# 2004 Chicago Cubs season

The 2004 Chicago Cubs season was the 133rd season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 129th in the National League and the 89th at Wrigley Field. The Cubs attempted to make a push for the National League pennant after their shocking end to 2003. The Cubs finished 89–73, good for third in the National League Central. Despite the strong record, the Cubs faltered down the stretch and did not make the playoffs. The season is largely viewed as one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history.

## Offseason

* November 25, 2003: Derrek Lee was traded by the Florida Marlins to the Chicago Cubs for Hee-seop Choi and Mike Nannini (minors).
* December 2, 2003: Scott McClain was signed as a free agent with the Chicago Cubs.
* December 18, 2003: Todd Hollandsworth was signed as a free agent with the Chicago Cubs.
* March 23, 2004: Greg Maddux was signed as a free agent with the Chicago Cubs.

## Regular season

In 2004, despite the return of Greg Maddux and a midseason deal for Nomar Garciaparra, misfortune struck the Cubs again. They led the Wild Card by 1.5 games over San Francisco and Houston on September 25, and both of those teams lost that day, giving the Northsiders a chance at increasing the lead to a commanding 2.5 games with only eight games remaining in the season, but reliever LaTroy Hawkins blew a save to the Mets, allowing a three-run game-tying home run with two outs in the ninth. The Cubs lost the game in extra innings, a defeat that seemingly deflated the team, as they proceeded to drop 6 of their last 8 games, including back-to-back 12 inning games to the lowly Cincinnati Reds at home, as the Astros won the Wild Card. Despite the fact that the Cubs had won 89 games, this fallout was decidedly unlovable, as the Cubs traded superstar Sammy Sosa after he had left the season's final game early.

### Season standings
#### National League Central

vteNL Central :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 105 | 57 | .648 | — | 53‍–‍28 | 52‍–‍29 |
| Houston Astros | 92 | 70 | .568 | 13 | 48‍–‍33 | 44‍–‍37 |
| Chicago Cubs | 89 | 73 | .549 | 16 | 45‍–‍37 | 44‍–‍36 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 76 | 86 | .469 | 29 | 40‍–‍41 | 36‍–‍45 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 72 | 89 | .447 | 32½ | 39‍–‍41 | 33‍–‍48 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 67 | 94 | .416 | 37½ | 36‍–‍45 | 31‍–‍49 |

#### Record vs. opponents

2004 National League recordvte Source: :
| Team | AZ | ATL | CHC | CIN | COL | FLA | HOU | LA | MIL | MTL | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | AL |
| Arizona | — | 2–4 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 6–13 | 3–4 | 2–4 | 3–16 | 3–3 | 0–6 | 3–4 | 1–5 | 2–4 | 7–12 | 5–14 | 1–5 | 6–12 |
| Atlanta | 4–2 | — | 3–3 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 14–5 | 3–3 | 4–3 | 4–2 | 15–4 | 12–7 | 10–9 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 4–3 | 2–4 | 8–10 |
| Chicago | 2–4 | 3–3 | — | 9–8 | 5–1 | 3–3 | 10–9 | 2–4 | 10–7 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 13–5 | 4–2 | 2–4 | 8–11 | 8–4 |
| Cincinnati | 3–3 | 4–2 | 8–9 | — | 3–3 | 4–2 | 6–11 | 4–2 | 10–8 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 9–10 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 5–14 | 5-7 |
| Colorado | 13–6 | 2–4 | 1–5 | 3–3 | — | 1–5 | 1–5 | 8–11 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 1–5 | 5–3 | 2–4 | 10–9 | 8–11 | 1–5 | 8–10 |
| Florida | 4–3 | 5–14 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 5–1 | — | 3–3 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 11–8 | 15–4 | 12–7 | 1–5 | 4–2 | 2–5 | 2–4 | 7–11 |
| Houston | 4–2 | 3–3 | 9–10 | 11–6 | 5–1 | 3-3 | — | 1–5 | 13–6 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 6–0 | 12–5 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 10–8 | 7–5 |
| Los Angeles | 16–3 | 3–4 | 4–2 | 2–4 | 11–8 | 3–3 | 5–1 | — | 3–3 | 4–3 | 3–3 | 1–5 | 6–0 | 10–9 | 10–9 | 2–4 | 10–8 |
| Milwaukee | 3–3 | 2–4 | 7–10 | 8–10 | 4–2 | 2–4 | 6–13 | 3–3 | — | 5–1 | 2–4 | 0–6 | 6–12 | 2–4 | 1–5 | 8–9 | 8–4 |
| Montreal | 6–0 | 4–15 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 8-11 | 4–2 | 3–4 | 1–5 | — | 9–10 | 7–12 | 4–2 | 1–6 | 1–5 | 3–3 | 7–11 |
| New York | 4–3 | 7–12 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 5–1 | 4–15 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 10–9 | — | 8–11 | 1–5 | 1–6 | 4–2 | 1–5 | 10–8 |
| Philadelphia | 5-1 | 9–10 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 3–5 | 7–12 | 0–6 | 5–1 | 6–0 | 12–7 | 11–8 | — | 3–3 | 5–1 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 9–9 |
| Pittsburgh | 4–2 | 2–4 | 5–13 | 10–9 | 4–2 | 5–1 | 5–12 | 0–6 | 12–6 | 2–4 | 5–1 | 3–3 | — | 3–3 | 5–1 | 5–12 | 2–10 |
| San Diego | 12–7 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 9–10 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 9–10 | 4–2 | 6–1 | 6–1 | 1–5 | 3–3 | — | 12–7 | 2–4 | 8–10 |
| San Francisco | 14–5 | 3–4 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 11–8 | 5–2 | 4–2 | 9–10 | 5–1 | 5–1 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 1–5 | 7–12 | — | 3–3 | 11–7 |
| St. Louis | 5–1 | 4–2 | 11–8 | 14–5 | 5–1 | 4-2 | 8–10 | 4–2 | 9–8 | 3–3 | 5–1 | 3–3 | 12–5 | 4–2 | 3–3 | — | 11–1 |

