# 2009 Chicago Cubs season

The 2009 Chicago Cubs season was the 138th season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 134th in the National League and the 94th at Wrigley Field. The Cubs, attempting to win the National League Central for the third consecutive season, fell short by finishing in second place with a record of 83–78.

## Minor League affiliates

In 2009 The Chicago Cubs had three minor league affiliates. The team's Single-A affiliate is the Peoria Chiefs, located in Peoria. The Chicago Cubs' Double-A affiliate is the Tennessee Smokies based in the Knoxville, Tennessee metropolitan area. Finally the Chicago Cubs Triple-A Affiliate is the Iowa Cubs, located in Iowa. The Iowa Cubs were coached by former Cub and Hall of Fame player Ryne Sandberg in 2009. Sandberg previously coached the Chiefs and Smokies as well.

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteNL Central :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 91 | 71 | .562 | — | 46‍–‍35 | 45‍–‍36 |
| Chicago Cubs | 83 | 78 | .516 | 7½ | 46‍–‍34 | 37‍–‍44 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 80 | 82 | .494 | 11 | 40‍–‍41 | 40‍–‍41 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 78 | 84 | .481 | 13 | 40‍–‍41 | 38‍–‍43 |
| Houston Astros | 74 | 88 | .457 | 17 | 44‍–‍37 | 30‍–‍51 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 62 | 99 | .385 | 28½ | 40‍–‍41 | 22‍–‍58 |

### Record vs. opponents

2009 National League recordvte Source: MLB Standings Grid – 2009 :
| Team | AZ | ATL | CHC | CIN | COL | FLA | HOU | LAD | MIL | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | WSH | AL |
| Arizona | – | 3–4 | 4-2 | 1–5 | 7-11 | 5–3 | 5–4 | 7-11 | 2–5 | 5–2 | 1–5 | 6–1 | 11-7 | 5-13 | 2–4 | 1–5 | 5–10 |
