# 1969 Chicago Cubs season

The 1969 Chicago Cubs season was the 98th season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 94th in the National League and the 54th at Wrigley Field. The season involved the Cubs gaining renown as "the most celebrated second-place team in the history of baseball." In the first season after the National League was split into two divisions, the Cubs finished with a record of 92–70, 8 games behind the New York Mets in the newly established National League East. Caustic 64-year-old Leo Durocher was the Cubs manager. The ill-fated season saw the Cubs in first place for 155 days, until mid-September when they lost 17 out of 25 games.

## Offseason
### The new National League

With further expansion to the league, the 1969 season marked the first year of divisional play in Major League Baseball. The Atlanta Braves (along with the Cincinnati Reds) were placed in the NL West division, despite being located further east than the 2 westernmost teams in the NL East Division, the Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals. This was because the New York Mets wanted to be in the same division as the reigning power in the NL, which was the Cardinals at the time (to compensate for playing against the Dodgers and Giants fewer times each season). The Cubs consequently demanded to be in the NL East as well in order to continue playing in the same division as the Cardinals, one of the Cubs' biggest rivals. A side effect of this alignment is that it set the stage for what is considered one of the greatest pennant races – and comebacks in such a race – in MLB history.

### Notable transactions

* November 11, 1968: Dave Rosello was signed as an amateur free agent by the Cubs.
* January 15, 1969: Joe Campbell and Chuck Hartenstein were traded by the Cubs to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Manny Jiménez.
* March 28, 1969: Charley Smith was purchased by the Cubs from the San Francisco Giants.

## Regular season
### Season summary

Hoping to improve on the previous year's 84–78 record, the Cubs began the 1969 season by winning 11 of their first 12 games, and on August 16, they were 75–44, up by a season high nine games over second place New York. By September 2, they had a record of 84–52, well on pace to exceed the previous season's mark, but their lead over the Mets had fallen to five games. From there the Mets went on a tear. The Cubs ultimately lost 17 of the last 25 games of the season, while the Mets went 23–7 to overtake the Cubs and finish eight games ahead of them. It was one of the most astounding late season collapses in history, with the seventeen-game turnaround being one of the biggest ever. The Cubs finished 92–70, while the Mets won the National League East and would go on to win the World Series.

#### Summer of '69

Throughout the summer of 1969, led by future Hall of Famers Ernie Banks, Ferguson Jenkins, Ron Santo, Billy Williams, and the game calling skills of Randy Hundley behind the plate, the Chicago Cubs had built a substantial lead in the newly created National League East. At the conclusion of each victory 3rd baseman Santo would jump and click his heels in celebration. After starting pitcher Ken Holtzman's no-hitter on August 19, the Cubs led the division by 8+1⁄2 games over the St. Louis Cardinals and 9+1⁄2 games over the New York Mets.

#### The Rise

The 1969 season was bookended by a pair of homers that was memorable on one side and infamous on the other. On opening day at Wrigley Field on April 8, the Cubs trailed the Phillies 6–5 in the bottom of the 11th inning. With a runner on base, Willie Smith hit a game-winning home run into the right field bleachers. This event essentially "lit the fuse" to the Cubs' successful first five months of the season. They would win the next three games, and 11 out of their first 12, and create a cushion that would extend to 8+1⁄2 games in mid-August.

#### The Fall

After 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 in the series finale. A win would be a positive springboard since the Cubs were to play a crucial series with the Mets the very next day. But Willie Stargell drilled a 2-out, 2-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. Meanwhile, the Mets had taken two of three against Philadelphia over the same weekend.
Burdened by a four-game losing streak, the Cubs traveled to Shea Stadium on September 8 for a short two-game set. The Mets won both games, and the Cubs left New York with a record of 84–58 just 1⁄2 game in front. Disaster 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 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. The Mets (who had lost a record 120 games in their inaugural season 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 17+1⁄2 games in the standings to the Mets in the last quarter of the season.

