The Hagerstown Owls were a Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland , United States . The team played in the Inter-State League (1941–1952) and the Piedmont League (1953–1955). Their home games were played in Municipal Stadium .
145-728: After the departure of the Hagerstown Hubs in 1931, there was no professional baseball in Hagerstown. The Inter-State League began play in 1939 as a class C league with teams in Trenton, New Jersey and Sunbury, Hazleton and Allentown , Pennsylvania. The league grew to class B status with the addition of four additional teams from Wilmington, Delaware and Reading , Harrisburg and York , Pennsylvania. Professional baseball returned to Hagerstown in 1941 when Oren E. Sterling moved his Sunbury Indians franchise to town and became
290-640: A Detroit Tigers affiliate. The team was named the Owls for Oren, Win, Luck and Sterling. The Owls did well in their first year, posting a record of 75-48 and finishing 5.5 games behind the first place Harrisburg Senators in 1941. Emil Brinsky tied for the league runs batted in (RBI) title with 104. Brinsky also led the team with 7 home runs . Batters with a .300 plus batting average for Hagerstown were Brinsky (.318), future major leaguer Turkey Tyson (.316), Roy Kennedy (.315) and future major leaguer Ferrell Anderson (.304). The dominant pitcher for Hagerstown
435-774: A Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland , United States. The team played predominantly in the Blue Ridge League (1915–1930) and briefly in the Middle Atlantic League (1931). Their home games were in Willow Lane Park from 1915 to 1929 and Municipal Stadium during the 1930 and 1931 seasons. A semiprofessional league, the Tri-City League, had teams in Hagerstown, Frederick and Martinsburg in 1914. In 1915,
580-401: A "2–3" format, first two games were played at the home of the team who did not have home-field advantage. Then the last three games were played at the home of the team, with home-field advantage. Thus the first two games were played at Wrigley Field and the next three at the home of their opponents, San Diego. A common and unfounded myth is that since Wrigley Field did not have lights at that time
725-407: A .325 batting average and 12 home runs. Several former and future major leaguers were on the roster this season. In addition to player-managers Rambert, Crumling and Culp, the other players were Boots Poffenberger , Cal Ermer , Hal Keller , Barney Schultz and Babe Birrer . The nadir of this era of Hagerstown minor league baseball came in 1949. The Detroit Tigers ended their affiliation with
870-464: A .338 batting average, leading the team in both categories. Davidson was selected as the Owls' Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1955, repeating from the previous year. Davidson was the only player to have repeated as team MVP. Bobby Lee Brown's 15 wins led the team, as did his 192 innings pitched and 3.33 ERA. Hagerstown finished in sixth place, 16 games behind the first place Newport News Dodgers. Even though he hit only .256 in 1955, another notable player
1015-538: A 23-inning marathon against the York White Roses, losing by a 3-2 score. The game stands as the longest in Inter-State League history as well as the longest at Municipal Stadium . The game was originally part of a scheduled double header; for obvious reasons the second game was postponed. The 1950 season brought many changes. Gene Raney purchased the team from Oren Sterling. Raney affiliated
1160-548: A 3.69 ERA, while Stratton had a 14-7 record with a 3.62 ERA. The Owls qualified for the playoffs, playing in the best of seven game format that had been adopted by the Inter-State League in 1944. In a close series, Wilmington defeated Hagerstown 4 games to 3. For the 1947 season, the Hubs re-affiliated with the Detroit Tigers. Third baseman Richard Dresser's .317 batting average and overall play were good enough to earn him
1305-530: A 60-39 record, in a tie with the Blue Sox. However, the Blue Sox's 59-38 record resulted in a slightly higher winning percentage (.608) as compared to Hagerstown's .606 percentage, so Martinsburg was declared the league champion. Strickler hit 12 home runs and had a .347 batting average, while George Thomas hit 12 home runs with a .348 batting average. Brown led the staff with 14 wins. Hagerstown returned to championship form in 1925. Pitcher Joe Zubris tied for
1450-431: A 65-73 record, finishing 11.5 games behind the leader Allentown Cardinals . For the first time since the club's inception, the Owls did not reach the postseason. Hank Nowak led the team with 10 home runs, while having a .341 batting average. Joe Slotter won 14 games, but set the Inter-State League record with 19 wild pitches during the season. Duke Brett 's 2.94 ERA was the only one below 4.00. The Owls affiliated with
1595-521: A 65-74 record, missing the playoffs by 5 games. The last season for the Packets and the Piedmont League came in 1955. In response to declining attendance, the Packets offered 1955 season tickets to 70 home games for ten dollars plus one dollar tax. Miff Davidson led the Piedmont League in its final season with 103 runs scored and 164 hits. Davidson also pounded 30 home runs while accumulating
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#17327809898241740-470: A batting average of .271 and scored a league leading 71 runs for Hagerstown. The pitching staff was led by Chalkey McCleary, who led the Blue Ridge League with a .667 winning percentage . On June 28, Wick Winslow threw a no-hitter against the Chambersburg Maroons , with Hagerstown winning by a 4-0 score. Winslow's name was actually Walter Warwick; however, he changed his name to skirt
1885-620: A batting average of .408 and 178 hits. Later in the year he made his debut with the Washington Senators . The Hubs team name lives in the North Hagerstown High School athletic teams. North Hagerstown High School has existed since 1956. Municipal Stadium became the home field of the Hagerstown Owls when Oren Sterling relocated his Sunbury Indians to Hagerstown in 1941. This team played in
2030-439: A controversial figure in the clubhouse after his corked-bat incident , Sosa's actions alienated much of his once strong fan base as well as the few teammates still on good terms with him, to the point where his boombox was reportedly smashed after he left to signify the end of an era. The disappointing season also saw fans start to become frustrated with the constant injuries to ace pitchers Mark Prior and Kerry Wood. Additionally,
2175-623: A double-play combination by Franklin P. Adams ' poem " Baseball's Sad Lexicon ". The poem first appeared in the July 18, 1910, edition of the New York Evening Mail . Mordecai "Three-Finger" Brown , Jack Taylor , Ed Reulbach , Jack Pfiester , and Orval Overall were several key pitchers for the Cubs during this time period. With Chance acting as player-manager from 1905 to 1912, the Cubs won four pennants and two World Series titles over
2320-471: A down-to-the-wire Wild Card chase with the San Francisco Giants , Chicago and San Francisco ended the regular season tied, and thus squared off in a one-game playoff at Wrigley Field. Third baseman Gary Gaetti hit the eventual game-winning homer in the playoff game. The win propelled the Cubs into the postseason for the first time since 1989 with a 90–73 regular-season record. Unfortunately,
2465-459: A fast start in 1999, they collapsed again (starting with being swept at the hands of the cross-town White Sox in mid-June) and finished in the bottom of the division for the next two seasons. Despite losing fan favorite Grace to free agency and the lack of production from newcomer Todd Hundley , skipper Don Baylor 's Cubs put together a good season in 2001. The season started with Mack Newton being brought in to preach "positive thinking". One of
2610-548: A five-year span. Although they fell to the "Hitless Wonders" White Sox in the 1906 World Series , the Cubs recorded a record 116 victories and the best winning percentage (.763) in Major League history. With mostly the same roster, Chicago won back-to-back World Series championships in 1907 and 1908 , becoming the first Major League club to play three times in the Fall Classic and the first to win it twice. However,
