburgh Pirates with a home run by Gabby Hartnett, known in baseball knowledge. as "The Homer in the Gloamin".
After the "double-bills" (Wrigley and Veeck) died in 1932 and 1933, P.K. Wrigley, son of Bill Wrigley, took over as the majority owner. He could not extend his father's baseball success beyond 1938, and the Cubs went into mediocre years, though the Wrigley family would retain team control until 1981.
1945-1966
The Cubs enjoyed one more banner at the end of World War II, finishing 98-56. Due to wartime restrictions, the first three games of the 1945 World Series were played in Detroit, where the Cubs won two games, including one-hammer by Claude Passeau, and the last four were played at Wrigley. The Cubs lost the series, and did not return until the 2016 World Series. After losing to the 1945 World Series to the Detroit Tigers, the Cubs finished with a 82-71 record the following year, but this is only good enough for third place.
In the next two decades, the Cubs played the most often forgotten baseball, ending up among the worst teams in the National League almost every year. From 1947 to 1966, they recorded only one winning season. Long infielder-manager Phil Cavarretta, who had been a key player during the 1945 season, was sacked during spring training in 1954 after admitting the team was unlikely to finish above the fifth place. Although shortstop Ernie Banks will be one of the star players in the league over the next decade, seeking help for him proved to be a difficult task, as quality players like Hank Sauer are few and far between. This, combined with poor ownership decisions such as the College of Coaches, and ill-fated trades of the future Hall of Fame member Lou Brock to the Cardinals for pitcher Ernie Broglio (who won just seven games over the next three seasons), were hampered on field performances.
1969: Fall of '69
The late 1960s brought hope of a resurgence, with third baseman Ron Santo, pitcher Ferguson Jenkins, and outfielder Billy Williams joining Banks. After losing 103 gloomy games in 1966, the Cubs brought home a record-breaking winning streak in '67 and '68, marking the first time the Cub team had achieved that achievement in more than two decades.
In 1969 the Cubs, run by Leo Durocher, built a substantial leadership in the newly formed Eastern National League Division in mid-August. Ken Holtzman scored a no-hitter on August 19, and led the division to grow up to 8 games for St Louis Cardinals and by 9 / 2 > 1 / 2 game above New York Mets. After the 2nd September match, the Cubs record was 84-52 with Mets in second place at 77-55. But then a successive defeat began when the Mets winning streak started. The Cubs lost the last game of the series in Cincinnati, then returned home to play the resurgent Pittsburgh Pirates (which will end in third place). After losing the first two games with a score of 9-2 and 13-4, the Cubs led into the ninth inning. Victory will be a positive stepping stone since the Cubs played an important series with Mets the next day. But Willie Stargell drilled a two-out, two-pitch attack from Cubs ace relief, Phil Regan, onto Sheffield Avenue to tie the score above the ninth. The Cubs will lose 7-5 in the extra round. [6] Weighed down by four consecutive defeats, the Cubs traveled to Shea Stadium for two short sets. The Mets won both games, and the Cubs left New York with a record 84-58 just 1/2 game up front. More than the same was followed in Philadelphia, as the Phillies lost 99 teams to beat the Cubs twice, to extend Chicago's consecutive drop to eight games. In a key game in the second game, on September 11th, Cubs starter Dick Selma threw a surprise effort into Ron Santo's third baseman, who was not near a bag or a ball. Selma's throwing error opened the gate to the Phillies rally. After Philly's second loss, the Cubs are 84-60 and the Mets have excelled at 85-57. The Mets will not look back. The winning streak of eight Cubs players finally ended the next day in St. Louis, but the Mets were in the midst of a ten-match winning streak, and the Cubs, who were weakened by team fatigue, generally worsened in all phases of the match. [1] The Mets (who had lost a record of 120 games 7 years earlier), will go on to win the World Series. The Cubs, despite a respectable 92-70 record, will be remembered for losing 17 remarkable games in the standings to the Mets in the final quarter of the season.
1977-1979: June Swoon
After the 1969 season, the club posted a winning record for the next few seasons, but there was no playoff. After the core players of the team began to move, the 70s worsened for the team, and they were known as "the Loveable Losers." In 1977, the team found some life, but in the end experienced one of its greatest collapse. The Cubs children hit the watermark on June 28 at 47-22, boasting a 8 1 / 2 game NL East leads, as they are led by Bobby Murcer (27 HR/89 RBI), and Rick Reuschel (20-10). However, Phillips Phillips slashed a 2nd lead by an All-star break, as the Cubs sat 19 games over.500, but they collapsed at the end of the season, going 20-40 after 31 July. The Cubs finished in fourth place at 81-81, while Philadelphia surged, finishing with 101 wins. The next two seasons also watched the Cubs get off to a quick start, as the team rallied to more than 10 games over 0,500 into both seasons, only to come back down and play poorly in the future, and eventually return to mediocrity. This trait is known as "June Swoon". Again, the extraordinarily high number of Cubs day games is often regarded as one of the reasons to play at the end of an inconsistent team season.
Wrigley died in 1977. The Wrigley family sold the team to the Chicago Tribune in 1981, ending a 65-year family relationship with the Cubs.
