Early club history 1876–1902: A National League The Cubs began in 1870 as the
Chicago White Stockings, playing their home games at
West Side Grounds. Six years later, they joined the
National League (NL) as a charter member. In the runup to their NL debut, owner
William Hulbert signed various star players, such as pitcher
Albert Spalding and infielders
Ross Barnes,
Deacon White, and
Adrian "Cap" Anson. The White Stockings quickly established themselves as one of the new league's top teams. Spalding won forty-seven games and Barnes led the league in hitting at .429 as Chicago won the first National League
pennant, which at the time was the game's top prize. After back-to-back pennants in 1880 and 1881, Hulbert died, and Spalding, who had retired from playing to start
Spalding sporting goods, assumed ownership of the club. The White Stockings, with Anson acting as player-manager, captured their third consecutive pennant in 1882, and Anson established himself as the game's first true superstar. In 1885 and 1886, after winning NL pennants, the White Stockings met the champions of the short-lived
American Association in that era's version of a World Series. Both seasons resulted in matchups with the
St. Louis Brown Stockings; the clubs tied in 1885 and St. Louis won in 1886. This was the genesis of what would eventually become one of the greatest
rivalries in sports. In all, the Anson-led Chicago Base Ball Club won six National League pennants between 1876 and 1886. By
1890, the team had become known the
Chicago Colts, or sometimes "Anson's Colts", referring to Cap's influence within the club. Anson was the first player in history credited with
3,000 career hits. In 1897, after a disappointing record of 59–73 and a ninth-place finish, Anson was released by the club as both a player and manager. His departure after 22 years led local newspaper reporters to refer to the Colts as the "Orphans".
1902–1920: A Cubs dynasty In 1902, Spalding, who by this time had revamped the roster to boast what would soon be one of the best teams of the early century, sold the club to
Jim Hart. Referencing the youth of the team's roster, the
Chicago Daily News called the franchise the Cubs in 1902; it officially took the name five years later. During this period, which has become known as baseball's
dead-ball era, Cub
infielders
Joe Tinker,
Johnny Evers, and
Frank Chance were made famous as a double-play combination by
Franklin P. Adams' poem "
Baseball's Sad Lexicon". 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 were several key pitchers for the Cubs during this time period. With Chance acting as player-manager from 1905 to 1912, the Cubs won four pennants and two World Series titles over a five-year span. Although they fell to the "Hitless Wonders" White Sox in the
1906 World Series, the Cubs recorded a record 116 victories and the
best winning percentage (.763) in Major League history. With mostly the same roster, Chicago won back-to-back World Series championships 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 would not win another World Series until
2016; this remains the longest championship drought in North American professional sports. The next season, veteran catcher
Johnny Kling left the team to become a professional
pocket billiards player. Some historians think Kling's absence was significant enough to prevent the Cubs from also winning a third straight title in 1909, as they finished 6 games out of first place. When Kling returned the next year, the Cubs won the
pennant again, but lost to the Philadelphia Athletics in the
1910 World Series. In 1914, advertising executive
Albert Lasker obtained a large block of the club's shares and before the 1916 season assumed majority ownership of the franchise. Lasker brought in a wealthy partner,
Charles Weeghman, the proprietor of a popular chain of lunch counters who had previously owned the
Chicago Whales of the short-lived
Federal League. As principal owners, the pair moved the club from the West Side Grounds to the much newer
Weeghman Park, which had been constructed for the Whales only two years earlier, where they remain to this day. The Cubs responded by winning a pennant in the war-shortened season of 1918, where they played a part in
another team's curse: the
Boston Red Sox defeated
Grover Cleveland Alexander's Cubs four games to two in the
1918 World Series, Boston's last Series championship until 2004. Beginning in 1916,
Bill Wrigley of chewing-gum fame acquired an increasing quantity of stock in the Cubs and by 1921, he was the majority owner.
The Wrigley years (1921–1945) 1929–1938: Every three years Near the end of the first decade of the double-Bills' guidance, the Cubs won the NL Pennant in 1929 and then achieved the unusual feat of winning a pennant every three years, following up the 1929 flag with league titles in 1932, 1935, and 1938. Their success did not extend to the
Fall Classic, as they fell to their
AL rivals each time. The
'32 series against the
Yankees featured Babe Ruth's "
called shot" at Wrigley Field in game three. There were some historic moments for the Cubs as well; In 1930,
Hack Wilson, one of the top home run hitters in the game, had one of the most impressive seasons in MLB history, hitting 56 home runs and establishing the current runs-batted-in record of 191. That 1930 club, which boasted six eventual hall of fame members (Wilson,
Gabby Hartnett,
Rogers Hornsby,
George "High Pockets" Kelly,
Kiki Cuyler and manager
Joe McCarthy) established the current team batting average record of .309. In 1935 the Cubs claimed the pennant in thrilling fashion, winning a record 21 games in a row in September. The
'38 club saw
Dizzy Dean lead the team's pitching staff and provided a historic moment when they won a crucial late-season game at Wrigley Field over the
Pittsburgh Pirates with a
walk-off home run by Gabby Hartnett, which became known in baseball
lore as "
The Homer in the Gloamin'". After the "Double-Bills" (Wrigley and Veeck) died in 1932 and 1933 respectively,
P.K. Wrigley, son of Bill Wrigley, took over as majority owner. He was unable to extend his father's baseball success beyond 1938, and the Cubs slipped into years of mediocrity, although the Wrigley family would retain control of the team until 1981.
