The 1988 Chicago Cubs season was the 117th season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 113th in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

and the 73rd at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago ...

. The Cubs finished fourth in the

National League East The National League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. Along with the American League Central it is one of two divisions to have every member win at least one World Series title. The division was created when the National Leag ...

with a record of 77–85, 24 games behind the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. The first game under lights at Wrigley Field was on August 8 (8/8/88), against the Philadelphia Phillies. With the Cubs leading 3–1, in the middle of the 4th inning, a powerful thunderstorm rolled in. The game was suspended, and finally called at 10:25PM. Since the rules of Major League Baseball state that a game is not official unless 5 innings are completed, the first official night game in the history of Wrigley Field was played on August 9, when the Cubs defeated the

6 to 4.

Offseason

Philadelphia Phillies at Chicago Cubs 1988-08-06 (ticket)

* October 23, 1987: Dickie Noles was returned to the Chicago Cubs by the Detroit Tigers as part of earlier loan. * December 8, 1987: Lee Smith was traded by the Chicago Cubs to the Boston Red Sox for Al Nipper and Calvin Schiraldi. * December 14, 1987: Vance Law was signed as a free agent with the Chicago Cubs. * February 12, 1988:

Goose Gossage Richard Michael "Goose" Gossage (born July 5, 1951) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1972 and 1994. He pitched for nine different teams, spending his best years with the New Yo ...

was traded by the San Diego Padres with Ray Hayward to the Chicago Cubs for Keith Moreland and Mike Brumley. * March 31, 1988: Mike Bielecki was traded by the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Chicago Cubs for Mike Curtis (minors).

Regular season

President of the United States Ronald Reagan threw out the

ceremonial first pitch The ceremonial first pitch is a longstanding ritual of baseball in which a guest of honor throws a ball to mark the end of pregame festivities and the start of the game. Originally, the guest threw a ball from their seat in the grandstand to ...

on Opening Day at Wrigley Field. After 5,687 consecutive day games played by the Cubs at Wrigley, the lights were finally lit on August 8, 1988, when 91-year-old fan Harry Grossman gave a countdown and pressed a button, for a game with the Philadelphia Phillies. The game began before an announced crowd of 39,008. The Cubs were leading 3 to 1 and coming to bat in the bottom of the fourth when the rain delay began. The umpires called the game after waiting two hours, ten minutes. The Cubs played the first official night game the following night against the Mets and won, 6–4.The Cubs get lights at Wrigley Field <20 years ago this year>
''Chicago Tribune'', Phil Vettel, Jan. 3, 2008.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* July 15, 1988:

Jim Sundberg James Howard Sundberg (born May 18, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player, television sports analyst and executive. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1974 to 1989. A three-time All-Star player, Sundberg esta ...

was released by the Chicago Cubs.

Roster

Ryne Sandberg homers at Wrigley Field - 9-2-1988

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

''Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Other pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Relief pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Farm system

Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball'', 2nd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997

Notes

References

1988 Chicago Cubs season
at ''Baseball Reference'' {{Chicago Cubs Chicago Cubs seasons Chicago Cubs season

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