Sports: Chicago Cubs Tickets

Keywords

Chicago Cubs Team Schedule

Chicago Gigs

Chicago Cubs

Sports

Baseball

Mlb

Stadium

Field

The Chicago Cubs are one of the oldest clubs in Major League baseball. Interestingly they are also the oldest franchise to remain in the same city. The home of the Cubs is the Wrigley Field Stadium. It is the second oldest ballpark in Major League baseball. The stadium is also well known for the ivy foliage covering the outfield walls. As a matter of fact, the Chicago Cubs have played more games than any other team in Major League Baseball. But they also hold the dubious record of not having won the World Series in almost a century. Some even suggest that the club is cursed.

Let get to some statistics, the Cubs were the first team ever to win back to back World Series, in 1907-1908. The fans of the Boston Red Sox are always complaining about the curse of the Bambino. They are referring to the great Babe Ruth. But ironically the team that the Red Sox last defeated in the World Series were none other than the cubs. It was September 11, 1918 when the cubs were thrashed by pitching sensation Babe Ruth. The Cubs have another record to their names, they have won the highest scoring game in Major League baseball, The cubs defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 26-23 on August 25, 1922. They cubs were also the last team to add numbers to their jerseys on June 30, 1932. On July 9, 1937, construction was started on the bleacher seating. To this day, the Chicago Cubs bleacher tickets are considered priceless by many collectors.

The WGN television network has to hand the Cubs a lot of credit for its success. It was WGN-TV who broadcasted the cubs first big-league game back on April 16, 1948. The Chicago Cubs stadium was named Wrigley Field 1926 to honor William Wrigley. The Wrigley family is the same family who own the Wrigley chewing gum company. The family purchased the cubs way back in 1921. In 1960, P.K. Wrigley decided not to have a manager, he decided that the club would instead have a "College of Coaches." The Wrigley Family grabbed the headlines again when they sold the cubs in 1981, to the Tribune Company for sum of 20.5 million. Shortly the famed Ryne Sandberg made his debut at 3rd base for the Cubs on Opening Day, on April 5, 1982 in a 3-2 win against the Cincinnati Reds.

The date February 25, 1988 is of grave importance for the cubs as the Chicago City Council passed an ordinance that permitted limited night baseball at the Wrigley Field. But sadly the first night game on August 8, 1988, against the Philadelphia Phillies was washed out after a mere 3½ innings. On May 30, 1992 the team made one if its best trades in their history. They acquired Sammy Sosa from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for George Bell. Sammy Sosa turned out to be one of the most consistent and premier home run hitters in Major League Baseball. He hit home run number 61 and 62 to cross the record of Roger Maris for hitting the most home runs in a single season. Although the eventual title of most home runs went to St. Louis Cardinal great Mark McGuire, his achievement was acclaimed nonetheless.

But Sammy Sosa kept going, he became the first player in Major League baseball to hit 60 home runs in back to back seasons. As the new millennium appeared on the horizon, the World Series drought continued for the Cubs. But everything was not gloomy, there were achievements as well. The 2003 season was very fruitful for the cubs as Sammy Sosa hit his 500th home run on April 4. On October 5 of the same year, the Cubs won their first playoff series since 1908 when they defeated the Atlanta Braves 4-1. It seems that the curse of the cubs just doesn't seem to end. They cubs lost the National League Central Division title to the Florida Marlins even after taking a commanding 3-1 lead. The Chicago Cubs still have the infamous record of not having won the World Series in their last 59 seasons. They will be determined to erase that record very soon.

2006 Season Preview

The Chicago Cubs faced another disappointing season in 2005. The Club finished the season 21 games away from the first position and with a sub-.500 record. The Clubs were also plagued by injury problems to their roster and shortcomings in their pitching staff.

Price pitcher Kerry Wood missed most of the 2005 season because of an injury to this shoulder. He was confined to the bullpen even after he returned. Wood underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right throwing shoulder at the end of the season. But he should be back in the starting rotation in 2006. The cubs other main pitcher Mark Prior was unable to play for a major part of the season because of a non-displaced fracture in his right elbow. The position players had their share of injuries, shortstop Nomar Garciaparra was injured for more than three months, he tore a groin muscle against St. Louis in April.

These Injuries and the poor offense of the Cubs led the the poor results faced by the team in the 2005 season. At one time in in the season the Clubs lost eight games in a row and 10 of 11. The strongest performer among the Cubs in the 2005 season was Derek Lee. He finished the season with the best batting average in the National League. His hitting percentage rose from .504 to .662 this season. He bettered his career best by hitting14 more home runs than in his previous record. He was also struck out lesser in 2005 than in 2004. But Lee could not the the same batting support from Outfielder Corey Patterson. He hit just .215 in the season which is 50 points less than this batting average in 2004. He also appeared in just 21 games in the season.

The cubs need to improve their pitching and outfield. Both areas have to be targeted. It is also vital that the cubs sign some new players. They should approach free agents like outfielder Jeromy Burnitz, Garciaparra and pitcher Glendon Rusch. The combination of Carlos Zambrano, Wood and Prior are potentially the best 1-2-3 in the league. The Cubs need their top guns to stay clear of injuries. They also need to get a reliable arm to strengthen the bull pen. They cubs have a record for not winning the world series for a long time, they should look to consolidate and strengthen their roster if they want to erase their previous misfortunes. Whatever they do, it has to be potent and long lasting. To attend any Cubs game, just contact your on-line ticket vendor and get the tickets.