1945: "The Curse of the Billy Goat" that was supposedly placed on the Chicago Cubs by
Billy Goat Tavern owner William Sianis during Game 4 of the 1945 World Series. The Cubs enjoyed one more pennant at the close of World War II, finishing 98–56. Due to the wartime travel restrictions, the first three games of the
1945 World Series were played in
Detroit, where the Cubs won two games, including a one-hitter by
Claude Passeau, and the final four were played at Wrigley. The Cubs lost the series, and did not return until the
2016 World Series. After losing the 1945 World Series to the
Detroit Tigers, the Cubs finished with a respectable 82–71 record in the following year, but this was only good enough for third place. In the following two decades, the Cubs played mostly forgettable baseball, finishing among the worst teams in the National League on an almost annual basis. From 1947 to 1966, they only notched one winning season. Longtime infielder-manager
Phil Cavarretta, who had been a key player during the 1945 season, was fired during spring training in 1954 after admitting the team was unlikely to finish above fifth place. Although shortstop
Ernie Banks would become one of the star players in the league during the next decade, finding help for him proved a difficult task, as quality players such as
Hank Sauer were few and far between. This, combined with poor ownership decisions such as the
College of Coaches, and the ill-fated trade of future
Hall of Fame member
Lou Brock to the Cardinals for pitcher
Ernie Broglio (who won only seven games over the next three seasons), hampered on-field performance.
1969: Fall of '69 ("Mr. Cub") The late-1960s brought hope of a renaissance, with third baseman
Ron Santo, pitcher
Ferguson Jenkins, and outfielder
Billy Williams joining Banks. After losing a dismal 103 games in 1966, the Cubs brought home consecutive winning records in
'67 and
'68, marking the first time a Cub team had accomplished that feat in over two decades. In the Cubs, managed by
Leo Durocher, built a substantial lead in the newly created
National League Eastern Division by mid-August.
Ken Holtzman pitched a no-hitter on August 19, and the division lead grew to 8 games over the St. Louis Cardinals and by 9 games over the
New York Mets. After the game of September 2, the Cubs record was 84–52 with the Mets in second place at 77–55. But then a losing streak began just as a Mets winning streak was beginning. The Cubs lost the final game of a series at Cincinnati, then came home to play the resurgent Pittsburgh Pirates (who would finish in third place). After losing the first two games by scores of 9–2 and 13–4, the Cubs led going into the ninth inning. A win would be a positive springboard since the Cubs were to play a crucial series with the Mets the next day. But Willie Stargell drilled a two-out, two-strike pitch from the Cubs' ace reliever, Phil Regan, onto Sheffield Avenue to tie the score in the top of the ninth. The Cubs would lose 7–5 in extra innings.[6] Burdened by a four-game losing streak, the Cubs traveled to Shea Stadium for a short two-game set. The Mets won both games, and the Cubs left New York with a record of 84–58 just 1⁄2 game in front. More of the same followed in Philadelphia, as a 99 loss Phillies team nonetheless defeated the Cubs twice, to extend Chicago's losing streak to eight games. In a key play in the second game, on September 11, Cubs starter Dick Selma threw a surprise pickoff attempt to third baseman Ron Santo, who was nowhere near the bag or the ball. Selma's throwing error opened the gates to a Phillies rally. After that second Philly loss, the Cubs were 84–60 and the Mets had pulled ahead at 85–57. The Mets would not look back. The Cubs' eight-game losing streak finally ended the next day in St. Louis, but the Mets were in the midst of a ten-game winning streak, and the Cubs, wilting from team fatigue, generally deteriorated in all phases of the game. The Mets (who had lost a record 120 games 7 years earlier), would go on to win the World Series. The Cubs, despite a respectable 92–70 record, would be remembered for having lost a remarkable 17½ games in the standings to the Mets in the last quarter of the season.
1977–1979: June Swoon Following the 1969 season, the club posted winning records for the next few seasons, but no playoff action. After the core players of those teams started to move on, the team declined during the 1970s, and they became known as "the Loveable Losers", which would become a long-standing moniker for the club. In , the team found some life, but ultimately experienced one of its biggest collapses. The Cubs hit a high-water mark on June 28 at 47–22, boasting an game NL East lead, as they were led by
Bobby Murcer (27 HR/89 RBI), and
Rick Reuschel (20–10). However, the
Philadelphia Phillies cut the lead to two by the All-star break, as the Cubs sat 19 games over .500, but they swooned late in the season, going 20–40 after July 31. The Cubs finished in fourth place at 81–81, while Philadelphia surged, finishing with 101 wins. The following two seasons also saw the Cubs get off to a fast start, as the team rallied to over 10 games above .500 well into both seasons, only to again wear down and play poorly later on, and ultimately settling back to mediocrity. This trait is known as the "June Swoon". Again, the Cubs' unusually high number of day games is often pointed to as one reason for the team's inconsistent late-season play. Wrigley died in 1977. The Wrigley family sold the team to the
Chicago Tribune for $20.5 million in 1981, ending the family's 65-year relationship with the Cubs.
Tribune Company years (1981–2008) 1984: Heartbreak After over a dozen more subpar seasons, in 1981 the Cubs hired GM
Dallas Green from Philadelphia to turn around the franchise. Green had managed the 1980 Phillies to the World Series title. One of his early GM moves brought in a young Phillies minor-league 3rd baseman named Ryne Sandberg, along with Larry Bowa for Iván DeJesús. The 1983 Cubs had finished 71–91 under Lee Elia, who was fired before the season ended by Green. Green continued the culture of change and overhauled the Cubs roster, front-office and coaching staff prior to 1984.
