Chicago Cubs: All-Time best lefties out of the bullpen

As the Chicago Cubs search for a left-hander for the bullpen, history suggests they’re hard to find–and don’t last that long. And the Cubs have a long history to pull from.

The Chicago Cubs are pushing hard to find a reliable left-hander for the bullpen, especially since they dealt Mike Montgomery to Kansas City, and Kyle Ryan is the only lefty that has stuck in the pen. Montgomery wanted to start, and the Cubs didn’t utilize him to the best of his ability. It was a good move for Monty and the team. While I was thinking about this, I tried to remember the southpaws the Cubs have had in the past. Then, down the rabbit hole, I went.

Digging in, I found many names I had forgotten about, and some I didn’t know at all. My father has filled me in well on the ’50s and ’60s, but I don’t know all the names. The other thing I had to realize is the left-hander has changed in his role. Only in the last 10-15 years has the ‘situational lefty’ become prominent. There may have been a little bit of that pre-’90s, but its been more the last 20 years.