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

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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.

(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Chicago Cubs: So what are the parameters?

So I had to decide who I was going to look at. I decided on the entire history of the Cubs, a minimum of 30 games pitched (only for the Cubs,) and at least 95 percent of their appearances as a reliever. I’m interested more in relievers, not spot starters like Travis Wood and Sean Marshall were. The roles they had varied, but at 95 percent, the results will give us more relief roles.

Speaking in terms of ERA, in the entire history of the Cubs with those parameters, only four pitchers have had a sub-3.00 ERA. And of the top 40 in ERA, only six pitched with the Cubs more than three years. In many cases, it was just a one or two-year stint.

And now with the coming rule change next season that a pitcher has to face three batters unless the inning ends before they face three? A lot of lefties are going to be out of work. It’s hard to find quality lefties as it is. This rule change is going to change the game–and strategy–of managers.

With all this said, I tried to find some of the more successful lefties in Cubs’ history. These are not ranked, because I’d have a hard time not finding a closer more critical than a situational lefty. But these are my top-five lefties in Cubs history. Enjoy!

Mandatory Credit: Otto Greule /Allsport /

Chicago Cubs: Randy Myers – 1993 to 1995

I hated to use this picture, but it was the only one formatted to fit. Randy Myers rose to fame with the Cincinnati Reds, but his three years in Chicago were memorable. The Cubs didn’t have a great team at the time. 1993 was the last year of the NL East as it was known, and the NL Central and the six divisions came in the next season. The Cubs never finished higher than third, but Myers was a huge part of the win total.

In 1993, his first year with the Cubs, Myers saved 53 games and led the league in saves. It was the only year of his three with the Cubs that he was not an All-Star. Throughout his time in Chicago, he saved 112 games and has 17 blows saves. The Cubs won just 206 in those three years, and Myers saved 54 percent of those games.

He led the league three times in saves, two times with the Cubs (1993, 1995) and once with Baltimore in 1997. Myers saved 347 games in his career, good for 12th on the list for All-Time. He collected more of those in Chicago than in any place, and that’s why his career in Chicago was memorable to Cubs’ fans.

Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Daniel /Allsport /

Chicago Cubs: Mitch Williams – 1989 to 1990

Mitch Williams spent just two years in Chicago, but there might not have been a better character than ‘Wild Thing.’ He came in 1989 for the Texas Rangers and might have had his best season. 1993 was close, but for the sake of Williams, I’m not going to speak of the other former Cub Joe Carter. If you don’t know? See here. That said, Williams was an excellent fit for the ‘Boys of Zimmer, as they became to be known under manager Don Zimmer.

If you watched the video, you know how he got the nickname ‘Wild Thing.’ His delivery would take him off the mound to the third-base side. He was actually hit in the head while playing in Chicago, but somehow, I couldn’t find the video of that. But while in Chicago, especially in ’89, he was something special.

Williams saved 36 games that season but blew 11 of them. Even then, he was an All-Star, finished ninth in the Cy Young and 10th in the MVP. Sadly, Williams was out of the league by 32. And in case you’re curious? Charlie Sheen was Wild Thing first in the movie ‘Major League.’ And Sheen wasn’t happy about Williams adopting the nickname, and eventually his number 99.

Chicago Cubs: Paul Assenmacher – 1989 to 1993

The Cubs liked to try an take advantage of the Atlanta Braves pitching cast-off’s. At that time, Atlanta was churning out solid pitching, and the Cubs signed several ex-Braves with varying amounts of success. But Paul Assenmacher was one of the best, not just in Chicago, but everywhere he went. And this was still in an era where situational lefties were not typical. In his career, he faced right-handed batters roughly 60 percent more of the time.

Assenmacher spent 14 years in the league, five of them with the Cubs. He carried a 3.42 ERA in his time in Chicago and a 3.53 over his career. He did close some games when the regular closer was down or injured, saving 33 with the Cubs. He also had 29 blown saves. So this wasn’t really his forte. Assenmacher was middle-relief and did it well.

He spent five years in Chicago, but in his first and last year with the Cubs, he was i. To the Cubs from Atlanta in 1989, and from the Cubs to the Yankees in 1993. In these three middle years, he was a constant out of the pen, appearing in 74, 75 and 70 games from 1990-1992.

Assenmacher was never an All-Star, never a Cy Young candidate, but was a constant in games played for several years, finishing 31st in career games played by a pitcher. A pitcher like his wouldn’t be a bad idea for the current Cubs.

Chicago Cubs: Kent Mercker – 2004

Another former Atlanta Braves pitcher, Kent Mercker had one of the better seasons for the Cubs–but was only here for one season. Mercker was 36 when he came to the Cubs, and not a lot was expected from him. Mercker faced left and right batters almost equally and was stingier against righties (.161 BAA to .247 for RHB.)

He appeared in 71 games but pitched just 53 innings. If you saw that, you would assume situational lefty, but he was not. He faced righties 113 times, lefties 110. His S0/W ratio was one of the worst in the bullpen at 1.89, but his ERA+ was 174, the best on the staff that season.

Mercker was another that didn’t gain any accolades throughout his career. No All-Star games, no Cy Young votes. And he began his career as a starter. But by the time he got to the Cubs, he was strictly a reliever, and a pretty good one, at that. He pitched until he was 40, pitching for nine teams when all was said and done.

Mandatory Credit: Brian Bahr /Allsport /

Chicago Cubs: Chuck McElroy – 1991 to 1993

I realize that this group contains pitchers from my generation. Being 40, I’ve seen all of these guys take the mound for the Cubs. One that I almost had forgotten about but had to include was Chuck McElroy. He spent 14 years in the league, but some of his best were with the Cubs.

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Initially drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies, he was traded to the Cubs along with Bob Scanlan for, oddly enough, Mitch Williams. He still had his rookie status intact, although he did have some big league experience when he got to Chicago. I think when he got there, the Cubs thought they had pulled the rug from under the Phillies as they did in the Ryne Sandberg deal.

In McElroy’s first season, he finished 6-1 with a 1.95 ERA, a WHIP of 1.283 and an ERA+ of 199. All of this led to McElroy finishing fifth in NL Rookie of the Year voting. The winner that year? Hall of Famer, Jeff Bagwell.

He slipped a bit in his second season, but was still reliable, making 72 appearances out of the bullpen. He got his chance to close that season, but didn’t fare well as he saved six, but blew five of them. His ERA jumped to a respectable 3.55, but nowhere near his rookie season. His last year was 1993, and that winter he was traded to the Reds for nobody of value.

Chicago Cubs: Things have changed in the bullpen

These lefties were from a time that managers didn’t play ‘match-up’s.’ Or the term ‘LOOGY’ (Lefty one out guy) wasn’t part of the terminology. And with the rule change next season, these may become a think of the past. Is it worth the Cubs giving up anything for a player that might not have value when the rules change next season?

Or maybe Joe Maddon realizes that with how he’s deployed Kyle Ryan this season. Or it could be that he only has Ryan–the only left-hander currently in the pen. Randy Rosario, Xavier Cedeno, Tim Collins and–sigh–Brian Duensing are the most likely to see action this year.

Next. The Cubs and the Giants could be a good fit for a left-handed reliever. dark

This should be an indication of how hard it is to find a good lefty, and then have one that has success over a few seasons. The Cubs have a long history, and there haven’t been many that have lasted but a few years. Theo Epstein has been excellent, and he did help break the 108-year-old curse. But can he find a lefty that will be efficient for several years? The odds are NOT good.

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