2755-401: A full 30 games behind the leading team Wilmington. Attendance suffered as a result, with only 49,238 fans coming through the gate. There were three different player-managers during this season: Pep Rambert , Gene Crumling and Benny Culp . Bill Stratton's 13-11 record led the pitching staff, but he had a horrendous 5.03 ERA. Left-handed batter George D'addario was the offensive leader with
2900-440: A great deal of much needed revenue for both leagues. Pitching carried Hagerstown to high levels again in 1926. Harry Fishbaugh topped the league with 17 wins. Phil Dolan's .833 winning percentage placed him at the top of the league list as well. One of the few blemishes in the season was a no-hitter thrown against Hagerstown by Chuck Warden of Waynesboro on August 3, with Waynesboro winning 3-0. In order to encourage attendance,
3045-473: A high for all of professional baseball in 1943. Maier also led the club with a .363 batting average. Maier would go on to be the starting third baseman for the World Series champion Detroit Tigers in 1945. Thomas Davis provided power with 16 home runs. Pitcher Charles Miller tied for the league lead with 20 wins and set the league record for innings pitched (260). Norman Shope, who split time between
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#17327809898243190-591: A majority interest in the Cubs in 2009, ending the Tribune years. Apparently handcuffed by the Tribune's bankruptcy and the sale of the club to the Ricketts siblings, led by chairman Thomas S. Ricketts , the Cubs ' quest for a NL Central three-peat started with notice that there would be less invested into contracts than in previous years. Chicago engaged St. Louis in a see-saw battle for first place into August 2009, but
3335-773: A member club of the National League (NL) Central Division . The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field , which is located on Chicago's North Side . They are one of two major league teams based in Chicago, alongside the American League (AL)’s Chicago White Sox . The Cubs, first known as the White Stockings, were a founding member of the NL in 1876 , becoming the Chicago Cubs in 1903 . Throughout
3480-462: A minor leaguer. Reliever Tim Stoddard (10–6 3.82, 7 saves) was acquired the same day for a minor leaguer; veteran pitcher Ferguson Jenkins was released. The team's commitment to contend was complete when Green made a midseason deal on June 15 to shore up the starting rotation due to injuries to Rick Reuschel (5–5) and Sanderson. The deal brought 1979 NL Rookie of the Year pitcher Rick Sutcliffe from
3625-638: A no-hitter against the Astros , and six days later the team clinched by beating St. Louis at Wrigley. The club ended the season with a 97–64 record and met Los Angeles in the NLDS . The heavily favored Cubs took an early lead in Game 1, but James Loney 's grand slam off Ryan Dempster changed the series' momentum. Chicago committed numerous critical errors and were outscored 20–6 in a Dodger sweep, which provided yet another sudden ending. The Ricketts family acquired
3770-538: A noteworthy year as a pitcher, winning 15 games with an ERA of 3.21. Both Levan and Bennett were selected to the Inter-State League End of Season All-Star Team for 1950. History was made on June 24 in Hagerstown with the first minor league appearance of future Hall of Famer Willie Mays , who was playing for the Trenton Giants . Appearing in the post-season for the first time since 1946,
3915-501: A pitcher's duel with D-Backs ace Brandon Webb , to "....save Zambrano for (a potential) Game 4." The Cubs, however, were unable to come through, losing the first game and eventually stranding over 30 baserunners in a three-game Arizona sweep. The Tribune company, in financial distress, was acquired by real-estate mogul Sam Zell in December 2007. This acquisition included the Cubs. However, Zell did not take an active part in running
4060-541: A player and manager. His departure after 22 years led local newspaper reporters to refer to the Colts as the "Orphans". After the 1900 season , the American Base-Ball League formed as a rival professional league. The club's old White Stockings nickname (eventually shortened to White Sox) was adopted by a new American League neighbor to the south . In 1902, Spalding, who by this time had revamped
4205-480: A positive springboard since the Cubs were to play a crucial series with the Mets the next day. But Willie Stargell drilled a two-out, two-strike pitch from the Cubs' ace reliever, Phil Regan, onto Sheffield Avenue to tie the score in the top of the ninth. The Cubs would lose 7–5 in extra innings.[6] Burdened by a four-game losing streak, the Cubs traveled to Shea Stadium for a short two-game set. The Mets won both games, and
4350-471: A record 120 games 7 years earlier), would go on to win the World Series. The Cubs, despite a respectable 92–70 record, would be remembered for having lost a remarkable 17½ games in the standings to the Mets in the last quarter of the season. Following the 1969 season, the club posted winning records for the next few seasons, but no playoff action. After the core players of those teams started to move on,
4495-607: A record of 27-22, Cambria moved the team to Parkersburg, West Virginia on June 28, becoming the Parkersburg Parkers . While in Parkersburg, the team posted a record of 9-5 before moving once again on July 12 to Youngstown, Ohio to become the Youngstown Tubers . Despite the change in location and classification, Babe Phelps had another spectacular season, leading the 1932 Middle Atlantic League with
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4640-538: A rough start, which included a brawl between Michael Barrett and Carlos Zambrano , the Cubs overcame the Milwaukee Brewers , who had led the division for most of the season. The Cubs traded Barrett to the Padres, and later acquired catcher Jason Kendall from Oakland. Kendall was highly successful with his management of the pitching rotation and helped at the plate as well. By September, Geovany Soto became
4785-654: A serious contender for the National League pennant. In 2006, the bottom fell out as the Cubs finished 66–96, last in the National League Central . After finishing last in the NL Central with 66 wins in 2006, the Cubs re-tooled and went from "worst to first" in 2007. In the offseason they signed Alfonso Soriano to a contract at eight years for $ 136 million, and replaced manager Dusty Baker with fiery veteran manager Lou Piniella . After
4930-454: A somber note with the death of broadcaster Harry Caray . After the retirement of Sandberg and the trade of Dunston, the Cubs had holes to fill, and the signing of Henry Rodríguez to bat cleanup provided protection for Sammy Sosa in the lineup, as Rodriguez slugged 31 round-trippers in his first season in Chicago. Kevin Tapani led the club with a career-high 19 wins while Rod Beck anchored
5075-441: A sport on the 1947 Inter-State League end of season All-Star team. George D'addario hit 16 home runs. Bill Stratton posted another good year with a 13-9 record. Eddie Owcar had a 13-12 record, while Edward Burnstead led the staff with a 3.82 ERA. Although the Owls did not make the post-season, 65,177 fans attended the Owls home games . The Owls' fortunes did not improve in 1948, with the Owls again finishing in next to last place,
5220-507: A strong bullpen and Mark Grace turned in one of his best seasons. The Cubs were swamped by media attention in 1998, and the team's two biggest headliners were Sosa and rookie flamethrower Kerry Wood . Wood's signature performance was one-hitting the Houston Astros , a game in which he tied the major league record of 20 strikeouts in nine innings. His torrid strikeout numbers earned Wood the nickname "Kid K", and ultimately earned him
5365-563: A strong top-to-bottom rotation, and Smith was one of the top closers in the game. The shift in the Cubs' fortunes was characterized June 23 on the "NBC Saturday Game of the Week" contest against the St. Louis Cardinals; it has since been dubbed simply " The Sandberg Game ". With the nation watching and Wrigley Field packed, Sandberg emerged as a superstar with not one, but two game-tying home runs against Cardinals closer Bruce Sutter . With his shots in