| Atlanta | 4–3 | – | 4–2 | 3–6 | 4–4 | 8-10 | 3-3 | 4–3 | 3–3 | 13–5 | 10-8 | 3–4 | 3–3 | 3–4 | 4–2 | 10-8 | 7–8 |
| Chicago | 2-4 | 2–4 | – | 10-5 | 2–4 | 4–3 | 11–6 | 3–5 | 10-7 | 3-3 | 1–5 | 10-4 | 4–5 | 4-2 | 6-10 | 5–2 | 6–9 |
| Cincinnati | 5-1 | 6-3 | 5-10 | – | 0-7 | 3-3 | 12-4 | 1-5 | 8-7 | 2-4 | 2-5 | 13-5 | 1-6 | 3-3 | 8-8 | 3-4 | 6-9 |
| Colorado | 11-7 | 4-4 | 4-2 | 7-0 | – | 2-4 | 2-5 | 4-14 | 6-0 | 3-4 | 2-4 | 6-3 | 10-8 | 8-10 | 6-1 | 6-0 | 11-4 |
| Florida | 3-5 | 10-8 | 3-4 | 3-3 | 4-2 | – | 4–3 | 3-3 | 3-4 | 11-7 | 9-9 | 2-4 | 4-2 | 3-4 | 3-3 | 12-6 | 10-8 |
| Houston | 4–5 | 3-3 | 6-11 | 4-12 | 5-2 | 3-4 | – | 4–3 | 5-10 | 1-5 | 6-2 | 10-5 | 6-1 | 2-4 | 6-9 | 3-3 | 6-9 |
| Los Angeles | 11-7 | 3-4 | 5-3 | 5-1 | 14-4 | 3-3 | 3-4 | – | 3–3 | 5-1 | 4-3 | 4-3 | 10-8 | 11-7 | 2-5 | 3-2 | 9-9 |
| Milwaukee | 5-2 | 3-3 | 7-10 | 7-8 | 0-6 | 4-3 | 10-5 | 3-3 | – | 3-3 | 4-3 | 9-5 | 2-4 | 4-5 | 9-9 | 5-3 | 5-10 |
| New York | 2-5 | 5-13 | 3-3 | 4-2 | 4-3 | 7-11 | 5-1 | 1-5 | 3-3 | – | 6-12 | 4-3 | 2-5 | 5-3 | 4-5 | 10-8 | 5–10 |
| Philadelphia | 5-1 | 8-10 | 5-1 | 5-2 | 4-2 | 9-9 | 2-6 | 3-4 | 3-4 | 12-6 | – | 4-2 | 5-2 | 3-4 | 4-1 | 15-3 | 6-12 |
| Pittsburgh | 1-6 | 4-3 | 4-10 | 5-13 | 3-6 | 4-2 | 5-10 | 3-4 | 5-9 | 3-4 | 2-4 | – | 3-4 | 2-4 | 5-10 | 5-3 | 8–7 |
| San Diego | 7-11 | 3-3 | 5-4 | 6-1 | 8-10 | 2-4 | 1-6 | 8-10 | 4-2 | 5-2 | 2-5 | 4-3 | – | 10-8 | 1-6 | 4-2 | 5–10 |
| San Francisco | 13-5 | 4–3 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 10-8 | 4–3 | 4–2 | 7-11 | 5-4 | 3–5 | 4–3 | 4–2 | 8-10 | – | 4–3 | 4–2 | 9–6 |
| St. Louis | 4-2 | 2-4 | 10-6 | 8-8 | 1-6 | 3-3 | 9-6 | 5-2 | 9-9 | 5-4 | 1-4 | 10-5 | 6-1 | 3-4 | – | 6–1 | 9–6 |
| Washington | 5-1 | 8-10 | 2-5 | 4-3 | 0-6 | 6-12 | 3-3 | 2-3 | 3-5 | 8-10 | 3-15 | 3-5 | 2-4 | 2-4 | 1-6 | – | 7–11 |

