Chicago Cubs Trophy Case

Kris Bryant and the San Francisco Giants are visiting the Cubs at Wrigley Field this weekend, marking the first time that Bryant has played against his old teammates. When Bryant in 2016 made the most important assist by a Cub since at least 1908, he was in the midst of a streak that saw him win College Player of the Year, Minor League Player of the Year, National League Rookie of the Year, and National League Most Valuable Player in consecutive seasons. It seems fair to doubt whether anyone will ever equal that particular feat again.

KRIS BRYANT

    

Below are some of the noteworthy honors won by Bryant and other Cubs over the years.

Retired Numbers

10 - Ron Santo

14 - Ernie Banks 

23 - Ryne Sandberg

26 - Billy Williams

31 - Fergie Jenkins

31 - Greg Maddux 

World Championship Managers
1907 - Frank Chance
1908 - Frank Chance
2016 - Joe Maddon

World Series Most Valuable Player
2016 - Ben Zobrist

National League Most Valuable Player
1911 - Frank "Wildfire" Schulte
1929 - Rogers Hornsby
1935 - Gabby Hartnett
1945 - Phil Cavarretta
1952 - Hank Sauer
1958 - Ernie Banks
1959 - Ernie Banks
1984 - Ryne Sandberg
1987 - Andre Dawson
1998 - Sammy Sosa
2016 - Kris Bryant

The Sporting News Major League Player of the Year
1972 - Billy Williams
1984 - Ryne Sandberg
1998 - Sammy Sosa

National League Cy Young Award
1971 - Fergie Jenkins
1979 - Bruce Sutter
1984 - Rick Sutcliffe
1992 - Greg Maddux
2015 - Jake Arrieta

National League Rookie of the Year
1961 - Billy Williams
1962 - Ken Hubbs
1989 - Jerome Walton
1998 - Kerry Wood
2008 - Geovany Soto
2015 - Kris Bryant

National League Batting Champion
1876 - Ross Barnes
1879 - Cap Anson
1880 - George Gore
1881 - Cap Anson
1886 - King Kelly
1887 - Cap Anson
1888 - Cap Anson
1912 - Heinie Zimmerman
1945 - Phil Cavarretta
1975 - Bill Madlock
1976 - Bill Madlock
1980 - Bill Buckner
2005 - Derrek Lee

National League Home Run Leader
1884 - Ned Williamson
1885 - Abner Dalrymple
1888 - Jimmy Ryan
1890 - Walt Wilmot
1910 - Frank "Wildfire" Schulte
1911 - Frank "Wildfire" Schulte
1912 - Heinie Zimmerman
1916 - Cy Williams
1926 - Hack Wilson
1927 - Hack Wilson
1928 - Hack Wilson
1930 - Hack Wilson
1943 - Bill Nicholson
1944 - Bill Nicholson
1952 - Hank Sauer
1958 - Ernie Banks
1960 - Ernie Banks
1979 - Dave Kingman
1987 - Andre Dawson
1990 - Ryne Sandberg
2000 - Sammy Sosa
2002 - Sammy Sosa 

National League Runs Batted In Leader
1876 - Deacon White
1880 - Cap Anson
1881 - Cap Anson
1882 - Cap Anson
1884 - Cap Anson
1885 - Cap Anson
1886 - Cap Anson
1888 - Cap Anson
1891 - Cap Anson
1906 - Harry Steinfeldt
1911 - Frank "Wildfire" Schulte
1912 - Heinie Zimmerman
1929 - Hack Wilson
1930 - Hack Wilson
1943 - Bill Nicholson
1944 - Bill Nicholson
1952 - Hank Sauer
1958 - Ernie Banks
1959 - Ernie Banks
1987 - Andre Dawson
1998 - Sammy Sosa
2018 - Javier Baez

National League Leader in Victories
1876 - Al Spalding
1881 - Larry Corcoran
1885 - John Clarkson
1887 - John Clarkson
1890 - Bill Hutchison
1891 - Bill Hutchison
1892 - Bill Hutchison
1909 - Mordecai Brown
1912 - Larry Cheney
1918 - Hippo Vaughn
1920 - Grover Alexander
1927 - Charlie Root
1929 - Pat Malone
1930 - Pat Malone
1932 - Lon Warneke
1938 - Bill Lee
1964 - Larry Jackson
1971 - Fergie Jenkins
1987 - Rick Sutcliffe
1992 - Greg Maddux
2015 - Jake Arrieta
2018 - Jon Lester
2020 - Yu Darvish

National League Leader in Earned-Run Average
1882 - Larry Corcoran
1898 - Clark Griffith
1902 - Jack Taylor
1906 - Mordecai Brown
1907 - Jack Pfiester
1910 - King Cole
1918 - Hippo Vaughn
1919 - Grover Alexander
1920 - Grover Alexander
1932 - Lon Warneke
1938 - Bill Lee
1945 - Ray Prim
2016 - Kyle Hendricks

