1988 Chicago Cubs season

March 2026 August 2025 Chicago Cubs Chicago Cubs logo.svg 1988 National League East Wrigley Field Chicago 77 85 y 4th Tribune Company Jim Frey Don Zimmer WGN-TV/Superstation WGN(Harry Caray, Steve Stone, Dewayne Staats) WGN(Dewayne Staats, Dave Nelson, Harry Caray) chc CHC The 1988 Chicago Cubs season was the 117th season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 113th in the National League and the 73rd at Wrigley Field. The Cubs finished fourth in the National League East with a record of 77–85, 24 games behind the New York Mets. The first game under lights at Wrigley Field was on August 8 (8/8/88), against the Philadelphia Phillies. With the Cubs leading 3–1, in the middle of the 4th inning, a powerful thunderstorm rolled in. The game was suspended, and finally called at 10:25PM. Since the rules of Major League Baseball state that a game is not official unless 5 innings are completed,Rule 4.10(c)(1) https://web.archive.org/web/20160331153905/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/official_rules/start_end_4.jsp March 31, 2016 mlb.com the first official night game in the history of Wrigley Field was played on August 9, when the Cubs defeated the New York Mets 6 to 4. Offseason 250px|right|thumb|upright|A ticket from the game where Cubs' reliever Goose Gossage earned his 300th career save on August 6, 1988. October 23, 1987: Dickie Noles was returned to the Chicago Cubs by the Detroit Tigers as part of earlier loan.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=OENPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7QIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4574,5584645&dq=himself+dickie+noles+trade&hl=en Tiger-Cub Trade Even! October 24, 1987 Toledo Blade 16 December 8, 1987: Lee Smith was traded by the Chicago Cubs to the Boston Red Sox for Al Nipper and Calvin Schiraldi.Lee Smith Statistics https://web.archive.org/web/20090228204119/http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/smithle02.shtml February 28, 2009 Baseball-Reference.com December 14, 1987: Vance Law was signed as a free agent with the Chicago Cubs.Vance Law Statistics https://web.archive.org/web/20090210020752/http://www.baseball-reference.com/l/lawva01.shtml February 10, 2009 Baseball-Reference.com February 12, 1988: Goose Gossage was traded by the San Diego Padres with Ray Hayward to the Chicago Cubs for Keith Moreland and Mike Brumley.Rich Gossage Statistics https://web.archive.org/web/20080905233420/http://www.baseball-reference.com/g/gossari01.shtml September 5, 2008 Baseball-Reference.com March 31, 1988: Mike Bielecki was traded by the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Chicago Cubs for Mike Curtis (minors).https://www.baseball-reference.com/b/bielemi01.shtml Mike Bielecki Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com September 19, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20090331131723/http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/bielemi01.shtml March 31, 2009 live Regular season 250px|thumb|right|President Ronald Reagan throwing out the first pitch for the first 1988 Chicago Cubs game President of the United States Ronald Reagan threw out the ceremonial first pitch on Opening Day at Wrigley Field. After 5,687 consecutive day games played by the Cubs at Wrigley, the lights were finally lit on August 8, 1988, when 91-year-old fan Harry Grossman gave a countdown and pressed a button, for a game with the Philadelphia Phillies. The game began before an announced crowd of 39,008. The Cubs were leading 3 to 1 and coming to bat in the bottom of the fourth when the rain delay began. The umpires called the game after waiting two hours, ten minutes.Rain halts night debut for Cubs https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Kk8xAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-AIEAAAAIBAJ&dq=phillies%20cubs%20rain&pg=6256%2C2914135 August 9, 1988 Toledo Blade September 19, 2011 17 The Cubs played the first