### Transactions

* April 1, 2004: Scott McClain was released by the Chicago Cubs.
* April 3, 2004: Trenidad Hubbard was released by the Chicago Cubs.
* April 12, 2004: Trenidad Hubbard was signed as a free agent with the Chicago Cubs.
* June 7, 2004: Sam Fuld was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 10th round of the 2004 amateur draft. Player signed July 9, 2004.
* July 30, 2004: Denny Hocking was signed as a free agent with the Chicago Cubs.
* July 31, 2004: Alex Gonzalez was traded as part of a 4-team trade by the Chicago Cubs with Francis Beltrán and Brendan Harris to the Montreal Expos. The Boston Red Sox sent Nomar Garciaparra and Matt Murton to the Chicago Cubs. The Minnesota Twins sent Doug Mientkiewicz to the Boston Red Sox. The Montreal Expos sent Orlando Cabrera to the Boston Red Sox. The Chicago Cubs sent Justin Jones (minors) to the Minnesota Twins.

### 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 | Michael Barrett | 134 | 456 | 131 | .287 | 16 | 65 |
| 1B | Derrek Lee | 161 | 605 | 168 | .278 | 32 | 98 |
| 2B | Todd Walker | 129 | 372 | 102 | .274 | 15 | 50 |
| SS | Ramón Martínez | 102 | 260 | 64 | .246 | 3 | 30 |
| 3B | Aramis Ramírez | 145 | 547 | 174 | .318 | 36 | 103 |
| LF | Moises Alou | 155 | 601 | 176 | .293 | 39 | 106 |
| CF | Corey Patterson | 157 | 631 | 168 | .266 | 24 | 72 |
| RF | Sammy Sosa | 126 | 478 | 121 | .253 | 35 | 80 |

#### 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 |
| Mark Grudzielanek | 81 | 257 | 79 | .307 | 6 | 23 |
| José Macías | 98 | 194 | 52 | .268 | 3 | 22 |
| Nomar Garciaparra | 43 | 165 | 49 | .297 | 4 | 20 |
| Todd Hollandsworth | 57 | 148 | 47 | .318 | 8 | 22 |
| Paul Bako | 49 | 138 | 28 | .203 | 1 | 10 |
| Alex Gonzalez | 37 | 129 | 28 | .217 | 3 | 8 |
| Tom Goodwin | 77 | 105 | 21 | .200 | 0 | 3 |
| Neifi Pérez | 23 | 62 | 23 | .371 | 2 | 6 |
| Rey Ordóñez | 23 | 61 | 10 | .164 | 1 | 5 |
| Jason Dubois | 20 | 23 | 5 | .217 | 1 | 5 |
| Ben Grieve | 15 | 16 | 4 | .250 | 1 | 6 |
| Damian Jackson | 7 | 15 | 1 | .067 | 1 | 1 |
| David Kelton | 8 | 10 | 1 | .100 | 0 | 0 |
| Brendan Harris | 3 | 9 | 2 | .222 | 0 | 1 |
| Calvin Murray | 11 | 5 | 1 | .200 | 0 | 1 |
| Mike DiFelice | 4 | 3 | 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 |
| Greg Maddux | 33 | 212.2 | 16 | 11 | 4.02 | 151 |
| Carlos Zambrano | 31 | 209.2 | 16 | 8 | 2.75 | 188 |
| Matt Clement | 30 | 181.0 | 9 | 13 | 3.68 | 190 |
| Kerry Wood | 22 | 140.1 | 8 | 9 | 3.72 | 144 |
| Mark Prior | 21 | 118.2 | 6 | 4 | 4.02 | 139 |

#### 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 |
| Glendon Rusch | 32 | 129.2 | 6 | 2 | 3.47 | 90 |
| Sergio Mitre | 12 | 51.2 | 2 | 4 | 6.62 | 37 |

#### 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 |
| LaTroy Hawkins | 77 | 5 | 4 | 25 | 2.63 | 69 |
| Kyle Farnsworth | 72 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 4.73 | 78 |
| Kent Mercker | 71 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2.55 | 51 |
| Mike Remlinger | 48 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3.44 | 35 |
| Francis Beltrán | 34 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4.63 | 40 |
| Jon Leicester | 32 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3.89 | 35 |
| Michael Wuertz | 31 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4.34 | 30 |
| Ryan Dempster | 23 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3.92 | 18 |
| Joe Borowski | 22 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 8.02 | 17 |
| Todd Wellemeyer | 20 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5.92 | 30 |
| Jimmy Anderson | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4.66 | 3 |
| Andy Pratt | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21.60 | 1 |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Iowa Cubs | Pacific Coast League | Mike Quade |
| AA | West Tenn Diamond Jaxx | Southern League | Bobby Dickerson |
| A | Daytona Cubs | Florida State League | Steve McFarland |
| A | Lansing Lugnuts | Midwest League | Julio Garcia |
| A-Short Season | Boise Hawks | Northwest League | Tom Beyers |
| Rookie | AZL Cubs | Arizona League | Trey Forkerway |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Boise; LEAGUE CO-CHAMPIONS: Daytona