Chicago Cubs: Ranking the top five managers in team history

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When a professional baseball franchise has been around for over 100 years, you are bound to see a slew of faces in charge of navigating the waters. For the Chicago Cubs, that number is 54, with some strong leadership along the way.

Of all the top professional sports in the world, Major League Baseball ranks among the top. Breaking it down even further, the position of ‘manager’ is considered one of, if not the toughest job in professional sports. Just ask the guy currently at the helm of the Chicago Cubs.

While every sport has their respective moving parts, there is seemingly no more significant challenge for a guy in charge of a Major League Baseball team. Not only does the responsibility of setting a lineup every single day take precedent, but also managing a starting pitching rotation as well as a bullpen and substitutes can challenge the best of them.

Over the past decade, the Cubs have seen several faces doing their best to harness success in bringing the ultimate honor to the team: a world championship. The Cubs have no doubt seen great success over the past four seasons thanks in large part to the management. Before the addition of current manager Joe Maddon, however, it was not always smooth sailing in the Windy City. With that being said, here are the club’s top five managers in history.

Chicago Cubs: Joe Maddon, 2015-Present

In the modern-day age of baseball, there may be no better manager in the game than Joe Maddon. It could be argued that Maddon is the most excellent manager the Cubs have ever had to lead their franchise.

A disastrous 2014 season saw Chicago finish last in the National League Central division with a 73-89 record. Bucking previous trends of managerial musical chairs, Epstein brought Maddon in to lead the charge. In his first season, the team finished 97-65, finishing as the Wild Card team and making it to the National League Championship Series.

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The next year was historic for Maddon and the Cubs. During a press conference with Javier Baez in January of 2016 at Cubs Convention, Baez was asked the advice Maddon had given him when he made his major league debut. Baez responded with the infamous four-word answer, “Try not to suck.”

It was a mantra which helped motivate the Cubs to a 103-win season and their first world championship in 108 years. The 2017 season was another solid season for Maddon, as he led the team to a third straight NLCS appearance and a 92-win season. Last year, the club finished 95-68, losing in the Wild Card Playoff to the Colorado Rockies.

So far this year as we head into the final weeks of the season, the Cubs sit at 82-68, two back of first behind the St. Louis Cardinals and leading the Wild Card race for the second spot. If Maddon can lead the team to the playoffs, they will have reached the postseason in each of Maddon’s first five seasons in Chicago.

Maddon has a career 469-329 record with the Cubs, suitable for a .588 win percentage. During that span, the club has won the division twice, has made three straight NLCS appearances, have won a pennant and, of course, a World Series title. Needless to say, Maddon could rank as the best manager in Cubs history and its not particularly close.

Chicago Cubs: Lou Piniella 2007-2010

Including Lou Piniella on this list may turn heads for Cubs fans and I don’t blame you in the slightest. It was back-and-forth as to whether or not Piniella should have made this list, however here he is in the upper echelon of Chicago’s leading faces.

Piniella had spent 19 years managing Major League Baseball teams before landing with the Cubs in 2007. Following a successful career in Seattle, and a not so successful career in Tampa Bay, Piniella agreed on a three-year deal with the Cubs after the 2006 season.

Piniella can be included on this list for the work he did during his brief time on the Northside. The Cubs were coming off a terrible 66-96 season, and Piniella turned it around in almost a blink of an eye. In his first season, the Cubs finished first in the division going 85-77. The Arizona Diamondbacks unceremoniously swept them in the NLDS.

In his second season with the squad, they performed even better by going 95-77, again winning the division. This time, they were unfortunate sweep victims at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 2009, Piniella faltered as Chicago finished 83-78, missing the playoffs.

After a 51-74 start to the 2010 season, Piniella was replaced by Mike Quade. While the ending to his Cubs career did not go as well as anyone had hoped, Piniella brought fire to this team in his time in Chicago. Two division titles, two postseason berths, which is why Piniella does find himself on this list.

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Chicago Cubs: Charlie Grimm 1932-1949, 1960

Long ago, in an era of baseball far far away, the great Charlie Grimm led the Cubs as their managerial face. The era of baseball was a different landscape, with Grimm serving a utility role as both a player and the manager.

An insanely good first baseman, and one of the best in the games’ history, Grimm replaced Rogers Hornsby as the club’s manager midway through the 1932 season. During his inaugural year, Grimm played 107 games for the Cubs and helped lead them to an 86-68 record, and a third-place finish.

After back-to-back winning seasons, Grimm led the Cubs to a National League Pennant in 1935 as the club finished 100-54. During that season, Chicago led the all of baseball in ERA, led the N.L. in batting average, and runs scored. A successful two more seasons saw Grimm lead with 87 wins and 95 wins, respectively.

Gabby Hartnett replaced Grimm partway through the 1938 season with the team sitting at 45-36. They won the pennant that season under Hartnett. Three years later, in 1941, Grimm once again joined the Cubs, this time as a coach. In 1944 following a tough start, Grimm was tasked as the head honcho where he remained until 1949. His last season came 11 years later, in 1960.

Overall, Grimm finished his managerial career in Chicago with a very successful 946-782 record. He led the team to three pennants. In a different age of baseball, Grimm was able to be great for the Cubs and remains as one of the all-time greatest managers to this day.

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Chicago Cubs: Frank Chance 1905-1912

Outside of Maddon, Frank Chance stands alone as the most exceptional manager in Cubs’ history. As one of the first managers for the team, Chance found unbelievable levels of success in his eight seasons at the helm.

After three-plus seasons in the role, Frank Selee was replaced by Chance during the 1905 season. The team finished 92-61 and Chance took the chance and ran with the opportunity. In his first season as sole leader, Chance led the Cubs to a 116-36 record. Like Grimm, Chance adopted the role as a player-manager as Chicago captured the pennant, losing in the World Series 4-2 to the Chicago White Sox.

Over the next two years as manager, Chance carried the team to 107 wins and 99 wins, respectively. It included back-to-back seasons culminating in world championships. In 1909 and 1910, the Cubs won 104 games as Chance racked up his career win total.

His final two seasons, Chance led the Cubs to 92 wins and 91 wins and was replaced by Johnny Evers at the beginning of the 1913 season. By the end of everything, Chance had finished a 768-389 career with four pennants and two world championships. In the old era of baseball, before our time, Chance is the greatest manager to lead the Cubs in their history.

Chicago Cubs: Joe McCarthy 1926-1930

Something about employing guys named Joe is an excellent method for the Cubs. In the case of Joe McCarthy, he remains as one of the top managers in team history. Before his storied career with the New York Yankees, McCarthy was in Chicago where he began his managerial career.

McCarthy managed a variety of teams in a variety of different professional leagues before taking the job offer from William Wrigley Jr in 1926. The year before was not great, and Wrigley needed a change.

A new-sprung interest in the Cubs blossomed under McCarthy. In his first season, the veteran manager led Chicago to a much-improved 82-72 season, an uptick from the 68 wins the year before. In 1928, McCarthy led the Cubs to a 91-win season and followed it up with a 98-win season and a pennant.

The nickname ‘Marse Joe’ developed during his time with the Cubs. Due to his managerial style and the success he helped the Cubs develop during this tenure on the North Side earned him the name.

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The 1929 season was a success in many ways. Unfortunately, McCarthy lost all control in a World Series beatdown courtesy of Connie Mack and the Philadelphia Athletics, losing the series 4-1. Still, McCarthy drew the Cubs out of the muck and drove a new-fangled success story leaving him as one of the clubs’ all-time greats.

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