5510-408: A team in 1915 because of the lack of a playing field. Local businessman Henry E. Bester offered land near downtown for construction of a facility (the site is where Bester Elementary School is now located). Once play began Monk Walter posted a .269 batting average while leading the team with 74 hits. Former major leaguer Buck Hooker had a .280 batting average. The leader in innings pitched for
5655-486: A winning record (83–78) for the third consecutive season, the first time the club had done so since 1972 , and a new era of ownership under the Ricketts family was approved by MLB owners in early October. Rookie Starlin Castro debuted in early May (2010) as the starting shortstop. The club played poorly in the early season, finding themselves 10 games under .500 at the end of June. In addition, long-time ace Carlos Zambrano
5800-510: Is known as the "June Swoon". Again, the Cubs' unusually high number of day games is often pointed to as one reason for the team's inconsistent late-season play. Wrigley died in 1977. The Wrigley family sold the team to the Chicago Tribune for $ 20.5 million in 1981, ending the family's 65-year relationship with the Cubs. After over a dozen more subpar seasons, in 1981 the Cubs hired GM Dallas Green from Philadelphia to turn around
5945-422: The 1918 World Series , Boston's last Series championship until 2004. Beginning in 1916, Bill Wrigley of chewing-gum fame acquired an increasing quantity of stock in the Cubs and by 1921, he was the majority owner. Meanwhile, Bill Veeck, Sr. began his tenure as team president in 1919. Veeck would hold that post throughout the 1920s and into the 1930s. The management team of Wrigley and Veeck came to be known as
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6090-796: The Carolina League , winning the league championship in its inaugural season. The affiliation between a Washington major league franchise and a Hagerstown minor league franchise that ended in 1955 with the Packets' dissolution was re-established in 2007 when the Hagerstown Suns began an affiliation with the Washington Nationals . Hagerstown players from this era who were major leaguers are listed below. Players in bold were Major League All Stars. Hagerstown holds several Interstate League season individual season records. Hagerstown Hubs The Hagerstown Hubs were
6235-614: The Chicago Cubs in 1945. An even worse year was had by the Owls as they finished last, 25.5 games behind Lancaster. William Baskin was the leader of the pitching staff, with a 12-12 record and a 4.38 ERA. Frederick Danek it 7 home runs to lead the team. Charles Fitzgerald hit .370 in 63 games, while Tony Mattarazzo hit .315 in 133 games. Hank Nowak returned to the Owls with a league record-tying 22 game hitting streak. The Hubs returned to winning form in 1946, finishing in 3rd place 10.5 games behind league leader Wilmington. The end of
6380-724: The Chicago Whales of the short-lived Federal League . As principal owners, the pair moved the club from the West Side Grounds to the much newer Weeghman Park , which had been constructed for the Whales only two years earlier, where they remain to this day. The Cubs responded by winning a pennant in the war-shortened season of 1918, where they played a part in another team's curse : the Boston Red Sox defeated Grover Cleveland Alexander 's Cubs four games to two in
6525-715: The Cy Young Award . The Cubs 1984 starting lineup was very strong. It consisted of LF Matthews (.291 14–82 101 runs 17 SB), C Jody Davis (.256 19–94), RF Keith Moreland (.279 16–80), SS Larry Bowa (.223 10 SB), 1B Leon "Bull" Durham (.279 23–96 16SB), CF Dernier (.278 45 SB), 3B Ron Cey (.240 25–97), Closer Lee Smith (9–7 3.65 33 saves) and 1984 NL MVP Ryne Sandberg (.314 19–84 114 runs, 19 triples, 32 SB). Reserve players Hebner, Thad Bosley , Henry Cotto , Hassey and Dave Owen produced exciting moments. The bullpen depth of Rich Bordi , George Frazier , Warren Brusstar and Dickie Noles did their job in getting
6670-632: The Detroit Tigers in the 1908 World Series . After losing an extra-inning game in Game 1, the Cubs rallied and took a three-games-to-one lead over the Wild Card Florida Marlins in the National League Championship Series . Florida shut the Cubs out in Game 5, but the Cubs returned home to Wrigley Field with young pitcher Mark Prior to lead the Cubs in Game 6 as they took a 3–0 lead into
6815-641: The Philadelphia Phillies cut the lead to two by the All-star break, as the Cubs sat 19 games over .500, but they swooned late in the season, going 20–40 after July 31. The Cubs finished in fourth place at 81–81, while Philadelphia surged, finishing with 101 wins. The following two seasons also saw the Cubs get off to a fast start, as the team rallied to over 10 games above .500 well into both seasons, only to again wear down and play poorly later on, and ultimately settling back to mediocrity. This trait
6960-493: The Washington Senators and named themselves the Packets for the 1954 season. The name was a reference to the Fairchild C-82 Packet military transport aircraft built in Hagerstown during the 1940s. Al Bennett had an outstanding season, leading the Piedmont League with an ERA of 2.35 and 162 strikeouts. Bennett was selected to the 1954 Piedmont League End of Season All-Star Team. Antonio Garcia tied Bennett for
7105-638: The Yankees featured Babe Ruth's " called shot " at Wrigley Field in game three. There were some historic moments for the Cubs as well; In 1930, Hack Wilson , one of the top home run hitters in the game, had one of the most impressive seasons in MLB history, hitting 56 home runs and establishing the current runs-batted-in record of 191. That 1930 club, which boasted six eventual hall of fame members (Wilson, Gabby Hartnett , Rogers Hornsby , George "High Pockets" Kelly , Kiki Cuyler and manager Joe McCarthy ) established
7250-524: The "Double-Bills". Near the end of the first decade of the double-Bills' guidance, the Cubs won the NL Pennant in 1929 and then achieved the unusual feat of winning a pennant every three years, following up the 1929 flag with league titles in 1932, 1935, and 1938. Unfortunately, their success did not extend to the Fall Classic , as they fell to their AL rivals each time. The '32 series against
7395-686: The 1952 Inter-State League End of Season All-Star Team. The Braves owned a 6-game lead over the Allentown Cardinals at the end of the regular season. Hagerstown swept the York White Roses 4 games to 0 in the first round of the playoffs. In the championship series, Hagerstown triumphed over the Lancaster Red Roses 4 games to 2. After the collapse of the Inter-State League, the Hagerstown Braves and
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#17327809898247540-646: The 1953 Piedmont League End of Season All-Star Team. 1953 would be the last season that Dutch Dorman would be involved in managing the team. During each of his six seasons with the team, Hagerstown qualified for the playoffs. The Braves finished the regular season in second place 2.5 games behind the Norfolk Tars . In the first round of the playoffs, the Newport News Dodgers swept the Braves 4 games to none. Hagerstown re-affiliated themselves with
7685-786: The 1983 World Series the Baltimore Orioles of the AL had home-field advantage. In the NLCS , the Cubs easily won the first two games at Wrigley Field against the San Diego Padres . The Padres were the winners of the Western Division with Steve Garvey , Tony Gwynn , Eric Show , Goose Gossage and Alan Wiggins . With wins of 13–0 and 4–2, the Cubs needed to win only one game of the next three in San Diego to make it to
7830-549: The 1998 NL Rookie of the Year award. Sosa caught fire in June, hitting a major league record 20 home runs in the month, and his home run race with Cardinal's slugger Mark McGwire transformed the pair into international superstars in a matter of weeks. McGwire finished the season with a new major league record of 70 home runs, but Sosa's .308 average and 66 homers earned him the National League MVP Award . After
