Macie is a staff writer for Ticket Nest ( www.ticketnest.com ) and enjoys writing about her travel, theater and concert experiences. She can be reached at macie@ticketnest.com
The Chicago Cubs are a Major League Baseball team in Chicago, Illinois. The Tribune Company is the owner of the team while the team is managed by Lou Piniella. John McDonough is team's President and Jim Hendry is the General Manager. The Cubs has the honor of being one of two major league teams based in Chicago. Chicago White Sox of the American League is the other team. Both clubs have attained the status of charter members of their respective leagues.
Cincinnati Red Stockings of 1869 is baseball's first openly all-professional team. The success and fame of this team led to a minor explosion of openly professional teams in 1870. Each team had a singular goal of defeating the Red Stockings. A number of them adopted variants on that name and color. Chicago adopted white as their primary color. After a summer of individually arranged contests among the various teams, the National Association was formed in 1871. It was the first professional league.
Chicago acquired several key players after the 1875 season. These included pitcher Albert Spalding of the Boston Red Stockings, and first baseman Adrian "Cap" Anson of the Philadelphia Athletics. At the same time, the club President, William Hulbert, was secretly busy in leading the formation of a new and stronger organization, the National League.
The White Stockings cruised through the National League's inaugural season of 1876 with its beefed-up squad. In the 1880s, The Chicagoans enjoyed some great seasons. They won 67 and lost 17, for an all-time record .798 winning percentage in 1880. Extrapolating an 84-game season onto a 162-game season is a dubious proposition, but it does provide some perspective to note that a similar winning percentage nowadays would yield 129 wins. Chicago won the pennant in 1885 and Clarkson had a fair year.
Since 1908, the Cubs have been failed to win a World Series championship. However, the team has been able to see good seasons in the past 40 years. The final results of some games were even agonizing.
Led by Hall Of Famers Ernie Banks, Ferguson Jenkins and Billy Williams, the Cubs had a substantial lead in August,1969. Soon the team faced collapse. At mid-month they led by 8 games over the Cardinals and 9 games over the Mets, but they wilted under pressure, lost key games against those surprising New York Mets. They staggered a shot at the postseason by 8 games (92-70).
In the 1984 NLCS, the Cubs won the first two games at Wrigley Field against the San Diego Padres. The Western Division champion held home field advantage in 1984, however. Games 3, 4, and 5 would be played in San Diego. To make it into the World Series, the Cubs needed to win only one game of the next three in San Diego. They were soundly beaten in game 3. When closer Lee Smith allowed a game-winning home run to Steve Garvey in the bottom of the 9th inning of Game 4, the Cubs lost a heartbreaker. Game 5 was just as bad - the Cubs took a 3-0 lead to the 6th inning, and a 3-2 lead into the 7th with 1984 Cy Young Award winner Rick Sutcliffe on the mound. But Sutcliffe tired, and a critical error by Leon Durham helped the San Diego Padres win the game and head to the World Series.
The Cubs were in the NLCS with the San Francisco Giants in 1989.They headed to the Bay Area after splitting the first two games at Wrigley Field. Despite holding the lead at some point in each of the next three games, bullpen and managerial blunders ultimately led to three straight losses and the team's exit from the postseason.
In 2003, the Cubs were successful in winning their first division title in 14 years. Their NLDS victory over the Atlanta Braves made a history. It was the team's first postseason series win since 1908. The Cubs then took a 3 games to 1 lead over the Florida Marlins. Keeping in view of their wonderful performance, it seemed they would reach the World Series for the first time in 58 seasons.
In 1998, the Cubs made it into the playoffs as a wild card team. The team was able to achieve this strength of a 60 HR season from Sammy Sosa and Kerry Wood's Rookie of the Year pitching performance. The Atlanta Braves was their playoff opponent. But the performance of the Cubs was poor against the Braves. They scored only four runs as they were swept in 3 straight games.
In 2006, the Cubs came out of the gate hot. But the team was sent into a tailspin of historic proportions with an injury to All-Star first baseman Derrek Lee. The team also set a franchise record for offensive futility by scoring only 13 runs in 11 games.
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