5 Greatest Chicago Cubs Pitchers of All Time

The best closer of the 1980s had to make the list. Sure, at least a dozen other pitchers may make it ahead of Smith on other lists. But relievers need some love, too.

Smith joined the Cubs in the Bigs in 1980, pitching in just 18 games, but showcasing his worth to the tune of a 2.91 earned-run average. He’d put up similar numbers, but with more games, the next year before establishing himself as the team’s closer in 1982. In 1983, Smith led the National League in saves with 29 and made his first All-Star game.

He would continue with the club through 1987, registering more than 30 saves per season the rest of the way before joining the Boston Red Sox. Smith remains Chicago’s all-time leader in saves.

4. Greg Maddux

Clearly, this list tallies only the time a particular pitcher spent with the organization at topic. If it were measuring a pitcher’s complete stint in the majors, Maddux is, without a doubt, the best pitcher to put on a Cubs uniform. Instead, Chicago fans got the rising star.

Maddux was taken by the Cubs in the second round of the 1984 draft, and he hemmed and hawed his first two years in the Bigs, even registering a negative-0.4 WAR in 1987. Then, for whatever reason, the light came on. 

Maddux was an All-Star in 1988 and finished third in NL Cy Young voting in 1989. By 1992, his final season with the Cubs, Maddux was both an All-Star and Cy Young winner. The trophy would be the first of four straight he would pick up in that category, though the last three came with the Atlanta Braves.

RELATED READ: 5 Greatest Cubs Hitters of All Time

3. Rick Reuschel

The mid-to-late 1970s saw the Cubs go through some slim years. Their best season between 1973 and 1983 was an 81-81 season in 1977. Chicago wasn’t miserable, but they weren’t great. Part of the reason they avoided the former fate was because Reuschel.

Over 12 seasons with the Cubs, Reuschel managed just eight more wins than losses, 135-127. However, that’s more a product of his team’s difficulties. He played 1973 through 1981 - and again 1983 and 1984 - with the Cubs and recorded a 3.50 ERA. His best season came in that .500 season when he finished third in NL Cy Young voting.

From a resume standpoint, it’s easy to leave Reuschel off this list. But he remains behind only one pitcher in WAR in Cubs’ history. Someone had to carry the "Loveable Losers" through the 1970s and Reuschel did it the best he could.

2. Mordecai Brown

Pitchers’ statistical totals during the first two decades of the 20th century jump off the page. By the numbers, one would think pitchers at that time must have been amazing. More so, the time from 1900 to about 1920 is called the dead-ball era for a reason. Just about every pitcher had an automatic advantage over hitters.

That doesn’t mean they weren’t any good, though, which is why Brown, who pitched for the Cubs from 1904 to 1912, makes this list. He carried an absurd 1.80 ERA and 0.998 WHIP over the course of his 10 seasons (he played a final year in Chicago in 1916) with the Cubs. Most importantly to his legacy, Brown helped the Cubs to their first two World Series wins in 1907 and 1908.

Famously, Brown was nicknamed “Three Fingers,” though he actually had four-and-a-half. He lost one in a piece of farming equipment and later paralyzed another after breaking it.

1. Ferguson Jenkins

Jenkins played with the Cubs for barely half of his 19 seasons in the majors and made the All-Star game just three times over those nearly two decades. But for a five-season stretch in Chicago from 1967 to 1972, he may have been the best pitcher in baseball. Not to mention good-to-great work elsewhere in career, right on through the 1980s.

From 1967 to 1972, Jenkins was absolutely incredible. He won the National League Cy Young Award in 1971 upon going 24-13 with a 2.77 ERA, a 1.049 WHIP, and registering 263 strikeouts against just 37 walks.

Jenkins also finished second in the Cy Young voting in 1967 and 1974 (though that came with the Texas Rangers) and third in 1970 and 1972. He remains the Cubs’ all-time leader in starts and WAR and he was elected to Hall of Fame in 1991.