Year Company Tribune (1981-2008)
1984: Heartbreak
After more than a dozen more subpar seasons, in 1981 the Cubs hired GM Dallas Green from Philadelphia to change the franchise. Green has been managing the 1980 Phillies to the World Series titles. One of the early GM movements brought a young 3-year-old Phillie minor-league named Ryne Sandberg, along with Larry Bowa to IvÃÆ'¡n DeJesÃÆ'ºs. The 1983 Cubs finished 71-91 under Lee Elia, who was sacked before the season ended with Green. Green continued the culture of change and remodeled the staff list, front-office staff and Cubs coaching before 1984. Jim Frey was hired to manage the Cubs 1984, with Don Zimmer coaching the 3rd base and Billy Connors as pitching coach.
Green incised the 1984 list with a series of deals. In December, 1983 Scott Sanderson was acquired from Montreal in a three-team deal with San Diego for Carmelo MartÃÆ'nez. Pinch hitter Richie Hebner (.333 BA in 1984) was signed as a free agent. In spring training, the moves continued: LF Gary Matthews and CF Bobby Dernier came from Philadelphia on March 26, to Bill Campbell and a minor. Reliever Tim Stoddard (10-6 3.82, 7 saves) earned on the same day for the minor league; veteran pitcher Ferguson Jenkins was released.
The team's commitment to compete was complete when Green made a midseason deal on June 15 to prop up an early rotation with injuries to Rick Reuschel (5-5) and Sanderson. The deal brings 1979 NL Rookie of the Year pitcher Rick Sutcliffe from Indian Cleveland. Joe Carter (who was with Triple-A Iowa Cubs at the time) and the right fielder Mel Hall was sent to Cleveland for Sutcliffe and Ron Hassey's back-up catcher (.333 with the Cubs in 1984). Sutcliffe (5-5 with Indians) soon joined Sanderson (8-5 3.14), Eckersley (10-8 3.03), Steve Trout (13-7 3.41) and Dick Ruthven (6-10 5.04) in the initial rotation. Sutcliffe went on to go 16-1 to the Cubs and catch the Cy Young Award.
Line started in 1984 Cubs are very powerful. It consists of LF Matthews (.291 14-82 101 runs 17 SB), C Jody Davis (.256 19-94), RF Keith Moreland (.279 16-80), SS Larry Bowa (.223 10 SB), 1B Leon "Bull" Durham (.279 23-96 16SB), CF Dernier (.278 45 SB), 3B Ron Cey (.240 25-97), Closer Lee Smith (9-7 3.65 33 save) and 1984 NL MVP Ryne Sandberg (.314 19-84 114 runs, 19 triples, 32 SB).
Reserve players Hebner, Thad Bosley, Henry Cotto, Hassey, and Dave Owen produced delightful moments. The bullpen depths of Rich Bordi, George Frazier, Warren Brusstar, and Dickie Noles do their job in getting the game to Smith or Stoddard.
At the top, Dernier and Sandberg are very interesting, precisely created "The Daily Double" by Harry Caray. With a strong defense - Dernier CF and Sandberg 2B, winning the NL Gold Glove - pitching and clutch shot, the Cubs are a well-balanced team. Following the "Daily Double", Matthews, Durham, Cey, Moreland, and Davis commanded the Cubs without any loopholes to appear. Sutcliffe uses a strong top-to-bottom rotation, and Smith is one of the top cover in this game.
The Cubs' fortune shift was marked June 23 at the "NBC Saturday Game of the Week" contest against St. Louis Cardinals; since then it has been dubbed simply "The Sandberg Game." With the nation watching and packed Wrigley Field, Sandberg emerged as a superstar with not one, but two match-tying home runs against Cardinals nearer Bruce Sutter. With his shots in the 9th and 10th rounds, Wrigley Field erupted and Sandberg set the stage for a comeback win that cemented the Cubs as the team to beat in the East. No one will catch them, except for Padres in the playoffs.
In early August the Cubs swept the Mets in a 4-game home series which further distanced them from the pack. Keith Moreland-Ed Lynch famously erupted after Lynch hit Moreland with pitch, probably forgot Moreland was once a linebacker at the University of Texas. It was the second game of double headers and the Cubs had won the first game in part because of running three home runs by Moreland. After the fight the bench-clearing Cubs won the second game, and the sweep put the Cubs at 68-45.
In 1984, each league had two divisions, East and West. The division winners met in the best-of-5 series to advance to the World Series, in the "2-3" format, the first two games played on team homes with no home advantage at home. Then the last three games are played in the team's home, with home advantage at home. So, the first two games are played at Wrigley Field and the next three matches at the home of their opponents, San Diego. A common and unfounded myth is that since Wrigley Field did not have lights at the time, the National League decided to give home field advantage to the NL West winners. In fact, home field advantage has been rotated between winners from East and West since 1969 when the league was expanded. Even within a matter of years, NL West has an advantage on the home field. In the odd numbered years, NL East has a field advantage at home. Since the NL East winners had a home advantage in 1983, the NL West winners were entitled to it.
The confusion may stem from the fact that Major League Baseball did decide that, should the Cubs make it to the World Series, American League winners will have home field advantage unless the Cubs host matches on alternative sites since the Cubs home field of Wrigley Field has no lights yet. Rumors are Cubs can hold home games across town at Comiskey Park, home of the Chicago White Sox, the American League. Instead of holding any game in the cross-town rival Sox Park, the Cubs made arrangements with August A. Busch, the owner of St. Louis Cardinals, to use Busch Stadium at St. Louis as the "home field" Cubs for the World Series. It's approved by Major League Baseball and will allow Cubs to host games 1 and 2, along with games 6 and 7 if needed. At that point, the superiority of the field is rotated between each league. Strange year numbered AL has the advantage of home field. Even the NL numbered years have a home field advantage. In the 1982 World Series, St. Louis Cardinals of NL has an advantage in the field. In the 1983 World Series, Orioles Baltimore of the AL had an advantage in its own pitch.
