Chicago Cubs: A look back at great North Side pitchers of the 1990s

Looking back at Chicago Cubs teams of the 1990s, there weren’t a lot of eye-popping pitching performers. Still, a handful of arms found success in Chicago.

When Chicago Cubs fans look back on the 1990s, most of the high points revolve around Sammy Sosa and his historic home runs, namely his 66-homer 1998 campaign. Those who love pitching and excellent pitching performances might come up a little short, though.

One obvious name, Greg Maddux, jumps off the page when pouring over numbers from the 1990s. But, as we all know now, he took his talents to the Atlanta Braves via free agency following his best season in a Cubs uniform.

Names like Mark Prior didn’t break onto the scene until after the turn of the century. Kerry Wood, Kid K himself, though, started turning heads near the end of the decade. All Cubs fans know these names.

But it takes a little bit of digging to come up with some lesser-known pitching performers from this decade. Both starters and relievers take up residence on this list. Let’s get started.

Randy Myers sets team’s all-time single-season saves record

An Eastern Illinois University standout, Randy Myers left his mark on Chicago Cubs record books in just his first season on the North Side.

Not only was he impressive with the Cubs, but by the time he hung up his spikes, Myers racked up a staggering 347 saves in his big league career. That figure ranks 12th on Major League Baseball’s all-time list, topping well-known names like Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage and Bruce Sutter.

Signed as a free agent ahead of the 1993 season, the southpaw brought a solid resume with him to Chicago. Coming off a 38-save campaign, he brought stability to the back of the Cubs’ pen.

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Myers absolutely dominated left-handed hitters that season, limiting them to a .178/.302/.289 slash line. It didn’t really matter where he pitched – at Wrigley Field or on the road – he was the epitome of consistence for the Cubs.

It was down the stretch though that Myers proved his worth. Over the season’s final month, he racked up 16 saves, pitching to a 2.08 earned run average over that stretch. When the pressure was on (in save situations) he was notably better than in non-save situations, with an ERA roughly three runs lower.

Furthermore, in what Baseball Reference deemed ‘high leverage’ situations, Myers limited opponents to a .174/.254/.222 slash-line.

Sure, most Cubs fans will remember Myers from 1995, when he allowed a long-ball that cost the Cubs a shot at the NL wild card berth in late September. In a game against the Astros at Wrigley Field, pinch-hitter James Mouton clubbed a two-run homer in the eighth. A fan then promptly jumped from the stands and attacked Myers, but that’s another story altogether.

For now, let’s just appreciate how good Myers, who was a member of the Reds’ Nasty Boys bullpen in 1990 was for a Cubs team that won just 84 games. 53 saves is nothing to shake your head at – especially when that accounts for roughly 63 percent of a team’s wins.

Trachsel, not flashy, but effective in Chicago

Right-hander Steve Trachsel finished his career with a sub-.500 record, an earned run average north of 4.00 and a 1.411 WHIP. Those are hardly numbers indicative of a pitcher you’d find on any team’s best performer list. But, yet, here we are.

Trachsel, in his age 25 season, put together his lone All-Star campaign, anchoring the Chicago rotation. Granted, he won only 13 games, but he posted the best single-season ERA of his career – a 3.03 mark.

In fact, Steve Trachsel finished above .500 personally just four times in his 16 Major League campaigns. In 1996, though, he rode a strong first-half performance to that aforementioned All-Star Game appearance. Prior to the Midsummer Classic, the righty posted a 2.14 ERA in over 100 innings pitched.

His peripherals during that stretch aren’t eye-popping. He averaged less than six strikeouts per nine innings pitched and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of just 2.16.

In the second half, he faded badly.

He still hung in there with a 4.06 ERA, recovering from a brutal month of July to post solid numbers in the season’s final two months, leading the Cubs’ rotation through the dog days of summer.

But, for me, there is one statistic that shows how good Trachsel was in 1996.

In games in which Chicago scored 0-2 runs, he stepped up to keep his team in each and every game. Trachsel posted a sub-2.00 ERA in those outings, with a .0976 WHIP to go along with it.

A .500 team doesn’t get much attention. Nor did Steve Trachsel. It’s only fitting he gets some love on this list.

Proving doubters wrong, Beck leads Cubs’ pen

At the end of the 1997 season, the San Francisco Giants tapped Robb Nen as the team’s new closer, allowing Rod Beck to move on to greener pastures.

Chicago Cubs

Why not? He was heading into his age-29 season and had struggled at times as the team’s ninth-inning man. Beck packed his bags and headed to the North Side, where he excelled in his first season.

Racking up a staggering 51 saves, Beck was part of a second-place Cubs team that won 90 games behind Sammy Sosa and Kerry Wood. He pitched over 80 innings, averaging roughly a strikeout per inning to go along with his 4.05 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Now, baseball fans remember Beck for his tragic death, which is believed to be related to drug addiction. At just 38 years of age, the closer was found dead in his home. Known as an intimidating player – he had just as big a heart as anyone.

“His image was not something he was,” Tim Wakefield, Beck’s teammate from 1999-2001 in Boston told ESPN. “He had a huge heart, and was so humble. He was so full of life.”

Over the course of his career, Beck saved 286 contests. It’s hard to quantify the style which he played the game. The above ESPN piece that was written in wake of his death does a masterful job at getting to know the man beneath the mullet, if you will.

51 saves, the infamous Brant Brown game and the love of the Bleacher Bums. If nothing else, Beck brought life and energy to the game. Here’s to you, Shooter.

History in the making

What can I say about Greg Maddux that hasn’t already been said.

A first ballot Hall of Famer, winner of 355 games and four Cy Young Awards. He was part of the Atlanta Braves’ historic run of National League East division crowns and, before that, he broke onto the scene with the Chicago Cubs.

But his first absolutely dominant campaign came in 1992, at the age of 26. The first – and only – 20-win season Maddux ever put together, he also earned his first Cy Young. 20-11, the crafty right-hander racked up the innings, too, totaling 268 innings.

It also proved to be his final season in Chicago – at least the first go-round.

Near the All-Star break, Maddux says the front office essentially ran him down, reminding him of all the things he had yet to accomplish in his young career.

“They told me I had never won 20 games or a Cy Young,” Maddux remembers. “They basically told me I wasn’t very good.”

From there, as the Daily Herald points out, Maddux turned it up a notch, working to prove a point. He won 10 games after the break, pitching to a 1.93 ERA in the second half, including five complete games and four shutouts. Oh, and he took home his Cy Young honors the team had told him he lacked just months prior.

After that, he headed to the Atlanta Braves, who opened the subsequent season at the Confines. Losing Maddux has always been a major sore spot for Chicago Cubs fans. He’s arguably one of the best pitchers to ever wear a Cubs uniform and the team let him walk.

The mid-90s were a brutal time for Chicago, seemingly never putting an above-average squad on the field. Add in the insult of losing a Hall of Fame pitcher and it’s easy to understand why fans, to this day, wonder what might have been.

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