Jim Frey was hired to manage the 1984 Cubs, with
Don Zimmer coaching 3rd base and
Billy Connors serving as pitching coach. Green shored Reserve players Hebner,
Thad Bosley,
Henry Cotto, Hassey and
Dave Owen produced exciting moments. The bullpen depth of
Rich Bordi,
George Frazier,
Warren Brusstar and
Dickie Noles did their job in getting the game to Smith or Stoddard. At the top of the order, Dernier and Sandberg were exciting, aptly coined "the Daily Double" by
Harry Caray. With strong defense – Dernier CF and Sandberg 2B, won the NL
Gold Glove- solid pitching and clutch hitting, the Cubs were a well-balanced team. Following the "Daily Double", Matthews, Durham, Cey, Moreland and Davis gave the Cubs an order with no gaps to pitch around. Sutcliffe anchored a strong top-to-bottom rotation, and Smith was one of the top closers in the game. The shift in the Cubs' fortunes was characterized June 23 on the
"NBC Saturday Game of the Week" contest against the St. Louis Cardinals; it has since been dubbed simply "
The Sandberg Game". With the nation watching and Wrigley Field packed, Sandberg emerged as a superstar with not one, but two game-tying home runs against Cardinals closer
Bruce Sutter. With his shots in the 9th and 10th innings, 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 would catch them. In early August the Cubs swept the Mets in a 4-game home series that further distanced them from the pack. An infamous Keith Moreland-
Ed Lynch fight erupted after Lynch hit Moreland with a pitch, perhaps forgetting Moreland was once a linebacker at the University of Texas. It was the second game of a doubleheader and the Cubs had won the first game in part due to a three-run home run by Moreland. After the bench-clearing fight, the 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 divisional winners met in a best-of-5 series to advance to the World Series, in a "2–3" format, first two games were played at the home of the team who did not have home-field advantage. Then the last three games were played at the home of the team, with home-field advantage. Thus the first two games were played at Wrigley Field and the next three at the home of their opponents, San Diego. A common and unfounded myth is that since Wrigley Field did not have lights at that time the National League decided to give the home field advantage to the winner of the NL West. In fact, home-field advantage had rotated between the winners of the East and West since 1969 when the league expanded. In even-numbered years, the NL West had home-field advantage. In odd-numbered years, the NL East had home-field advantage. Since the NL East winners had had home-field 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, the American League winner would have home-field advantage. At the time home field advantage was rotated between each league. Odd-numbered years the AL had home-field advantage. Even-numbered years the NL had home-field advantage. In the 1982 World Series the St. Louis Cardinals of the NL had home-field advantage. In the 1983 World Series the Baltimore Orioles of the AL had home-field advantage. In the
NLCS, the Cubs easily won the first two games at Wrigley Field against the
San Diego Padres. The Padres were the winners of the Western Division with
Steve Garvey,
Tony Gwynn,
Eric Show,
Goose Gossage and
Alan Wiggins. With wins of 13–0 and 4–2, the Cubs needed to win only one game of the next three in San Diego to make it to the World Series. After being beaten in Game 3 7–1, the Cubs lost Game 4 when Smith, with the game tied 5–5, allowed a game-winning home run to Garvey in the bottom of the ninth inning. In Game 5 the Cubs took a 3–0 lead into the 6th inning, and a 3–2 lead into the seventh with Sutcliffe (who won the
Cy Young Award that year) still on the mound. Then, Leon Durham had a sharp grounder go under his glove. This critical error helped the Padres win the game 6–3, with a 4-run 7th inning and keep Chicago out of the
1984 World Series against the
Detroit Tigers. The loss ended a spectacular season for the Cubs, one that brought alive a slumbering franchise and made the Cubs relevant for a whole new generation of Cubs fans. The Padres would be defeated in 5 games by Sparky Anderson's Tigers in the World Series. , 5× All-Star and 1987 NL MVP during tenure in ChicagoThe 1985 season brought high hopes. The club started out well, going 35–19 through mid-June, but injuries to Sutcliffe and others in the pitching staff contributed to a 13-game losing streak that pushed the Cubs out of contention.
1989: NL East division championship In 1989, the first full season with night baseball at Wrigley Field,
Don Zimmer's Cubs were led by a core group of veterans in
Ryne Sandberg,
Rick Sutcliffe and
Andre Dawson, who were boosted by a crop of youngsters such as
Mark Grace,
Shawon Dunston,
Greg Maddux, Rookie of the Year
Jerome Walton, and Rookie of the Year Runner-Up Dwight Smith. The Cubs won the NL East once again that season winning 93 games. This time the Cubs met the
San Francisco Giants in the
NLCS. After splitting the first two games at home, the Cubs headed to the Bay Area, where despite holding a lead at some point in each of the next three games, bullpen meltdowns and managerial blunders ultimately led to three straight losses. The Cubs could not overcome the efforts of Will Clark, whose home run off Maddux, just after a managerial visit to the mound, led Maddux to think Clark knew what pitch was coming. Afterward, Maddux would speak into his glove during any mound conversation, beginning what is a norm today. Mark Grace was 11–17 in the series with 8 RBI. Eventually, the Giants lost to the "
Bash Brothers" and the
Oakland A's in the famous "
Earthquake Series".
