Cubs in the Postseason

After their back-to-back world championships in 1907 and 1908, the Cubs did not win another postseason series of any kind until 2003, and, of course, they didn't win the World Series again until 2016. 

     The Cubs won seven more pennants in the first half of the 20th century (and narrowly missed several more), but never captured the ultimate prize. They came closest in 1945, when they lost a seven-game Series to the Detroit Tigers and then disappeared from all postseason play for 39 years and from the Fall Classic for 71 years.

     Lou Piniella's 2007 and 2008 teams were the first Cubs to make back-to-back postseason appearances since Frank Chance's legendary teams exactly a century earlier. Alas, Piniella's Cubs failed to win a single playoff game.   

     Below is the complete list of Cubs teams in the postseason.

    

JOE MADDON

 

1885

W. 87    L. 25    .777    

Manager: Cap Anson

Best Player: John Clarkson

Finished first in National League

Tied St. Louis Browns 3 games to 3 in World Series

 

1886

W. 90    L. 34    .726

Manager: Cap Anson

Best Player: King Kelly

Finished first in National League

Lost to St. Louis Browns 4 games to 2 in World Series

 

1906

W. 116    L. 36    .763

Manager: Frank Chance

Best Player: Mordecai Brown

Finished first in National League

Lost to White Sox 4 games to 2 in World Series

 

1907

W. 107    L. 45    .704

Manager: Frank Chance

Best Player: Orval Overall

Finished first in National League

Defeated Detroit Tigers 4 games to 0 in World Series

1908

W. 99    L. 55    .643

Manager: Frank Chance

Best Player: Mordecai Brown

Finished first in National League

Defeated Detroit Tigers 4 games to 2 in World Series

 

1910

W. 104    L. 50    .675

Manager: Frank Chance

Best Player: Solly Hofman

Finished first in National League

Lost to Philadelphia Athletics 4 games to 1 in World Series

 

1918

W. 84    L. 45    .651

Manager: Fred Mitchell

Best Player: Hippo Vaughn

Finished first in National League

Lost to Boston Red Sox 4 games to 2 in World Series

 

1929

W. 98    L. 54    .645

Manager: Joe McCarthy

Best Player: Rogers Hornsby

Finished first in National League

Lost to Philadelphia Athletics 4 games to 1 in World Series

 

1932

W. 90    L. 64    .584

Managers: Rogers Hornsby, Charlie Grimm

Best Player: Lon Warneke

Finished first in National League

Lost to New York Yankees 4 games to 0 in World Series 

 

1935

W. 100    L. 54    .649

Manager: Charlie Grimm

Best Player: Billy Herman

Finished first in National League

Lost to Detroit Tigers 4 games to 2 in World Series

 

1938

W. 89    L. 63    .581

Managers: Charlie Grimm, Gabby Hartnett

Best Player: Bill Lee

Finished first in National League

Lost to New York Yankees 4 games to 0 in World Series    

 

1945

W. 98    L. 56    .636

Manager: Charlie Grimm

Best Player: Stan Hack

Finished first in National League

Lost to Detroit Tigers 4 games to 3 in World Series

 

1984

W. 96    L. 65    .596

Manager: Jim Frey

Best Player: Ryne Sandberg

Finished first in National League East

Lost to San Diego Padres 3 games to 2 in N.L. Championship Series  

 

1989

W. 93    L. 69    .574

Manager: Don Zimmer

Best Player: Ryne Sandberg

Finished first in National League East

Lost to San Francisco Giants 4 games to 1 in N.L. Championship Series

 

1998

W. 90    L. 73    .552

Manager: Jim Riggleman

Best Player: Sammy Sosa

Finished second in National League Central

Lost to Atlanta Braves 3 games to 0 in N.L. Division Series 

 

2003

W. 88    L. 74    .543

Manager: Dusty Baker

Best Player: Mark Prior

Finished first in National League Central

Defeated Atlanta Braves 3 games to 2 in N.L. Division Series

Lost to Florida Marlins 4 games to 3 in N.L. Championship Series

 

2007

W. 88    L. 74    .543

Manager: Lou Piniella

Best Player: Mark Prior

Finished first in National League Central

Lost to Arizona Diamondbacks 3 games to 0 in N.L. Division Series

 

2008

W. 97    L. 64    .602

Manager: Lou Piniella

Best Player: Ryan Dempster

Finished first in National League Central

Lost to Los Angeles Dodgers 3 games to 0 in N.L. Division Series

 

2015

W. 97    L. 65    .599

Manager: Joe Maddon

Best Player: Jake Arrieta

Finished third in National League Central

Defeated Pittsburgh Pirates in N.L. Wild Card Game

Defeated St. Louis Cardinals 3 games to 1 in N.L. Division Series

Lost to New York Mets 4 games to 0 in N.L. Championship Series

 

