The 1989 Chicago Cubs season was the 118th season of the franchise, the 114th in the National League and 74th season at Wrigley Field. The Cubs were managed by Don Zimmer in his second season as manager and played their home games at Wrigley Field as members of National League East.
The Cubs stole the National League spotlight during the 1989 season along with their NL West rivals San Francisco Giants. The Cubs had All-Star seasons from Ryne Sandberg, Andre Dawson, Rick Sutcliffe, and closing pitcher Mitch Williams. Williams gave the Cubs a strong stopper in the bullpen in his impressive National League debut while the 1989 NL Rookie of the Year was Chicago's very own Jerome Walton, who proved himself to be a dependable centerfielder.
The Cubs finished the season 93–69 to win the NL East for the second time in franchise history, battling the St. Louis Cardinals into the last week of the season. The Cubs lost the NLCS four games to one to the San Francisco Giants, who proved to be more dominant with a strong hitting presence.
Offseason December 5, 1988: Rafael Palmeiro, Jamie Moyer, and Drew Hall were traded by the Cubs to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Paul Kilgus, Mitch Williams, Curtis Wilkerson, Steve Wilson, Luis Benitez (minors), and Pablo Delgado (minors).Rafael Palmeiro at Baseball Reference December 7, 1988: Scott Sanderson was signed as a free agent by the Cubs.Scott Sanderson at Baseball Reference December 8, 1988: Rolando Roomes was traded by the Chicago Cubs to the Cincinnati Reds for Lloyd McClendon. March 28, 1989: Rich Gossage was released by the Cubs.Rich Gossage at Baseball Reference
Regular season
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions August 24, 1989: The Cubs traded players to be named later to the Atlanta Braves for Paul Assenmacher. The Cubs completed the deal by sending Kelly Mann and Pat Gomez to the Braves on September 1.Paul Assenmacher at Baseball Reference August 30, 1989: Calvin Schiraldi, Darrin Jackson and a player to be named later were traded by the Cubs to the San Diego Padres for Marvell Wynne and Luis Salazar. The Cubs completed the deal by sending Phil Stephenson to the Padres on September 5.Phil Stephenson at Baseball Reference
Roster 1989 Chicago Cubs Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders Manager
Coaches
Game log
|- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |1||April 4|| Phillies||5–4 ||Sutcliffe (1–0)||Youmans (0–1)||Williams (1)|| 33,361 ||1–0|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |2||April 5|| Phillies||12–4 ||Howell (1–0)||Maddux (0–1)||Maddux (1)|| 18,674 ||1–1|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |3||April 6|| Phillies||8–3 ||Ontiveros (1–0)||Kilgus (0–1)|||| 6,364 ||1–2|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |4||April 7|| Pirates||6–5 ||Wilson (1–0)||Taylor (0–1)||Williams (2)|| 6,195 ||2–2|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |5||April 8|| Pirates||5–3 ||Bielecki (1–0)||Heaton (0–1)||Schiraldi (1)|| 19,374 ||3–2|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |6||April 9|| Pirates||8–3 ||Sutcliffe (2–0)||Walk (0–1)|||| 11,387 ||4–2|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |7||April 11|| Cardinals||5–4 ||Schiraldi (1–0)||DeLeón (1–1)||Williams (3)|| 7,943 ||5–2|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |8||April 12|| Cardinals||3–2 ||Kilgus (1–1)||Terry (0–1)||Williams (4)|| 21,187 ||6–2|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |9||April 14||@ Phillies||6–4 ||Sanderson (1–0)||Ruffin (0–2)||Williams (5)|| 20,851 ||7–2|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |10||April 16||@ Phillies||5–3 ||Sutcliffe (3–0)||Youmans (0–2)||Williams (6)|| 32,249 ||8–2|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |11||April 17||@ Expos||2–1 ||Gross (2–1)||Maddux (0–2)||Burke (3)|| 8,847 ||8–3|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |12||April 18||@ Expos||11–2 ||B. Smith (1–0)||Kilgus (1–2)|||| 11,913 ||8–4|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |13||April 19||@ Expos||3–2 ||Den. Martinez (1–0)||Sanderson (1–1)||Burke (4)|| 9,014 ||8–5|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |14||April 20||@ Mets||4–3 ||Gooden (3–0)||Williams (0–1)||McDowell (1)|| 28,944 ||8–6|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |15||April 21||@ Mets||8–4 ||Sutcliffe (4–0)||Ojeda (0–3)||Wilson (1)|| 34,690 ||9–6|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |16||April 22||@ Mets||3–1 ||Fernandez (2–0)||Maddux (0–3)||McDowell (2)|| 41,323 ||9–7|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |17||April 23||@ Mets||4–2 ||Aguilera (1–0)||Schiraldi (1–1)|||| 40,268 ||9–8|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |18||April 25|| Dodgers||4–0 ||Belcher (2–1)||Sanderson (1–2)|||| 31,876 ||9–9|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |19||April 26|| Dodgers||3–1 ||Morgan (2–1)||Sutcliffe (4–1)||Howell (2)|| 13,221 ||9–10|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |20||April 27|| Dodgers||1–0 ||Maddux (1–3)||Hershiser (3–2)|||| 12,013 ||10–10|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |21||April 28|| Padres||3–1 ||Kilgus (2–2)||Rasmussen (1–4)||Williams (7)|| 9,504 ||11–10|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |22||April 29|| Padres||5–4 ||Terrell (3–2)||Bielecki (1–1)||Davis (11)|| 34,748 ||11–11|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |23||April 30|| Padres||7–3 ||Sanderson (2–2)||Show (4–2)|||| 28,735 ||12–11||
|- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |24||May 1||@ Giants||4–3 (12)||Pico (1–0)||LaCoss (1–2)||Schiraldi (2)|| 17,914 ||13–11|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |25||May 2||@ Giants||4–0 ||Reuschel (4–2)||Maddux (1–4)||Gossage (1)|| 11,128 ||13–12|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |26||May 3||@ Padres||5–4 ||Kilgus (3–2)||Grant (0–1)||Williams (8)|| 20,403 ||14–12|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |27||May 4||@ Padres||4–0 ||Bielecki (2–1)||Terrell (3–3)|||| 25,892 ||15–12|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |28||May 5||@ Dodgers||4–2 ||Sanderson (3–2)||Belcher (2–3)||Williams (9)|| 46,767 ||16–12|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |29||May 6||@ Dodgers||3–0 ||Morgan (3–1)||Sutcliffe (4–2)||Howell (3)|| 46,389 ||16–13|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |30||May 7||@ Dodgers||4–2 ||Wilson (2–0)||Hershiser (4–3)||Williams (10)|| 46,329 ||17–13|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |31||May 9|| Giants||4–2 ||Krukow (2–0)||Kilgus (3–3)||Lefferts (5)|| 13,949 ||17–14|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |32||May 10|| Giants||4–3 ||LaCoss (2–3)||Williams (0–2)||Lefferts (6)|| 25,638 ||17–15|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |33||May 12|| Astros||3–1 ||Deshaies (5–2)||Sutcliffe (4–3)|||| 21,141 ||17–16|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |34||May 13|| Astros||1–0 ||Knepper (2–5)||Maddux (1–5)||Smith (6)|| 27,775 ||17–17|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |35||May 14|| Astros||5–1 ||Scott (5–2)||Kilgus (3–4)|||| 23,391 ||17–18|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |36||May 15|| Braves||4–0 ||Bielecki (3–1)||Lilliquist (2–3)|||| 16,920 ||18–18|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |37||May 16|| Braves||4–3 ||Sanderson (4–2)||Glavine (5–1)||Williams (11)|| 24,070 ||19–18|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |38||May 17|| Braves||4–0 ||Pico (2–0)||Z. Smith (1–6)|||| 31,196 ||20–18|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |39||May 19||@ Reds||8–2 ||Maddux (2–5)||Jackson (2–7)|||| 29,202 ||21–18|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |40||May 20||@ Reds||7–3 ||Kilgus (4–4)||Browning (3–4)||Perry (1)|| 49,175 ||22–18|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |41||May 21||@ Reds||7–2 ||Mahler (6–4)||Bielecki (3–2)|||| 34,128 ||22–19|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |42||May 22||@ Astros||5–3 ||Sutcliffe (5–3)||Deshaies (5–3)||Schiraldi (3)|| 11,923 ||23–19|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |43||May 23||@ Astros||5–4 ||Sanderson (5–2)||Scott (6–3)||Schiraldi (4)|| 15,665 ||24–19|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |44||May 24||@ Astros||3–1 ||Maddux (3–5)||Knepper (2–6)||Williams (12)|| 17,042 ||25–19|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |45||May 26|| Reds||10–8 (12)||Dibble (4–1)||Schiraldi (1–2)|||| 33,583 ||25–20|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |46||May 27|| Reds||5–3 ||Sutcliffe (6–3)||Rijo (4–1)|||| 34,546 ||26–20|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |47||May 28|| Reds||6–1 ||Bielecki (4–2)||Jackson (3–8)|||| 37,231 ||27–20|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |48||May 29||@ Braves||2–1 ||Lilliquist (3–3)||Sanderson (5–3)||Boever (7)|| 15,123 ||27–21|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |49||May 30||@ Braves||3–2 ||Maddux (4–5)||P. Smith (1–7)||Williams (13)|| 7,566 ||28–21|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |50||May 31||@ Braves||3–2 ||Smoltz (7–3)||Kilgus (4–5)||Boever (8)|| 7,958 ||28–22||
|- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |51||June 2||@ Cardinals||5–2 ||Sutcliffe (7–3)||Magrane (3–4)||Williams (14)|| 46,448 ||29–22|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |52||June 3||@ Cardinals||6–5 (10)||Quisenberry (2–1)||Schiraldi (1–3)|||| 44,719 ||29–23|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |53||June 4||@ Cardinals||11–3 ||Sanderson (6–3)||Terry (4–5)|||| 45,659 ||30–23|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |54||June 5|| Mets||15–3 ||Maddux (5–5)||Cone (3–5)|||| 34,840 ||31–23|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |55||June 6|| Mets||8–4 ||Kilgus (5–5)||Ojeda (2–6)|||| 33,558 ||32–23|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |56||June 7|| Mets||10–5 ||Gooden (7–2)||Sutcliffe (7–4)||Aguilera (4)|| 35,372 ||32–24|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |57||June 8|| Mets||5–4 (10)||Williams (1–2)||Aase (1–2)|||| 36,358 ||33–24|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |58||June 9|| Cardinals||1–0 ||DeLeón (8–3)||Sanderson (6–4)||Worrell (7)|| 34,937 ||33–25|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |59||June 10|| Cardinals||6–0 ||Magrane (4–5)||Maddux (5–6)|||| 38,045 ||33–26|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |60||June 11|| Cardinals||10–7 ||Carpenter (2–4)||Schiraldi (1–4)|||| 35,450 ||33–27|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |61||June 12|| Cardinals||10–3 ||Wilson (3–0)||Terry (4–6)|||| 27,154 ||34–27|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |62||June 13||@ Mets||4–2 ||Bielecki (5–2)||Darling (4–5)||Williams (15)|| 26,664 ||35–27|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |63||June 14||@ Mets||2–0 (7)||Gooden (8–2)||Sanderson (6–5)||Aguilera (5)|| 27,278 ||35–28|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |64||June 15||@ Mets||4–3 (12)||Aguilera (3–1)||Perry (0–1)|||| 24,689 ||35–29|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |65||June 16||@ Expos||8–5 ||B. Smith (7–2)||Kilgus (5–6)||Burke (14)|| 26,264 ||35–30|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |66||June 17||@ Expos||3–2 ||Sutcliffe (8–4)||Pérez (3–8)||Williams (16)|| 35,095 ||36–30|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |67||June 18||@ Expos||5–4 ||Bielecki (6–2)||Langston (2–2)||Williams (17)|| 35,968 ||37–30|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |68||June 20||@ Pirates||5–4 (11)||Schiraldi (2–4)||Garcia (0–1)||Kilgus (1)|| 11,713 ||38–30|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |69||June 21||@ Pirates||1–0 (11)||Maddux (6–6)||Bair (0–1)||Williams (18)|| 23,970 ||39–30|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |70||June 22||@ Pirates||8–0 ||Sutcliffe (9–4)||Kramer (1–4)|||| 16,430 ||40–30|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |71||June 23|| Expos||5–1 ||Langston (3–2)||Bielecki (6–3)||Burke (15)|| 36,239 ||40–31|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |72||June 24|| Expos||5–0 ||Gross (7–6)||Kilgus (5–7)|||| 36,068 ||40–32|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |73||June 25|| Expos||5–0 ||Den. Martinez (7–1)||Sanderson (6–6)|||| 34,491 ||40–33|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |74||June 26|| Pirates||2–1 ||Drabek (5–5)||Maddux (6–7)|||| 35,407 ||40–34|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |75||June 27|| Pirates||5–4 ||Kramer (2–4)||Sutcliffe (9–5)||Landrum (7)|| 35,646 ||40–35|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |76||June 28|| Pirates||3–1 ||Robinson (4–6)||Bielecki (6–4)||Landrum (8)|| 34,114 ||40–36|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |77||June 29||@ Giants||12–2 ||Brantley (1–0)||Kilgus (5–8)|||| 12,339 ||40–37|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |78||June 30||@ Giants||6–4 ||Sanderson (7–6)||Wilson (0–1)||Williams (19)|| 49,241 ||41–37||
|- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |79||July 1||@ Giants||3–2 ||Maddux (7–7)||Reuschel (12–3)||Williams (20)|| 29,019 ||42–37|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb"