Seven years ago Saturday, Travis Wood crushed a grand slam in a start against the White Sox, the first by a pitcher at Wrigley Field since 1972. But with the universal DH likely coming to MLB in 2020, the days of seeing Cubs pitchers rake might be gone, at least this season.
Thus, we looked back at some of the Cubs best hitting pitchers since 1900. To qualify, players had to have at least 100 at bats with the Cubs and had to have played at least 90 percent of their games as a pitcher.
15. Rick Sutcliffe — 3 HR, 29 OPS+, .173 BA
Sutcliffe has the second-lowest batting average of any pitcher on this list but he made up for the lack of consistency with a few big moments at the plate. In Game 1 of the 1984 NLCS, he led off the bottom of the third inning with a home run off Eric Show. Sutcliffe also hit three regular season home runs with the Cubs, despite hitting just one in his previous 124 major league at bats.
Sutcliffe’s final home run came in 1988 against the Houston Astros. The pitcher that day? Future Cubs broadcaster Jim Deshaies.
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14. Hippo Vaughn — 3 HR, 39 OPS+, .180 BA
Vaughn won 20 games five times with the Cubs but he could also swing the bat a little bit. He homered three times with the Cubs, and his third and final long ball came off Hall of Fame Cardinals pitcher Jesse Haines in 1921. Vaughn also hit an impressive 21 doubles and posted an OPS+ of 39.
13. Tex Carleton — 3 HR, 40 OPS+, .190 BA
All three of Carleton’s home runs with the Cubs came against the Boston Bees in 1936. Before he joined the Cubs, Carleton (then with the Cardinals) hit a home run off Charlie Root at Wrigley Field in 1933. Carleton hit .190 with a 40 OPS+ during his tenure with Chicago.
12. Lon Warneke — 3 HR, 42 OPS+, .219 BA
Warneke pitched on some very good Cubs teams from 1930-36, reaching the World Series twice (1932 and '35.) He was the only pitcher to win a game for the Cubs in the ‘35 Fall Classic, going 2-0. He also collected a hit on a second inning single in his Game 5 win. He hit three home runs and had a 42 OPS+ in his Cubs career.
11. Jim Bullinger — 3 HR, 54 OPS+, .180 BA
All three of Bullinger’s home runs with the Cubs came on the road, but the first one was special. On June 8, 1992 (in the first game of a doubleheader) Bullinger homered on the first pitch he faced, in his first career major league at bat. Those are the types of moments that earn you a reputation as a good hitting pitcher, and Bullinger lived up to those expectations with a career OPS+ of 54.
10. Pat Malone — 9 HR, 28 OPS+, .200 BA
Malone was a key piece of the Cubs starting rotation from 1928-34 before being traded to the Cardinals. He helped pitch the Cubs to the 1929 World Series but wound up on the losing end of the clinching game, despite doubling to right field in his first at-bat. Four of his nine career home runs came in 1930, when he posted a league-high 20 wins.
9. Charlie Root —11 HR, 28 OPS+, .182 BA
Root played for the Cubs for a long time (1926-41), so it comes as no surprise that no Cubs pitcher since 1900 has more RBIs than him (93). Only three players on this list have more home runs than Root, and he’s one of two players on this list to homer off of another player on this list (Carleton in 1934.) Root also leads all Cubs pitcher with 46 doubles.
8. Jake Arrieta — 5 HR, 30 OPS+, .178 BA
Arrieta homered five times in just 259 career at bats with the Cubs. Only Travis Wood has more home runs in fewer at bats among Cubs pitchers. Arrieta helped himself out at the plate in both of his no-hitters, going 1-for-4 against the Dodgers in 2015 and 2-for-4 against the Reds in 2016. He also famously hit a three-run homer off Madison Bumgarner in the second inning of Game 3 of the 2016 NLDS.
7. Claude Passeau — 12 HR, 36 OPS+, .185 BA
Only two Cubs pitchers (Carlos Zambrano and Fergie Jenkins) have more home runs than Passeau. He was a five-time All-Star with the Cubs, winning 20 games in 1940 and finishing in the top-10 in MVP voting in 1942. Passeau had four seasons with at least two home runs from the plate. He also hit 20 doubles and three triples during his time with the Cubs.
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6. Pete Alexander — 6 HR, 53 OPS+, .230 BA
Alexander is a Hall of Fame pitcher with 373 wins and five ERA titles to his name, but he was also a solid hitter. He homered 11 times in his MLB career, six times as a Cub. He’s one of two pitchers on this list to hit a walk-off homer. Alexander finished his MLB career with 378 hits and a .209 average.
5. Paul Minner — 6 HR, 58 OPS+, .221 BA
Minner was a consistent member of the Cubs starting rotation from 1950-56. The left-hander finished his Cubs career with 64 complete games, but he could also swing the bat. He hit six home runs and posted a 58 OPS+ with the Cubs. The Cubs didn't post a winning season during his tenure, but Minner hit at least one home run in every season from 1950-54.
4. Travis Wood — 7 HR, 50 OPS+, .197 BA
Wood is the only player on this list with a grand slam on his resume. He’s also one of just three players listed here to hit a home run in the playoffs (2016). Considering Wood pitched 200 innings just once during his Cubs career, it’s astounding he wound up with seven homers. Just imagine the long ball totals he would have if he were a consistent member of the starting rotation. Wood is also easily the best left fielder of this bunch.
3. Tony Kaufmann — 8 HR, 70 OPS+, .243 BA
Kaufmann was a Chicago native who pitched for the Cubs from 1921-27. He has the highest OPS+ of any Cubs pitcher in franchise history (70) and also hit eight home runs with 20 additional extra-base hits in his career. His .243 average is the second-best among Cubs pitchers with at least 100 at-bats since 1900. He homered twice in the same game on the Fourth of July in 1925 against the Cardinals.
2. Fergie Jenkins — 13 HR, 23 OPS+, .165 BA
Jenkins is one of just five Cubs pitchers ever to homer twice in the same game, which he pulled off on Sept. 1, 1971 against Montreal. His first career home run actually came in his Cubs debut against Don Sutton and the Dodgers on April 23, 1966. Fergie notched his first Cubs win, first Cubs strikeout, first career hit and first career home run all in the same day (and it was a relief appearance.)
Jenkins is the only player on this list to take two Hall of Famers deep (Sutton and Tom Seaver.) His 13 home runs and 85 RBIs both rank second in franchise history among pitchers since 1900.
1. Carlos Zambrano — 23 HR, 64 OPS+, .241 BA
Zambrano has more home runs than any pitcher in Cubs franchise history (23) and finished with a career OPS+ of 64. The list of pitchers Big Z took deep is impressive by any hitter’s standards: Tom Glavine, Roy Oswalt, Mark Buerhle, Johnny Cueto and Aaron Harang, just to name a few.
In 2006, the same season he finished fifth in Cy Young voting, Zambrano smashed six home runs and earned his first of three Silver Slugger awards. His .395 slugging percentage is the highest of any Cubs pitcher since 1900 (with a minimum of 100 at bats.) Zambrano finished his career with a .718 OPS against lefties. That’ll play.
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