1998: Wild card race and home run chase was the captain of the Chicago Cubs during his tenure with the team. The 1998 season began on a somber note with the death of broadcaster
Harry Caray. After the retirement of Sandberg and the trade of Dunston, the Cubs had holes to fill, and the signing of
Henry Rodríguez to bat cleanup provided protection for
Sammy Sosa in the lineup, as Rodriguez slugged 31 round-trippers in his first season in Chicago.
Kevin Tapani led the club with a career-high 19 wins while
Rod Beck anchored a strong bullpen and
Mark Grace turned in one of his best seasons. The Cubs were swamped by media attention in 1998, and the team's two biggest headliners were Sosa and rookie flamethrower
Kerry Wood. Wood's signature performance was one-hitting the
Houston Astros, a game in which he tied the major league record of 20 strikeouts in nine innings. His torrid strikeout numbers earned Wood the nickname
"Kid K", and ultimately earned him the 1998
NL Rookie of the Year award. Sosa caught fire in June, hitting a major league record 20 home runs in the month, and his home run race with Cardinal's slugger
Mark McGwire transformed the pair into international superstars in a matter of weeks. McGwire finished the season with a new major league record of 70 home runs, but Sosa's .308 average and 66 homers earned him the
National League MVP Award. After a down-to-the-wire
Wild Card chase with the
San Francisco Giants, Chicago and San Francisco ended the regular season tied, and thus squared off in a one-game playoff at Wrigley Field. Third baseman
Gary Gaetti hit the eventual game-winning homer in the playoff game. The win propelled the Cubs into the postseason for the first time since 1989 with a 90–73 regular-season record. The bats went cold in October, as manager
Jim Riggleman's club batted .183 and scored only four runs en route to being swept by
Atlanta in the
National League Division Series. The home run chase between Sosa, McGwire and
Ken Griffey Jr. helped professional baseball to bring in a new crop of fans as well as bringing back some fans who had been disillusioned by the
1994 strike. The Cubs retained many players who experienced career years in 1998, but, after a fast start in 1999, they collapsed again (starting with being swept at the hands of the cross-town
White Sox in mid-June) and finished in the bottom of the division for the next two seasons.
2001: Playoff push Despite losing fan favorite Grace to free agency and the lack of production from newcomer
Todd Hundley, skipper
Don Baylor's Cubs put together a good season in 2001. The
season started with Mack Newton being brought in to preach "positive thinking". One of the biggest stories of the season transpired as the club made a midseason deal for
Fred McGriff, which was drawn out for nearly a month as McGriff debated waiving his
no-trade clause. The Cubs led the wild card race by 2.5 games in early September, but crumbled when
Preston Wilson hit a three-run walk-off homer off of closer
Tom "Flash" Gordon, which halted the team's momentum. The team was unable to make another serious charge, and finished at 88–74, five games behind both
Houston and
St. Louis, who tied for first. Sosa had perhaps his finest season and
Jon Lieber led the staff with a 20-win season.
2003: Five more outs The Cubs had high expectations in 2002, but the squad played poorly. On July 5, 2002, the Cubs promoted assistant general manager and player personnel director
Jim Hendry to the General Manager position. The club responded by hiring
Dusty Baker and by making some major moves in 2003. Most notably, they traded with the
Pittsburgh Pirates for outfielder
Kenny Lofton and third baseman
Aramis Ramírez, and rode dominant pitching, led by Kerry Wood and
Mark Prior, as the Cubs led the division down the stretch. , along with Mark Prior, led the Cubs' rotation in 2003. Chicago halted the
St. Louis Cardinals' run to the playoffs by taking four of five games from the Cardinals at Wrigley Field in early September, after which they won their first division title in 14 years. They then went on to defeat the
Atlanta Braves in a dramatic five-game
Division Series, the franchise's first postseason series win since beating the
Detroit Tigers in the
1908 World Series. After losing an extra-inning game in Game 1, the Cubs rallied and took a three-games-to-one lead over the Wild Card
Florida Marlins in the
National League Championship Series. Florida shut the Cubs out in Game 5, but the Cubs returned home to Wrigley Field with young pitcher
Mark Prior to lead the Cubs in Game 6 as they took a 3–0 lead into the 8th inning. It was at this point when a now-infamous
incident took place. Several spectators attempted to catch a foul ball off the bat of
Luis Castillo. A Chicago Cubs fan by the name of
Steve Bartman, of Northbrook, Illinois, reached for the ball and deflected it away from the glove of
Moisés Alou for the second out of the eighth inning. Alou reacted angrily toward the stands and after the game stated that he would have caught the ball. Alou at one point recanted, saying he would not have been able to make the play, but later said this was just an attempt to make Bartman feel better and believing the whole incident should be forgotten.
