ALEX PERRY CHICAGO CUBS DOUG BIRD PLAYER AUTHORIZATION FORM 1981 AWESOME

DOUG BIRD

PLAYERS AUTHORIZATION FORM

MEASURING 8 1/2 X 14 INCHES

SEPTEMBER 23, 1981

WRIGLEY FIELD SIGNED BY

DOUG BIRD

I HAVE CUT OUT ANY OHONE UMBERS AND SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS FOR PRIVACY REASONS

James Douglas Bird (born March 5, 1950) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher.[1] He played from 1973 to 1983. Bird was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the third round of the 1969 amateur draft’s secondary phase.

During his career, Bird was used in a variety of pitching roles, frequently shifting from the bullpen to the starting rotation and back. Bird appeared in six postseason games from 1976 through 1978, all with the Royals, and each time against the New York Yankees, posting a 2.35 ERA in 7.2 innings pitched. After good work in the 1976 and 1977 playoffs, Bird is most known for surrendering a two-run homer to Thurman Munson in the eighth inning of Game Three during the 1978 American League Championship Series.

Junior Raymond Kennedy (born August 9, 1950) is an American former professional baseball second baseman, who played during seven Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons. Junior’s older brother, Jim Kennedy, played for the 1970 St.Louis Cardinals.

High school
A standout athlete at Arvin High School in Arvin, California, Kennedy was drafted in the first round (10th overall) of the 1968 Major League Baseball draft, by the Baltimore Orioles.[1]

Playing career
Minors
In 1969, Kennedy was named the California League Most Valuable Player, while with Stockton. In 1972, while playing in Rochester, he led International League (IL) shortstops in double plays with 80 and topped all American Association second basemen in fielding percentage with .976 for Indianapolis, in 1976.[2]

On December 4, 1973, Kennedy was traded by Baltimore, along with William Wood and Merv Rettenmund to the Cincinnati Reds, for Wallace Williams and Ross Grimsley. At some point before 1977 Season, Kennedy was sent from the Reds to the San Francisco Giants in an unknown transaction; then, on October 20, 1977, he was purchased back by Cincinnati from San Francisco.[1]

Cincinnati Reds
Kennedy spent five seasons with the Reds (1974, 1978–1981). Kennedy was known for his versatility and dependability, making him extremely valuable as a utility man, leading Reds Manager Sparky Anderson to comment that Kennedy was, “the kind (of utility man) that any club would want to have.”[2]

Chicago Cubs
On October 23, 1981, Kennedy was purchased by the Chicago Cubs from the Reds, for $50,000. He spent two seasons with the Cubs (1982–1983), before being released on August 1, 1983.[1]

Career statistics
In 447 games over seven seasons, Kennedy posted a .248 batting average (258-for-1041) with 114 runs, 4 home runs, 95 RBIs and 124 bases on balls. Defensively, he recorded an overall .980 fielding percentage.[1]

Post career
After the 1983 season, Kennedy managed the Chicago Cubs’ Lodi farm team in the California League. On February 10, 1986, Kennedy was inducted into the Bob Elias Hall of Fame.[2]

Héctor Louis Cruz Dilan (born April 2, 1953) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball outfielder and third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1973 and 1982 for four different teams, and played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in 1983. Listed at 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) and 170 pounds (77 kg), he batted and threw right-handed. He is also known by his nickname Heity.[1]

Career
Born in Arroyo, Cruz came from a distinguished baseball family of Puerto Rico. He is the younger brother of former major leaguers José and Tommy Cruz, while his nephew José Cruz Jr. also played in the majors.

Cruz played in the Cardinals minor league system from 1970 through 1973. He debuted with the big team in September 1973, but was demoted to the minors again the following year. In 1975, Cruz won The Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year Award after hitting 29 home runs and 116 RBIs for the Tulsa Oilers of the American Association. He also appeared in 23 games for the Cardinals in 1975, staying with them for three seasons before joining the Chicago Cubs in 1978. He was dealt from the Cubs to the San Francisco Giants for Lynn McGlothen at the trade deadline on June 15, 1978.[2] He also played for the Cincinnati Reds (1979–1980) and finished his major league career back with the Cubs (1981–1982).

In 1976, his first regular season with the Cardinals, Cruz topped the National League rookies with 13 homers and 71 RBIs, but also led the league third basemen with 26 errors. Then he switched to outfield, although he did not play regularly for the rest of his career. In a nine-season career, Cruz was a .225 hitter with 39 home runs and 200 RBIs in 624 games appearances. After that, he played in Japan for the Yomiuri Giants in 1983.

Following his playing retirement, he worked for the United States Postal Service as a mail carrier on the West Side of Chicago. In 2007, Cruz gained induction into the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame as part of its 11th class.

