Chicago Cubs: Ranking the Top 10 single-season pitching performances

Chicago Cubs: Rick Reuschel – 1977

For everything Ellsworth brought for the Cubs in 1963, it could be argued the same for Rick Reuschel in 1977. Reuschel played 12 of his 19 seasons in Chicago, compiling 135 career wins and a composite ERA of 3.50 by the end of his Cubs tenure.

The best year, the year which stands out is 1977. That year, Reuschel finished 20-10 with a 2.79 ERA. It became the only season of his career in which Reuschel would win twenty games. Most impressively, Reuschel finished third overall in National League Cy Young voting, tying with Mets great Tom Seaver with 15 percent of the votes.

Reuschel earned an All-Star selection to add to his impressive resume. It became one of only three years in which he did gain the honor. The Cubs finished a humdrum 81-81. However, it became Reuschel’s pitching staff as not a single other starter finished with an ERA less than 4.00. For the 28-year-old, it turned into a career year and an impressively under-the-radar one at that.