At NLCS, the Cubs easily won the first two games at Wrigley Field against San Diego Padres. The Padres is the winner of the Western Division with Steve Garvey, Tony Gwynn, Eric Show, Goose Gossage and Alan Wiggins. With a 13-0 and 4-2 win, the Cubs need only win one game from the next three games in San Diego to reach the World Series. After being beaten in Game 3 7-1, the Cubs lost Game 4 when Smith, with a 5-5 tied game, allowed the winner's home run to Garvey at the bottom of the ninth inning. In Game 5 the Cubs led 3-0 in the 6th inning, and a 3-2 lead to seventh with Sutcliffe (who won the Cy Young Award that year) was still at the mound. Later, Leon Durham had a sharp grounder under his glove. This critical error helped Padres win the game 6-3, with a 4-run 7 innings and keep Chicago out of the 1984 World Series against the Detroit Tigers. The loss ends a spectacular season for the Cubs, which liven up the franchise and make the Cubs relevant to a new generation of Cubs fans.
The Padres will be beaten in 5 matches by Sparky Anderson's Tigers in the World Series.
The 1985 season brought great hope. The club started well, going 35-19 until mid-June, but Sutcliffe's injuries and others on the throwing staff contributed 13 successive defeats that drove the Cubs out of contention.
1989: NL Eastern division championship
In 1989, the first full season with baseball night at Wrigley Field, Don Zimmer's sons were led by veteran core groups at Ryne Sandberg, Rick Sutcliffe and Andre Dawson, driven by a group of young people like Mark Grace, Shawon Dunston, Greg Maddux, Rookie of the Year's Jerome Walton, and Rookie of the Year Runner-Up Dwight Smith. The Cubs won the East NL once again a season that won 93 matches. This time the Cubs met with the San Francisco Giants in the NLCS. After dividing the first two games at home, the Cubs headed to the Bay Area, where despite holding the lead at some point in each of the next three games, the bullpen crisis and managerial mistakes eventually led to three immediate losses. The Cubs could not cope with Will Clark's effort, whose home fled from Maddux, just after the manager's visit to the mound, made Maddux think Clark knew what was coming. After that, Maddux will speak in his hand during any mound conversation, starting what is normal today. Mark Grace is 11-17 in the series with 8 RBI. Eventually, the Giants lost to "Bash Brothers" and Oakland A in the famous "Earthquake Series".
1998: Wild card race and home run
The 1998 season will begin with a somber note with the death of legendary broadcaster Harry Caray. After retiring from Sandberg and Dunston's trade, the Cubs had a hole to fill, and the signing of Henry RodrÃÆ'guez to clean the bat provided a shelter for Sammy Sosa in the lineup, as Rodriguez paralyzed 31 round-trippers in his first season in Chicago. Kevin Tapani leads the club with a career-high 19 victories while Rod Beck puts on a strong bullpen and Mark Grace becomes one of his best seasons. The Cubs were flooded by media attention in 1998, and two of the team's biggest headliners were Sosa and rookie flamethrower Kerry Wood. Wood's distinctive appearance is a one-hit Houston Astros, a game in which he tied the Premier League record of 20 strikeouts in nine innings. The hot cut figures resulted in Wood's nickname "Kid K," and finally earned him the Rookie of the Year 1998 NL award. Sosa burned in June, reaching the Premier League record of 20 home runs in a month, and his home race with Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire turned the pair into an international superstar in a matter of weeks. McGwire finished the season with a new major league record of 70 home runs, but the average Sosa.308 and 66 homers earned him the National League MVP Award. After the down-to-the-wire Wild Card hunt with the San Francisco Giants, Chicago and San Francisco ended the regular tied season, and thus played in a playoff game at Wrigley Field. The third baseman Gary Gaetti hit homer eventually won the game in the playoff game. The win pushed the Cubs into the postseason for the first time since 1989 with a regular 90-73 season record. Unfortunately, the bats cooled in October, when club manager Jim Riggleman fought off 0.183 and scored just four on the way to be swept by Atlanta in the National League Division Series. The chase at home between Sosa, McGwire and Ken Griffey, Jr. helping professional baseball to bring in new fans as well as bringing back some fans who have been disappointed with the 1994 strike. The Cubs retained many players who experienced a career year in 1998, but, after a swift start in 1999, they collapsed again (starting with being swept in cross-city hands of the White Sox in mid-June) and finished at the bottom of the division for the next two seasons.
2001: push playoff
Despite losing favorite Grace fans to free agents and lack of production from newcomer Todd Hundley, Cubs Don Baylor put together a good season in 2001. The season begins with Mack Newton being brought in to preach "positive thinking." One of the biggest stories of the season came when the club made a midseason deal for Fred McGriff, who was pulled out for almost a month because McGriff was disputed by ignoring his no-trade clause. The Cubs led the wild card race with 2.5 games in early September, but were devastated when Preston Wilson hit three runs of closer homer Tom "Flash" Gordon, who halted the team's momentum. The team could not make other serious allegations, and finished at 88-74, five games behind Houston and St. Louis, who is tied for the first. Sosa may be his best season and Jon Lieber leads the staff with a 20-win season.