See also
List of Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico

Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.

Modern professional leagues
Americas
United States and Canada
See also: Baseball in the United States
Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada (founded in 1869) consists of the National League (founded in 1876) and the American League (founded in 1901). Historically, teams in one league never played teams in the other until the World Series, in which the champions of the two leagues played against each other. This changed in 1997 with the advent of interleague play.[1] As of 2023, the Philadelphia Phillies, founded in 1883, are the oldest continuous same-name, same-city franchise in both Major League Baseball and all of American professional sports.[2]

In addition to the major leagues, many North American cities and towns feature minor league teams. An organization officially styled Minor League Baseball, formerly the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues,[3] oversees nearly all minor league baseball in the United States and Canada. The minor leagues are divided into classes AAA, AA, High-A, A, and Rookie. These minor-league divisions are affiliated with major league teams, and serve to develop young players and rehabilitate injured major-leaguers. The Mexican League is an independent league that is a member of Minor League Baseball and has no affiliations to any Major League Baseball teams. Affiliated Baseball is often applied as an umbrella term for all leagues — Major and minor — under the authority of the Commissioner of Baseball.[4]

Operating outside the Minor League Baseball organization are many independent minor leagues such as the Atlantic League, American Association, Frontier League,[5] and the feeder league to these the Empire Professional Baseball League.

Caribbean countries
Dominican Professional Baseball League (1951–present; winter league)
Puerto Rico Baseball League (1938–present)
Cuban National Series (1961–present)
Mexico
Mexican Pacific League (1945–present; winter league)
Mexican League (1925–present; summer league)
Central America
Panamanian Professional Baseball League (1946–1972, 2001–present)
Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League (1957–1967, 2004–present)
South America
Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (1946–present)
Colombian Professional Baseball League (1948–1958, 1979–1988, 1994–present)
Asia
Japan
Japan has had professional baseball since the 1930s. Nippon Professional Baseball consists of two leagues, the Central League and the Pacific League, each with six teams.

Korea
South Korea has had professional baseball since 1982. There are 10 teams in KBO League.

Taiwan
Taiwan has had professional baseball since the 1990s. The Chinese Professional Baseball League absorbed Taiwan Major League in 2003. There are currently 6 teams in the CPBL.

Other Asian leagues
Other Asian leagues include three now defunct leagues, the China National Baseball League, Israel Baseball League, and Baseball Philippines.

Europe
Italian Baseball League
Honkbal Hoofdklasse (Dutch league)
Elitserien (Sweden)
Baseball Bundesliga (Germany)
Australia
See also: Baseball in Australia
Australian Baseball League
Greater Brisbane League
New South Wales Major League
Historic leagues
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, players of black African descent were barred from playing the major leagues, though several did manage to play by claiming to be Cubans or Indians. As a result, a number of parallel Negro leagues were formed. However, after Jackie Robinson began playing with the major-league Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, the Negro leagues gradually faded. The process of integration did not go entirely smoothly; there were some ugly incidents, including pitchers who would try to throw directly at a black player’s head. Now, however, baseball is fully integrated, and there is little to no racial tension between teammates.

Between 1943 and 1954, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League fielded teams in several Midwestern towns.

The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located on Chicago’s North Side. The Cubs are one of two major league teams based in Chicago; the other, the Chicago White Sox, are a member of the American League (AL) Central division. The Cubs, first known as the White Stockings, were a founding member of the NL in 1876, becoming the Chicago Cubs in 1903.[3][4]

Throughout the club’s history, the Cubs have played in a total of 11 World Series. The 1906 Cubs won 116 games, finishing 116–36 and posting a modern-era record winning percentage of .763, before losing the World Series to the Chicago White Sox (“The Hitless Wonders”) by four games to two. The Cubs won back-to-back World Series championships in 1907 and 1908, becoming the first major league team to play in three consecutive World Series, and the first to win it twice. Most recently, the Cubs won the 2016 National League Championship Series and 2016 World Series, which ended a 71-year National League pennant drought and a 108-year World Series championship drought,[5] both of which are record droughts in Major League Baseball.[6][7] The 108-year drought was also the longest such occurrence in all major sports leagues in the United States and Canada.[5][8] Since the start of divisional play in 1969, the Cubs have appeared in the postseason 11 times through the 2022 season.[9][10]

The Cubs are known as “the North Siders”, a reference to the location of Wrigley Field within the city of Chicago, and in contrast to the White Sox, whose home field (Guaranteed Rate Field) is located on the South Side.