#### Bad luck

Banks stated, however, that after an error by Young, Santo "went crazy. Young was so upset, he ran out ... I had never seen something so hurtful." According to Banks, "They say one apple can spoil the whole barrel, and I saw that," with the incident dividing the team into factions. The Book Baseball Hall of Shame 2 places the blame squarely (and perhaps unfairly) at the feet of one man, stating, "In the heat of battle, Leo Durocher, field general of the Cubs, went AWOL once too often. It was because of his lack of leadership that his team lost the fight for the 1969 pennant." Durocher did not believe in using the platoon system. He believed in putting his best eight players on the field every day. Five of the Cubs' regular players finished the season with over 150 games played. Two more had more than 130 games played. In his book, The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, baseball historian Bill James cited manager Durocher's method of using his regular players every day without any rest days as a factor in the Cubs' collapse.
Overuse of the pitching staff may have played a part. During the first 118 games (74–43 record on August 13), the Cubs averaged about 4.7 runs a game and gave up only 3.5 runs per game, a 1.2 run per game advantage over the opposition. The last 45 games (18–27 record) saw a major reversal, with 3.7 runs per game for the team and 4.5 runs per game for the opposition (average Cub score would be a negative −0.8 runs per game versus opponents, almost a complete reversal from earlier play). Both the hitters and pitchers may have wilted as the season wound down.
Perhaps most ominously, during one of the Cubs' games against the Mets, a black cat ran onto the field near Santo, and after the cat appeared, the Cubs' collapse began. Earlier in the game, Santo was beaned by Mets pitcher Jerry Koosman. This only fueled the myth of the Curse of the Billy Goat for many years afterwards.

### Season standings

vteNL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| New York Mets | 100 | 62 | .617 | — | 52‍–‍30 | 48‍–‍32 |
| Chicago Cubs | 92 | 70 | .568 | 8 | 49‍–‍32 | 43‍–‍38 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 88 | 74 | .543 | 12 | 47‍–‍34 | 41‍–‍40 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 87 | 75 | .537 | 13 | 42‍–‍38 | 45‍–‍37 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 63 | 99 | .389 | 37 | 30‍–‍51 | 33‍–‍48 |
| Montreal Expos | 52 | 110 | .321 | 48 | 24‍–‍57 | 28‍–‍53 |

### Record vs. opponents

1969 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL |
| Atlanta | — | 3–9 | 12–6 | 15–3 | 9–9 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 13–5 | 9–9 | 6–6 |
| Chicago | 9–3 | — | 6–6–1 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 10–8 | 8–10 | 12–6 | 7–11 | 11–1 | 6–6 | 9–9 |
| Cincinnati | 6–12 | 6–6–1 | — | 9–9 | 10–8 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 10–2 | 5–7 | 11–7 | 10–8 | 8–4 |
| Houston | 3–15 | 4–8 | 9–9 | — | 6–12 | 11–1 | 10–2 | 8–4 | 3–9 | 10–8 | 10–8 | 7–5 |
| Los Angeles | 9–9 | 6–6 | 8–10 | 12–6 | — | 10–2 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 12–6 | 5–13 | 3–9 |
| Montreal | 4–8 | 8–10 | 4–8 | 1–11 | 2–10 | — | 5–13 | 11–7 | 5–13 | 4–8 | 1–11 | 7–11 |
| New York | 8–4 | 10–8 | 6–6 | 2–10 | 8–4 | 13–5 | — | 12–6 | 10–8 | 11–1 | 8–4 | 12–6 |
| Philadelphia | 6-6 | 6–12 | 2–10 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 7–11 | 6–12 | — | 10–8 | 8–4 | 3–9 | 7–11 |
| Pittsburgh | 4–8 | 11–7 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 4–8 | 13–5 | 8–10 | 8–10 | — | 10–2 | 5–7 | 9–9 |
| San Diego | 5–13 | 1–11 | 7–11 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 8–4 | 1–11 | 4–8 | 2–10 | — | 6–12 | 4–8 |
| San Francisco | 9–9 | 6–6 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 13–5 | 11–1 | 4–8 | 9–3 | 7–5 | 12–6 | — | 3–9 |
| St. Louis | 6–6 | 9–9 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 9–3 | 11–7 | 6–12 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 8–4 | 9–3 | — |

### Notable transactions

* June 11, 1969: Adolfo Phillips and Jack Lamabe were traded by the Cubs to the Montreal Expos for Paul Popovich.