2003: Five more
The Cubs had high expectations in 2002, but the squad played poorly. On July 5, 2002, Cubs promoted the assistant general manager and personnel director Jim Hendry to the General Manager position. The club responded by hiring Dusty Baker and by making some major moves in 2003. Especially, they traded with the Pittsburgh Pirates for outside players Kenny Lofton and third baseman Aramis RamÃÆ'rez, and rode a dominant pitching, led by Kerry Wood and Mark Prior, as Cubs leading the division down.
Chicago stops St. Louis' ran into the playoffs by taking four of the five games of the Cardinals at Wrigley Field in early September, after they won their first division title in 14 years. They then went on to defeat the Atlanta Braves in five Division Division dramatic games, the first franchise postseason series winning since defeating the Detroit Tigers in the 1908 World Series.
After losing an extra-inning game in Game 1, the Cubs rallied and led the three games up over the Florida Marlins Wild Card in the National League Championship Series. Florida closed the Cubs in Game 5, but the Cubs returned to Wrigley Field's home with young pitcher Mark Prior to lead the Cubs in Game 6 as they led 3-0 in the 8th inning. It was at this point when the now famous incident happened. Some spectators tried to catch a foul ball from Luis Castillo. A Chicago Cubs fan by the name of Steve Bartman, from Northbrook, Illinois, grabbed the ball and fended off the Moisà © Å © Alou for the second out of the eighth inning. Alou reacted angrily to the stands and after the match stated that he would catch the ball. Alou at one point draws back, saying he will not be able to make the game, but then says it's just an attempt to make Bartman feel better and believe that the whole thing should be forgotten. Interference is not mentioned in the game, because the ball is ruled on the side of the wall audience. Castillo finally runs with Prior. Two batters later, and to the chagrin of the crowded stadium, shortstop Cubs Alex Gonzalez misplaced the double game in a row, filling the base. That mistake will lead to eight Florida runs and a Marlin win. Despite sending Kerry Wood to the mound and holding the lead twice, the Cubs eventually dropped Game 7, and failed to reach the World Series.
"The Steve Bartman incident" was seen as the "first domino" at the turning point of the era, and the Cubs did not win a playoff game for the next eleven seasons.
2004-2006
In 2004, the Cubs were chosen by consensus by most media to win the World Series. The acquisition of offseason from Derek Lee (who was acquired in trading with Florida for Hee-seop Choi) and the return of Greg Maddux only support this hope. Although there is a mid-season deal for Nomar Garciaparra, misfortune overwrites the Cubs again. They lead the Wild Card with 1.5 games in San Francisco and Houston on 25 September. On that day, both teams lost, giving Cubs the chance to boost the advantage to 2.5 games with just eight games left in this season, but LaTroy Hawkins reliever blew the save to the Mets, and the Cubs lost the game in extra round. The defeat seemed to weaken the team, as they proceeded to drop six of their last eight games as Astros won the Wild Card.
Despite the fact that the Cubs have won 89 matches, the fall is definitely not easy to love, as the Cubs traded superstar Sammy Sosa after he left the final game of the season early and then lied about it openly. Already a controversial figure at the club after a corked-bat incident, Sammy's actions alienate many of his once strong fan base as well as some of his teammates are still in good touch with him, (many teammates become tired of Sosa playing loud salsa music in the locker room) and possibly tarnishing his place in the Cubs story for years to come. The disappointing season also left fans frustrated with constant injury to pitch pitchers Mark Prior and Kerry Wood. In addition, the 2004 season led to the departure of popular commentator Steve Stone, who became increasingly critical of management during broadcast and was verbally attacked by Kent Mercker's rescue. Things were not much better in 2005, despite years of career from first baseman Derrek Lee and the appearance of Ryan Dempster closer. The club struggled and suffered more key injuries, only managing to win 79 matches after being chosen by many to be a serious contender for N.L. banner. In 2006, the bottom fell when the Cubs finished 66-96, most recently at NL Central.
2007-2008: Back to back division title
After finishing last in the NL Central with 66 wins in 2006, the Cubs re-created and changed from "worst to first" in 2007. In the offseason they signed Alfonso Soriano on a contract for eight years for $ 136 million, and replaced manager Dusty Baker with veteran manager Lou Piniella. After a rough start, which included a fight between Michael Barrett and Carlos Zambrano, the Cubs overcame the Milwaukee Brewers, who led the division for much of the season. The Cubs traded Barrett to Padres, and then acquired catcher Jason Kendall of Oakland. Kendall is very successful with the management of throwing rotations and helping on the plate as well. In September, Geovany Soto becomes a full time starter behind the license plate, replacing veteran Kendall player. The winning streak in June and July, coupled with a pair of dramatic victories, was delayed against the Reds, causing the Cubs to finally seize NL Central with a 85-77 record. They met Arizona in the NLDS, but the controversy followed as Piniella, in a move that has since been under scrutiny, drew Carlos Zambrano after the sixth inning of a duel pitcher with D-Backs ace Brandon Webb, to ".... rescue Zambrano for (potential ) Game 4. "The Cubs, however, were unable to come, lost their first game and ended up stranded over 30 baserunners in a three-game Arizona sweep.
The Tribune Company, in financial difficulty, was acquired by real-estate mogul Sam Zell in December 2007. This acquisition included Cubs. However, Zell does not take an active part in running a baseball franchise, instead of concentrating on structuring a deal to sell it.