7975-444: The 2004 season led to the departure of popular commentator Steve Stone , who had become increasingly critical of management during broadcasts and was verbally attacked by reliever Kent Mercker . Things were no better in 2005 , despite a career year from first baseman Derrek Lee and the emergence of closer Ryan Dempster . The club struggled and suffered more key injuries, only managing to win 79 games after being picked by many to be
8120-402: The 8th inning. It was at this point when a now-infamous incident took place. Several spectators attempted to catch a foul ball off the bat of Luis Castillo . A Chicago Cubs fan by the name of Steve Bartman , of Northbrook, Illinois, reached for the ball and deflected it away from the glove of Moisés Alou for the second out of the eighth inning. Alou reacted angrily toward the stands and after
8265-453: The 9th and 10th innings, Wrigley Field erupted and Sandberg set the stage for a comeback win that cemented the Cubs as the team to beat in the East. No one would catch them. In early August the Cubs swept the Mets in a 4-game home series that further distanced them from the pack. An infamous Keith Moreland- Ed Lynch fight erupted after Lynch hit Moreland with a pitch, perhaps forgetting Moreland
8410-562: The Anson-led Chicago Base Ball Club won six National League pennants between 1876 and 1886. By 1890 , the team had become known the Chicago Colts , or sometimes "Anson's Colts", referring to Cap's influence within the club. Anson was the first player in history credited with 3,000 career hits . In 1897, after a disappointing record of 59–73 and a ninth-place finish, Anson was released by the club as both
8555-497: The Blue Ridge League standings. The Hagerstown teams would finish last in the next two years as well. The only player with more than 100 hits in 1921 was John Layne, who had a .302 batting average in 95 games. Wagner led the team with 11 home runs. Earl Berry led the team with 15 wins and 232.2 innings pitched. D. Lee Staley became the president of the club in 1922. The team returned to its previous Terrier nickname, but its fortunes did not change. The team finished 26 games behind
8700-423: The Blue Ridge League switched to a split season format in 1926, where the winner of the first half of the season would play the winner of the second half of the season. The Hubs almost became a spoiler to this format. The Hubs won the first half of the season with an impressive 38-13 record. The Hubs narrowly missed winning the second half as well, finishing only 0.5 games behind second half winner Frederick . In
8845-539: The Blue Ridge League was dissolved because of financial problems. Cambria was able to affiliate the Hubs with the class C Middle Atlantic League. In this league were the Cumberland Colts, who had previously participated in the Blue Ridge League, as well as the Charleroi Governors who had played Hagerstown in the 1929 Tri-State series. The Hubs' days in Hagerstown were numbered. After posting
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#17327809898248990-425: The Braves finished the regular season in first place. Two Hagerstown hitters led the league in batting average (Billy Smith, .373) and RBIs (Pete Perini, 91). Perini's 14 home runs was topped by Louis Tufano's 17. Anderson Bush returned to Hagerstown in 1951 after a decade's absence and had another spectacular season. With a record of 22-3, he set the league record of an .880 winning percentage. Even though Bush had
9135-443: The Braves won the first round of the playoffs, defeating the Giants 3 games to 1. In the championship series the Braves were defeated by the Wilmington Blue Rocks 4 games to 1. Attendance at all minor league games began to drop in as major league baseball was televised coast to coast and in color for the first time in 1951. Also, the Korean War began to impact Americans' lives. The Braves' attendance fell to 67,452, even though
9280-402: The Cardinals for pitcher Ernie Broglio (who won only seven games over the next three seasons), hampered on-field performance. The late-1960s brought hope of a renaissance, with third baseman Ron Santo , pitcher Ferguson Jenkins , and outfielder Billy Williams joining Banks. After losing a dismal 103 games in 1966, the Cubs brought home consecutive winning records in '67 and '68 , marking
9425-745: The Cardinals played to a torrid 20–6 pace that month, designating their rivals to battle in the Wild Card race, from which they were eliminated in the season's final week. The Cubs were plagued by injuries in 2009, and were only able to field their Opening Day starting lineup three times the entire season. Third baseman Aramis Ramírez injured his throwing shoulder in an early May game against the Milwaukee Brewers, sidelining him until early July and forcing journeyman players like Mike Fontenot and Aaron Miles into more prominent roles. Additionally, key players like Derrek Lee (who still managed to hit .306 with 35 home runs and 111 RBI that season), Alfonso Soriano, and Geovany Soto also nursed nagging injuries. The Cubs posted
9570-406: The Champs. The team also had a new leader, Richard Hartle, who took over as club president for the 1920 season and turned a $ 6,000 profit for the season. Activities on the field were just as profitable as Hagerstown won its second Blue Ridge League title. Two dominant pitchers led the way: Charles Dye and Alan Clarke. Dye led the league in wins (18) and winning percentage (.720), while Clarke led
9715-442: The Cleveland Indians. Joe Carter (who was with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs at the time) and right fielder Mel Hall were sent to Cleveland for Sutcliffe and back-up catcher Ron Hassey (.333 with Cubs in 1984). Sutcliffe (5–5 with the Indians) immediately joined Sanderson (8–5 3.14), Eckersley (10–8 3.03), Steve Trout (13–7 3.41) and Dick Ruthven (6–10 5.04) in the starting rotation. Sutcliffe proceeded to go 16–1 for Cubs and capture
9860-404: The Cubs again. They led the Wild Card by 1.5 games over the San Francisco Giants and the Houston Astros on September 25. On that day, both teams lost, giving the Cubs a chance at increasing the lead to 2.5 games with only eight games remaining in the season, but reliever LaTroy Hawkins blew a save to the New York Mets , and the Cubs lost the game in extra innings. The defeat seemingly deflated
10005-403: The Cubs led the division down the stretch. Chicago halted the St. Louis Cardinals ' run to the playoffs by taking four of five games from the Cardinals at Wrigley Field in early September, after which they won their first division title in 14 years. They then went on to defeat the Atlanta Braves in a dramatic five-game Division Series , the franchise's first postseason series win since beating
10150-434: The Cubs left New York with a record of 84–58 just 1⁄2 game in front. More of the same followed in Philadelphia, as a 99 loss Phillies team nonetheless defeated the Cubs twice, to extend Chicago's losing streak to eight games. In a key play in the second game, on September 11, Cubs starter Dick Selma threw a surprise pickoff attempt to third baseman Ron Santo, who was nowhere near the bag or the ball. Selma's throwing error opened
10295-455: The Cubs would not win another World Series until 2016 ; this remains the longest championship drought in North American professional sports. The next season, veteran catcher Johnny Kling left the team to become a professional pocket billiards player. Some historians think Kling's absence was significant enough to prevent the Cubs from also winning a third straight title in 1909, as they finished 6 games out of first place. When Kling returned
10440-553: The Gloamin' ". After the "Double-Bills" (Wrigley and Veeck) died in 1932 and 1933 respectively, P.K. Wrigley , son of Bill Wrigley, took over as majority owner. He was unable to extend his father's baseball success beyond 1938, and the Cubs slipped into years of mediocrity, although the Wrigley family would retain control of the team until 1981. The Cubs enjoyed one more pennant at the close of World War II, finishing 98–56. Due to