#### Draft picks

* June 5, 1969: 1969 Major League Baseball draft
** Jim Todd was drafted by the Cubs in the 10th round.
** Pat Bourque was drafted by the Cubs in the 33rd round. Player signed June 9, 1969.

### Game log

1969 Game Log (92–70) :
April: 16–7 (Home: 7–2; Away: 9–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 8Phillies7 – 6 11Regan (1–0)Lersch (0–1)40,7961–0
2April 9Phillies11–3Hands (1–0)Wise (0–1)6,2972–0
3April 10Phillies6–2Holtzman (1–0)Fryman (0–1)5,4223–0
4April 11Expos1 – 0 12Abernathy (1–0)Sembera (0–1)7,2814–0
5April 12Expos7–3Grant (1–0)Jenkins (0–1)Sembera (2)28,5994–1
6April 13Expos7–6Regan (2–0)Stoneman (0–2)27,6645–1
7April 14Pirates4–0Holtzman (2–0)Veale (1–1)3,1146–1
8April 15Pirates7–4Aguirre (1–0)Ellis (1–1)Abernathy (1)4,3627–1
9April 16@ Cardinals1–0Jenkins (1–1)Carlton (1–1)16,4188–1
10April 17@ Cardinals3–0Hands (2–0)Giusti (1–1)Regan (1)11,3509–1
11April 19@ Expos6 – 5 11Regan (3–0)Shaw (1–2)16,00510–1
12April 20@ Expos6–3Jenkins (2–1)Morton (0–1)N/A11–1
13April 20@ Expos4–2Wegener (1–0)J. Niekro (0–1)McGinn (1)28,02511–2
14April 22@ Pirates7–5Hartenstein (1–0)Hands (2–1)N/A11–3
15April 22@ Pirates6–5Dal Canton (2–0)Nye (0–1)Kline (2)7,90611–4
16April 24Cardinals3–2Giusti (2–1)Holtzman (2–1)11,65611–5
17April 25@ Mets3–1Jenkins (3–1)Seaver (1–2)18,54812–5
18April 26@ Mets9–3Hands (3–1)Cardwell (0–3)16,25213–5
19April 27@ Mets8–6Regan (4–0)Koonce (0–2)N/A14–5
20April 27@ Mets3–0McGraw (2–0)Nye (0–2)37,43714–6
21April 28@ Phillies2 – 1 10Abernathy (2–0)Wise (2–2)4,43815–6
22April 29@ Phillies10–0Jenkins (4–1)Jackson (2–2)3,81116–6
23April 30@ Phillies3–1Fryman (3–1)Hands (3–2)2,93016–7 :
May: 16–9 (Home: 9–4; Away: 7–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
24May 2Mets6–4Holtzman (3–1)Gentry (2–1)Regan (2)14,70217–7
25May 3Mets3–2Regan (5–0)Koonce (0–3)Abernathy (2)23,22818–7
26May 4Mets3–2Seaver (3–2)Hands (3–3)N/A18–8
27May 4Mets3–2McGraw (3–0)Selma (2–3)40,48418–9
28May 6Dodgers7–1Holtzman (4–1)Sutton (3–3)7,25319–9
29May 7Dodgers4 – 2 12Brewer (1–1)Jenkins (4–2)McBean (2)9,74719–10
30May 9Giants11–1Bolin (2–2)Hands (3–4)Gibbon (2)5,18919–11
31May 11Giants8–0Holtzman (5–1)Sadecki (2–4)18,57220–11
32May 12Padres2–0Jenkins (5–2)Ross (1–2)3,88721–11
33May 13Padres19–0Selma (3–3)Kelley (2–3)5,08022–11
34May 14Padres3–2Nottebart (1–0)Podres (3–3)9,62223–11
35May 16@ Astros11–0Holtzman (6–1)Dierker (5–4)17,05324–11
36May 17@ Astros5–4Wilson (3–4)Nottebart (1–1)Gladding (5)18,30724–12
37May 18@ Astros6–5Ray (1–0)Regan (5–1)Gladding (6)13,12624–13
38May 20@ Dodgers7–0Holtzman (7–1)Sutton (4–4)21,26625–13
39May 21@ Dodgers3–1Osteen (6–2)Hands (3–5)16,68825–14
40May 22@ Dodgers3–0Jenkins (6–2)Singer (5–4)17,97426–14
41May 23@ Padres6–0Selma (4–3)Ross (1–4)7,93627–14
