# 1986 Chicago Cubs season

The 1986 Chicago Cubs season was the 115th season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 111th in the National League and the 71st at Wrigley Field. The Cubs finished fifth in the National League East with a record of 70–90.

## Offseason

* November 9, 1985: Ced Landrum was signed as an amateur free agent by the Cubs.
* December 11, 1985: Dave Owen was traded by the Cubs to the San Francisco Giants for Manny Trillo.
* December 20, 1985: Derek Botelho was released by the Chicago Cubs.
* January 13, 1986: Larry Whitford (minors) and Rich Rembielak (minors) were traded by the Cubs to the Milwaukee Brewers for Mike Martin.
* January 14, 1986: Jerome Walton was drafted by the Cubs in the 2nd round of the 1986 Major League Baseball draft. Player signed May 12, 1986.
* January 15, 1986: Steve Christmas was signed as a free agent by the Cubs.
* January 17, 1986: Gary Jones (minors) and John Cox (minors) were traded by the Cubs to the Oakland Athletics for Phil Stephenson and Bob Bathe (minors).
* February 1, 1986: Matt Keough was signed as a free agent by the Cubs.

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteNL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| New York Mets | 108 | 54 | .667 | — | 55‍–‍26 | 53‍–‍28 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 86 | 75 | .534 | 21½ | 49‍–‍31 | 37‍–‍44 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 79 | 82 | .491 | 28½ | 42‍–‍39 | 37‍–‍43 |
| Montreal Expos | 78 | 83 | .484 | 29½ | 36‍–‍44 | 42‍–‍39 |
| Chicago Cubs | 70 | 90 | .438 | 37 | 42‍–‍38 | 28‍–‍52 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 64 | 98 | .395 | 44 | 31‍–‍50 | 33‍–‍48 |

### Record vs. opponents

1986 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL |
| Atlanta | — | 9–3 | 6–12 | 5–13 | 10–8 | 4–7 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 12–6 | 7–11 | 6–6 |
| Chicago | 3–9 | — | 5–7 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 9–8 | 7–11 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 10–7 |
| Cincinnati | 12–6 | 7–5 | — | 4–14 | 10–8 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 10–2 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 7–5 |
| Houston | 13–5 | 8–4 | 14–4 | — | 10–8 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 7–5 |
| Los Angeles | 8–10 | 6–6 | 8–10 | 8–10 | — | 5–7 | 3–9 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 6–12 | 8–10 | 8–4 |
| Montreal | 7–4 | 10–8 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 5–7 | — | 8–10 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 9–9 |
| New York | 8–4 | 12–6 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 10–8 | — | 8–10 | 17–1 | 10–2 | 7–5 | 12–6 |
| Philadelphia | 8-4 | 8–9 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 10–8 | 10–8 | — | 11–7 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 6–12 |
| Pittsburgh | 7–5 | 11–7 | 2–10 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–11 | 1–17 | 7–11 | — | 8–4 | 4–8 | 7–11 |
| San Diego | 6–12 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 12–6 | 8–4 | 2–10 | 6–6 | 4–8 | — | 8–10 | 5–7 |
| San Francisco | 11–7 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 10–8 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 3–9 | 8–4 | 10–8 | — | 5–7 |
| St. Louis | 6–6 | 7–10 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 9–9 | 6–12 | 12–6 | 11–7 | 7–5 | 7–5 | — |

### Opening Day starters

* Jody Davis
* Brian Dayett
* Bob Dernier
* Shawon Dunston
* Leon Durham
* Keith Moreland
* Ryne Sandberg
* Rick Sutcliffe
* Manny Trillo

### Notable transactions

* May 2, 1986: Terry Francona was signed as a free agent by the Cubs.
* June 14, 1986: Matt Keough was released by the Cubs.
* July 15, 1986: Steve Lake was released by the Cubs.

### Roster
## 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
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| C | Jody Davis | 148 | 528 | 132 | .250 | 21 | 74 |
| 1B | Leon Durham | 141 | 484 | 127 | .262 | 20 | 65 |
| 2B | Ryne Sandberg | 154 | 627 | 178 | .284 | 14 | 76 |
| SS | Shawon Dunston | 150 | 581 | 145 | .250 | 17 | 68 |
| 3B | Ron Cey | 97 | 256 | 70 | .273 | 13 | 36 |
| LF | Gary Matthews | 123 | 370 | 96 | .259 | 21 | 46 |
| CF | Bob Dernier | 108 | 324 | 73 | .225 | 4 | 18 |
| RF | Keith Moreland | 156 | 586 | 159 | .271 | 12 | 79 |

#### 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 |
| Jerry Mumphrey | 111 | 309 | 94 | .304 | 5 | 32 |
| Davey Lopes | 59 | 157 | 47 | .299 | 6 | 22 |
| Chris Speier | 95 | 155 | 44 | .284 | 6 | 23 |
| Manny Trillo | 81 | 152 | 45 | .296 | 1 | 19 |
| Terry Francona | 86 | 124 | 31 | .250 | 2 | 8 |
| Thad Bosley | 87 | 120 | 33 | .275 | 1 | 9 |
| Dave Martinez | 53 | 108 | 15 | .139 | 1 | 7 |
| Chico Walker | 28 | 101 | 28 | .277 | 1 | 7 |
| Rafael Palmeiro | 22 | 73 | 18 | .247 | 3 | 12 |
| Brian Dayett | 24 | 67 | 18 | .269 | 4 | 11 |
| Steve Lake | 10 | 19 | 8 | .421 | 0 | 4 |
| Mike Martin | 8 | 13 | 1 | .077 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Christmas | 3 | 9 | 1 | .111 | 0 | 2 |

### 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 |
| Dennis Eckersley | 33 | 201.0 | 6 | 11 | 4.57 | 137 |
| Rick Sutcliffe | 28 | 176.2 | 5 | 14 | 4.64 | 122 |
| Scott Sanderson | 37 | 169.2 | 9 | 11 | 4.19 | 124 |
| Steve Trout | 37 | 161.0 | 5 | 7 | 4.75 | 69 |
| Jamie Moyer | 16 | 87.1 | 7 | 4 | 5.05 | 45 |
| Greg Maddux | 6 | 31.0 | 2 | 4 | 5.52 | 20 |
| Drew Hall | 5 | 23.2 | 1 | 2 | 4.56 | 21 |

#### 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 |
| Ed Lynch | 23 | 99.2 | 7 | 5 | 3.79 | 57 |
| Guy Hoffman | 32 | 84.0 | 6 | 2 | 3.86 | 47 |

#### 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 |
| Lee Smith | 66 | 9 | 9 | 31 | 3.09 | 93 |
| Ray Fontenot | 42 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 3.86 | 24 |
| Dave Gumpert | 38 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4.37 | 45 |
| Jay Baller | 36 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5.37 | 42 |
| George Frazier | 35 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 5.40 | 41 |
| Frank DiPino | 30 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 5.18 | 43 |
| Matt Keough | 19 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4.97 | 19 |
| Ron Davis | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7.65 | 10 |
| Dick Ruthven | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.06 | 3 |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Iowa Cubs | American Association | Larry Cox |
| AA | Pittsfield Cubs | Eastern League | Tom Spencer |
| A | Winston-Salem Spirits | Carolina League | Jim Essian |
| A | Peoria Chiefs | Midwest League | Pete Mackanin |
| A-Short Season | Geneva Cubs | New York–Penn League | Jay Loviglio |
| Rookie | Wytheville Cubs | Appalachian League | Tony Franklin |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Winston-Salem