The Cubs successfully defended their National League Central title in 2008, going into the postseason in successive years for the first time since 1906-08. Offseason is dominated by three months of failed trade talks with Orioles involving 2B Brian Roberts, as well as the signing of Chunichi Dragons starring Kosuke Fukudome. The team recorded their 10,000th win in April, while building an early division lead. Reed Johnson and Jim Edmonds have been added from the start and Rich Harden was acquired from Oakland Athletics in early July. The Cubs headed to the All-Star break with N.L.'s best record, and tied a league record with eight representatives for the All-Star game, including the Geovany Soto catcher, named Rookie of the Year. The Cubs took over the division by sweeping four game series in Milwaukee. On September 14, in a match moved to Miller Park due to Hurricane Ike, Zambrano was angry against Astros, and six days later the team won by beating St. Louis at Wrigley. The club ended the season with a 97-64 record and met Los Angeles in the NLDS. The highly favored Cubs took an early lead in Game 1, but James Loney's grand slam off Ryan Dempster changed the series' momentum. Chicago made many critical errors and defeated 20-6 in Dodger's sweep, which gave another unexpected ending.
Ricketts Era (2009-present)
The Ricketts family acquired a majority interest in the Cubs in 2009, ending the Tribune's years. Apparently handcuffed by the Tribune bankruptcy and the club's sale to Ricketts's brother, headed by chairman Thomas S. Ricketts, the Cubs' quest for a three-peat Central NL begins with a notice that there will be less invested into the contract than in the previous year. Chicago engaged St Louis in a sight-seeing battle for first place into August 2009, but the Cardinals played at a blistering 20-6 pace that month, appointing their rivals to battle in the Wild Card race, from which they were eliminated in the final week of the season. The Cubs were plagued by injuries in 2009, and only able to make their opening day opening formations three times throughout the season. Third baseman Aramis RamÃÆ'rez injured his throw shoulders in early May matches against Milwaukee Brewers, fired him until early July and forced daily players like Mike Fontenot and Aaron Miles into a more prominent role. In addition, key players like Derrek Lee (who still managed to reach 0.306 with 35 HR and 111 RBI that season), Alfonso Soriano, and Geovany Soto also suffered a nagging injury. The Cubs set a winning record (83-78) for their third consecutive season, the first time the club has done so since 1972, and a new era of ownership under the Ricketts family was approved by MLB owners in early October.
2010-2014: Decrease and recondition
Rookie Starlin Castro made its debut in early May (2010) as an early shortstop. However, the club played poorly at the start of the season, finding themselves 10 games below 0,500 by the end of June. In addition, Carlos Zambrano's long ace was withdrawn from the game against the White Sox on June 25 after a reckless and encouraging match with Derrek Lee, and was suspended indefinitely by Jim Hendry, who called the behavior "unacceptable." On August 22, Lou Piniella, who had announced his resignation at the end of the season, announced that he would leave Cubs prematurely to care for his ailing mother. Mike Quade took over as interim manager for the last 37 games of the year. Although away from the playoff clashes, the Cubs went 24-13 under the Quade, the best record in baseball for 37 matches, resulting in Quade's position of advanced manager on 19 October.
On December 3, 2010, the Cubs announcer and the third former baseman, Ron Santo, died of complications from bladder cancer and diabetes. He spent 13 seasons as a player with the Cubs, and at the time of his death was considered one of the greatest players not in the Hall of Fame. He was posthumously elected to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012.
Despite trading for pitcher Matt Garza and signing free-agent slugger Carlos PeÃÆ' Â ± a, the Cubs completed the 2011 season 20 games under 0,500 with a record of 71-91. The week after the season ended, the club was rejuvenated in the form of a new philosophy, when new owner Tom Ricketts signed Theo Epstein away from the Boston Red Sox, named him club president and gave him a five-year deal worth over $ 18 million, and then manager Mike Quade dumped. Epstein, a sabemetime supporter and one of the 2004 and 2007 World Series championship architects in Boston, brought Jed Hoyer from Padres to fill the role of GM and hired Dale Sveum as manager. Although the team has a bleak 2012 season, losing 101 games (the worst record since 1966), it is highly desirable. The youth movement delivered by Epstein and Hoyer began when old Kerry Wood fans retired in May, followed by Ryan Dempster and Geovany Soto who trafficked to Texas at the All-Star break for a group of small league prospects entitled Christian Villanueva but also including little thought of Kyle Hendricks. The developments of Castro, Anthony Rizzo, Darwin Barney, Brett Jackson and pitcher Jeff Samardzija, as well as the replenishment of a minor league system with prospects like Javier Baez, Albert Almora and Jorge Soler became the focus of the season, a philosophy that management says will carry until the 2013 season.
The 2013 season produced much of the same one the year before. Shortly before the trading deadline, Cubs traded Matt Garza to Texas Rangers for Mike Olt, Carl Edwards Jr., Neil Ramirez, and Justin Grimm. Three days later, the Cubs sent Alfonso Soriano to the New York Yankees for minor league Corey Black. The mid-season fire sale brought to last place in NL Central, ending with a 66-96 record. Despite a five-game increase in records from the previous year, Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro appear to be taking a step back in their development. On September 30, 2013, Theo Epstein made the decision to fire manager Dale Sveum after just two seasons at the helm of the Cubs. The regression of some young players is considered a major focal point, as the front office says Sveum will not be judged on the basis of victory and loss. In two seasons as captain, Sveum finished with a record of 127-197.