### Game log

2009 Game Log: 83–78 (Home:46–34, Away: 37–44) :
April (10–11)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 6@ Astros4–2Zambrano (1–0)Oswalt (0–1)Gregg (1)43,8271–0
2April 7@ Astros2–3 (10)Brocail (1–0)Cotts (0–1)31,1211–1
3April 8@ Astros11–6Lilly (1–0)Moehler (0–1)30,0472–1
4April 10@ Brewers3–4Villanueva (1–0)Gregg (0–1)45,4552–2
5April 11@ Brewers6–5Heilman (1–0)Villanueva (1–1)Mármol (1)43,7683–2
6April 12@ Brewers8–5Dempster (1–0)Suppan (0–2)40,1684–2
7April 13Rockies4–0Lilly (2–0)Jiménez (1–1)40,0775–2
8April 15Rockies2–5Marquis (2–0)Harden (0–1)Grilli (1)39,3615–3
9April 16Cardinals4–7Wainwright (2–0)Patton (0–1)Franklin (2)38,9095–4
10April 17Cardinals8–7Heilman (2–0)Pérez (0–1)Mármol (2)40,2506–4
11April 18Cardinals7–5 (11)Guzmán (1–0)Reyes (0–1)40,8787–4
April 19CardinalsPostponed (rain) – rescheduled for July 12
12April 21Reds7–2Harden (1–1)Owings (0–2)38,4038–4
13April 22Reds0–3Cueto (1–1)Lilly (2–1)Cordero (6)38,7388–5
14April 23Reds1–7Harang (2–2)Zambrano (1–1)40,0398–6
15April 24@ Cardinals3–4McClellan (1–0)Mármol (0–1)Franklin (5)45,8128–7
16April 25@ Cardinals2–8Boggs (1–0)Marshall (0–1)46,7078–8
17April 26@ Cardinals10–3Harden (2–1)Wellemeyer (1–2)44,7429–8
18April 27@ Diamondbacks2–7Haren (2–3)Lilly (2–2)29,4719–9
19April 28@ Diamondbacks11–3Zambrano (2–1)Petit (0–2)30,35110–9
20April 29@ Diamondbacks0–10Davis (2–3)Dempster (1–1)26,99910–10
21April 30Marlins2–8 (10)Pinto (2–0)Heilman (2–1)37,95610–11 :
May (15–13)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
22May 1Marlins8–6Patton (1–1)Badenhop (1–1)Gregg (2)38,33611–11
23May 2Marlins6–1Lilly (3–2)Sánchez (1–3)40,08312–11
24May 3Marlins6–4Zambrano (3–1)Nolasco (1–3)Gregg (3)40,45713–11
25May 4Giants4–2Dempster (2–1)Sánchez (1–2)Gregg (4)39,11214–11
26May 5Giants2–6Lincecum (3–1)Marshall (0–2)39,49714–12
27May 6@ Astros6–3Harden (3–1)Hampton (1–3)Gregg (5)29,41515–12
28May 7@ Astros8–5Lilly (4–2)Ortiz (2–1)28,62516–12
29May 8@ Brewers2–3Stetter (2–0)Heilman (2–2)Hoffman (5)42,02516–13
30May 9@ Brewers6–12Gallardo (4–1)Dempster (2–2)44,42816–14
31May 10@ Brewers4–2Marshall (1–2)Suppan (2–3)Gregg (6)41,64617–14
32May 12Padres6–2Harden (4–1)Peavy (2–5)39,96318–14
33May 13Padres6–4 (8)Lilly (5–2)Young (2–2)Mármol (3)38,41019–14
34May 14Padres11–3Dempster (3–2)Gaudin (0–3)39,72820–14
May 15AstrosPostponed (rain) – rescheduled for July 30
35May 16Astros5–4Marshall (2–2)Hawkins (1–1)40,54921–14
36May 17Astros5–6Moehler (1–2)Harden (4–2)Sampson (1)40,47821–15
37May 19@ Cardinals0–3Piñeiro (5–3)Lilly (5–3)41,37421–16
38May 20@ Cardinals1–2Carpenter (2–0)Dempster (3–3)Franklin (10)41,70321–17
39May 21@ Cardinals1–3Wainwright (4–2)Marshall (2–3)Franklin (11)44,23521–18
40May 22@ Padres0–4Peavy (4–5)Zambrano (3–2)Bell (12)27,26021–19
41May 23@ Padres1–3Geer (1–1)Wells (0–1)Mujica (1)37,79821–20
