Profile
| Affiliation | NL Central |
|---|---|
| Home Park | Wrigley Field |
| World Series Title | 3 (1907, 1908 and 2016) |
| NL Pennant | 17 |
Introduction
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.
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, both of which are record droughts in Major League Baseball. The 108-year drought was also the longest such occurrence in all major sports leagues in the United States and Canada. Since the start of divisional play in 1969, the Cubs have appeared in the postseason 11 times through the 2022 season.
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 2022, the franchise's all-time record is 11,161–10,609 (.513).
Rivalries
With Chicago White Sox (Crosstown Classic)
Cubs have held a longtime rivalry with crosstown foes the Chicago White Sox as Chicago has only retained two franchises in one major sports league since the Chicago Cardinals of the NFL relocated in 1960. The rivalry takes multiple names such as the Wintrust Crosstown Cup, Crosstown Classic, The Windy City Showdown, Red Line Series, City Series, Crosstown Series, Crosstown Cup or Crosstown Showdown referring to both Major League Baseball teams fighting for dominance across Chicago. The terms "North Siders" and "South Siders" are synonymous with the respective teams and their fans as Wrigley Field is located in the North side of the city while Guaranteed Rate Field is in the South, setting up an enduring cross-town rivalry with the White Sox.
Notably this rivalry predates the Interleague Play Era, with the only postseason meeting against the Sox occurring in the 1906 World Series. It was the first World Series between teams from the same city. The White Sox won the series 4 games to 2, over the highly favored Cubs who had won a record 116 games during the regular season. The rivalry continued through of exhibition games, culminating in the Crosstown Classic from 1985 to 1995, in which the White Sox were undefeated at 10–0–2. The White Sox currently lead the regular season series 72–64.
With St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals–Cubs rivalry refers to games between the Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals. The rivalry is also known as the Downstate Illinois rivalry or the I-55 Series (in earlier years as the Route 66 Series) as both cities are located along Interstate 55 (which itself succeeded the famous U.S. Route 66). The Cubs lead the series 1,253–1,196, through October 2021, while the Cardinals lead in National League pennants with 19 against the Cubs' 17. The Cubs have won 11 of those pennants in Major League Baseball's Modern Era (1901–present), while all 19 of the Cardinals' pennants have been won since 1926. The Cardinals also have an edge when it comes to World Series successes, having won 11 championships to the Cubs' 3. Games featuring the Cardinals and Cubs see numerous visiting fans in either Busch Stadium in St. Louis or Wrigley Field in Chicago given the proximity of both cities. When the National League split into multiple divisions, the Cardinals and Cubs remained together through the two realignments. This has added intensity to several pennant races over the years. The Cardinals and Cubs have played each other once in the postseason, 2015 National League Division Series, which the Cubs won 3–1.
With Milwaukee Brewers (I-94 Series)
The Cubs' rivalry with the Milwaukee Brewers refers to games between the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs, the rivalry is also known as the I-94 rivalry due to the proximity between clubs' ballparks along an 83.3-mile drive along Interstate 94. The rivalry followed a 1969–97 rivalry between the Brewers, then in the American League, and the Chicago White Sox.[118] The proximity of the two cities and the Bears-Packers football rivalry helped make the Cubs-Brewers rivalry one of baseball's best. In the 2018 season, the teams faced off in a Game 163 for the NL Central division title, which Milwaukee won.
Ending Their 108 years Drought
Before the 2016 season, in an effort to shore up their lineup, free agents Ben Zobrist, Jason Heyward and John Lackey were signed. To make room for the Zobrist signing, Starlin Castro was traded to the Yankees for Adam Warren and Brendan Ryan, the latter of whom was released a week later. Also during the middle of the season, the Cubs traded their top prospect Gleyber Torres for Aroldis Chapman.
In a season that included another no-hitter on April 21 by Jake Arrieta as well as an MVP award for Kris Bryant, the Cubs finished with the best record in Major League Baseball and won their first National League Central title since the 2008 season, winning by 17.5 games. The team also reached the 100-win mark for the first time since 1935 and won 103 total games, the most wins for the franchise since 1910. The Cubs defeated the San Francisco Giants in the National League Division Series and returned to the National League Championship Series for the second year in a row, where they defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games. This was their first NLCS win since the series was created in 1969. The win earned the Cubs their first World Series appearance since 1945 and a chance for their first World Series win since 1908. Coming back from a three-games-to-one deficit, the Cubs defeated the Cleveland Indians in seven games in the 2016 World Series, They were the first team to come back from a three-games-to-one deficit since the Kansas City Royals in 1985. On November 4, the city of Chicago held a victory parade and rally for the Cubs that began at Wrigley Field, headed down Lake Shore Drive, and ended in Grant Park. The city estimated that over five million people attended the parade and rally, which made it one of the largest recorded gatherings in history.
This is gonna be tough play Bryant, the Cubs! WON THE WORLD SERIES!!
Bryant makes the play…It's over!
And the Cubs have finally won it all in seventh attempt
(Joe Buck calls the final out)
Win Flag
Beginning in the days of P.K. Wrigley and the 1937 bleacher/scoreboard reconstruction, and prior to modern media saturation, a flag with either a "W" or an "L" has flown from atop the scoreboard masthead, indicating the day's result(s) when baseball was played at Wrigley. In case of a split doubleheader, both the "W" and "L" flags are flown.
Past Cubs media guides show that originally the flags were blue with a white "W" and white with a blue "L". In 1978, consistent with the dominant colors of the flags, blue and white lights were mounted atop the scoreboard, denoting "win" and "loss" respectively for the benefit of nighttime passers-by.
The flags were replaced by 1990, the first year in which the Cubs media guide reports the switch to the now-familiar colors of the flags: White with blue "W" and blue with white "L". In addition to needing to replace the worn-out flags, by then the retired numbers of Banks and Williams were flying on the foul poles, as white with blue numbers; so the "good" flag was switched to match that scheme.
This long-established tradition has evolved to fans carrying the white-with-blue-W flags to both home and away games, and displaying them after a Cub win. The flags are known as the Cubs Win Flag. The flags have become more and more popular each season since 1998, and are now even sold as T-shirts with the same layout. In 2009, the tradition spilled over to the NHL as Chicago Blackhawks fans adopted a red and black "W" flag of their own.
During the early and mid-2000s, Chip Caray usually declared that a Cubs win at home meant it was "White flag time at Wrigley!" More recently, the Cubs have promoted the phrase "Fly the W!" among fans and on social media.
Related Tag
Chicago White Sox: Their Crosstown Rival.
Cleveland Guardians: Now they are holding as the longest World Series title Drought (72 Years) before the Guardians, Cubs hold this record
