Ranking the best Chicago Cubs closers of the last 25 years

The last quarter-century has been somewhat shaky when it comes to the Chicago Cubs and the closer role. Here are some of the best who’ve held the role.

The ninth inning has been a question mark quite a bit for the Chicago Cubs during my lifetime. I know I’m weeks from turning 29 and the team’s history spans far beyond then, but it’s what I know as a fan and as a writer, so bear with me here.

Of course, without Theo Epstein going out and making the midsummer trade to add Aroldis Chapman in 2016, there’s a good chance we’re still counting the years till the Lovable Losers finally win it all. But he did, we’re not and all is well – at least in that regard.

Despite his place in history, I don’t consider Chapman to be one of the top five closers the Cubs have had in the last 25 years. Maybe an honorable mention nod for his dominance and place in history, but I’m looking for more than just a half-season of lights-out pitching, as impressive as it was.

This isn’t exactly a ranking – but rather a collection of some of the guys who’ve handled ninth-inning duties in the last quarter-century. (For those of you at home, we’re going from 1996 on, which is why Randy Myers‘ name doesn’t appear on this list). Some names may surprise you, but likely you’ve heard of all these guys at one point or another.

Chicago Cubs: Dempster did it all during his run with the club

For all you kids out there, Ryan Dempster wasn’t always just a late-night talk show host on Marquee Network, known for his Harry Caray impersonations. He spent nine years on the North Side, both as a valuable jack-of-all-trades.

In his second year with Chicago, the right-hander assumed the closer’s duties, running off 33 saves and finishing 53 games for the 89-73 ball club. He was never a big swing-and-miss guy, which is probably why he only spent three seasons in the ninth inning during his career, but he got the job done.

From 2005 to 2007, Dempster finished 175 games for the Cubs, racking up 85 saves. He worked to a 110 ERA+ in his 205 appearances, which included a half-dozen starts. Of course, he transitioned to a starter in 2008 and proceeded to run off four consecutive campaigns of at least 200 innings pitched, making 132 starts during that span with an even more impressive 113 ERA+

Theo Epstein rode Dempster’s hot hand heading into the 2012 trade deadline, flipping Dempster to the Texas Rangers for highly-touted prospect Christian Villanueva and some guy named Kyle Hendricks.

Fun fact: Dempster is the only pitcher in Cubs history with at least 50 saves and 50 wins with the team.

Chicago Cubs: Eating before riding the Marmol Coaster was not encouraged

Recently, I opined that Carlos Marmol gets a bad rep amongst modern-day Chicago Cubs fans. Now, I’m not foolish enough to say that watching him take the ball in the ninth inning was always a pleasant experience, but he was good far more than he was bad during his Cubs tenure. 

There’s no way you can leave Marmol off a list of top modern-day Cubs closers. The guy ranks third all-time in franchise history with 117 saves, trailing only Hall of Famers Lee Smith and Bruce Sutter in the record books.

His progression was never linear, to say the least. But when the guy was on, his slider was one – if not the – best I’ve ever seen. Here, we’re focusing on pitchers’ performances as the Cubs’ closer, but let’s not forget that Marmol was nails in the two years leading up to his taking over in the ninth.

But during his run as Chicago closer, let’s call it 2009 to 2012, here’s what he put up. Marmol made 292 appearances, averaging 73 per season, working to a 126 ERA+, 3.34 FIP and just a tick under 13 punchouts per nine.

The only problem? He averaged nearly seven walks per nine, meaning any time he took the ball, you never really knew what was about to transpire.

Chicago Cubs: For Beck, it all boiled down to one unbelievable summer

Yeah, I know. I didn’t include Chapman on this list due to the lack of longevity with the North Siders, but how can you talk about the best Cubs closers from the last 25 years and not include Rod Beck? That’s a sin in and of itself.

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‘Shooter’ signed with Chicago in January 1998 – a season that, for countless reasons, continues to live on in the hearts and minds of Cubs fans across the world. At that point, the right-hander was already a three-time All-Star, leading the National League in appearances on three separate occasions. He was a proven presence at the back of Jim Riggleman‘s bullpen – just what the team needed.

That year, Beck racked up the saves, earning one in 56.67% of the team’s wins, culminating in 51 total – the second-most ever in franchise history, trailing only Randy Myers, who slammed the door 53 times during the 1993 campaign.

In 1998, Beck led all of baseball with 81 appearances, working to a 3.02 ERA and a 4.05 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He didn’t dominate the way closers of today do – opponents hit .269 against him – a staggering mark by today’s standards. Instead, he limited the free passes and ground his way through outings

Down the stretch that year, as Sammy Sosa chased history, Beck cranked it up a notch, making 38 appearances and finishing 36 games while working to a 1.93 ERA. Without ‘Shooter’ locking down the ninth, there’s no telling if we remember that ’98 campaign in the same light. Thankfully, he was there, mustache and all, to close out contests all season long.