2004–2006 In
2004, the Cubs were a consensus pick by most media outlets to win the World Series. The offseason acquisition of
Derek Lee (who was acquired in a trade with Florida for
Hee-seop Choi) and the return of
Greg Maddux only bolstered these expectations. Despite a mid-season deal for
Nomar Garciaparra, misfortune struck the Cubs again. They led the Wild Card by 1.5 games over the
San Francisco Giants and the
Houston Astros on September 25. On that day, both teams lost, giving the Cubs a chance at increasing the lead to 2.5 games with only eight games remaining in the season, but reliever
LaTroy Hawkins blew a save to the
New York Mets, and the Cubs lost the game in extra innings. The defeat seemingly deflated the team, as they proceeded to drop six of their last eight games as the Astros won the Wild Card. Despite the fact that the Cubs had won 89 games, this fallout was decidedly unlovable, as the Cubs traded superstar
Sammy Sosa after he had left the season's final game after the first pitch, which resulted in a fine (Sosa later stated that he had gotten permission from Baker to leave early, but he regretted doing so). Already a controversial figure in the clubhouse after his
corked-bat incident, Sosa's actions alienated much of his once strong fan base as well as the few teammates still on good terms with him, to the point where his boombox was reportedly smashed after he left to signify the end of an era. The disappointing season also saw fans start to become frustrated with the constant injuries to ace pitchers Mark Prior and Kerry Wood. Additionally, the 2004 season led to the departure of popular commentator
Steve Stone, who had become increasingly critical of management during broadcasts and was verbally attacked by reliever
Kent Mercker. Things were no better in
2005, despite a career year from first baseman
Derrek Lee and the emergence of closer
Ryan Dempster. The club struggled and suffered more key injuries, only managing to win 79 games after being picked by many to be a serious contender for the National League pennant. In 2006, the bottom fell out as the Cubs finished 66–96, last in the
National League Central.
2007–2008: Back to back division titles signed with the club in 2007. After finishing last in the NL Central with 66 wins in 2006, the Cubs re-tooled and went from "worst to first" in 2007. In the offseason they signed
Alfonso Soriano to a contract at eight years for $136 million, and replaced manager
Dusty Baker with fiery veteran manager
Lou Piniella. After a rough start, which included a brawl between
Michael Barrett and
Carlos Zambrano, the Cubs overcame the
Milwaukee Brewers, who had led the division for most of the season. The Cubs traded Barrett to the Padres, and later acquired catcher
Jason Kendall from Oakland. Kendall was highly successful with his management of the pitching rotation and helped at the plate as well. By September,
Geovany Soto became the full-time starter behind the plate, replacing the veteran Kendall. Winning streaks in June and July, coupled with a pair of dramatic, late-inning wins against the
Reds, led to the Cubs ultimately clinching the NL Central with a record of 85–77. They met
Arizona in the
NLDS, but controversy followed as Piniella, in a move that has since come under scrutiny, pulled Carlos Zambrano after the sixth inning of a pitcher's duel with
D-Backs ace Brandon Webb, to "....save Zambrano for (a potential) Game 4." The Cubs, however, were unable to come through, losing the first game and eventually stranding over 30 baserunners in a three-game Arizona sweep. warming up before a gameThe Tribune company, in financial distress, was acquired by real-estate mogul Sam Zell in December 2007. This acquisition included the Cubs. However, Zell did not take an active part in running the baseball franchise, instead concentrating on putting together a deal to sell it. The Cubs successfully defended their National League Central title in
2008, going to the postseason in consecutive years for the first time since 1906–08. The offseason was dominated by three months of unsuccessful trade talks with the
Orioles involving 2B
Brian Roberts, as well as the signing of
Chunichi Dragons star
Kosuke Fukudome. The team recorded their 10,000th win in April, while establishing an early division lead.
Reed Johnson and
Jim Edmonds were added early on and
Rich Harden was acquired from the
Oakland Athletics in early July. The Cubs headed into the All-Star break with the NL's best record, and tied the league record with eight representatives to the
All-Star game, including catcher Geovany Soto, who was named
Rookie of the Year. The Cubs took control of the division by sweeping a four-game series in Milwaukee. On September 14, in a game moved to
Miller Park due to
Hurricane Ike, Zambrano pitched a no-hitter against the
Astros, and six days later the team clinched by beating
St. Louis at Wrigley. The club ended the season with a 97–64 record and met
Los Angeles in the
NLDS. The heavily favored Cubs took an early lead in Game 1, but
James Loney's grand slam off
Ryan Dempster changed the series' momentum. Chicago committed numerous critical errors and were outscored 20–6 in a Dodger sweep, which provided yet another sudden ending.
The Ricketts era (2009–present) The Ricketts family acquired a majority interest in the Cubs in 2009, ending the Tribune years. Apparently handcuffed by the Tribune's bankruptcy and the sale of the club to the Ricketts siblings, led by chairman
Thomas S. Ricketts, the
Cubs' quest for a NL Central three-peat started with notice that there would be less invested into contracts than in previous years. Chicago engaged
St. Louis in a see-saw battle for first place into August 2009, but the Cardinals played to a torrid 20–6 pace that month, designating their rivals to battle in the Wild Card race, from which they were eliminated in the season's final week. The Cubs were plagued by injuries in 2009, and were only able to field their Opening Day starting lineup three times the entire season. Third baseman Aramis Ramírez injured his throwing shoulder in an early May game against the Milwaukee Brewers, sidelining him until early July and forcing journeyman players like
Mike Fontenot and
Aaron Miles into more prominent roles. Additionally, key players like Derrek Lee (who still managed to hit .306 with 35 home runs and 111 RBI that season), Alfonso Soriano, and Geovany Soto also nursed nagging injuries. The Cubs posted a winning record (83–78) for the third consecutive season, the first time the club had done so since
1972, and a new era of ownership under the Ricketts family was approved by MLB owners in early October.
