2001 Chicago Cubs season
| 2001 Chicago Cubs | |
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| Major League affiliations | |
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| Location | |
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| Results | |
| Record | 88–74 (.543) |
| Divisional place | 3rd |
| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | Tribune Company |
| General manager(s) | Andy MacPhail |
| Manager(s) | Don Baylor |
| Local television |
WCIU/Superstation WGN (Chip Caray, Joe Carter) FSN Chicago (Chip Caray, Dave Otto) |
| Local radio |
WGN (Pat Hughes, Ron Santo) |
| Stats |
ESPN.com BB-reference |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
The 2001 Chicago Cubs season was the 130th season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 126th in the National League and the 86th at Wrigley Field. The Cubs finished third in the National League Central with a record of 88–74.
During a forgettable 2000 season, Jim Hendry sent pitcher Scott Downs to Montreal and acquired Rondell White. This laid the groundwork for the 2001 season, which saw the North Siders make another drive for the playoffs. Mack Newton was brought in by the club to preach "positive mental thought", and it paid off. Matt Stairs started the season at first base, but ultimately the Cubs made a mid-June trade to acquire All-Star 1B Fred McGriff, though McGriff took over a month debating whether or not to approve the deal and leave his hometown Tampa Bay Devil Rays, ultimately waiving his no-trade clause and allow himself to be dealt to Chicago on July 27. "The Crime Dog" hit a respectable .282 with 12 homers in 49 games with the Cubs, hitting cleanup behind Sammy Sosa, who had perhaps his best season, hitting 64 homers with career highs in batting average (.328) and RBI (160) for Don Baylor's club. Jon Lieber had a 20 win season, and along with Kevin Tapani and Kerry Wood made up a solid rotation. The Cubs led the eventual Wild Card winning Cardinals by 2.5 games in early September, but Preston Wilson's walk-off homer off of closer Tom "Flash" Gordon took the wind out of the team's sails, failing to make another serious charge. The Cubs did manage to finish 88–74, only 5 games behind both St. Louis and Houston, who tied for first. One of the season's most memorable moments came on September 27, when Sammy Sosa carried an American flag around the bases after hitting a home run in the Cubs first home game since the September 11 attacks.
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Wikipedia