10585-587: The Inter-State League and Piedmont League through the 1955 season. In 1981, Lou Eliopulos purchased the Rocky Mount Pines team and moved them to Hagerstown to become the Hagerstown Suns . Municipal Stadium is still the Suns home field. The Middle Atlantic League suspended operations after the 1931 season. The Youngstown Tubers moved to the class B Central League for the 1932 season and became
10730-409: The Inter-State League shrinking to 6 teams. Tyson led the team with a .291 batting average. Earl Rapp had a team leading 8 home runs. Pitcher Walter Wilson had a record of 16-8 and an ERA of 2.32 to lead the Owls. The most interesting game of the season occurred on August 24. Trenton Packers pitcher Jack Casey pitched a no-hitter against Hagerstown, but lost the game 3-2. Hagerstown finished
10875-578: The National League decided to give the home field advantage to the winner of the NL West. In fact, home-field advantage had rotated between the winners of the East and West since 1969 when the league expanded. In even-numbered years, the NL West had home-field advantage. In odd-numbered years, the NL East had home-field advantage. Since the NL East winners had had home-field advantage in 1983, the NL West winners were entitled to it. The confusion may stem from
11020-429: The Owls and the York White Roses , led the league with a 2.65 ERA. Even though Hagerstown won more games in 1943 than 1942, they missed repeating as the regular season leader in 1943, finishing 1 game behind the Lancaster Red Roses . The Owls still qualified for the postseason but were eliminated in the first round by York 3 games to 1. The Owls slumped to fifth place in the six team league in 1944. They finished with
11165-520: The Padres win the game 6–3, with a 4-run 7th inning and keep Chicago out of the 1984 World Series against the Detroit Tigers . The loss ended a spectacular season for the Cubs, one that brought alive a slumbering franchise and made the Cubs relevant for a whole new generation of Cubs fans. The Padres would be defeated in 5 games by Sparky Anderson's Tigers in the World Series. The 1985 season brought high hopes. The club started out well, going 35–19 through mid-June, but injuries to Sutcliffe and others in
11310-553: The South Atlantic League but had resigned to pursue his business interests in Hagerstown. Boyer owned a string of theater houses in the region which gave him an understanding of how to provide a comfortable, inviting experience for his patrons. When the Blue Ridge league formed, Boyer not only owned the Hagerstown entry, but became president of the Blue Ridge League as well. However, Hagerstown almost did not have
11455-478: The Tri-City League organizers added the cities of Chambersburg , Hanover and Gettysburg and petitioned the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, the governing body of Minor League Baseball , for permission to establish a class D (lowest level) professional league, the Blue Ridge League. The Hagerstown Blues were owned by Charles W. Boyer. Boyer was previously the president of
11600-435: The World Series. After being beaten in Game 3 7–1, the Cubs lost Game 4 when Smith, with the game tied 5–5, allowed a game-winning home run to Garvey in the bottom of the ninth inning. In Game 5 the Cubs took a 3–0 lead into the 6th inning, and a 3–2 lead into the seventh with Sutcliffe (who won the Cy Young Award that year) still on the mound. Then, Leon Durham had a sharp grounder go under his glove. This critical error helped
11745-565: The Year Runner-Up Dwight Smith. The Cubs won the NL East once again that season winning 93 games. This time the Cubs met the San Francisco Giants in the NLCS . After splitting the first two games at home, the Cubs headed to the Bay Area, where despite holding a lead at some point in each of the next three games, bullpen meltdowns and managerial blunders ultimately led to three straight losses. The Cubs could not overcome
11890-701: The York White Roses joined the Piedmont League for the 1953 season (two other former Inter-State League teams, the Lancaster Red Roses and the Sunbury Redlegs, would join the Piedmont League in 1954 and 1955, respectively). James Zinn and Joe Blake collected 119 and 117 hits respectively to lead the team, while Theodore Laguna collected 9 home runs. Thomas Horton had the lowest ERA at 2.12, while Jack Larson won 13 games. Third baseman Blake, catcher Laguna and pitcher Horton were named to
12035-961: The Youngstown Buckeyes. Babe Phelps led the Central League during the 1932 season in the categories of batting average (.372), hits (199) and home runs (26). The Central League also suspended operations after the 1932 season, along with the Youngstown team. Hagerstown players from this era who were major leaguers are listed below. A player in bold was a Major League Baseball All-Star. Hagerstown holds several Blue Ridge League individual season records. Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago . The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as
12180-700: The baseball franchise, instead concentrating on putting together a deal to sell it. The Cubs successfully defended their National League Central title in 2008 , going to the postseason in consecutive years for the first time since 1906–08. The offseason was dominated by three months of unsuccessful trade talks with the Orioles involving 2B Brian Roberts , as well as the signing of Chunichi Dragons star Kosuke Fukudome . The team recorded their 10,000th win in April, while establishing an early division lead. Reed Johnson and Jim Edmonds were added early on and Rich Harden
12325-611: The bats went cold in October, as manager Jim Riggleman 's club batted .183 and scored only four runs en route to being swept by Atlanta in the National League Division Series . The home run chase between Sosa, McGwire and Ken Griffey Jr. helped professional baseball to bring in a new crop of fans as well as bringing back some fans who had been disillusioned by the 1994 strike . The Cubs retained many players who experienced career years in 1998, but, after
12470-590: The biggest stories of the season transpired as the club made a midseason deal for Fred McGriff , which was drawn out for nearly a month as McGriff debated waiving his no-trade clause . The Cubs led the wild card race by 2.5 games in early September, but crumbled when Preston Wilson hit a three-run walk-off homer off of closer Tom "Flash" Gordon , which halted the team's momentum. The team was unable to make another serious charge, and finished at 88–74, five games behind both Houston and St. Louis , who tied for first. Sosa had perhaps his finest season and Jon Lieber led
12615-399: The chagrin of the packed stadium, Cubs shortstop Alex Gonzalez misplayed an inning-ending double play, loading the bases. The error would lead to eight Florida runs and a Marlins victory. Despite sending Kerry Wood to the mound and holding a lead twice, the Cubs ultimately dropped Game 7, and failed to reach the World Series . The "Steve Bartman incident" was seen as the "first domino" in
12760-484: The champion Blue Sox, whose exploits were powered by George Rawlings and future Hall of Fame member Hack Wilson . Larry Steinbach led the Terriers with a .332 batting average and 6 home runs. Holmes Diehl returned with a noteworthy season of 6 home runs and a .323 batting average. Billy Russell led all Terriers with 8 home runs. 1924 was a turnaround year for the newly named Hagerstown Hubs. The team finished with
12905-511: The club's history, the Cubs have played in a total of 11 World Series. The 1906 Cubs won 116 games, finishing 116–36 and posting a modern-era record winning percentage of .763, before losing the World Series to the Chicago White Sox ("The Hitless Wonders") by four games to two. The Cubs won back-to-back World Series championships in 1907 and 1908 , becoming the first major league team to play in three consecutive World Series, and
13050-565: The current team batting average record of .309. In 1935 the Cubs claimed the pennant in thrilling fashion, winning a record 21 games in a row in September. The '38 club saw Dizzy Dean lead the team's pitching staff and provided a historic moment when they won a crucial late-season game at Wrigley Field over the Pittsburgh Pirates with a walk-off home run by Gabby Hartnett, which became known in baseball lore as " The Homer in
