The Chicago Cubs

Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...

' 2001 season

2001 Major League Baseball season

The Major League Baseball season finished with the Arizona Diamondbacks defeating the New York Yankees in a Game 7 of the 2001 World Series. The attacks of September 11 pushed the end of the regular-season from September 30 to October 7. Because of that, the World Series was not completed until...

was a season in American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

. It consisted of the Cubs attempting to win the National League Central

National League Central

The National League Central Division is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was created in 1994, by moving two teams from the Western Division and three teams from the Eastern Division of the National League...

 division.

Offseason

• November 18, 2000: Bill Mueller was traded by the San Francisco Giants to the Chicago Cubs for Tim Worrell.
• December 18, 2000: Jason Bere was signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago Cubs.
• December 19, 2000: Todd Hundley signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago Cubs.
• January 10, 2001: Ron Coomer was signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago Cubs.

Regular season

During a forgettable 2000 season, Jim Hendry

Jim Hendry

Jim Hendry is da greatest white guitar player there ever was. both herman li and thomas dookul and brandon co-oper agree...

 sent pitcher Scott Downs

Scott Downs

Scott Jeremy Downs is an American professional baseball relief pitcher with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of Major League Baseball. He has previously played for the Chicago Cubs, Montreal Expos and Toronto Blue Jays...

 to Montreal and acquired Rondell White

Rondell White

Rondell Bernard White is an outfielder and designated hitter in Major League Baseball. His career batting average currently stands at .284 and his career slugging percentage is .462....

. This laid the groundwork for the 2001 season, which saw the North Siders make another drive for the playoffs. Mack Newton was brought in by the club to preach "positive mental thought," and it paid off. Matt Stairs started the season at first base, but ultimately the Cubs made a mid-June trade to acquire All-Star 1B Fred McGriff

Fred McGriff

Frederick Stanley McGriff is a left-handed former Major League Baseball player who starred for several teams from the mid-1980s until the early 2000s. A power-hitting first baseman with a tall, lanky build, the five-time All-Star became, in , the first player since the dead-ball era to lead both...

, though McGriff took over a month debating whether or not to approve the deal and leave his hometown Tampa Bay Devil Rays, ultimately waiving his no-trade clause and allow himself to be dealt to Chicago on July 27. "The Crime Dog" hit a respectable .282 with 12 homers in 49 games with the Cubs, hitting cleanup behind Sammy Sosa, who had perhaps his best season, hitting 64 homers with career highs in batting average (.328) and RBI (160) for Don Baylor's club. Jon Lieber

Jon Lieber

Jonathan Ray Lieber is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates , Chicago Cubs , New York Yankees , Philadelphia Phillies . He batted left-handed and threw right-handed...

 had a 20 win season, and along with Kevin Tapani

Kevin Tapani

Kevin Ray Tapani is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, and Chicago Cubs from 1989 to 2001.-Early life:...

 and Kerry Wood

Kerry Wood

Kerry Lee Wood is a National Major League Baseball relief pitcher. Wood recorded over 200 strikeouts in four out of his first five seasons, with a high of 266 in 2003....

 made up a solid rotation. The Cubs led the eventual Wild Card winning Cardinals by 2.5 games in early September, but Preston Wilson

Preston Wilson

Preston James Richard Wilson is a retired professional baseball outfielder. He played in the major leagues from 1998-2007. He is both the nephew and stepson of former New York Mets star Mookie Wilson...

's walk-off homer off of closer Tom "Flash" Gordon

Tom Gordon

Thomas Gordon , nicknamed "Flash", is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He played with the Kansas City Royals , Boston Red Sox , Chicago Cubs , Houston Astros , Chicago White Sox , New York Yankees , Philadelphia Phillies and the...

 took the wind out of the team's sails, failing to make another serious charge. The Cubs did manage to finish 88–74, only 5 games behind both St. Louis and Houston, who tied for first.
One of the season's most memorable moments came on Sept. 27, when Sammy Sosa

Sammy Sosa

Samuel Peralta "Sammy" Sosa is a Dominican former professional baseball right fielder. Sosa played with four Major League Baseball teams over his career which spanned from 1989-2007....

 carried an American flag around the bases after hitting a home run in the Cubs first home game since the September 11 attacks.

Transactions

• July 4, 2001: Trenidad Hubbard was signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago Cubs.
• July 30, 2001: Dave Weathers was traded by the Milwaukee Brewers with Roberto Miniel (minors) to the Chicago Cubs for Ruben Quevedo and Pete Zoccolillo.
• September 10, 2001: Trenidad Hubbard was released by the Chicago Cubs.

Draft picks

• June 5, 2001: Mark Prior was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 1st round (2nd pick) of the 2001 amateur draft. Player signed August 23, 2001.
• June 5, 2001: Geovany Soto was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 11th round of the 2001 amateur draft. Player signed June 26, 2001.

Roster

2001 Chicago Cubs
Roster
Pitchers		Catchers Infielders Outfielders		Manager Coaching Staff (pitching) (first base) (third base) (bench) (hitting) (special asst)

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

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

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

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

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

Awards and records

• Sammy Sosa became the first player to hit at least 60 Home Runs in three different seasons.

Farm system