National League Leader in Strikeouts
1880 - Larry Corcoran
1885 - John Clarkson
1887 - John Clarkson
1892 - Bill Hutchison
1909 - Orval Overall
1918 - Hippo Vaughn
1919 - Hippo Vaughn
1920 - Grover Alexander
1929 - Pat Malone
1938 - Clay Bryant
1955 - Sam Jones
1956 - Sam Jones
1969 - Fergie Jenkins
2003 - Kerry Wood

National League Manager of the Year
1984 - Jim Frey
1989 - Don Zimmer
2008 - Lou Piniella
2015 - Joe Maddon

 

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

Jake Arrieta and the 2015 Cubs

Jake Arrieta’s second tour of duty with the Cubs recently ended with his unconditional release after a series of disastrous outings that gave club president Jed Hoyer no alternative but to pull the plug. But it wasn’t so long ago that Arrieta’s emergence as the best pitcher in baseball signalled that the Cubs’ infamous world championship drought was likely to end sooner rather than later.

Arrieta started the 2015 season at 4-4 before winning 18 of his last 20 starts. For good measure, he then won his first nine decisions in 2016. For almost exactly a year—June 4, 2015 to May 31, 2016—Arrieta went 27-2 with a 1.32 ERA, an 0.81 WHIP, and two no-hitters.

The passage below reviews the Cubs’ heady late-season run in 2015, for which Arrieta deserved much of the credit.   

 

  

JAKE ARRIETA

After 99 games, the 2015 Cubs were 52-47. What would happen next? Would they a) fade away as the pennant race heated up? b) continue to muddle along near the break-even mark? or c) prove to be genuine contenders?

The correct answer is “c.” The rebuilt Cubs were for real. They won 15 of their next 16 games, including a four-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants (one of their main rivals for a postseason berth) at Wrigley Field. They won more games after August 1 than any other team in either league. They ended up at 97-65, an amazing achievement for a club which featured four rookies (Kris Bryant, Addison Russell, Kyle Schwarber, and Jorge Soler) in the starting lineup and whose oldest regular (catcher Miguel Montero) was just 31.

The Cubs’ record was the third best in all of baseball—but also third in their own division, behind St. Louis and Pittsburgh. Therefore, they needed to win the National League wild-card game vs. the Pirates in order to go any further. Fortunately, the right man for the job was on hand; righthander Jake Arrieta was in the midst of one of the greatest stretches for any pitcher in history. Over his last 20 starts, he had gone 16-1 with an 0.86 earned run average and three shutouts, including a no-hitter at Los Angeles on August 30. He was soon to receive the Cy Young Award.

Arrieta remained true to form in the wild-card game. He went the distance in blanking the Pirates on five hits and no walks, while striking out eleven. Dexter Fowler scored three runs, Schwarber knocked in three, both homered, and the Cubs won 4-0. 

After the game, manager Joe Maddon was asked if he’d had a maximum pitch count in mind for his ace. “Yes, I did,” he replied. “Infinity.”

Next, the Cubs dispatched the arch-rival Cardinals in the National League Division Series. After dropping the first game 4-0, the Cubs bludgeoned St. Louis pitchers for 20 runs in the next three games, all victories. They also pounded ten home runs, including a monumental shot by Schwarber that landed atop the new video board behind the right-field bleachers at Wrigley.

The Cubs advanced to their first National League Championship Series since 2003 with high hopes and growing respect from all quarters. Alas, they ran into the proverbial buzzsaw in the form of the New York Mets’ outstanding starting rotation. The Cubs were swept out of the postseason in four games.

It was a disappointing end to a thrilling season, but in truth the Cubs had been playing with house money. The rebuild was ahead of schedule, and its ultimate objective was just a year away.

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

 

 

 

Worth a Thousand Words: Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo

It was November 2, 2016, at Progressive Field in Cleveland. The Cubs led the Indians 8-6 in the tenth inning of Game 7 of the World Series. They were only one out away from that which their fans had dreamed of for so many decades. 

    

KRIS BRYANT (foreground) and ANTHONY RIZZO.

Then Cleveland's Brandon Guyer coaxed a walk from Cubs reliever Carl Edwards and promptly stole second. Rajai Davis, whose two-run homer off Aroldis Chapman had tied the ballgame in the eighth inning, rapped the next pitch over second base to score Guyer. 

     Cubs manager Joe Maddon called on lefty Mike Montgomery to face the next htter, Michael Martinez. Martinez took the first pitch for a called strike. He swung at the next offering and chopped it to the left of the mound. Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant charged in, made a nifty pickup on the run, and fired the ball across the infield as his feet slipped out from under him on the wet grass.

     Despite Bryant's slip, the throw was true. It landed in first baseman Anthony Rizzo's glove with Martinez still about two steps from the bag, and that was that. 

     "The Chicago Cubs are world champions," Rizzo said after the game. "Let that sink in."

 

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