The 1989 Chicago Cubs are an extremely underrated baseball team. Though they had their stars, it was a combination of several players which made this team a success story. Of course, they lost the NLCS in five games to the San Francisco Giants which takes a little out of the seldomly told story.
In the regular season, the Cubs went 93-69 under manager Don Zimmer. Offensively, they were led by future Hall of Fame 2B Ryne Sandberg, who hit .290, 30, 76 and future HOF OF Andre Dawson, who hit .278, 21, 77. Both players had better seasons. They got help from 1B Mark Grace and his .314, 13, 79 and SS Shawon Dunston (.278, 9, 60).
They had the NL Rookie of the Year in CF Jerome Walton, who hit .293, 5, 46, with 24 SB. One of the most underrated players was LF Dwight Smith, also a rookie, who hit .324, 9, 52. They also got a combined 69 RBIs out of the catcher position (41 from Damon Berryhill, 14 each from Joe Girardi and Rick Wrona). Vance Law was the regular 3B in his last full MLB season, driving in 42 runs.
The pitching staff was carries by three pitchers; a young future HOFer in Greg Maddux, who went 19-12, 2.95, a veteran who pitched for the Chicago Cubs in their last postseason appearance in 1984 in Rick Sutcliffe, who was 16-11, 3.66 and an unknown pitcher who had his lone big season in Mike Bielicki (18-7, 3.14). LHP Mitch Williams was 4-4, 2.76 with 36 saves as the closer and veteran Calvin Scharaldi went 3-6, 3.78 with 4 saves before being left off the postseason roster. Paul Assenmacher came over from the Braves, joining unknowns such as Steve Wilson, Paul Kilgus, Les Lancaster and Jeff Pico doing just enough to get the job done in the bullpen.
What I find amazing is the amount of talent that was on this team. Of course, neither Walton nor Smith could duplicate the magic they had in 1989. Sandberg, Dawson and Maddux will all be HOF players. The team also included some very good veteran players such as Sutcliffe, Grace, Dunston and later on, Girardi. Unfortunately, they ran into the Giants, who were the better team. Who knows, if the Cubs won the NLCS and got to the World Series for the first time since 1945, neither the Cubs or Athletics are affected by the tragic earthquake that took over the 1989 World Series.
In the regular season, the Cubs went 93-69 under manager Don Zimmer. Offensively, they were led by future Hall of Fame 2B Ryne Sandberg, who hit .290, 30, 76 and future HOF OF Andre Dawson, who hit .278, 21, 77. Both players had better seasons. They got help from 1B Mark Grace and his .314, 13, 79 and SS Shawon Dunston (.278, 9, 60).
They had the NL Rookie of the Year in CF Jerome Walton, who hit .293, 5, 46, with 24 SB. One of the most underrated players was LF Dwight Smith, also a rookie, who hit .324, 9, 52. They also got a combined 69 RBIs out of the catcher position (41 from Damon Berryhill, 14 each from Joe Girardi and Rick Wrona). Vance Law was the regular 3B in his last full MLB season, driving in 42 runs.
The pitching staff was carries by three pitchers; a young future HOFer in Greg Maddux, who went 19-12, 2.95, a veteran who pitched for the Chicago Cubs in their last postseason appearance in 1984 in Rick Sutcliffe, who was 16-11, 3.66 and an unknown pitcher who had his lone big season in Mike Bielicki (18-7, 3.14). LHP Mitch Williams was 4-4, 2.76 with 36 saves as the closer and veteran Calvin Scharaldi went 3-6, 3.78 with 4 saves before being left off the postseason roster. Paul Assenmacher came over from the Braves, joining unknowns such as Steve Wilson, Paul Kilgus, Les Lancaster and Jeff Pico doing just enough to get the job done in the bullpen.
What I find amazing is the amount of talent that was on this team. Of course, neither Walton nor Smith could duplicate the magic they had in 1989. Sandberg, Dawson and Maddux will all be HOF players. The team also included some very good veteran players such as Sutcliffe, Grace, Dunston and later on, Girardi. Unfortunately, they ran into the Giants, who were the better team. Who knows, if the Cubs won the NLCS and got to the World Series for the first time since 1945, neither the Cubs or Athletics are affected by the tragic earthquake that took over the 1989 World Series.
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