2010–2014: The decline and rebuild during his 2010 rookie seasonRookie
Starlin Castro debuted in early May (2010) as the starting shortstop. The club played poorly in the early season, finding themselves 10 games under .500 at the end of June. In addition, long-time ace Carlos Zambrano was pulled from a game against the White Sox on June 25 after a tirade and shoving match with Derrek Lee, and was suspended indefinitely by Jim Hendry, who called the conduct "unacceptable". On August 22, Lou Piniella, who had already announced his retirement at the end of the season, announced that he would leave the Cubs prematurely to take care of his sick mother.
Mike Quade took over as the interim manager for the final 37 games of the year. Despite being well out of playoff contention the Cubs went 24–13 under Quade, the best record in baseball during that 37 game stretch, earning Quade the manager position going forward on October 19. On December 3, 2010, Cubs broadcaster and former third baseman,
Ron Santo, died due to complications from bladder cancer and diabetes. He spent 13 seasons as a player with the Cubs, and at the time of his death was regarded as 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 Peña, the Cubs finished the
2011 season 20 games under .500 with a record of 71–91. Weeks after the season came to an end, the club was rejuvenated in the form of a new philosophy, as new owner Tom Ricketts signed
Theo Epstein away from the
Boston Red Sox, naming him club President and giving him a five-year contract worth over $18 million, and subsequently discharged manager Mike Quade. Epstein, a proponent of
sabremetrics and one of the architects of the
2004 and
2007 World Series championships in Boston, brought along
Jed Hoyer from the
Padres to fill the role of GM and hired
Dale Sveum as manager. Although the team had a dismal 2012 season, losing 101 games (the worst record since 1966), it was largely expected. The youth movement ushered in by Epstein and Hoyer began as longtime fan favorite Kerry Wood retired in May, followed by
Ryan Dempster and
Geovany Soto being traded to
Texas at the All-Star break for a group of minor league prospects headlined by
Christian Villanueva, but also included little thought of
Kyle Hendricks. The development of Castro,
Anthony Rizzo,
Darwin Barney,
Brett Jackson and pitcher
Jeff Samardzija, as well as the replenishing of the minor-league system with prospects such as
Javier Baez,
Albert Almora, and
Jorge Soler became the primary focus of the season, a philosophy which the new management said would carry over at least through the 2013 season. , swinging in the box The
2013 season resulted in much as the same the year before. Shortly before the trade deadline, the Cubs traded
Matt Garza to the
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 leaguer
Corey Black. The mid season fire sale led to another last place finish in the NL Central, finishing with a record of 66–96. Although there was a five-game improvement in the record from the year before,
Anthony Rizzo and
Starlin Castro seemed to take steps backward 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 several young players was thought to be the main focus point, as the front office said Sveum would not be judged based on wins and losses. In two seasons as skipper, Sveum finished with a record of 127–197. The 2013 season was also notable as the Cubs drafted future Rookie of the Year and MVP
Kris Bryant with the second overall selection. On November 7, 2013, the Cubs hired
San Diego Padres bench coach
Rick Renteria to be the 53rd manager in team history. The Cubs finished the
2014 season in last place with a 73–89 record in Rentería's first and only season as manager. Despite the poor record, the Cubs improved in many areas during 2014, including rebound years by Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro, ending the season with a winning record at home for the first time since 2009, and compiling a 33–34 record after the All-Star Break. However, following unexpected availability of Joe Maddon when he exercised a clause that triggered on October 14 with the departure of General Manager Andrew Friedman to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Cubs relieved Rentería of his managerial duties on October 31, 2014. During the season, the Cubs drafted
Kyle Schwarber with the fourth overall selection. Hall of Famer
Ernie Banks died of a heart attack on January 23, 2015, shortly before his 84th birthday. The 2015 uniform carried a commemorative #14 patch on both its home and away jerseys in his honor.
2015–2019: Championship run On November 2, 2014, the Cubs announced that
Joe Maddon had signed a five-year contract to be the
54th manager in team history. On December 10, 2014, Maddon announced that the team had signed free agent
Jon Lester to a six-year, $155 million contract. Many other trades and acquisitions occurred during the off season. The opening day lineup for the Cubs contained five new players including center fielder
Dexter Fowler. Rookies
Kris Bryant and
Addison Russell were in the starting lineup by mid-April, along with the addition of rookie
Kyle Schwarber who was added in mid-June. On August 30,
Jake Arrieta threw a no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Cubs finished the 2015 season in third place in the NL Central, with a record of 97–65, the third best record in the majors and earned a wild card berth. On October 7, in the
2015 National League Wild Card Game, Arrieta pitched a complete game shutout and the Cubs defeated the
Pittsburgh Pirates 4–0. The Cubs defeated the Cardinals in the
NLDS three-games-to-one, qualifying for a return to the
NLCS for the first time in 12 years, where they faced the
New York Mets. This was the first time in franchise history that the Cubs had clinched a playoff series at Wrigley Field. However, they were swept in four games by the Mets and were unable to make it to their first World Series since
1945. After the season, Arrieta won the
National League Cy Young Award, becoming the first Cubs pitcher to win the award since
Greg Maddux in 1992. . Before the
2016 season, in an effort to shore up their lineup, free agents
Ben Zobrist,
Jason Heyward and
John Lackey were signed. To make room for the Zobrist signing,