42May 24@ Padres7–5Abernathy (3–0)Kelley (2–4)Regan (3)4,43228–14
43May 25@ Padres10–2Podres (4–3)Nye (0–3)N/A28–15
44May 25@ Padres1–0Abernathy (4–0)J. Niekro (1–3)13,11529–15
45May 27@ Giants5–4Linzy (2–1)Regan (5–2)Herbel (1)6,60829–16
46May 28@ Giants9–8Holtzman (8–1)Robertson (1–1)Regan (4)4,44730–16
47May 30Braves2–0Hands (4–5)Reed (5–3)36,07531–16
48May 31Braves3–2Jenkins (7–2)P. Niekro (7–4)29,77832–16 :
June: 18–11 (Home: 13–4; Away: 5–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
49June 1Braves13–4Selma (5–3)Jarvis (5–3)24,34933–16
50June 3Astros4–2Hands (5–5)Lemaster (3–7)8,32034–16
51June 4Astros5–4Jenkins (8–2)Griffin (2–3)13,36035–16
52June 6Reds14–8Holtzman (9–1)Cloninger (3–7)Regan (5)22,18536–16
53June 7Reds5–525,51436–16
54June 9Reds4–1Culver (4–4)Jenkins (8–3)Granger (6)14,87936–17
55June 10@ Braves3–1Holtzman (10–1)Reed (5–5)Regan (6)27,00737–17
56June 11@ Braves5–1P. Niekro (10–4)Hands (5–6)28,70737–18
57June 12@ Braves12–6Selma (6–3)Hill (0–1)Abernathy (3)27,67138–18
58June 13@ Reds14 – 8 10Regan (6–2)Pena (1–1)Nye (1)17,13439–18
59June 14@ Reds9 – 8 10Regan (7–2)Granger (1–2)Jenkins (1)16,00840–18
60June 15@ Reds7–6Carroll (8–3)Regan (7–3)N/A40–19
61June 15@ Reds5 – 4 *Nye (1–3)Arrigo (0–1)Johnson (2)26,51141–19
62June 16@ Pirates9–8Dal Canton (4–0)Regan (7–4)Blass (1)8,81041–20
63June 17@ Pirates1–0Veale (4–7)Jenkins (8–4)Dal Canton (3)N/A41–21
64June 17@ Pirates4–3Blass (7–3)Abernathy (4–1)26,81741–22
65June 18@ Pirates3 – 2 10Gibbon (2–3)Regan (7–5)12,19841–23
66June 20Expos2–0Hands (6–6)Robertson (1–4)18,89042–23
67June 21Expos3–2Reed (2–1)Jenkins (8–5)Shaw (1)33,75042–24
68June 22Expos7–6Selma (7–3)Shaw (1–5)N/A43–24
69June 22Expos5 – 4 6Face (4–1)Reynolds (0–1)McGinn (2)22,07943–25
70June 23Pirates5–4Regan (8–5)Dal Canton (5–1)12,50044–25
71June 24Pirates3–2Hands (7–6)Bunning (6–5)17,53045–25
72June 25Pirates5–2Jenkins (9–5)Veale (4–8)26,43446–25
73June 26Pirates7 – 5 10Regan (9–5)Dal Canton (5–2)29,47347–25
74June 27Cardinals3–1Carlton (8–5)Holtzman (10–2)29,22447–26
75June 28Cardinals3–1Hands (8–6)Giusti (3–7)29,28548–26
76June 29Cardinals3–1Jenkins (10–5)Gibson (10–5)N/A49–26
77June 29Cardinals12–1Selma (8–3)Grant (4–8)41,06050–26
78June 30@ Expos5–2Reed (3–1)Lemonds (0–1)McGinn (3)12,50850–27 :
July: 15–14 (Home: 8–7; Away: 7–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
79July 1@ Expos11–4Renko (1–1)Holtzman (10–3)Face (4)19,85850–28
80July 2@ Expos4–2Hands (9–6)Stoneman (4–11)16,10151–28
81July 3@ Expos8–4Selma (9–3)Wegener (3–6)Regan (7)12,19452–28
82July 4@ Cardinals3 – 1 10Jenkins (11–5)Gibson (10–6)28,17753–28
83July 5@ Cardinals5–1Briles (7–7)Holtzman (10–4)35,76753–29
84July 6@ Cardinals4–2Carlton (10–5)Hands (9–7)Hoerner (9)N/A53–30