42May 24@ Padres2–7Young (4–2)Lilly (5–4)39,59321–21
43May 25Pirates8–10Gorzelanny (2–1)Cotts (0–2)Burnett (1)38,94221–22
44May 26Pirates6–1 (6)Marshall (3–3)Snell (1–6)38,30322–22
45May 27Pirates5–2Mármol (1–1)Chavez (0–2)Gregg (7)38,31423–22
46May 28Dodgers1–2Wolf (3–1)Wells (0–2)Troncoso (3)39,57923–23
47May 29Dodgers2–1Lilly (6–4)Billingsley (6–3)Gregg (8)40,14824–23
48May 30Dodgers7–0Dempster (4–3)Stults (4–2)41,15325–23
49May 31Dodgers2–8Milton (2–0)Marshall (3–4)40,09125–24 :
June (11–14)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
50June 2@ Braves5–6 (12)Soriano (1–0)Heilman (2–3)30,26225–25
51June 3@ Braves3–2 (11)Guzmán (2–0)Bennett (2–3)Gregg (9)30,64626–25
June 4@ BravesPostponed (rain) – rescheduled for June 22
52June 5@ Reds2–1Zambrano (4–2)Owings (3–7)Gregg (10)32,37427–25
53June 6@ Reds3–4 (11)Masset (3–0)Marshall (3–5)40,91427–26
54June 7@ Reds6–3 (14)Patton (2–1)Lincoln (1–1)Guzmán (1)32,62928–26
55June 9@ Astros7–1Lilly (7–4)Moehler (2–4)29,66929–26
56June 10@ Astros1–2Sampson (3–0)Guzmán (2–1)29,84029–27
57June 11@ Astros1–2 (13)Fulchino (2–1)Ascanio (0–1)34,25029–28
58June 12Twins4–7Slowey (9–2)Wells (0–3)Nathan (14)41,50929–29
59June 13Twins0–2Swarzak (2–2)Harden (4–3)Nathan (15)40,89929–30
60June 14Twins3–2Mármol (2–1)Crain (2–3)40,81430–30
June 16White SoxPostponed (rain) – rescheduled for September 3
61June 17White Sox1–4Danks (5–5)Dempster (4–4)Jenks (15)40,44430–31
62June 18White Sox6–5Gregg (1–1)Thornton (4–2)40,46731–31
63June 19Indians8–7 (10)Gregg (2–1)Vizcaíno (1–3)40,15532–31
64June 20Indians6–5 (13)Patton (3–1)Wood (2–3)41,00733–31
65June 21Indians6–2Wells (1–3)Sowers (1–5)Gregg (11)40,86634–31
66June 22@ Braves0–2Vázquez (5–6)Dempster (4–5)Soriano (6)31,70134–32
67June 23@ Tigers4–5Lyon (3–3)Gregg (BS 3) (2–2)38,04634–33
68June 24@ Tigers3–5Miner (BS 2) (5–1)Harden (4–4)Rodney (15)36,43834–34
69June 25@ Tigers5–6Galarraga (4–7)Lilly (7–5)Rodney (16)42,33234–35
70June 26@ White Sox5–4Wells (2–3)Contreras (2–7)Gregg (12)39,01535–35
71June 27@ White Sox7–8Jenks (2–2)Marshall (3–6)39,52935–36
72June 28@ White Sox0–6Danks (6–6)Zambrano (4–3)39,74535–37
73June 29@ Pirates3–1Harden (5–4)DukeGregg (13)15,40036–37
74June 30@ Pirates0–3Ohlendorf (7–6)Lilly (7–6)Capps (18)17,05436–38 :
July (18–9)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
75July 1@ Pirates4–1Wells (3–3)Vasquez (1–1)Gregg (14)15,77037–38
76July 2Brewers9–5Dempster (5–5)McClung (3–2)40,54538–38
77July 3Brewers2–1 (10)Gregg (3–2)DiFelice (4–1)41,20439–38
78July 4Brewers2–11Looper (7–4)Harden (5–5)40,08839–39
79July 5Brewers8–2Lilly (8–6)Burns (1–2)40,36940–39
80July 6Braves4–2Wells (4–3)Jurrjens (6–7)Gregg (15)40,04241–39
81July 7Braves1–2Vázquez (6–7)Zambrano (4–4)Soriano (9)40,35941–40
82July 8Braves1–4Kawakami (5–6)Hart (0–1)Soriano (10)40,53141–41