Starlin Castro was traded to the Yankees for
Adam Warren and
Brendan Ryan, the latter of whom was released a week later. Also during the middle of the season, the Cubs traded their top prospect
Gleyber Torres for
Aroldis Chapman. In a season that included another no-hitter on April 21 by Jake Arrieta as well as an
MVP award for Kris Bryant, the Cubs finished with the best record in Major League Baseball and won their first
National League Central title since the
2008 season, winning by 17.5 games. The team also reached the 100-win mark for the first time since
1935 and won 103 total games, the most wins 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 defeated the
Los Angeles Dodgers in six games. This was their first NLCS win since the series was created in 1969. The win earned the Cubs their first World Series appearance since
1945 and a chance for their first World Series win since
1908. Coming back from a three-games-to-one deficit, the Cubs defeated the
Cleveland Indians in seven games in the
2016 World Series, They were the first team to come back from a three-games-to-one deficit since the
Kansas City Royals in
1985. On November 4, the city of Chicago held a victory parade and rally for the Cubs that began at Wrigley Field, headed down Lake Shore Drive, and ended in
Grant Park. The city estimated that over five million people attended the parade and rally, which made it one of the
largest recorded gatherings in history. In an attempt to be the first team to repeat as World Series champions since the Yankees in
1998,
1999, and
2000, the Cubs struggled for most of the first half of the
2017 season, never moving more than four games over .500 and finishing the first half two games under .500. On July 15, the Cubs fell to a season-high 5.5 games out of first in the NL Central. The Cubs struggled mainly due to their pitching as Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester struggled and no starting pitcher managed to win more than 14 games (four pitchers won 15 games or more for the Cubs in 2016). The Cubs offense also struggled as Kyle Schwarber batted near .200 for most of the first half and was even sent to the minors. However, the Cubs recovered in the second half of the season to finish 22 games over .500 and win the NL Central by six games over the
Milwaukee Brewers. The Cubs pulled out a five-game
NLDS series win over the
Washington Nationals to advance to the NLCS for the third consecutive year. For the second consecutive year, they faced the
Dodgers. This time, however, the Dodgers defeated the Cubs in five games. In May 2017, the Cubs and the Rickets family formed
Marquee Sports & Entertainment as a central sales and marketing company for the various Rickets family sports and entertainment assets: the Cubs,
Wrigley Rooftops and
Hickory Street Capital. Prior to the
2018 season, the Cubs made several key free agent signings to bolster their pitching staff. The team signed starting pitcher
Yu Darvish to a six-year, $126 million contract and veteran closer
Brandon Morrow to two-year, $21-million contract, in addition to
Tyler Chatwood and
Steve Cishek. However, the Cubs struggled to stay healthy throughout the season. Anthony Rizzo missed much of April due to a back injury, and Bryant missed almost a month due to shoulder injury. Darvish, who only started eight games in 2018, was lost for the season due to elbow and triceps injuries. Morrow also faced two injuries before the team ruled him out for the season in September. The team maintained first place in their division for much of the season. The injury-depleted team only went 16–11 during September, which allowed the
Milwaukee Brewers, to finish with the same record. The Brewers defeated the Cubs in a tie-breaker game to win the Central Division and secure the top-seed in the National League. The Cubs subsequently lost to the
Colorado Rockies in the
2018 National League Wild Card Game for their earliest playoff exit in three seasons. The Cubs' roster remained largely intact going into the
2019 season. The team led the Central Division by a half-game over the Brewers at the All-Star Break. However, the team's control over the division once again dissipated going into final months of the season. The Cubs lost several key players to injuries, including Javier Báez, Anthony Rizzo, and Kris Bryant during this stretch. The Cubs announced they would not renew manager Joe Maddon's contract at the end of the season.
2020–present: Post-Maddon years On October 24, 2019, the Cubs hired David Ross as their new manager. Ross led the Cubs to a 34–26 record during the
2020 season, which was shortened due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. Starting pitcher Yu Darvish rebounded with an 8–3 record and 2.01 ERA, while also finishing as the runner-up for the NL
Cy Young Award. The Cubs as a whole also won the first ever "team"
Gold Glove Award and finished first in the NL Central, but were swept by the
Miami Marlins in the
Wild Card round. Following the 2020 season, the Cubs' president, Theo Epstein, resigned from his position on November 17, 2020. He was succeeded
Jed Hoyer, who previously served as the team's general manager since 2011. Prior to the
2021 season, the Cubs announced they would not re-sign Jon Lester, Kyle Schwarber, or
Albert Almora. In addition, the team then traded Darvish and
Victor Caratini to the
San Diego Padres in exchange for prospects. After suffering an 11-game losing streak in late June and early July 2021 that put the Cubs out of the pennant race, they traded
Javier Báez,
Kris Bryant, and
Anthony Rizzo and other pieces at the trade deadline. These trades allowed journeymen such as
Rafael Ortega and
Patrick Wisdom to craft larger roles on the team, the latter of whom set a Cubs rookie record for home runs at 28. By the end of the season, the only remaining players from the World Series team were
Willson Contreras,
Jason Heyward, and
Kyle Hendricks. On October 15, 2021, the Cubs hired
Cleveland assistant general manager
Carter Hawkins as the new general manager. Following his hiring, the Cubs signed
Marcus Stroman to a three-year, $71 million deal, previous World Series foe
Yan Gomes to a two-year, $13 million deal, and star Japanese slugger