13195-554: The efforts of Will Clark, whose home run off Maddux, just after a managerial visit to the mound, led Maddux to think Clark knew what pitch was coming. Afterward, Maddux would speak into his glove during any mound conversation, beginning what is a norm today. Mark Grace was 11–17 in the series with 8 RBI. Eventually, the Giants lost to the " Bash Brothers " and the Oakland A's in the famous " Earthquake Series ". The 1998 season began on
13340-459: The entire Blue Ridge League with a .385 batting average and 125 hits. In this dead-ball era , no player hit more than one home run during the season. The pitching staff was led by Earl Howard. Howard's 25 wins set a league mark, and his .714 winning percentage was a high for league in 1917, as was his 163 strikeouts . World War I took its toll on the Terriers and the Blue Ridge League in 1918. The league disbanded on June 16. H.L. Hickey led
13485-481: The fact that Major League Baseball did decide that, should the Cubs make it to the World Series, the American League winner would have home-field advantage. At the time home field advantage was rotated between each league. Odd-numbered years the AL had home-field advantage. Even-numbered years the NL had home-field advantage. In the 1982 World Series the St. Louis Cardinals of the NL had home-field advantage. In
13630-406: The final 37 games of the year. Despite being well out of playoff contention the Cubs went 24–13 under Quade, the best record in baseball during that 37 game stretch, earning Quade the manager position going forward on October 19. On December 3, 2010, Cubs broadcaster and former third baseman, Ron Santo , died due to complications from bladder cancer and diabetes. He spent 13 seasons as a player with
13775-425: The first place team Martinsburg Blue Sox. Tom Day had a .299 batting average in 90 games and 301 at bats for the team. Holmes Diehl led the team in home runs with 7. Ewing Mahan was the best pitcher with a 10-14 record in 183 innings pitched. The Terriers won 11 more games in 1923 as compared to 1922, but it did nothing to improve their place in the standings. The Terriers finished even further behind (27 games)
13920-476: The first time a Cub team had accomplished that feat in over two decades. In 1969 the Cubs, managed by Leo Durocher , built a substantial lead in the newly created National League Eastern Division by mid-August. Ken Holtzman pitched a no-hitter on August 19, and the division lead grew to 8 1 ⁄ 2 games over the St. Louis Cardinals and by 9 1 ⁄ 2 games over the New York Mets . After
14065-562: The first to win it twice. Most recently, the Cubs won the 2016 National League Championship Series and 2016 World Series , which ended a 71-year National League pennant drought and a 108-year World Series championship drought, both of which are record droughts in Major League Baseball . The 108-year drought was also the longest such occurrence in all major sports leagues in the United States and Canada . Since
14210-435: The following year, but this was only good enough for third place. In the following two decades, the Cubs played mostly forgettable baseball, finishing among the worst teams in the National League on an almost annual basis. From 1947 to 1966, they only notched one winning season. Longtime infielder-manager Phil Cavarretta , who had been a key player during the 1945 season, was fired during spring training in 1954 after admitting
14355-644: The franchise has played the most games in MLB history, with an all-time regular season record of 11,327–10,767–161 (.513). The Cubs began in 1870 as the Chicago White Stockings , playing their home games at West Side Grounds . Six years later, they joined the National League (NL) as a charter member. In the runup to their NL debut, owner William Hulbert signed various star players, such as pitcher Albert Spalding and infielders Ross Barnes , Deacon White , and Adrian "Cap" Anson . The White Stockings quickly established themselves as one of
14500-441: The franchise. Green had managed the 1980 Phillies to the World Series title. One of his early GM moves brought in a young Phillies minor-league 3rd baseman named Ryne Sandberg, along with Larry Bowa for Iván DeJesús. The 1983 Cubs had finished 71–91 under Lee Elia, who was fired before the season ended by Green. Green continued the culture of change and overhauled the Cubs roster, front-office and coaching staff prior to 1984. Jim Frey
14645-468: The full-time starter behind the plate, replacing the veteran Kendall. Winning streaks in June and July, coupled with a pair of dramatic, late-inning wins against the Reds , led to the Cubs ultimately clinching the NL Central with a record of 85–77. They met Arizona in the NLDS , but controversy followed as Piniella, in a move that has since come under scrutiny, pulled Carlos Zambrano after the sixth inning of
14790-430: The game of September 2, the Cubs record was 84–52 with the Mets in second place at 77–55. But then a losing streak began just as a Mets winning streak was beginning. The Cubs lost the final game of a series at Cincinnati, then came home to play the resurgent Pittsburgh Pirates (who would finish in third place). After losing the first two games by scores of 9–2 and 13–4, the Cubs led going into the ninth inning. A win would be
14935-427: The game stated that he would have caught the ball. Alou at one point recanted, saying he would not have been able to make the play, but later said this was just an attempt to make Bartman feel better and believing the whole incident should be forgotten. Interference was not called on the play, as the ball was ruled to be on the spectator side of the wall. Castillo was eventually walked by Prior. Two batters later, and to
15080-557: The game to Smith or Stoddard. At the top of the order, Dernier and Sandberg were exciting, aptly coined "the Daily Double" by Harry Caray . With strong defense – Dernier CF and Sandberg 2B, won the NL Gold Glove - solid pitching and clutch hitting, the Cubs were a well-balanced team. Following the "Daily Double", Matthews, Durham, Cey, Moreland and Davis gave the Cubs an order with no gaps to pitch around. Sutcliffe anchored
15225-471: The game's first true superstar. In 1885 and 1886, after winning NL pennants, the White Stockings met the champions of the short-lived American Association in that era's version of a World Series. Both seasons resulted in matchups with the St. Louis Brown Stockings ; the clubs tied in 1885 and St. Louis won in 1886. This was the genesis of what would eventually become one of the greatest rivalries in sports. In all,
15370-405: The gates to a Phillies rally. After that second Philly loss, the Cubs were 84–60 and the Mets had pulled ahead at 85–57. The Mets would not look back. The Cubs' eight-game losing streak finally ended the next day in St. Louis, but the Mets were in the midst of a ten-game winning streak, and the Cubs, wilting from team fatigue, generally deteriorated in all phases of the game.[1] The Mets (who had lost
15515-691: The inaugural Blue Ridge League championship series, the Hubs defeated the Frederick Hustlers 3 games to 1. Hagerstown returned to the Five State championship to play the champion of the Eastern Shore League, the Crisfield Crabbers. Once again, the Hubs were triumphant in the inter-league series, winning 4 games to 2. The Hubs could not sustain the performance of the previous two seasons and fell to last place in
15660-527: The last for the Inter-State League . However, it was the best season for the Braves as they won the championship. Robert Jaderland led the league with 113 runs scored, while Clarence Riddle had a league-topping 93 RBIs. Riddle also led the team with 14 home runs. Pitcher Bob Giggie tied for the league lead in wins with 18, while leading the Hagerstown staff with a 2.82 ERA. First baseman Riddle, pitcher Giggie and outfielder Joseph Christian made