official night game the following night against the Mets and won, 6–4.The Cubs get lights at Wrigley Field <20 years ago this year>, Chicago Tribune, Phil Vettel, Jan. 3, 2008. Season standings Chicago Cubs Record vs. opponents CHC Notable transactions July 14, 1988: Dave Martinez was traded by the Cubs to the Montreal Expos for Mitch Webster.Mitch Webster Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/webstmi01.shtml 2024-08-20 Baseball-Reference.com en July 15, 1988: Jim Sundberg was released by the Chicago Cubs.Jim Sundberg Statistics https://web.archive.org/web/20090203135241/http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/sundbji01.shtml February 3, 2009 Baseball-Reference.com Roster 1988 Chicago Cubs Roster Pitchers 36 Mike Bielecki 51 Kevin Blankenship 38 Mike Capel 33 Frank DiPino 54 Goose Gossage 44 Drew Hall 48 Mike Harkey 50 Les Lancaster 47 Bill Landrum 31 Greg Maddux 49 Jamie Moyer 45 Al Nipper 37 Pat Perry 39 Jeff Pico 21 Scott Sanderson 32 Calvin Schiraldi 40 Rick Sutcliffe 42 Bob Tewksbury Catchers  9 Damon Berryhill  7 Jody Davis 11 Jim Sundberg  1 Rick Wrona Infielders 12 Shawon Dunston 10 Leon Durham 17,28 Mark Grace  2 Vance Law 20 Dave Meier 18 Argenis Salazar 23 Ryne Sandberg 19 Manny Trillo Outfielders 29 Doug Dascenzo  8 Andre Dawson 30 Darrin Jackson  1 Dave Martinez 22 Jerry Mumphrey 25 Rafael Palmeiro 27 Rolando Roomes 24 Gary Varsho 28 Mitch Webster Manager  4 Don Zimmer Coaches  6 Joe Altobelli  5 Chuck Cottier 35 Larry Cox  3 José Martínez 34 Dick Pole Player stats = Indicates team leader 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 C Damon Berryhill 98 309 80 .259 7 38 1B Mark Grace 134 486 144 .296 7 57 2B Ryne Sandberg 155 618 163 .264 19 69 SS Shawon Dunston 155 575 143 .249 9 56 3B Vance Law 151 556 163 .293 11 78 LF Rafael Palmeiro 152 580 178 .307 8 53 CF Dave Martinez 75 256 65 .254 4 34 RF Andre Dawson 157 591 179 .303 24 79 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 Mitch Webster 70 264 70 .265 4 26 Jody Davis 88 249 57 .229 6 33 Darrin Jackson 100 188 50 .266 6 20 Manny Trillo 76 164 41 .250 1 14 Doug Dascenzo 26 75 16 .213 0 4 Leon Durham 24 73 16 .219 3 6 Gary Varsho 46 73 20 .274 0 5 Jerry Mumphrey 63 66 9 .136 0 9 Ángel Salazar Ángel Salazar (baseball) 34 60 15 .250 0 1 Jim Sundberg 24 54 13 .241 2 9 Rolando Roomes 17 16 3 .188 0 0 Rick Wrona 4 6 0 .000 0 0 Dave Meier 2 5 2 .400 0 1 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 Greg Maddux 34 249.0 18 8 3.18 140 Rick Sutcliffe 32 226.0 13 14 3.86 144 Jamie Moyer 34 202.0 9 15 3.48 121 Calvin Schiraldi 29 166.1 9 13 4.38 140 Mike Harkey 5 34.2 0 3 2.60 18 Kevin Blankenship 1 5.0 1 0 7.20 4 Bob Tewksbury 1 3.1 0 0 8.10 1 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 Jeff Pico 29 112.2 6 7 4.15 57 Al Nipper 22 80.0 2 4 3.04 27 Mike Bielecki 19 48.1 2 2 3.35 33 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 Rich Gossage 46 4 4 13 4.33 30 Frank DiPino 63 2 3 6 4.98 69 Les Lancaster 44 4 6 5 3.78 36 Pat Perry 35 2 2 1 3.32 24 Mike Capel 22 2 1 0 4.91 19 Drew Hall 19 1 1 1 7.66 22 Scott Sanderson 11 1 2 0 5.28 6 Bill Landrum 7 1 0 0 5.84 6 Awards and honors thumb|1988 Gold Glove Award trophy, received by Sandberg Ryne Sandberg, Gold Glove Award All-Star Game Ryne Sandberg, 2B, Starter Andre Dawson, OF, Starter Shawon Dunston, SS, Reserve Vance Law, 3B, Reserve Greg Maddux, Pitcher, Reserve Rafael Palmeiro, OF, Reserve Farm system Minor League Baseball AAA Iowa Cubs American Association Pete Mackanin AA Pittsfield Cubs Eastern League Jim Essian A Winston-Salem Spirits Carolina League Jay Loviglio A Peoria Chiefs Midwest League Jim Tracy A Charleston Wheelers South Atlantic League Brad Mills A-Short Season Geneva Cubs New York–Penn League Bill Hayes Rookie Wytheville Cubs Appalachian League Steve RoadcapJohnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 Notes References 1988 Chicago Cubs season at Baseball Reference Category:Chicago Cubs seasons Chicago Cubs season Chicago