Chicago Cubs: Top 5 worst managers in franchise history

Every team–including the Chicago Cubs–goes through its fair share of managers; some of them just happen to be the worst decision.

Before I explain the five worst managers in Chicago Cubs‘ history, I do want to point something out, and it’s not entirely their fault. We all know that the Cubs throughout their time have been affected by terrible managers, who have not helped the team at all.

Just to give you an example, Cubs’ fans around the world know the name of Lou Pinella. Pinella was the Cubs manager from 2007 to 2010, but most of us know him from seeing his famous tirades with the umpires. Pinella didn’t even finish the 2010 season, as he only managed 125 games for a disappointing 51-74 record.

Not only the Cubs have had lousy managers throughout the years, but also there have also been numerous other things, including being possessed by the terrible bad decisions of the front office and the great curse of The Billy Goat.

This list concludes different managers through the lustrous history of the Northsiders. From the early days to this past decade, this select few have tried to make a name for themselves but ultimately were unsuccessful.

The following are some of the worst managers in franchise history.

Chicago Cubs: “College of Coaches”

Let us begin with probably the most disastrous decision in Cub’s front office history. The 1961 season for the Cubs was one of the worst seasons in team history. The idea of “College of Coaches” came from P.K. Wrigley himself. The team and its various managers finished the year going 64-90 and ended not so great with 7th place.

Vedie Himsl began this crazy adventure by just managing 31 games, with a record of 10-21 Wrigley moved on from Himsl and decided to go with a guy named Harry Craft. Craft a former Cincinnati Reds outfielder only lasted a total of 16 games, where he went 7-9 in that time. After the short time of Craft as a manager, Wrigley and the Cubs moved to El Tappe, who managed the Cubs for three times the amount of games that Himsl did.

He finished his time with the Cubs producing a below .500 record of 42-54. The last member to take on the managerial job in the 1961 season was Lou Klein, who finished the previous 11 games with a history of 5-6. The College of Coaches would continue into the next season were three different managers would hold the title. It began with Tappe for 20 games, then Klein helped again before Charlie Metro finished the year going 43-69.

Chicago Cubs: Tom Trebelhorn & Bruce Kimm

The next two members of this list only managed the Cubs for one year. Both of these entries finished their respective seasons with a below .500 season and placed fifth in the standings. Let us begin with the 1994 Cubs and their manager at the time Tom Trebelhorn.

Trebelhorn, a former manager of the Milwaukee Brewers for six years, joined the Cubs in 1994, where it would be his last year in his career. After winning 422 games in Milwaukee, the two-time manager of the year would go on to have one of the worst coaching records to date.

While most of us would forget that he even coached the Cubs, most of us didn’t know that he only managed in 113 games, finishing the season 16.5 games behind the leader.

The 2002 Cubs were a stacked team with names like Fred McGriff, Sammy Sosa, and a great pitching trio of Kerry Wood, Jon Lieber, and Mark Prior you would figure the team would do well. While the player talent was there, the managerial expertise was severely lacking.

Bruce Kimm got the nod to try to manage the star-studded team. Unfortunately, he did not do that, his squad finished 67-95, but Kimm was only the manager for the last 78 games of the season.

Chicago Cubs: Jim Riggleman

The late ’90s was not a good time for Jim Riggleman, who got the opportunity to manage the Cubs. In his five years coaching in Chicago, Riggleman went 374-419, which isn’t too terrible of a record. It came down to performance, while his record doesn’t quite show promise. The only playoff appearance in his time came in 1998. Otherwise, the best they finished in his managerial career with the Cubs was third.

Over his time, many people blamed Riggleman for the arm problems that Kerry Wood was having during his career. You would figure someone who has the top payroll team in three out his five years would do something with them. Unfourntatly, Riggleman couldn’t get the job done, and Chicago moved on. Riggleman would not become a manager again until 2008 for the Seattle Mariners.