83July 10Cardinals3–8Carpenter (7–3)Harden (5–6)40,68741–42
84July 11Cardinals5–2Lilly (9–6)Thompson (2–6)Gregg (16)41,21042–42
85July 12Cardinals7–3Zambrano (5–4)Lohse (4–5)40,70143–42
86July 12Cardinals2–4Wanwright (10–5)Wells (4–4)Franklin (21)41,24443–43
87July 16@ Nationals6–2Harden (6–6)Lannan (6–7)26,98044–43
88July 17@ Nationals3–1Zambrano (6–4)Stammen (2–5)Gregg (17)27,58145–43
89July 18@ Nationals6–5Wells (5–4)Zimmermann (3–5)Gregg (18)36,01446–43
90July 19@ Nationals11–3Hart (1–1)Mock (0–3)34,57447–43
91July 20@ Phillies1–10Lopez (2–0)Lilly (9–7)Durbin (1)45,26847–44
92July 21@ Phillies1–4 (13)Condrey (6–2)Samardzija (0–1)45,21447–45
93July 22@ Phillies10–5Zambrano (7–4)Moyer (9–7)Gregg (19)45,25748–45
94July 24Reds8–5Wells (6–4)Harang (5–11)41,40649–45
95July 25Reds5–3Hart (2–1)Cueto (8–7)Gregg (20)41,36450–45
96July 26Reds5–2Harden (7–6)Owings (6–11)Gregg (21)41,52851–45
97July 27Astros5–1 (13)Samardzija (1–1)Sampson (4–2)40,79452–45
98July 28Astros6–11Fulchino (4–3)Guzmán (2–2)40,81452–46
99July 29Astros12–0Wells (7–4)Hampton (6–8)41,53853–46
100July 30Astros12–3Hart (3–1)Ortiz (3–6)41,52454–46
101July 31@ Marlins2–5Donnelly (1–0)Mármol (2–2)Núñez (9)25,02454–47 :
August (11–17)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
102August 1@ Marlins9–8 (10)Gregg (4–2)Núñez (3–4)Heilman (1)35,81155–47
103August 2@ Marlins2–3Donnelly (2–0)Gregg (4–3)25,96955–48
104August 3@ Reds4–2Wells (8–4)Harang (5–13)Mármol (4)22,22256–48
105August 4@ Reds6–3Gorzelanny (4–1)Cueto (8–9)17,99257–48
106August 5@ Reds0–4Lehr (1–0)Harden (7–7)22,09857–49
107August 7@ Rockies2–6Jiménez (9–9)Marshall (3–7)46,11857–50
108August 8@ Rockies6–5Dempster (6–5)Marquis (12–8)Gregg (22)47,84558–50
109August 9@ Rockies5–11Hammel (7–6)Wells (8–5)40,21758–51
110August 10@ Rockies5–11de la Rosa (10–8)Gorzelanny (4–2)34,48558–52
111August 11Phillies3–4Eyre (2–1)Gregg (4–4)Durbin (2)41,47758–53
112August 12Phillies5–12Martínez (1–0)Samardzija (1–2)41,13358–54
113August 13Phillies1–6Lee (10–9)Dempster (6–6)41,10058–55
114August 14Pirates17–2Wells (9–5)Morton (2–6)41,61959–55
115August 15Pirates3–1Gorzelanny (5–2)Duke (9–11)Gregg (23)41,19760–55
August 16PiratesPostponed (rain)
116August 17@ Padres1–4Bell (5–2)Gregg (4–5)23,42060–56
117August 18@ Padres3–6Carrillo (1–1)Dempster (6–7)Bell (30)19,81460–57
118August 19@ Padres7–1Harden (8–7)Latos (4–3)18,01261–57
119August 20@ Dodgers2–7Belisario (2–3)Guzmán (2–3)48,97461–58
120August 21@ Dodgers1–2Wolf (8–6)Wells (9–6)Broxton (27)51,57961–59
121August 22@ Dodgers0–2Haeger (1–1)Lilly (9–8)Sherrill (21)49,29761–60
122August 23@ Dodgers3–1Dempster (7–7)Billingsley (12–7)Mármol (5)49,71162–60
123August 25Nationals6–15Mock (3–5)Zambrano (7–5)37,29762–61
124August 26Nationals9–4Guzmán (3–3)Bergmann (2–3)36,56263–61
