About the Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team which plays in the central division of the National League in Major League Baseball (MLB). Their central division opponents include; the St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates and the Milwaukee Brewers. The Chicago Cubs play home games at Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL. 

The Cubs, playing as the "Cubs" since 1902, were one of the original eight organizations when the National League was founded in 1876. The Cubs also went on to build one of the first dynasties in baseball, winning six of the league's first eleven championships. The Cubs dominance culminated with a win in the 1907 World Series, followed by a repeat title in 1908. Since then, however, the poor Cubbies and their fans have spent the last 96 years waiting for a championship, the longest in baseball.

Though they never won the World Series after 1908, The Cubs had some very formidable teams with plenty of hall of fame caliber players. Guys like Ernie Banks, Rogers Hornsby, Billy Williams, Ron Santo, and more recently, Ryne Sandberg, Mark Grace, and Sammy Sosa.

It can be argued, and many would agree, the Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa helped breathe new life into a sport that was garnering less and less public attention after a nasty strike, and failed player-owner negotiations. Sosa and Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals spent the 1998 season chasing Roger Maris record of 61 home runs in a season, captivating the nation. That same year saw Kerry Wood tie a major league record with 20 strikeouts, and receive rookie of the year honors at the end of the season.

Currently, the Cubs look to be in very good shape for the 2006 season, and future ones as well. With a pitching rotation including Mark Prior, Kerry Wood, and Carlos Zambrano, the cubs have pitching easily among the top five in the league. The 2006 Chicago Cubs Schedule will be a very difficult one.  Having Nomar Garciaparra coming back to a lineup that already includes sluggers Derek Lee and Aramis Ramirez is sure to keep opposing defenses on their heels.

Wrigley Field

The Chicago Cubs play their home games at Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL. Wrigley was first built in 1914, and is the second oldest stadium in the league behind Fenway Park. Wrigley has seen such historic baseball moments as Babe Ruth's "called shot" in the 1932 World Series, Pete Rose's 4,191st career hit, and the 1947, 1962, and 1990 all-star games. Naturally, Wrigley Field has undergone many renovations since 1914, including the addition of a scoreboard and bleachers in 1937, lights in 1988, a total of 63 private boxes added throughout the years, and 214 new box seats between the dugouts just before the 2004 season.