15805-432: The league in 1927. George Kline and Harry Fisher were the team leaders in wins with only 7 wins each. Fisher was also the team leader with 23 games pitched. In 1928, Raynor Lehr, leader of a successful vaudeville and acting troupe, purchased the Hagerstown franchise and assumed its $ 3,000 debt. The team also had three different managers during this season: George Purtell, Lester Bangs and Joel Shelton. George Thomas led
15950-402: The league in runs scored with 15 and Vic Keen led the league in strikeouts with 33 during the truncated season. Late in 1918, Colonel J.C. Roulette died during the worldwide influenza pandemic . The aftermath of the war and pandemic meant that the Blue Ridge League was incapable of operating during 1919. The Blue Ridge League returned in 1920. The Hagerstown team returned with a new name,
16095-479: The league in strikeouts (150). Player-manager and former major leaguer Mike Mowrey had a .333 batting average in 77 games. The power was provided by Tom Day, who hit 11 home runs. On May 21, Hall of Fame pitcher Lefty Grove of Martinsburg made his minor league debut against the visiting Hagerstown team, losing 4-2. On June 11, Grove won his first minor league game, also against Hagerstown. The Champs did not live up to their nickname in 1921, finishing last in
16240-529: The league lead with 20 wins. His 163 strikeouts also led the league. Other league leaders included George Scheiminant (runs scored, 93) and George Thomas (home runs, 19). As the Blue Ridge League champion, the Hubs had the opportunity to play the champion of the class D Eastern Shore League in the Five State championship, so called because there were teams from Maryland , Delaware , Pennsylvania , West Virginia and Virginia (the Blue Ridge League having teams from Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia, while
16385-551: The league leaders in hits , home runs and batting average. Playing for the Hubs in his last season at the age of 39, he had a .321 batting average with 11 home runs. Under Mickey Keliher , the Hubs won the first half season. The Hubs slipped badly in the second half, finishing in last place. Hagerstown recovered in the Blue Ridge League championship series, winning 4 games to 2 over Martinsburg. The Eastern Shore League had folded in 1928. However, in August of that year and agreement
16530-441: The league with 13 home runs. He also had a .341 batting average. The Hubs were only marginally better in 1928, finishing 5th in both halves of the season. In 1929, the team was again sold, this time to Baltimore businessman (and later major league baseball scout) Joe Cambria for $ 2,500. Cambria was a shrewd businessman. One of the innovations introduced by Cambria was night baseball, five years before major league baseball did
16675-494: The league's limit on players with higher level experience. Later in the season on August 25, Earl Howard threw a no-hitter against the Gettysburg Ponies , winning by an identical 4-0 score. Overall, the team also enjoyed its first winning record. Off the field, significant management changes occurred. Boyer resigned as president of the Blue Ridge League to alleviate the concerns of other owners over favoritism. He
16820-436: The most team wins with 14. Wayne Crawford had a .331 batting average in 139 games, while Crawford "Miff" Davidson slugged 23 home runs to lead the Packets. The youngest player on the team was 19-year-old pitcher Pedro Ramos . He only had a 4-2 record in 13 appearances for Hagerstown. However, he would go to the major leagues in 1955 and eventually become a major league all-star in 1959. The Packets finished in fifth place with
16965-512: The new league's top teams. Spalding won forty-seven games and Barnes led the league in hitting at .429 as Chicago won the first National League pennant , which at the time was the game's top prize. After back-to-back pennants in 1880 and 1881, Hulbert died, and Spalding, who had retired from playing to start Spalding sporting goods, assumed ownership of the club. The White Stockings, with Anson acting as player-manager, captured their third consecutive pennant in 1882, and Anson established himself as
17110-489: The next year, the Cubs won the pennant again, but lost to the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1910 World Series . In 1914, advertising executive Albert Lasker obtained a large block of the club's shares and before the 1916 season assumed majority ownership of the franchise. Lasker brought in a wealthy partner, Charles Weeghman , the proprietor of a popular chain of lunch counters who had previously owned
17255-520: The opposing Eastern Shore League had teams from Maryland, Delaware and Virginia). The Five State championship was the idea of C. Edward Spearow, who was the sports editor of the Baltimore Sun . Negotiations began in 1921 with the first series being played in 1922. Hagerstown played the Eastern Shore League champion Cambridge Canners in the 1925 series. The Hubs won the tightly contested series 4 games to 3. The Five State Championship generated
17400-559: The pitching staff contributed to a 13-game losing streak that pushed the Cubs out of contention. In 1989, the first full season with night baseball at Wrigley Field, Don Zimmer 's Cubs were led by a core group of veterans in Ryne Sandberg , Rick Sutcliffe and Andre Dawson , who were boosted by a crop of youngsters such as Mark Grace , Shawon Dunston , Greg Maddux , Rookie of the Year Jerome Walton , and Rookie of
17545-590: The regular season in first place, 0.5 games ahead of the Wilmington Blue Rocks . Hagerstown defeated the Harrisburg Senators 3 games to 1 in the first round of the playoffs. However, in the league championship series, Wilmington captured the title by defeating Hagerstown 4 games to 1. 1943 was a spectacular year for returning player Bob Maier . He set an Interstate League single season record with 52 doubles. The 52 doubles were also
17690-495: The roster to boast what would soon be one of the best teams of the early century, sold the club to Jim Hart . Referencing the youth of the team's roster, the Chicago Daily News called the franchise the Cubs in 1902; it officially took the name five years later. During this period, which has become known as baseball's dead-ball era , Cub infielders Joe Tinker , Johnny Evers , and Frank Chance were made famous as
17835-411: The same. The first night game turned out between 2,500 and 3,000 fans. While other teams lost between $ 18,000 and $ 30,000, Cambria lost only $ 4,000 in 1929. On the field, Frank Wertman was impressive as he struck out 167 batters to lead the league. 1929 was also the year that Reggie Rawlings played for Hagerstown. Rawlings had played 1,500 games for the Blue Ridge League and he was consistently among
17980-426: The season. A bright spot in an otherwise dismal season was the performance of pitchers Eddie Ancherico and Gene Major. Anchirico had a 6-13 record with a 2.83 ERA, while Major had an even better 2.71 ERA off a 12-16 record. This marked Gene Crumling's last year with the team. The former major league player spent seven seasons with the Owls. The most interesting game of the season came on September 3. The Owls played
18125-577: The staff with a 20-win season. The Cubs had high expectations in 2002, but the squad played poorly. On July 5, 2002, the Cubs promoted assistant general manager and player personnel director Jim Hendry to the General Manager position. The club responded by hiring Dusty Baker and by making some major moves in 2003. Most notably, they traded with the Pittsburgh Pirates for outfielder Kenny Lofton and third baseman Aramis Ramírez , and rode dominant pitching, led by Kerry Wood and Mark Prior , as
18270-663: The start of divisional play in 1969, the Cubs have appeared in the postseason 11 times through the 2024 season. The Cubs are known as "the North Siders", a reference to the location of Wrigley Field within the city of Chicago, and in contrast to the White Sox, whose home field ( Guaranteed Rate Field ) is located on the South Side. The Cubs won the Laureus World Team of the Year in 2017. Through 2024,