125August 27Nationals4–5Martin (3–3)Wells (9–7)MacDougal (14)35,17463–62
126August 28Mets5–2Gregg (5–5)Stokes (1–3)Mármol (6)39,38164–62
127August 29Mets11–4Dempster (8–7)Parnell (3–7)40,85765–62
128August 30Mets1–4Figueroa (1–3)Zambrano (7–6)Rodríguez (28)39,90765–63
129August 31Astros3–5Oswalt (8–5)Harden (8–8)Valverde (20)36,99065–64 :
September (17–12)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
130September 1Astros4–1Wells (10–7)Moehler (8–10)Mármol (7)36,33266–64
131September 2Astros2–0Lilly (10–8)Paulino (2–7)Mármol (8)39,19267–64
132September 3White Sox0–5Torres (1–0)Dempster (8–8)40,74167–65
133September 4@ Mets2–6Stokes (2–4)Gregg (5–6)Rodríguez (29)37,95367–66
134September 5@ Mets5–3Harden (9–8)Figueroa (2–4)Mármol (9)38,75968–66
135September 6@ Mets2–4Pelfrey (10–10)Wells (10–8)Rodríguez (30)39,59368–67
136September 7@ Pirates4–2Lilly (11–8)McCutchen (0–1)Mármol (10)14,67369–67
137September 8@ Pirates9–4Dempster (9–8)Duke (10–14)17,86270–67
138September 9@ Pirates8–5Zambrano (8–6)Hart (4–6)Mármol (11)10,89971–67
139September 11Reds6–4Stevens (1–0)Lehr (4–2)Mármol (12)39,88172–67
140September 12Reds5–7Rhodes (1–1)Mármol (2–3)Cordero (34)40,35172–68
141September 13Reds5–2Lilly (12–8)Bailey (5–5)39,80573–68
142September 14Brewers2–0Dempster (10–8)Suppan (6–10)Mármol (13)38,72574–68
143September 15Brewers13–7Heilman (3–3)Gallardo (12–12)38,98675–68
144September 16Brewers5–9Looper (13–6)Harden (9–9)38,08475–69
145September 17Brewers4–7Bush (5–7)Wells (10–9)Hoffman (33)39,15875–70
146September 18@ Cardinals2–3Franklin (3–3)Heilman (3–4)45,95975–71
147September 19@ Cardinals1–2Franklin (4–3)Mármol (2–4)46,50675–72
148September 20@ Cardinals6–3 (11)Caridad (1–0)Boggs (2–3)Mármol (14)44,93776–72
149September 21@ Brewers10–2Gorzelanny (6–2)Looper (13–7)34,19277–72
150September 22@ Brewers7–2Wells (11–9)Bush (5–8)34,31678–72
151September 23@ Brewers2–3Narveson (2–0)Samardzija (1–3)Hoffman (35)32,34078–73
152September 24@ Giants3–2Heilman (4–4)Wilson (5–6)Mármol (15)31,60379–73
153September 25@ Giants3–0Zambrano (9–6)Lincecum (14–7)33,97080–73
154September 26@ Giants6–2Gorzelanny (7–2)Zito (10–13)35,88581–73
155September 27@ Giants1–5Cain (14–7)Wells (11–10)Wilson (37)38,33081–74
156September 29Pirates6–0Dempster (11–8)Hart (4–9)35,30882–74
157September 30Pirates0–4Morton (5–9)Lilly (12–9)34,36282–75
158September 30Pirates2–8Karstens (4–5)Zambrano (9–7)33,29982–76 :
October (1–2)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
159October 1PiratesCanceled
160October 2Diamondbacks3–12Buckner (4–6)Gorzelanny (7–3)33,78682–77
161October 3Diamondbacks5–0Wells (12–10)Cabrera (0–6)39,13883–77
162October 4Diamondbacks2–5Davis (9–14)Dempster (11–9)Gutiérrez (9)39,15483–78 :
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### Key injuries

