Chicago Cubs: A history of pitchers who could swing the bat

The Chicago Cubs has a team with a pretty good history of pitchers who could hit. It is worth looking back when times could be changing.

It is looking like the pitcher batting in the National League will be coming to an end. After 143 seasons of National League baseball, the universal DH seems to be right around the corner. While not official yet, it is likely sooner or later, all of baseball will go that route. Safe to say Chicago Cubs fans have very mixed feelings on the matter being National League fans.

Cubs fans have been treated to some good-hitting pitchers over the years. Every era seemingly has had at least one pitcher who was not an automatic out, going back to the 1920s. Also worth noting that going back to 1984, Cubs pitchers have hit four home runs in the postseason.

So which pitchers in the Cubs history were best at hitting the ball? Here are five of the best and why they were the best. Criteria are both based on stats and times they came up with timely hits. We are going back as early as the 1910s, so covering the previous century or so.

Chicago Cubs: He started, he came out of the pen, he played left field and he could hit.

Travis Wood had an exciting career. As a Cub, he was rewarded an All-Star nod in 2013 and won a World Series in 2016, all while having several roles on the team between being a starter or long reliever. Regardless of his primary role, he was always well known for being able to hit.

As a Cub, he slashed .197/.230/.324 with a .554 OPS, seven home runs, 25 RBI and 1.8 offensive bWAR. One of these greatest highlights was him hitting a grand slam against the White Sox on May 30th, 2013, at Wrigley Field. He arguably topped that in the 2016 NLDS when he hit a solo shot off George Kontos after coming in to relieve Kyle Hendricks.

His best season as a hitter came in 2014 when he slashed .232/.271/.429 with a .700 OPS, three home runs and a career-high 10 RBI. From 2012-2014 he put up a cumulative .614 OPS when he got the most at-bats as a starter. Wood finished his career with 11 home runs and 55 hits.

Chicago Cubs: Way back in the 1920s, the ace of the Cubs helped at the dish as well as the mound.

After the 1917 season, the Cubs acquired future Hall of Fame pitcher Pete Alexander from the Philadelphia Phillies. Alexander went on to win 373 games and pitch to a 2.56 ERA and 2,198 strikeouts in his 20-year career as well as rack up 387 hits and hit 11 home runs. That goes along with a career 3.3 offensive bWAR.

During his nine years as a Cub, Alexander hit .230/.267/.301 with a .568 OPS, six home runs, 20 doubles and 78 RBI. He hit more home runs as a Cub than he did with any other teams. Even while not getting base hits, he helped the offense with 42 sacrifice hits/bunts. Worth noting he had nine seasons of double-digit RBIs and in 1921 hit a career-best .305.

Alexander was traded to the Cardinals in 1926, where he won a World Series. Yeah, Lou Brock was not the first Hall of Famer to be traded from the Cubs to the Cardinals. Let’s not talk about that. He still goes down as one of the most talented arms to pitch for the Cubs in team history.

Chicago Cubs: The greatest Cubs pitcher of all time was no slouch with the bat

Hall of Famer and all-time Cubs greats Fergie Jenkins had a pretty nice power swing. It is easy to overlook his ability to hit, considering he was one of the best pitchers of all time. Jenkins accumulated 893 at-bats as a Cub, which is not surprising in the top five of all-time Cubs at-bats by a pitcher.

In his Cubs career, Jenkins hit .165/.200/.252 with 85 RBI, a .452 OPS and 13 home runs. Those 13 home runs are the third-most by a Cubs pitcher in team history and the second-most the past century. He also hit six triples.

Jenkins hit two home runs in one game on September 1st, 1971, against the Expos. This was the same season he won the NL Cy Young Award. That year he hit a career-high three home runs, 20 RBI and 103 wRC+. Fergie might not have had the best average among Cubs pitchers, but the power puts him high on this list.

Chicago Cubs: While not an overly famous name among fans today, Kaufmann was a solid player for the Cubs in the early 20s

In 1921 a young 20-year old pitcher by the name of Tony Kaufmann made his MLB debut. Over the next several years he made 116 starts and appeared in 172 games with the Cubs. He pitched to a 3.89 ERA and 1.4 WHIP in 999.2 innings. He made the most of his at-bats during those years as a Cub.

Kaufmann slashed .243/.283/.370 with a .653 OPS, 20 walks, eight home runs, 54 RBI and a 1.9 offensive bWAR. Twenty-eight of his career hits were XBH including 19 doubles. In 1924 he slashed .316/.342/.421 with a 103 wRC+ in 79 plate appearances. Not shabby at all for a pitcher.

One of his best days as a hitter happened on July 4th, 1925, against the Cardinals at Wrigley Field (then called Cubs park). Kaufmann hit two home runs and drove in three runs. Keep in mind this was back when the dimensions at Wrigley Field were a bit different than today. Sadly there is no footage of Kaufmann hitting those home runs.

Kaufmann went on to play with the Phillies and Cardinals and finished with a career 4.18 ERA and .220 average.