85July 6@ Cardinals6–3Taylor (1–0)Nye (1–4)48,29453–31
86July 8@ Mets4–3Koosman (6–5)Jenkins (11–6)37,27853–32
87July 9@ Mets4–0Seaver (14–3)Holtzman (10–5)50,70953–33
88July 10@ Mets6–2Hands (10–7)Gentry (8–7)36,01254–33
89July 11Phillies7–5Boozer (1–0)Abernathy (4–2)Wilson (4)24,50954–34
90July 12Phillies7–4Jenkins (12–6)Wise (6–7)Regan (8)26,73255–34
91July 13Phillies6–0Holtzman (11–5)Fryman (8–6)N/A56–34
92July 13Phillies6–4Colborn (1–0)Palmer (1–4)Nye (2)34,91357–34
93July 14Mets1–0Hands (11–7)Seaver (14–4)Regan (9)37,47358–34
94July 15Mets5–4Gentry (9–7)Selma (9–4)Taylor (8)38,60858–35
95July 16Mets9–5Koonce (4–3)Jenkins (12–7)Taylor (9)36,79558–36
96July 18@ Phillies9–5Regan (10–5)Wilson (2–3)16,75159–36
97July 19@ Phillies5–3Wise (7–8)Hands (11–8)4,80159–37
98July 20@ Phillies1–0Jenkins (13–7)Jackson (9–10)N/A60–37
99July 20@ Phillies6–1Selma (10–4)Champion (3–5)12,39361–37
100July 24Dodgers5–3Holtzman (12–5)Sutton (12–10)Regan (10)26,47662–37
101July 25Dodgers4–2Osteen (13–8)Jenkins (13–8)Brewer (16)20,84462–38
102July 26Dodgers3 – 2 11Regan (11–5)Brewer (3–4)29,17263–38
103July 27Dodgers6–2Drysdale (5–3)Jenkins (13–9)Mikkelsen (1)30,29163–39
104July 28Giants4 – 3 10Nye (2–4)Marichal (13–6)9,43964–39
105July 29Giants4–2Linzy (9–6)Abernathy (4–3)34,00864–40
106July 30Giants6–3Perry (13–7)Nye (2–5)31,64264–41
107July 31Giants12–2Jenkins (14–9)Bolin (5–7)24,16865–41 :
August: 18–11 (Home: 7–7; Away: 11–4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
108August 1Padres5–2Hands (12–8)Kirby (3–14)Regan (11)16,92166–41
109August 2Padres4–1Holtzman (13–5)Santorini (4–10)26,98467–41
110August 3Padres4–3Selma (11–4)J. Niekro (6–8)Regan (12)32,56668–41
111August 4@ Astros9–3Jenkins (15–9)Griffin (7–5)31,72269–41
112August 5@ Astros5–2Hands (13–8)Lemaster (8–11)Regan (13)26,04170–41
113August 6@ Astros5–4Nye (3–5)Billingham (4–6)Selma (1)29,44971–41
114August 8@ Dodgers5–0Singer (14–7)Jenkins (15–10)35,17371–42
115August 9@ Dodgers4–0Hands (14–8)Foster (3–7)48,74872–42
116August 10@ Dodgers4–2Sutton (14–11)Holtzman (13–6)Mikkelsen (2)27,59572–43
117August 12@ Padres4–0Jenkins (16–10)Santorini (4–12)9,79473–43
118August 13@ Padres4–2Hands (15–8)J. Niekro (6–10)9,62574–43
119August 15@ Giants3–0Marichal (14–8)Holtzman (13–7)12,22474–44
120August 16@ Giants3–0Jenkins (17–10)Perry (15–9)16,23675–44
121August 17@ Giants5–3Linzy (10–6)Hands (15–9)N/A75–45
122August 17@ Giants3–1Selma (12–4)Bryant (2–1)Regan (14)25,58676–45
123August 19Braves3–0Holtzman (14–7)P. Niekro (16–11)37,51477–45
124August 20Braves6–2Reed (12–8)Jenkins (17–11)34,70977–46
125August 21Braves3–1Britton (7–4)Hands (15–10)29,86677–47
126August 22Astros8–2Dierker (16–9)Selma (12–5)19,89777–48