The 2013 season is also famous as the Cubs compiled Rookie of the Year future and MVP Kris Bryant with second overall selection.
On November 7, 2013, Cubs hired San Diego Padres coach Rick Renteria to become the 53rd manager in team history. The Cubs finished the 2014 season in last place with a 73-89 record in the first season and the only Rentera as manager. Despite the poor record, the Cubs increased in many areas during 2014, including a year-long rebound by Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro, ending the season with a home winning record for the first time since 2009, and setting a 33-34 record after All-Star Break. However, following Joe Maddon's unexpected availability, the Cubs freed Rentera from his managerial duties on October 31, 2014. During the season, the Cubs put together Kyle Schwarber with a fourth overall choice.
Hall of Fame Ernie Banks died of a heart attack on January 23, 2015, shortly before his 84th birthday. The 2015 uniform carries the # 14 memorial patch on both home jersey and away in his honor.
2015: Joe Maddon's arrival
On November 2, 2014, the Cubs announced that Joe Maddon had signed a five-year contract to become the 54th manager in team history. On December 10, 2014, Maddon announced that the team had signed free agent Jon Lester on a six-year, $ 155 million contract. Many other trades and acquisitions occur during off season. The opening day formation for Cubs contains five new players including the center fielder Dexter Fowler. Rookies Kris Bryant and Addison Russell were in the starting lineup in mid-April, and rookie Kyle Schwarber added in mid-June. On August 30, Jake Arrieta threw a no-beater at the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Cubs finished the 2015 season in third place at NL Central, with a 97-65 record, a third best record in the majors and a wild card spot. On October 7, at the 2015 National Wild League Game Game, Arrieta put up a complete shutout game and the Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0.
The Cubs beat Cardinals in a three-match-to-one NLDS, qualifying for a return to the NLCS for the first time in 12 years, where they face the New York Mets. This is the first time in franchise history that the Cubs have won the playoff series at Wrigley Field. However, they were swept in four games by the Mets and could not reach their first World Series since 1945.
2016: World Series Winner
Prior to this season, in an effort to support their lineup, Ben Zobrist's free agents, Jason Heyward and John Lackey were signed. To make room for the Zobrist signing, Starlin Castro traded to the Yankees for Adam Warren and Brendan Ryan, the latter being released a week later.
In a season that included a no-hitter on April 21 by Jake Arrieta, the Cubs finished with the best record in Major League Baseball and won their first National League title since the 2008 season, winning 17.5 games. The team also reached the 100-won mark for the first time since 1935 and won 103 matches in total, winning the most for the franchise since 1910. The Cubs defeated the San Francisco Giants in the National League Division Series and returned to the National League Championship Series for the second year in a row, where they beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games. This is their first NLCS victory since the series was created in 1969. The win has made the Cubs their first World Series appearance since 1945 and a chance to win their first World Series since 1908. Returning from a three-to-one deficit, the Cubs defeated the Cleveland Indians in seven games in the 2016 World Series. They are the first team to return from a three-match deficit to one since the Kansas City Royals in 1985. On November 4, the city of Chicago held a triumphal parade and rallied for the Cubs that started at Wrigley Field, heading to Lake Shore Drive, and end up at Grant Park. The city estimates that more than five million people attend parades and rallies, making it one of the largest recorded meetings in history.
2017: Short fall
In an effort to become the first team to be repeated as World Series champions since the Yankees in 1998, 1999, and 2000, the Cubs fought for most of the first half of the season, never moving more than four games above.500 and finishing the first half of two games below 0,500. On July 15th, the Cubs fell to 5.5 of the season's first high game in NL Central. The Cubs fought mainly because of their pitching as Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester struggled and no early pitchers managed to win more than 14 matches (four pitchers won 15 matches or more for Cubs in 2016). Cub attacks also had trouble when Kyle Schwarber fought close to.200 for most of the first half and even sent to minors. However, the Cubs recovered in the second half of the season to finish 22 games over 0,500 and win NL Central by six games over Milwaukee Brewers. The Cubs drew a five-game NLDS victory over the National Nationals to advance to the NLCS for the third year in a row. For the second year in a row, they face Dodgers. This time, however, the Dodgers beat the Cubs in five games.
Maps Chicago Cubs
Ballpark
Wrigley Field and Wrigleyville
The Cubs have played their home game at Wrigley Field, also known as "The Friendly Confines" since 1916. Built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Chicago Whales, a Baseball Team The Federal League. The Cubs also shared the park with the Chicago Bears of the NFL for 50 years. The average includes a manual scoreboard, a brick wall covered by ivy, and a relatively small dimension.
Located in Chicago's Lake View neighborhood, Wrigley Field is in an irregular block bordered by Clark Street and Addison as well as Waveland and Sheffield Avenues. The area around the average is usually referred to as Wrigleyville. There is a solid collection of sports bars and restaurants in the area, mostly with baseball-inspired themes, including Sluggers, Murphy's Bleachers, and The Cubby Bear. Many of the apartment buildings around Wrigley Field in Waveland and Sheffield Avenues have built benches on their roof for fans to see other games and sales spaces for advertising. One building on Sheffield Avenue had a sign on its roof that read "Eamus Catuli!" the Latin for "Let's Go Cubs!" and chronicles another time since the last Division title, banner and World Series championship. 00 marks 2016 NL Central title, NL pennant, and World Series championship. On game days, many residents rent out yards and driveways to people looking for parking spaces. The uniqueness of the environment itself has been embedded in the Chicago Cubs culture as well as the Wrigleyville neighborhood, and has led to use for concerts and other sporting events, such as the 2010 NHL Winter Classic between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wing, as well as the NCAA 2010 men's football game between the Northwestern Wildcats and Illinois Fighting Illini.
