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.)

 

 

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Cub Fans Bid Lou Adieu

Lou Piniella, then 66, retired ten years ago today after nearly four years as manager of the Cubs. Piniella’s experience with the Cubs was bittersweet, which was more than many of his forerunners (whose experiences were only bitter) could say.
    

LOU PINIELLA

 

On the plus side, Piniella became the first skipper to lead the Cubs to back-to-back postseason appearances (in 2007 and 2008) since the immortal Frank Chance did so in 1906, 1907, and 1908. And he tried, at least, to establish a general atmosphere of accountability that was often lacking for the “lovable losers” of seasons past.

    Alas, like his immediate predecessor Dusty Baker, whose tenure also began with a bang, Piniella’s stay with the Cubs ended with a whimper. Or maybe it was a yawn, given the dismal performance of the 2010 club, which had lost 20 of its last 25 games when Piniella cut bait. He had planned to retire at the end of the season anyway but accelerated the timetable so he could return home to Tampa and care for his 90-year-old mother, who was ailing. “I cried a little bit before the [final] game,” he said. “This will be the last time I put on a uniform.”

 Fifty-one years ago, it was a different story. Then Piniella was coming, not going. After getting one at-bat for Baltimore in 1965 and five for Cleveland in 1968, Piniella found himself in 1969 with the Seattle Pilots, a first-year expansion club that soon flew to Milwaukee and became the Brewers. This period of Piniella’s career is colorfully recalled in Jim Bouton's classic book Ball Four.
     Bouton’s first interaction with Piniella took place when he phoned the latter to enlist him in a player strike that was being planned. “I reached Lou in Florida,” Bouton wrote, “and he said that his impulse was to report, that he was scared it would count against him if he didn’t, that he was just a rookie looking to make the big leagues and didn’t want anybody to get angry at him. But also that he’d thought it over carefully and thought he should support the other players and the strike. So he was not reporting.   

     “That impressed the hell out of me. Here’s a kid with a lot more at stake than I, a kid risking a once-in-a-lifetime shot. And suddenly I felt a moral obligation to the players. I decided not to go down [to spring training].”         

     The work stoppage was soon averted, and the players reported for duty. At camp, Piniella was not called “Sweet Lou,” as he was in later years. He was “Red-Ass Lou,” as fired up as they come. Pilots manager Joe Schultz, a crusty old-timer, took an instant and intense dislike to him. “[Piniella] says he knows they don’t want him,” Bouton wrote, “and that he’s going to quit baseball rather than go back to Triple-A.” 

     Piniella was indeed sent to the minor leagues, but he didn’t quit. Just days after being farmed out, he was traded to the Kansas City Royals, the American League’s other first-year expansion club, where he not only earned a starting job but won the Rookie of the Year award to boot. He played five seasons for the Royals and 11 more for the Yankees before embarking on a 23-year managerial career.
     

Piniella won two World Series as a player (1977 and 1978) and another as a manager (1990). His encounters with umpires in the latter role will be featured on highlight reels for years to come. When he was planning a particularly strenuous argument, Piniella would spin the bill of his cap around like a catcher, so he could get to within inches of the umpire without touching. His dirt-kicking and base-tossing efforts brought fans to their feet and gave him a workout, “It’s a wonder I didn’t pull a groin or something,” he said. 

     When it was all said and done, Piniella had spent four decades doing something he was deeply passionate about, making a very comfortable living in the process. He will most likely be elected to the Hall of Fame some day. It is certainly true of Piniella, as is said of so many baseball lifers, that he loved and respected the game. But what set Piniella apart from many of the others was that he so obviously enjoyed it as well.

Cub Fans Bid Lou Adieu

LOU PINIELLA BASEBALL CARD, 1970

     It was an aging and weary Lou Piniella who retired Sunday after nearly four years as manager of the Cubs. Piniella's experience with the Cubs was bittersweet, which is more than many of his forerunners (whose experiences were only bitter) can say.
     On the plus side, Piniella became the first skipper to lead the Cubs to back-to-back postseason appearances (in 2007 and 2008) since the immortal Frank Chance did so in 1906, 1907, and 1908. And he tried, at least, to establish a general atmosphere of accountability that was often lacking for the "lovable losers" of seasons past.
     Alas, like his immediate predecessor Dusty Baker, whose tenure also began with a bang, Piniella's stay with the Cubs ended with a whimper. Or maybe it was a yawn, given the almost incredibly dismal performance of this year's club. Piniella was clearly sorry to be taking off his uniform for the last time, but he must also have been relieved to be escaping what had become an awful mess.

     Forty-one years ago, it was a different story. Then Piniella was coming, not going. After getting one at-bat for Baltimore in 1965 and five for Cleveland in 1968, Piniella found himself in 1969 with the Seattle Pilots, a first-year expansion club that soon flew to Milwaukee and became the Brewers. This period of Piniella's career is colorfully recalled in Jim Bouton's famous book Ball Four.
     Bouton's first interaction with Piniella took place when he phoned the latter to enlist him in a player strike that was being planned. "I reached Lou in Florida," Bouton wrote, "and he said that his impulse was to report, that he was scared it would count against him if he didn't, that he was just a rookie looking to make the big leagues and didn't want anybody to get angry at him. But also that he'd thought it over carefully and thought he should support the other players and the strike. So he was not reporting.
     "That impressed the hell out of me. Here's a kid with a lot more at stake than I, a kid risking a once-in-a-lifetime shot. And suddenly I felt a moral obligation to the players. I decided not to go down [to spring training]."
     The work stoppage was soon averted, and the players reported for duty. There, Piniella was not called "Sweet Lou," as he was in later years. He was "Red-Ass Lou," as fired up as they come. Pilots manager Joe Schultz, a crusty old-timer, took an instant and intense dislike to him. "[Piniella] says he knows they don't want him," Bouton wrote, "and that he's going to quit baseball rather than go back to Triple-A."
     Piniella was indeed sent to the minor-league camp, but he didn't quit. Just days after being farmed out, he was traded to the Kansas City Royals, the American League's other first-year expansion club, where he not only earned a starting job but won the Rookie of the Year award to boot. He played five seasons for the Royals and 11 more for the Yankees before embarking on a 23-year managerial career.
     Piniella won two World Series as a player and another as a manager. He spent four decades doing something he was deeply passionate about, making a very comfortable living in the process. He will most likely be elected to the Hall of Fame some day. It is certainly true of Piniella, as is said of so many baseball lifers, that he loved and respected the game. But what set Piniella apart from many of the others was that he so obviously enjoyed it as well.