1984 Chicago Cubs season
Radio | WGN (Milo Hamilton, Vince Lloyd, Lou Boudreau, Harry Caray) | |
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Stats | ESPN.com BB-reference | |
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The 1984 Chicago Cubs season was the 113th season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 109th in the National League and the 69th at Wrigley Field. The Cubs finished with a record of 96 wins and 65 losses in first place of the National League East. Chicago was managed by Jim Frey and the general manager was Dallas Green. The Cubs' postseason appearance in this season was their first since 1945. The Cubs pitching staff included 1984
Offseason
- January 17, 1984: 1984 Major League Baseball Draft. Player signed June 2, 1984.[1]
- March 26, 1984: Bill Campbell and Mike Diaz were traded by the Cubs to the Philadelphia Phillies for Porfi Altamirano, Gary Matthews and Bob Dernier.[2]
- March 31, 1984: Alan Hargesheimer was traded by the Cubs to the Kansas City Royals for Don Werner and Derek Botelho.[3]
Spring training
The Cubs began their third season under the control of the
The Cubs opened camp with only a few new players. Richie Hebner, the former Pittsburgh Pirate, was signed as a free agent. The Cubs also made a three-way deal with San Diego and Montreal, sending Craig Lefferts and Carmelo Martínez to the Padres, and getting Scott Sanderson from the Expos.
The Cubs struggled in
Regular season
Season summary
The Cubs rebuilt the starting pitching staff through a series of trades by
The acquisition of these three starters solidified the rotation for the year.The Cubs opened up the season going 12-8 in April, and were tied for first place with the New York Mets and a half-game ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies.
On May 27 against the
The race stayed tight through the first half of the season, with the Cubs and Phillies tied at 42-34 on June 30, with the Mets trailing by just one and a half games. The second half of the season was different, with the Cubs posting a 54-31 record, with the Mets trailing, and the Phillies slumping back to a .500 record.[8]
A key game during the season occurred on June 23 at Wrigley, with the Cubs facing the rival St. Louis Cardinals on the nationally televised "game of the week". The Cardinals led throughout the game, and led 9-8 going into the bottom of the ninth with closer Bruce Sutter on the mound. Twenty-four-year-old second baseman Ryne Sandberg led off the ninth with a solo home run into the left-field bleachers, tying the game at nine.[9] The following inning, St. Louis regained the lead, and Sutter stayed in the game attempting to close out the win. After the first two batters were retired, Bob Dernier walked, bringing up Sandberg again. He promptly hit another game-tying home run into the left-field bleachers, sending the Wrigley fans into a frenzy.[9] The Cardinals did not score in the top of the 11th, but the Cubs loaded the bases on three walks, then rookie Dave Owen singled in the winning run.[10] Ryne Sandberg had 7 RBI in the game. Henceforth, this game has become known as "The Sandberg Game". On September 3, 1984, Rick Sutcliffe had 15 strikeouts in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Cubs ended their playoff drought on September 24 at Three Rivers Stadium in front of just over 5,000 fans, many of whom were Cubs fans.[11] Rick Sutcliffe threw a two-hit complete game for his sixteenth straight victory, and the Cubs won the National League East.[11]
Opening Day starters
- Larry Bowa
- Ron Cey
- Jody Davis
- Bob Dernier
- Leon Durham
- Gary Matthews
- Keith Moreland
- Dick Ruthven
- Ryne Sandberg
Season standings
W
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L
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Pct. | GB | Home | Road | |
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Chicago Cubs | 96 | 65 | 0.596 | — | 51–29 | 45–36 |
New York Mets | 90 | 72 | 0.556 | 6½ | 48–33 | 42–39 |
St. Louis Cardinals | 84 | 78 | 0.519 | 12½ | 44–37 | 40–41 |
Philadelphia Phillies | 81 | 81 | 0.500 | 15½ | 39–42 | 42–39 |
Montreal Expos | 78 | 83 | 0.484 | 18 | 39–42 | 39–41 |
Pittsburgh Pirates | 75 | 87 | 0.463 | 21½ | 41–40 | 34–47 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] | |||||||||||||||||
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Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | |||||
Atlanta | — | 3–9 | 13–5 | 12–6 | 6–12 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 7–11 | 10–8 | 5–7 | |||||
Chicago | 9–3 | — | 7–5 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 10–7 | 12–6 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 13–5 | |||||
Cincinnati | 5–13 | 5–7 | — | 8–10 | 7–11 | 7–5 | 3–9 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 7–11 | 12–6 | 4–8 | |||||
Houston | 6–12 | 6–6 | 10–8 | — | 9–9 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 6–12 | 12–6 | 8–4 | |||||