Through 2023, the franchise’s all-time record is 11,244–10,688(.513).[11]

History
Main article: History of the Chicago Cubs
Early club history
1876–1902: A National League

The 1876 White Stockings won the NL championship.
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,[12] 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.[13] His departure after 22 years led local newspaper reporters to refer to the Colts as the “Orphans”.[13]

After the 1900 season, the American Base-Ball League formed as a rival professional league. The club’s old White Stockings nickname (eventually shortened to White Sox) was adopted by a new American League neighbor to the south.[14]

1902–1920: A Cubs dynasty

The 1906 Cubs won a record 116 of 154 games. They then won back-to-back World Series titles in 1907–08.
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. The franchise was nicknamed the Cubs by the Chicago Daily News in 1902; it officially took the name five years later.[15] 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.

1913 Chicago Cubs
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.[16] 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. By 1921 he was the majority owner, maintaining that status into the 1930s.

Meanwhile, the year 1919 saw the start of the tenure of Bill Veeck, Sr. as team president. Veeck would hold that post throughout the 1920s and into the 30s. The management team of Wrigley and Veeck came to be known as the “double-Bills”.

The Wrigley years (1921–1945)
1929–1938: Every three years

Hall of Famer Hack Wilson

Club logo (1927–1936)[17]
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. Unfortunately, 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'”.[18]

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.[19]

Cubs logo (1941–1945)
1945: “The Curse of the Billy Goat”

A sports-related curse 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
Main article: 1969 Chicago Cubs season

Ernie Banks (“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 1969 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 1⁄2 games over the St. Louis Cardinals and by 9 1⁄2 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.[1] 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
Main article: 1977 Chicago Cubs season
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 70s got worse for the team, and they became known as “the Loveable Losers”. In 1977, 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 8+1⁄2 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 became 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 in 1981, ending a 65-year family relationship with the Cubs.

Tribune Company years (1981–2008)
1984: Heartbreak
Main article: 1984 Chicago Cubs season

Ryne Sandberg set numerous league and club records in his career and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2005.
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[20] up the 1984 roster with a series of transactions. In December 1983 Scott Sanderson was acquired from Montreal in a three-team deal with San Diego for Carmelo Martínez. Pinch hitter Richie Hebner (.333 BA in 1984) was signed as a free-agent. In spring training, moves continued: LF Gary Matthews and CF Bobby Dernier came from Philadelphia on March 26, for Bill Campbell and a minor leaguer. Reliever Tim Stoddard (10–6 3.82, 7 saves) was acquired the same day for a minor leaguer; veteran pitcher Ferguson Jenkins was released.

The team’s commitment to contend was complete when Green made a midseason deal on June 15 to shore up the starting rotation due to injuries to Rick Reuschel (5–5) and Sanderson. The deal brought 1979 NL Rookie of the Year pitcher Rick Sutcliffe from the Cleveland Indians. Joe Carter (who was with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs at the time) and right fielder Mel Hall were sent to Cleveland for Sutcliffe and back-up catcher Ron Hassey (.333 with Cubs in 1984). Sutcliffe (5–5 with the Indians) immediately 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 starting rotation. Sutcliffe proceeded to go 16–1 for Cubs and capture the Cy Young Award.[20]

The Cubs 1984 starting lineup was very strong.[20] It consisted 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 saves) and 1984 NL MVP Ryne Sandberg (.314 19–84 114 runs, 19 triples, 32 SB).[20]

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.

Andre Dawson, 5× All-Star and 1987 NL MVP during tenure in Chicago
The 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
Main article: 1989 Chicago Cubs season
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

Sammy Sosa was the captain of the Chicago Cubs during his tenure with the team.
Main articles: 1998 Chicago Cubs season and 1998 Major League Baseball home run record chase
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. Unfortunately, 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.[21] 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.[22] 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
Main article: 2001 Chicago Cubs season
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.[23] 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.[24]

2003: Five more outs
Main articles: 2003 Chicago Cubs season and Steve Bartman incident
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.

Kerry Wood, along with Mark Prior, led the Cubs’ rotation in 2003.
Chicago halted St. Louis’ 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.[25] 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.[25] Interference was not called on the play, as the ball was ruled to be on the spectator side of the wall. Castillo was eventually walked by Prior. Two batters later, and to the chagrin of the packed stadium, Cubs shortstop Alex Gonzalez misplayed an inning-ending double play, loading the bases. The error would lead to eight Florida runs and a Marlin victory. Despite sending Kerry Wood to the mound and holding a lead twice, the Cubs ultimately dropped Game 7, and failed to reach the World Series.

The “Steve Bartman incident” was seen as the “first domino” in the turning point of the era, and the Cubs did not win a playoff game for the next eleven seasons.[26]

2004–2006
Main articles: 2004 Chicago Cubs season, 2005 Chicago Cubs season, and 2006 Chicago Cubs season
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 San Francisco and Houston 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 Mets, and the Cubs l