In 2013, Tom Ricketts and team president Crane Kenney announced plans for a five-year, $ 575 million privately-funded Wrigley Field renovation. Called 1060 Project, the proposed plan includes major improvements to the stadium facade, infrastructure, toilets, concourses, suites, press boxes, bullpens and clubhouses, and 6,000-square-foot (560 m 2 ) t jumbotron which will be added on the left field bench, batting tunnel, 3,000 square foot video boards (280 m 2 ) in the right-hand field, and, finally, adjacent hotels, plazas, and office-retail complexes. In the past years most attempts to undertake large-scale renovations to the field have been opposed by the city, former mayor Richard M. Daley (a persistent White Sox fan), and especially the rooftop owners.
Months of negotiations between the teams, a group of roofing property investors, local Alderman Tom Tunney, and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel followed up with final support from the City Land Commission, the Commission Plan and final approval by the Chicago City Council in July 2013. The project starts at the end of the 2014 season.
Bleacher Bums
The "Bleacher Bums" is the name given to fans, many of whom spend most of the heckling day, sitting in the bleacher section of Wrigley Field. Initially, the group was called "bum" because it refers to a group of the most playful fans, and since those games are everyday games, it is assumed that they are not working. Many of the fans are, and still are, students at Chicago's regional colleges, such as DePaul University, Loyola, Northwestern University, and Illinois-Chicago. The Broadway drama, starring Joe Mantegna, Dennis Farina, Dennis Franz, and James Belushi ran for years and is based on a group of Cub fans who often visit club games. The group started in 1967 by Ron Grousl special fan Tom Nall and "mad bugger" Mike Murphy, who is a mid-day radio show host at WSCR AM 670 "The Score" based in Chicago. Murphy alleges that Grousl started the Wrigley tradition of throwing the opposing home team's ball. The group is currently led by Derek Schaul (Derek the Five Dollar Kid). Before the 2006 season, they were updated, with new stores and private bars (The Batter's Eye) added, and Bud Light bought the naming rights to the whitening section, dubbing them Bud Light Bleachers. The musician at Wrigley is a general acceptance, except during the playoffs. The bench has been called the "World's Largest Beer Garden." Popular T-shirts (sold inside the park and licensed by the club) that say "Wrigley Bleachers" on the front and the phrase "Shut Up and Drink Your Beer" on this stereotyped upside-down fuel.
Culture
Cubs Win Mark
Beginning on the days of P.K. Wrigley and the reconstruction of the scoreboard in 1937, and before the saturation of modern media, the flags with "W" or "L" had flown over the masthead of the scoreboard, showing the results of the day when baseball was played at Wrigley. In the case of a doubleheader split, the "W" and "L" flags are flown.
Past media guides Cubs show that initially a blue flag with white and white "W" with "L" blue. In 1978, consistent with the dominant colors of flags, blue and white lights mounted on the scoreboard, showing "winning" and "losing" each for the benefit of passers-by.
Flags were replaced in 1990, the first year in which the Cubs media guides reported the transition to the current flag color: White with blue "W" and blue with white "L". In addition to replacing the already worn flag, at that time the retired Banks and Williams flew at the poles, white with blue numbers; so the "nice" flag is replaced by the scheme.
This long-standing tradition has evolved for fans who carry a white-to-blue-W flag to home and away games, and display it after the Cub victory. Flags have become increasingly popular every season since 1998, and are now even sold as T-shirts with the same layout. In 2009, this tradition spilled over to the NHL when Chicago Blackhawks fans adopted their own "W" red and black flags.
During the early and mid-2000s, Chip Caray usually stated that the victory of Cubs at home meant it was "The time of the white flag in Wrigley!" Most recently, Cubs have promoted the phrase "Fly W!" Among fans and in social media.
Mascots
The official Cubs team mascot is a young bear boy, named Clark, described by the team's press release as a youthful and friendly Cub. Clark made his debut at Advocate Health Care on January 13, 2014, the same day as a press release announcing the installation as the club's first official physical mascot. The bear boy was used in the club since the early 1900s and was an inspiration from Chicago Staleys changing their team name to Chicago Bears, because the Cubs allowed the soccer team to play at Wrigley Field in the 1930s.
The Cubs did not have an official physical mascot before Clark, although a polar bear man, called "The Bear-man" (or Beeman), who was a bit popular among fans, showed off the stands briefly in the early 1990s. There is no record of whether he is just a fan in costume or employed by the club. Throughout the 2013 season, there was a "Cubbie-bear" mascot outside Wrigley on match day, but none were employed by the team. They pose to take pictures with fans to get a tip. The most notable of these is the "Billy Cub" who worked outside the stadium for more than six years until July 2013, when the club asked him to stop. Billy Cub, played by fans of John Paul Weier, failed to petition the team to become the official mascot.