2016

W. 103    L. 58    .640

Manager: Joe Maddon

Best Player: Kris Bryant

Finished first in National League Central

Defeated San Francisco Giants 3 games to 1 in N.L. Division Series

Defeated Los Angeles Dodgers 4 games to 2 in N.L. Championship Series

Defeated Cleveland Indians 4 games to 3 in World Series  

 

2017

W. 92    L. 70    .568

Manager: Joe Maddon

Best Player: Kris Bryant

Finished first in National League Central

Defeated Washington Nationals 3 games to 2 in N.L. Division Series

Lost to Los Angeles Dodgers 4 games to 1 in N.L. Championship Series

 

2018

W. 95    L. 68    .583

Manager: Joe Maddon

Best Player: Javier Baez

Finished second in National League Central

Lost to Colorado Rockies in N.L. Wild Card Game

 

2020

W. 34    L. 26    .567

Manager: David Ross

Best Player: Yu Darvish

Finished first in National League Central

Lost to Miami Marlins 2 games to 0 in N.L. Wild Card Series

 

("Best Player" based on Baseball Reference Wins Above Replacement.)

 

 

Check out our book Heydays: Great Stories in Chicago Sports on Amazon.  

 

   

 

 

 

Cubs vs. Yankees, 2003

    
     The New York Yankees are in town this weekend to visit the Cubs for the first time since the two clubs staged a memorable series in June 2003. This year’s Cubs appear hard-pressed to stay out of the cellar, but in 2003 the Cubs were destined to win a division championship. They would have met the Yankees again in that year’s World Series but for their unfortunate meltdown in Games 6 and 7 of the National League Championship Series against the Florida Marlins. All that was a long way off on the first weekend of June. 

ERIC KARROS (right) IS GREETED BY
MOISES ALOU AT HOME PLATE.

     Sammy Sosa’s suspension for using a corked bat was still pending when the New York Yankees invaded Wrigley Field just three days after the episode, so he was in the lineup against the 26-time world champions, who were playing the Cubs for the first time since the 1938 World Series.
     The park was absolutely packed for all three games, and the atmosphere was fully charged. The first game, on Friday, June 6, was played in a light mist under cloudy skies. The Yankees led 5-0 after two and a half innings, but Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano and four relievers held them in check after that. A two-run homer by second baseman Ramon Martinez in the third and a solo shot by center fielder Corey Patterson in the eighth got the Cubs back in the game. In the bottom of the ninth, the Cubs had the tying runs on second and third and the winning run at the plate when Hee Seop Choi struck out swinging.
     Saturday’s game matched Cubs righthander Kerry Wood against Roger Clemens, a six-time Cy Young award winner who was still potent as ever at the age of 40. Wood had exploded onto the scene five years earlier, striking out 20 Houston Astros on May 6, 1998, in just his fifth major-league outing. Only two Astros reached base, one on a scratch single off the glove of third baseman Kevin Orie and the other when he was hit by a pitch. Eight pitches were hit into fair territory, just two out of the infield. With 20 strikeouts in a single game, Wood had joined a very exclusive club whose only other member was Clemens. He’d won 13 games for the season, fanned 233 batters in 167 innings, and been named Rookie of the Year. He had battled injuries and inconsistency since then, but he was coming into his own by 2003, and he made the All-Star team for the first time.
     Wood admitted he was thrilled to be facing Clemens, a fellow Texan and (along with Nolan Ryan) his idol. Adding some spice to the mix was the fact that Clemens was seeking his 300th victory.
     Both pitchers were sharp. A solo homer by Hideki Matsui in the fifth was the Yankees’ lone hit off Wood for the first seven innings. Clemens retired 15 straight Cubs in one stretch and carried a two-hit shutout into the bottom of the seventh. With two on and one out, New York manager Joe Torre removed Clemens and handed the ball to reliever Juan Acevedo. Clemens did not appear to be happy, and he was less so when Cubs first baseman Eric Karros drove Acevedo’s first offering into the left-field bleachers to give the Cubs a 3-1 lead.
     The drama wasn’t over yet. With two on and two out in the Yankees’ eighth, Wood issued a walk to Derek Jeter. Cubs skipper Dusty Baker called for lefty Mike Remlinger to face the next hitter, Jason Giambi. Wood departed to a standing ovation; he had allowed just three hits and three walks while striking out 11. Giambi, a former American League MVP, had already clouted 14 homers on the season, including one the day before. After a swinging strike and a called strike, he waited out three deliveries that were off the mark. Then, with the crowd roaring, the baserunners going, and no margin for error, the crafty Remlinger threw a changeup, right over the heart of the plate. Giambi swung through it for strike three.
     The Cubs won 5-2. “The most electric game I’ve ever been a part of,” said Karros.
     The Cubs won again Sunday night, defeating the Yankees 8-7. Entertaining as it was, the series against the New Yorkers was hardly crucial, for there were still 101 games left in the season. But the Cubs were gaining credibility and confidence. “You don’t know,” Baker said, “if this is a defining moment or a turning point until down the road.”

Excerpted from Heydays: Great Stories in Chicago Sports

(c) by Christopher Tabbert