Seiya Suzuki to a five-year, $85 million deal. In another rebuilding year, the Cubs finished the 2022 season 74–88, finishing third in the division and 19 games out of first. In the ensuing off-season, Jason Heyward was released and Willson Contreras left in free agency, leaving Kyle Hendricks as the only remaining player from their 2016 championship team. Additionally, fan-favorite Rafael Ortega was non-tendered, signaling a new chapter for the Cubs after two straight years of mediocrity. In an attempt to bolster the team for 2023, the Cubs made big moves in free agency, signing all-star, reigning
gold glove shortstop
Dansby Swanson to a seven-year, $177 million contract as well as former MVP
Cody Bellinger to a one-year, $17.5 million deal. In addition, the ballclub added veterans such as
Jameson Taillon,
Trey Mancini,
Mike Tauchman and
Tucker Barnhart as well as trading for utility-man
Miles Mastrobuoni. The team also extended key contributors from the previous season including
Ian Happ,
Nico Hoerner, and
Drew Smyly. Despite these moves, the Cubs entered the 2023 season with low expectations. Projection systems such as
PECOTA projected them to finish under .500 for the third year in a row. In May 2023, multiple top prospects were called up, namely
Miguel Amaya,
Matt Mervis, and
Christopher Morel; although Mervis was eventually sent back down. After falling as far as 10 games below .500, the Cubs were propelled by an 8-game win streak versus the
White Sox and
Cardinals in late July, prompting the front office to become "buyers" at the August 1
trade deadline. Thus, the team acquired former-Cub
Jeimer Candelario from the
Nationals and reliever
José Cuas from the
Royals, firmly cementing their intent to compete and contend for
postseason baseball. The team would set a run-scoring mark of 36 runs in back-to-back games, a mark not achieved since 1897 when the club was called the Colts. The Cubs were poised to earn a wild-card berth entering September 2023. However, the team lost 15 of their last 22 games and were eliminated from the playoffs after their penultimate game of the season. On November 6, the Cubs fired Ross and positioned Craig Counsell at the helm with a five-year, $40 million contract, making him the highest-paid manager in MLB history. The offseason began with a key departure, as Candelario left in free agency on December 11. However, team would then splash on two impact pitchers at the start of 2024, signing starter
Shōta Imanaga to a four-year, $53 million deal and closer
Héctor Neris to a one-year, $9 million deal. Additionally, while Cody Bellinger initially tested free agency after being named NL Comeback Player of the Year, he ultimately returned to the Cubs on a three-year, $80 million deal featuring opt-out clauses after each of the first two seasons. The Cubs would begin the year on a high note propelled almost exclusively by Imanaga, who through his first nine starts compiled a 5-0 record with a then-league-leading 0.84 ERA, earning him his first all-star selection. Still, the team hovered around the .500 mark for much of the season. This prompted Hoyer to swap third basemen with the
Rays at the deadline, acquiring All-Star
Isaac Paredes in exchange for Christopher Morel,
Hunter Bigge, and prospect Ty Johnson. The season also had many other similarities to 2023, including another trio of prospects being called up throughout the year to contribute to the major league squad in
Ben Brown,
Pete Crow-Armstrong, and
Luis Vázquez. On September 4, Imanaga,
Nate Pearson, and
Porter Hodge pitched a combined no-hitter and 12–0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was the 18th no-hitter and the second combined no-hitter in Cubs franchise history, as well as the first no-hitter at Wrigley Field since
Milt Pappas did so in 1972. Despite a relatively strong start to the year, the ballclub stumbled to the same 83-79 record as the previous season, though this time finishing six games out of the Wild Card race instead of just one. After two identical records and four straight seasons without a playoff appearance, the Cubs overhauled a significant portion of their roster heading into 2025. This purge began with Patrick Wisdom, Mike Tauchman, and Adbert Alzolay all departing. Kyle Hendricks also left in free agency, marking the end of an era as the last remaining member of the 2016 World Series squad was no longer with the team. Bellinger would get traded to the
Yankees for cash considerations and
Cody Poteet, the latter of whom would then get flipped to the
Orioles along with Vázquez. The Cubs would then go on to sign starter
Matthew Boyd to a two-year, $29 million deal, hometown catcher
Carson Kelly to a two-year, $10 million deal, and veteran bench pieces
Justin Turner and
Jon Berti to lesser one-year contracts. The team also acquired a slew of experienced relievers, including
Caleb Thielbar,
Ryan Pressly, and
Ryan Brasier, among others. The Cubs would also execute two important trades: one sending Matt Mervis to the
Marlins for speedy utility-man
Vidal Bruján and the marquee move of their offseason sending Isaac Paredes,
Cam Smith, and
Hayden Wesneski to the
Astros in exchange for star outfielder
Kyle Tucker. Owner Tom Ricketts' yearly letter to fans not only expressed extreme disappointment for the past few years, but specifically mentioned how the front office was "redoubling efforts" to make the Cubs "a perennial playoff team" once again, a message manifested by all of the aforementioned offseason moves. The Cubs began their season in Tokyo against the
Dodgers, which was especially significant due to the Cubs' Japanese stars Shōta Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki facing off against their Dodger compatriots
Shohei Ohtani,
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and
Roki Sasaki. It was the second time the Cubs' opening day was at the
Tokyo Dome, having done so 25 years earlier against the
Mets to kick off the
2000 regular season. Former top prospects
Matt Shaw, Miguel Amaya, and Pete Crow-Armstrong all earned spots as Opening Day starters and cemented themselves as regulars on a truly contending team, with Crow-Armstrong even emerging as an All-Star and MVP candidate along with new teammate Kyle Tucker. ==Ballpark==