Another unofficial but more famous mascot is Ronnie "Woo Woo" Wickers who is an old fan and local celebrity in the Chicago area. He is known to the visitors of Wrigley Field for strange cheers in baseball games, commonly interrupted with "Woo!" (eg, "Cubs, woo! Cubs, woo! Big-Z, woo! Zambrano, woo! Cubs, woo!") The old Cubs announcer Harry Caray nicknamed Wickers "Leather Lungs" for his ability to scream for hours at a time. He is not employed by the team, although the club has on two separate occasions allowing him into the broadcast booth and allow him some degree of freedom once he buys or is given a ticket by fans to enter into the game. He is largely allowed to roam the park and interact with fans with the security of Wrigley Field.
Music
During the summer of 1969, a Chicago studio group produced a record called "Hey Hey! Holy Mackerel! (The Cubs Song)" whose title and lyrics combine catch-catching phrases from each of the TV and radio broadcasters for Cubs, Jack Brickhouse and Vince Lloyd. Some members of Cubs recorded an album called Cub Power containing the cover of the song. The song received a lot of local broadcasts that summer, which is strongly associated with the bitter season. It was played less frequently after that, though it remained an unofficial Cubs theme song for several years afterwards.
For years, Cubs radio broadcasts began with "This is a Beautiful Day for Game Ball" by Harry Simeone Chorale. In 1979, Roger Bain released a 45 rpm recording of his song "Thank you Mr. Banks", in honor of "Mr. Cub" Ernie Banks.
The song "Go, Cubs, Go!" by Steve Goodman recorded at the start of the 1984 season, and was often heard during the season. Goodman died in September of that year, four days before the Cubs won the Eastern League National League title, their first title in 39 years. Since 1984, the song began playing from time to time at Wrigley Field; since 2007, the song has been played on loudspeakers following every Cubs cage victory.
The Mountain Goats recorded a song titled "Cubs in Five" in 1995 EP Nine Black Poppies which refers to the apparent impossibility of the Cubs winning the World Series both in the title and Chorus.
In 2007, Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder composed a song dedicated to a team called "All the Way". Vedder, a Chicago-based fan, and a lifelong Cubs fan, composed songs at the request of Ernie Banks. Pearl Jam has played this song several times directly some of what happened at Wrigley Field. Eddie Vedder has played this song live twice, at his solo show at the Chicago Auditorium on 21 and 22 August 2008.
An album titled Take Me Out to Cubs Game was released in 2008. It is a collection of 17 tracks and other recordings related to the team, including the final performance of Harry Caray's "Take Me Out to the Ball" Game "on September 21, 1997, the above mentioned Steve Goodman song, and a new recording of "Talkin 'Baseball" (subtitle "Baseball and the Cubs") by Terry Cashman.The album was produced to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 1908 World Cubs Series victory and contains sound and song Cubs and Wrigley Field.
Popular culture
The 1989 Movie Back to the Future Part II describes the Chicago Cubs defeating baseball teams from Miami in the 2015 World Series, ending the longest championship drought in the four professional sports leagues of North America. By 2015, Miami Marlins failed to make the playoffs but the Cubs made it to the 2015 National League Wild Card round and moved into the 2015 National League Championship Series before 21 October 2015, the date on which protagonist Marty McFly travels into the future in the film. However, on 21 October, the Cubs were swept by the New York Mets in the NLCS.
The 1993 film Rookie of the Year, directed by Daniel Stern, centered on the Cubs as a team heading everywhere in August when the team's chances on 12-year-old Cubs fans Henry Rowengartner (Thomas Ian Nicholas ), the right (throw) arm tendons have healed strongly after the arm broke and gave him the ability to regularly swing at speeds of over 100 mph. After the Cubs victory over Indians in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, Nicholas, in celebration, tweeted the last recording of the film: Henry holding his fist to the camera to show the Cubs World Series ring.
Tinker to Evers to Opportunities
Baseball's Sad Lexicon, also known as "Tinker to Evers to Chance" after his refrain, was a 1910 baseball poem by Franklin Pierce Adams. The poem is presented as a misleading single stanza from the viewpoint of New York Giants fans who see Joe Smub Joe Tinker's short-lived talented inflow, second baseman Johnny Evers, and first baseman Frank Chance complete the double game. The trio began playing together with the Cubs in 1902, and formed a dual game combination that lasted until April 1912. The Cubs won the banner four times between 1906 and 1910, often defeating the Giants on their way to the World Series.
- These are the saddest words possible:
- "Tinker to Evers to Chance."
- The trio of bears, and faster than the birds,
- Tinker and Evers and Chance.
- Cruelly pierced our gonfalon bubble,
- Make a Giant double -
- Heavy words with no problems:
- "Tinker to Evers to Chance."
This poem was first published in the New York Evening Mail on July 12, 1912. Popular among sports authors, many additional verses were written. The poem gave Tinker, Evers, and Chance increased popularity and was credited with their election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946.
Playoffs/Championships
- a Before 1969, the division was not in MLB. The Chicago Cubs played in the Eastern National League between 1969-1993 before moving to the newly created National League Central in 1994.
- b Before 1995, there were only two divisions in each league. With reorganization into three divisions and wild card institutions in 1995, the Division Series was added. Division Series .
- c Prior to 1969, the National League champions were determined by the best win-loss record at the end of the regular season. View the League Championship Series .
- d None of the World Series being contested before 1903 is recognized by MLB. View List of Pre-World Series baseball champions .
Differences
Throughout the history of the Chicago Cubs' franchise, fifteen different Cubs pitchers have pitched no-hitters; However, no pitcher Cubs threw the perfect game.
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