127August 23Astros11–5Holtzman (15–7)Gladding (2–4)27,66578–48
128August 24Astros10–9Regan (12–5)Gladding (2–5)Aguirre (1)N/A79–48
129August 24Astros3–2Wilson (16–8)Johnson (0–2)40,43979–49
130August 25Reds9–8Nolan (4–5)Hands (15–11)Ramos (2)30,47979–50
131August 26Reds8–7Merritt (15–5)Selma (12–6)Granger (17)31,47379–51
132August 27Reds6–3Cloninger (9–14)Holtzman (15–8)Carroll (7)31,86779–52
133August 28Reds3–1Jenkins (18–11)Arrigo (2–6)29,09280–52
134August 29@ Braves2–1Hands (16–11)Jarvis (10–9)36,41381–52
135August 30@ Braves5–4Johnson (1–2)Reed (13–9)Regan (15)26,63082–52
136August 31@ Braves8–4Holtzman (16–8)P. Niekro (18–12)Regan (16)33,14283–52 :
September: 8–17 (Home: 4–7; Away: 4–10)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
137September 2@ Reds8–2Jenkins (19–11)Cloninger (9–15)11,60484–52
138September 3@ Reds2–0Maloney (8–4)Hands (16–12)5,96084–53
139September 5Pirates9–2Blass (14–8)Holtzman (16–9)10,41184–54
140September 6Pirates13–4Veale (11–11)Jenkins (19–12)24,56684–55
141September 7Pirates7 – 5 11Dal Canton (8–2)Johnson (1–3)28,69884–56
142September 8@ Mets3–2Koosman (13–9)Hands (16–13)43,27484–57
143September 9@ Mets7–1Seaver (21–7)Jenkins (19–13)51,44884–58
144September 10@ Phillies6–2Wise (13–11)Holtzman (16–10)4,16484–59
145September 11@ Phillies4–3James (1–0)Selma (12–7)Jackson (1)4,25584–60
146September 12@ Cardinals5–1Hands (17–13)Taylor (7–3)31,71785–60
147September 13@ Cardinals7–4Grant (8–11)Jenkins (19–14)Hoerner (15)46,54885–61
148September 14@ Cardinals2 – 1 10Gibson (18–11)Holtzman (16–11)43,76485–62
149September 15@ Expos8–2Wegener (5–12)Selma (12–8)12,01185–63
150September 16@ Expos5–4Hands (18–13)Robertson (5–14)Regan (17)5,21686–63
151September 17Phillies9–7Jenkins (20–14)Champion (5–10)Nye (3)6,06287–63
152September 18Phillies5–3Jackson (13–16)Regan (12–6)5,79687–64
153September 19Cardinals2 – 1 10Holtzman (17–11)Gibson (18–12)N/A88–64
154September 19Cardinals7–2Torrez (9–4)Selma (12–9)15,37688–65
155September 20Cardinals4–1Carlton (17–10)Hands (18–14)Grant (7)28,19488–66
156September 21Cardinals4–3Jenkins (21–14)Taylor (7–5)28,28789–66
157September 23Expos7–3Stoneman (11–18)Holtzman (17–12)3,04789–67
158September 24Expos6–3Hands (19–14)Renko (6–7)2,21790–67
159September 26@ Pirates2–0Ellis (11–17)Jenkins (21–15)4,97390–68
160September 27@ Pirates4–1Blass (16–10)Holtzman (17–13)Moose (4)4,15790–69
161September 28@ Pirates3–1Hands (20–14)Veale (13–14)24,43591–69 :
October: 1–1 (Home: 1–1; Away: 0–0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
162October 1Mets6 – 5 12Taylor (9–4)Selma (12–10)Johnson (1)10,13691–70
163October 2Mets5–3Decker (1–0)Cardwell (8–10)9,98192–70 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Tie        = Postponement Bold = Cubs team member :