The Cubs were plagued by injuries in 2009, and were only able to field their Opening Day starting lineup three times the entire season. Third baseman Aramis Ramírez injured his throwing shoulder in an early May game against the Milwaukee Brewers, sidelining him until early July and forcing journeyman players like Mike Fontenot and Aaron Miles into more prominent roles. Additionally, key players like Derrek Lee (back), Alfonso Soriano (legs and knee) and Geovany Soto (shoulder) nursed minor, nagging injuries.

## 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 | Geovany Soto | 102 | 331 | 72 | .218 | 11 | 47 |
| 1B | Derrek Lee | 141 | 532 | 163 | .306 | 35 | 111 |
| 2B | Mike Fontenot | 135 | 377 | 89 | .236 | 9 | 43 |
| SS | Ryan Theriot | 154 | 602 | 171 | .284 | 7 | 54 |
| 3B | Aramis Ramírez | 82 | 306 | 97 | .317 | 15 | 65 |
| LF | Alfonso Soriano | 117 | 477 | 115 | .241 | 20 | 55 |
| CF | Kosuke Fukudome | 146 | 499 | 129 | .259 | 11 | 54 |
| RF | Milton Bradley | 124 | 393 | 101 | .257 | 12 | 40 |

#### 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 |
| Koyie Hill | 83 | 253 | 60 | .237 | 2 | 24 |
| Micah Hoffpauir | 105 | 234 | 56 | .239 | 10 | 35 |
| Jake Fox | 82 | 216 | 56 | .259 | 11 | 44 |
| Jeff Baker | 69 | 203 | 62 | .305 | 4 | 21 |
| Reed Johnson | 65 | 186 | 42 | .255 | 4 | 22 |
| Aaron Miles | 74 | 157 | 29 | .185 | 0 | 5 |
| Bobby Scales | 51 | 124 | 30 | .242 | 3 | 15 |
| Andrés Blanco | 53 | 123 | 31 | .252 | 1 | 12 |
| Sam Fuld | 65 | 97 | 29 | .299 | 1 | 2 |
| Ryan Freel | 14 | 28 | 4 | .143 | 0 | 1 |
| Tyler Colvin | 6 | 17 | 3 | .176 | 0 | 2 |
| Joey Gathright | 20 | 14 | 3 | .214 | 0 | 0 |
| So Taguchi | 6 | 11 | 3 | .273 | 0 | 0 |

### Pitching
#### Starting and other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts; WHIP = Walks+hits per inning pitched
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO | WHIP |
| Ryan Dempster | 31 | 200.0 | 11 | 9 | 3.64 | 172 | 1.305 |
| Ted Lilly | 27 | 177.0 | 12 | 9 | 3.10 | 151 | 1.056 |
| Carlos Zambrano | 28 | 169.1 | 9 | 7 | 3.77 | 152 | 1.376 |
| Randy Wells | 27 | 165.1 | 12 | 10 | 3.05 | 104 | 1.276 |
| Rich Harden | 26 | 141.0 | 9 | 9 | 4.09 | 171 | 1.340 |
| Sean Marshall | 55 | 85.1 | 3 | 7 | 4.32 | 68 | 1.441 |
| Tom Gorzelanny | 13 | 38.1 | 4 | 2 | 5.63 | 40 | 1.357 |
| Kevin Hart | 8 | 27.2 | 3 | 1 | 2.60 | 13 | 1.482 |

#### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts; WHIP = Walks+hits per inning pitched
| Player | G | W | L | SV | IP | ERA | SO | WHIP |
| Kevin Gregg | 72 | 5 | 6 | 23 | 68.2 | 4.72 | 71 | 1.311 |
| Carlos Mármol | 79 | 2 | 4 | 15 | 74.0 | 3.41 | 93 | 1.459 |
| Ángel Guzmán | 55 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 61.0 | 2.95 | 47 | 1.049 |
| Aaron Heilman | 70 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 72.1 | 4.11 | 65 | 1.410 |
| John Grabow | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25.0 | 3.24 | 16 | 1.240 |
| Neal Cotts | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11.0 | 7.36 | 9 | 2.091 |
| David Patton | 20 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 27.2 | 6.36 | 23 | 1.807 |
| Jeff Samardzija | 20 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 34.2 | 7.20 | 21 | 1.760 |
| José Ascanio | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15.1 | 3.52 | 18 | 1.761 |
| Esmailin Caridad | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19.1 | 1.40 | 17 | 0.931 |
| Jeff Stevens | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12.2 | 7.11 | 9 | 1.737 |
| Justin Berg | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12.0 | 0.75 | 7 | 0.917 |
| Luis Vizcaíno | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.2 | 0.00 | 3 | 0.545 |
| Jason Waddell | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 | 5.40 | 2 | 1.800 |
| Mitch Atkins | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.500 |
| Chad Fox | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 135.00 | 0 | 15.000 |