18415-406: The team and a new one-year affiliation deal was signed with the Washington Senators . The team finished in last place, losing 89 games and drawing only 34,762 fans. Hal Keller's .322 batting average was the best on the team. An indication of the poor performance of this team was the fact that Keller and two other players (James Kelly and Charlie Hiden) led the team with only 4 home runs each during
18560-496: The team declined during the 1970s, and they became known as "the Loveable Losers", which would become a long-standing moniker for the club. In 1977 , the team found some life, but ultimately experienced one of its biggest collapses. The Cubs hit a high-water mark on June 28 at 47–22, boasting an 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 game NL East lead, as they were led by Bobby Murcer (27 HR/89 RBI), and Rick Reuschel (20–10). However,
18705-474: The team was unlikely to finish above fifth place. Although shortstop Ernie Banks would become one of the star players in the league during the next decade, finding help for him proved a difficult task, as quality players such as Hank Sauer were few and far between. This, combined with poor ownership decisions such as the College of Coaches , and the ill-fated trade of future Hall of Fame member Lou Brock to
18850-478: The team with the Boston Braves and renamed the Hagerstown team the Braves. Attendance increased to 84,350. The team's on-field performance changed as well. Hagerstown welcomed back former manager Dutch Dorman . The Braves finished in second behind Wilmington during the regular season. Outfielder Jesse Levan topped the league in batting average (.334) and tied for the lead in runs (171). Al Bennett had
18995-542: The team, as they proceeded to drop six of their last eight games as the Astros won the Wild Card. Despite the fact that the Cubs had won 89 games, this fallout was decidedly unlovable, as the Cubs traded superstar Sammy Sosa after he had left the season's final game after the first pitch, which resulted in a fine (Sosa later stated that he had gotten permission from Baker to leave early, but he regretted doing so). Already
19140-430: The turning point of the era, and the Cubs did not win a playoff game for the next eleven seasons. In 2004 , the Cubs were a consensus pick by most media outlets to win the World Series. The offseason acquisition of Derek Lee (who was acquired in a trade with Florida for Hee-seop Choi ) and the return of Greg Maddux only bolstered these expectations. Despite a mid-season deal for Nomar Garciaparra , misfortune struck
19285-553: The two memorable seasons at Hagerstown, he never made it to the major leagues. Outfielder Smith and pitcher Bush were selected for the 1951 Inter-State League End of Season All-Star Team. In the first round of the playoffs, the Braves were defeated by the Wilmington Blue Rocks 4 games to 1. This marked the fourth time in ten seasons that the Blue Rocks had eliminated Hagerstown. The 1952 season would prove to be
19430-470: The war meant better times for the Inter-State League as well as it expanded from six teams to its original eight with the re-entries of the Harrisburg and Sunbury franchises. Offensively, the leaders were Tom Mattazrazzo with a .327 batting average and Charles Fitzgerald with 12 home runs. The two best pitchers for 1946 were left-handers Eddie Ancherico and Bill Stratton. Ancherico had a 16-8 record and
19575-467: The wartime travel restrictions, the first three games of the 1945 World Series were played in Detroit , where the Cubs won two games, including a one-hitter by Claude Passeau , and the final four were played at Wrigley. The Cubs lost the series, and did not return until the 2016 World Series . After losing the 1945 World Series to the Detroit Tigers , the Cubs finished with a respectable 82–71 record in
19720-438: The year 1915 was Jake Heavener with 117. Probably the most notable performance of 1915 came from pitcher Abe Welcher. He posted a perfect 8-0 record and set the Blue Ridge League winning streak . Welcher was named to the 1915 Blue Ridge League End of Season All Star Team. The Blues finished fourth in the six team league with a 34-42-2 record. The team was renamed the Terriers for the next three seasons. Charles Dysert had
19865-550: Was Bob Allison . The two-time Major League All-Star would help found the Bob Allison Ataxia Research Center at the University of Minnesota in 1990. On February 20, 1956, the Packets and the Piedmont League went out of existence. Hagerstown was without a professional team until 1981 when Lou Eliopulos began the era of Hagerstown Suns baseball. The Baltimore Orioles affiliate competed in
20010-486: Was Anderson Bush. He led the Inter-State League in wins (20), strikeouts (170), earned run average (ERA, 1.61) and winning percentage (.833, 20-4). The Owls made the playoffs, but were eliminated in the first round by the Trenton Senators . Outfielder Brinsky and manager Dutch Dorman were selected for the 1941 Inter-State League End of Season All-Star Team. World War II was having its impact in 1942, with
20155-679: Was acquired from the Oakland Athletics in early July. The Cubs headed into the All-Star break with the NL's best record, and tied the league record with eight representatives to the All-Star game , including catcher Geovany Soto, who was named Rookie of the Year . The Cubs took control of the division by sweeping a four-game series in Milwaukee. On September 14, in a game moved to Miller Park due to Hurricane Ike , Zambrano pitched
20300-572: Was built in a short period of six weeks. Municipal Stadium still stands today as the home field of the Hagerstown Suns. Even with the new stadium, Hagerstown failed to qualify for the playoffs in 1930, finishing last in the first half and second in the second half. Babe Phelps dominated the offensive categories not only for the Hubs, but for the entire league as well. He set or tied the Blue Ridge League season records for at bats (466), hits (175) and extra base hits (62) while posting an equally impressive .376 batting average. On February 9, 1931,
20445-519: Was hired to manage the 1984 Cubs, with Don Zimmer coaching 3rd base and Billy Connors serving as pitching coach. Green shored up the 1984 roster with a series of transactions. In December 1983 Scott Sanderson was acquired from Montreal in a three-team deal with San Diego for Carmelo Martínez . Pinch hitter Richie Hebner (.333 BA in 1984) was signed as a free-agent. In spring training, moves continued: LF Gary Matthews and CF Bobby Dernier came from Philadelphia on March 26, for Bill Campbell and
20590-474: Was once a linebacker at the University of Texas. It was the second game of a doubleheader and the Cubs had won the first game in part due to a three-run home run by Moreland. After the bench-clearing fight, the Cubs won the second game, and the sweep put the Cubs at 68–45. In 1984, each league had two divisions, East and West. The divisional winners met in a best-of-5 series to advance to the World Series, in
20735-419: Was pulled from a game against the White Sox on June 25 after a tirade and shoving match with Derrek Lee, and was suspended indefinitely by Jim Hendry, who called the conduct "unacceptable". On August 22, Lou Piniella, who had already announced his retirement at the end of the season, announced that he would leave the Cubs prematurely to take care of his sick mother. Mike Quade took over as the interim manager for
20880-411: Was replaced as president of the Blue Ridge League by James Vincent Jamison, Jr., who served as president throughout the rest of the league's tenure. On August 15, 1916, Boyer sold his interest in the Hagerstown club to a group headed by Colonel J. C. Roulette. 1917 proved to be a good year for the Terriers. The team had a 61-36 record, winning their first Blue Ridge League championship. Jack Hurley led
21025-615: Was struck with the class C Middle Atlantic League for a post-season inter-league series called the Tri-State Series. The Middle Atlantic League champion Charleroi Governors defeated the Hubs 4 games to 1. In 1930, the Hagerstown School Board exercised an option to build a school on the site of Willow Lane Park. Officials scurried to find a new site and came up with a new location nearby. A remarkable public fundraising campaign ensued, and Municipal Stadium
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