## Player stats
### Batting
#### Starters by position

Note: Pos. = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases
| Pos. | Player | G | AB | R | H | Avg. | HR | RBI | SB |
| C | Randy Hundley | 151 | 522 | 67 | 133 | .255 | 18 | 64 | 2 |
| 1B | Ernie Banks | 155 | 565 | 60 | 143 | .253 | 23 | 106 | 0 |
| 2B | Glenn Beckert | 131 | 543 | 69 | 158 | .273 | 4 | 53 | 6 |
| 3B | Ron Santo | 160 | 575 | 97 | 166 | .289 | 29 | 123 | 1 |
| SS | Don Kessinger | 158 | 664 | 109 | 181 | .273 | 4 | 53 | 11 |
| OF | Billy Williams | 163 | 642 | 103 | 188 | .293 | 21 | 95 | 3 |
| OF | Don Young | 101 | 272 | 36 | 65 | .239 | 6 | 27 | 1 |
| OF | Jim Hickman | 134 | 338 | 38 | 80 | .237 | 21 | 54 | 2 |

#### Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| Al Spangler | 82 | 213 | 45 | .211 | 4 | 23 |
| Willie Smith | 103 | 195 | 48 | .246 | 9 | 25 |
| Paul Popovich | 60 | 154 | 48 | .312 | 1 | 14 |
| Jim Qualls | 43 | 120 | 30 | .250 | 0 | 9 |
| Oscar Gamble | 24 | 71 | 16 | .225 | 1 | 5 |
| Adolfo Phillips | 28 | 49 | 11 | .224 | 0 | 1 |
| Nate Oliver | 44 | 44 | 7 | .159 | 1 | 4 |
| Ken Rudolph | 27 | 34 | 7 | .206 | 1 | 6 |
| Bill Heath | 27 | 32 | 5 | .156 | 0 | 1 |
| Gene Oliver | 23 | 27 | 6 | .222 | 0 | 0 |
| Jimmie Hall | 11 | 24 | 5 | .208 | 0 | 1 |
| Rick Bladt | 10 | 13 | 2 | .154 | 0 | 1 |
| Manny Jiménez | 6 | 6 | 1 | .167 | 0 | 0 |
| Johnny Hairston | 3 | 4 | 1 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Bobb | 3 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Charley Smith | 2 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |

### Pitching
#### Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Ferguson Jenkins | 43 | 311.1 | 21 | 15 | 3.21 | 273 |
| Bill Hands | 41 | 300.0 | 20 | 14 | 2.49 | 181 |
| Ken Holtzman | 39 | 261.1 | 17 | 13 | 3.58 | 176 |
| Dick Selma | 36 | 168.2 | 10 | 8 | 3.63 | 161 |
| Archie Reynolds | 2 | 7.1 | 0 | 1 | 2.45 | 4 |

#### Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Joe Niekro | 4 | 19.1 | 0 | 1 | 3.72 | 7 |
| Jim Colborn | 6 | 14.2 | 1 | 0 | 3.07 | 4 |
| Joe Decker | 4 | 12.1 | 1 | 0 | 2.92 | 13 |
| Dave Lemonds | 2 | 4.2 | 0 | 1 | 3.86 | 0 |
| Gary Ross | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 13.50 | 2 |

#### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Phil Regan | 71 | 12 | 6 | 17 | 3.70 | 56 |
| Ted Abernathy | 56 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3.16 | 55 |
| Hank Aguirre | 41 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2.60 | 19 |
| Rich Nye | 34 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5.11 | 39 |
| Don Nottebart | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7.00 | 8 |
| Ken Johnson | 9 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2.84 | 18 |
| Alec Distaso | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.86 | 1 |

## Awards and honors
### League leaders

* Ferguson Jenkins – National League leader, strikeouts (273)

### All-Stars

All-Star Game
* Don Kessinger, starting shortstop
* Ron Santo, starting third baseman
* Ernie Banks, reserve
* Glenn Beckert, reserve
* Randy Hundley, reserve

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Tacoma Cubs | Pacific Coast League | Whitey Lockman |
| AA | San Antonio Missions | Texas League | Jim Marshall |
| A | Quincy Cubs | Midwest League | Walt Dixon |
| A-Short Season | Huron Cubs | Northern League | Mel Wright |
| Rookie | Caldwell Cubs | Pioneer League | George Freese |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Tacoma