Los Angeles | 12–6 | 5–7 | 7–11 | 9–9 | — | 6–6 | 3–9 | 3–9 | 4–8 | 10–8 | 10–8 | 6–6 | |||||
Montreal | 7–5 | 7–10 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 6–6 | — | 7–11 | 11–7 | 7–11 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 9–9 | |||||
New York | 8–4 | 6–12 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 9–3 | 11–7 | — | 10–8 | 12–6 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–11 | |||||
Philadelphia | 5-7 | 9–9 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 7–11 | 8–10 | — | 7–11 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 8–10 | |||||
Pittsburgh | 4–8 | 10–8 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 11–7 | 6–12 | 11–7 | — | 4–8 | 6–6 | 4–14 | |||||
San Diego | 11–7 | 6–6 | 11–7 | 12–6 | 8–10 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 8–4 | — | 13–5 | 7–5 | |||||
San Francisco | 8–10 | 3–9 | 6–12 | 6–12 | 8–10 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 5–13 | — | 7–5 | |||||
St. Louis | 7–5 | 5–13 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 11–7 | 10–8 | 14–4 | 5–7 | 5–7 | — |
Notable transactions
- May 25, 1984: Bill Buckner was traded by the Cubs to the Boston Red Sox for Dennis Eckersley and Mike Brumley.[12]
- June 4, 1984: 1984 Major League Baseball Draft
- Greg Maddux was drafted by the Cubs in the 2nd round. Player signed June 19, 1984.[13]
- June 13, 1984:
- July 2, 1984: Dickie Noles was traded by the Cubs to the Texas Rangers for players to be named later. The Rangers completed the deal by sending Tim Henry (minors) and Jorge Gomez (minors) to the Cubs on December 11.[15]
Roster
1984 Chicago Cubs | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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Game log
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April (12-8)
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May (15-12)
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June (15-14)
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July (18-10)
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August (20-10)
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September (16-11)
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Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
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C | Jody Davis | 150 | 523 | 134 | .256 | 19 | 94 |
1B | Leon Durham | 137 | 473 | 132 | .279 | 23 | 96 |
2B | Ryne Sandberg | 156 | 636 | 200 | .314 | 19 | 84 |
3B | Ron Cey | 146 | 505 | 121 | .240 | 25 | 97 |
SS | Larry Bowa | 133 | 391 | 87 | .223 | 0 | 17 |
LF | Gary Matthews | 147 | 491 | 143 | .291 | 14 | 82 |
CF | Bob Dernier | 143 | 536 | 149 | .278 | 3 | 32 |
RF | Keith Moreland | 140 | 495 | 138 | .279 | 16 | 80 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
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Mel Hall | 48 | 150 | 42 | .280 | 4 | 22 |
Henry Cotto | 105 | 146 | 40 | .274 | 0 | 8 |
Gary Woods | 87 | 98 | 23 | .235 | 3 | 10 |
Thad Bosley | 55 | 98 | 29 | .296 | 2 | 14 |
Dave Owen | 47 | 93 | 18 | .194 | 1 | 10 |
Richie Hebner | 44 | 81 | 27 | .333 | 2 | 8 |
Tom Veryzer | 44 | 74 | 14 | .189 | 0 | 4 |
Jay Johnstone | 52 | 73 | 21 | .288 | 0 | 3 |
Steve Lake | 25 | 54 | 12 | .222 | 2 | 7 |
Bill Buckner | 21 | 43 | 9 | .209 | 0 | 2 |
Ron Hassey | 19 | 33 | 11 | .333 | 2 | 5 |
Dan Rohn | 25 | 31 | 4 | .129 | 1 | 3 |
Davey Lopes | 16 | 17 | 4 | .235 | 0 | 0 |
Billy Hatcher | 8 | 9 | 1 | .111 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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Steve Trout | 32 | 190.0 | 13 | 7 | 3.41 | 81 |
Dennis Eckersley | 24 | 160.1 | 10 | 8 | 3.03 | 81 |
Rick Sutcliffe | 20 | 150.1 | 16 | 1 | 2.69 | 155 |
Scott Sanderson | 24 | 140.2 | 8 | 5 | 3.14 | 76 |
Dick Ruthven | 23 | 126.2 | 6 | 10 | 5.04 | 55 |
Chuck Rainey | 17 | 88.1 | 5 | 7 | 4.28 | 45 |
Don Schulze | 1 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 12.00 | 2 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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Rick Reuschel | 19 | 92.1 | 5 | 5 | 5.17 | 43 |
Rich Bordi | 31 | 83.1 | 5 | 2 | 3.46 | 41 |
Reggie Patterson | 3 | 6.0 | 0 | 1 | 10.50 | 5 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
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Lee Smith | 69 | 9 | 7 | 33 | 3.65 | 86 |
Tim Stoddard | 58 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 3.82 | 87 |
Warren Brusstar | 41 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3.11 | 36 |
George Frazier | 37 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 4.10 | 58 |
Dickie Noles | 21 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5.15 | 14 |
Porfi Altamirano | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.76 | 7 |
Bill Johnson | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.69 | 3 |
Ron Meridith | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.38 | 4 |
Cultural Influences
Before the season began, Grammy-award winning artist
The home games always began with the popular Van Halen song "Jump".