## 2008–2009 off-season
### Trades

| November 13, 2008 | To Florida Marlins José Ceda | To Chicago Cubs Kevin Gregg |
| December 31, 2008 | to Cleveland Indians Mark DeRosa | to Chicago Cubs Minor league prospects (Gaub, Stevens, Archer) |
| January 6, 2009 | to Colorado Rockies Jason Marquis | to Chicago Cubs Luis Vizcaíno |
| January 17, 2009 | to Baltimore Orioles Félix Pie | to Chicago Cubs Garrett Olson and Henry Williamson |
| January 27, 2009 | to Seattle Mariners Ronny Cedeño and Garrett Olson | to Chicago Cubs Aaron Heilman |
| May 8, 2009 | to Baltimore Orioles Joey Gathright | to Chicago Cubs Ryan Freel |
| July 2, 2009 | to Colorado Rockies Al Alburquerque | to Chicago Cubs Jeff Baker |
| July 6, 2009 | to Kansas City Royals Ryan Freel | to Chicago Cubs player to be named later |
| July 30, 2009 | to Pittsburgh Pirates Kevin Hart, José Ascanio, and Josh Harrison | to Chicago Cubs John Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny |

### Free agent acquisitions

| Player | Former team | Contract Terms |
| Joey Gathright | Kansas City Royals | 1 year, $800,000 |
| Aaron Miles | St. Louis Cardinals | 2 years, Undisclosed |
| Milton Bradley | Texas Rangers | 3 years, $30,000,000 |
| So Taguchi | Philadelphia Phillies | 1 year, $900,000 |
| Paul Bako | Cincinnati Reds | Undisclosed |

### Players lost to free agency

| Player | New team |
| Bob Howry | San Francisco Giants |
| Kerry Wood | Cleveland Indians |
| Henry Blanco | San Diego Padres |
| Daryle Ward | Cincinnati Reds |
| Jim Edmonds | Retired |

## Sale of the franchise

After many years of speculation that the Chicago Tribune wanted to sell the Chicago Cubs organization, they finally inked a deal on January 22, 2009 with the Ricketts family for a total of $900 million. The sale included the Cubs, Wrigley Field, and the Tribune's 25% stake in the Comcast Sports Network Chicago, a regional TV channel.

## Media

* Radio: Chicago Cubs Radio Network
The Chicago Cubs radio broadcasting team was anchored by veteran announcers Pat Hughes and Ron Santo making it the duo's 15th year together. Hughes provided the play by play while Santo served as the color commentator.
* TV: Comcast SportsNet Chicago, WGN-TV, WGN America, WCIU-TV
The Chicago Cubs 2009 television broadcasting team was anchored by Len Kasper and Bob Brenly. Games could be seen on multiple channels including: WGN-TV, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, WGN America, and WCIU-TV.

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Iowa Cubs | Pacific Coast League | Bobby Dickerson |
| AA | Tennessee Smokies | Southern League | Ryne Sandberg |
| A | Daytona Cubs | Florida State League | Buddy Bailey |
| A | Peoria Chiefs | Midwest League | Marty Pevey |
| A-Short Season | Boise Hawks | Northwest League | Casey Kopitzke |
| Rookie | AZL Cubs | Arizona League | Juan Cabreja |