Chicago Cubs: Great Cubs team of all time tournament

1945 versus 1989

This battle features two great teams.

The 1945 Chicago Cubs show up in the number two spot of our ranking for a couple reasons. First of all, this is the last Cubs team to make the World Series. Secondly, they won 99 games during the season, fifth-best of all time. The starting infield was fantastic. First baseman Phil Cavarretta lead the team with a batting average of .355. Add to that 97 runs batted in and 94 runs scored, you have the NL MVP. Teaming up with Cavarretta was Don Johnson at second base and third basemen Stan Hack, and you get the foundations of the impressive offense.

Compare that to Ryne Sandberg, Mark Grace, Andre Dawson, and the rookie duo of Jerome Walton and Dwight Smith in 1989. Can you believe that Sandberg led the team with 30 homers? But it was the pitching that really took the team to the best record (93-69) in the National League. Greg Maddux and Mike Bielecki solidified the starting staff while Mitch Williams held down the end the game. It was a great team, top to bottom. Unfortunately, they lost to the San Francisco Giant in the NLCS, making them number seven in our bracket.

So, who wins? The (#2) 1945 team or the (#7) 1989 team

Next: Number 3 versus Number 6