NLCS
A theory is that the Cubs were deprived of home-field advantage for the 1984 National League Championship Series (NLCS) because they could not host night games. There are accounts of MLB executives becoming frustrated throughout the 1984 MLB season and when it started to become clear in mid-August that the Cubs were very likely going to win the division, TV money was at stake. The networks then covering postseason games — NBC and ABC — could have lost millions if they had to cover those games at the then-lightless Wrigley Field on weekday afternoons. This was considered by MLB moguls to be important for the World Series and ultimately leads some to believe there may have been collusion leading to the Cubs losing three straight games to the San Diego Padres.
However, from 1969 to 1984, the LCS were five-game series played in a 2-3 format. The NL West and AL East champs hosted the first two games in odd years and the NL East and the AL West hosted the first two games in even years. Thus, no changes were made to the NLCS schedule due to Wrigley Field's lack of lights.[17]
It is true that Major League Baseball announced in August 1984 that if the Cubs were to make the World Series, the first game would be moved to the American League park, to maximize the television revenues from night games. In 1984, the series was to be a seven-game series in a 2-3-2 format with the NL hosting the first two and last two games.[18] San Diego won the series, 3–2.
Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
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1 | October 2 | San Diego Padres – 0, Chicago Cubs – 13 | Wrigley Field | 2:49 | 36,282[19] |
2 | October 3 | San Diego Padres – 2, Chicago Cubs – 4 | Wrigley Field | 2:18 | 36,282[20] |
3 | October 4 | Chicago Cubs – 1, San Diego Padres – 7 | Jack Murphy Stadium |
2:19 | 58,346[21] |
4 | October 6 | Chicago Cubs – 5, San Diego Padres – 7 | Jack Murphy Stadium | 3:13 | 58,354[22] |
5 | October 7 | Chicago Cubs – 3, San Diego Padres – 6 | Jack Murphy Stadium | 2:41 | 58,359[23] |
Awards and honors
- Jim Frey, Associated Press Manager of the Year
- Ryne Sandberg – National League Most Valuable Player
- Rick Sutcliffe – National League Cy Young Award Winner
- Ryne Sandberg, second baseman (starter)
- Jody Davis, catcher (reserve)
Farm system
Level | Team | League | Manager |
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AAA | Iowa Cubs | American Association
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Jim Napier |
AA | Midland Cubs
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Texas League | George Enright |
A
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Lodi Crushers
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California League | Junior Kennedy |
A
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Quad Cities Cubs
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Midwest League | Larry Cox
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A-Short Season
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Geneva Cubs | New York–Penn League | Tony Franklin |
Rookie
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Pikeville Cubs | Appalachian League | Jim Fairey |
References
- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
- ^ "Damon Berryhill Stats - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "Mike Diaz Stats - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "Alan Hargesheimer Stats - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ Scott Sanderson Bio, Baseball-Reference.com, Retrieved on August 8, 2007.
- ^ Dennis Eckersley Bio, Baseball-Reference.com, Retrieved on August 8, 2007.
- ^ Rick Sutcliffe Bio, Baseball-Reference.com, Retrieved on August 8, 2007.
- ^ "SPORTS PEOPLE; Soto Faces Suspension". The New York Times. June 19, 1984.
- ^ The Cubs's road to the NL East championship, month by month, Chicago Tribune, October 2, 1984
- ^ a b Mitchell, Fred, Cub Turning Point, Chicago Tribune, page 3, October 2, 1984
- ^ June 23, 1984 Cubs Cardinals Boxscore, Baseball-Reference.com, Retrieved on August 8, 2007
- ^ a b Sept 24 1984 Cubs Pirates Boxscore, Baseball-Reference.com, Retrieved on August 8, 2007
- ^ "Dennis Eckersley Stats - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "Greg Maddux Stats - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "Rick Sutcliffe Stats - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "Dickie Noles Stats - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ Muskat, Carrie, Cubs Mailbag 8/13/07, MLB.com, Retrieved on August 13, 2007
- ^ "The Post-Season Games Directory". www.retrosheet.org.
- ^ From http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080806&content_id=3267314&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc
- ^ "1984 NLCS Game 1 - San Diego Padres vs. Chicago Cubs". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
- ^ "1984 NLCS Game 2 - San Diego Padres vs. Chicago Cubs". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
- ^ "1984 NLCS Game 3 - Chicago Cubs vs. San Diego Padres". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
- ^ "1984 NLCS Game 4 - Chicago Cubs vs. San Diego Padres". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
- ^ "1984 NLCS Game 5 - Chicago Cubs vs. San Diego Padres". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.