The Team: Chicago Cubs
The Year: 2020
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W/L Record: 118-44
Run Differential: 942 RS vs. 565 RA +377 Runs
Awards: NL Batting Title: SS Starlin Castro (.350), NL RBI Leader: James Aitkenhead (140), NL Stolen Base Leader: Rafael Romero (79), MVP James Aitkenhead,
All Stars: SS Starlin Castro, LF James Aitkenhead, CF Rafael Romero, SP Julio Teheran
League Leading Stat Categories: ..291 Team Batting Average, 66 Home Wins, 25 Shutouts
Lineup/Bench Rotation/Bullpen
CF Rafael Romero Julio Teheran
SS Starlin Castro R.J. Seidel
LF James Aitkenhead Jacob Widdup
1B Logan Morrison Joe Arnold
RF De'Lon Thomas Tylan Brown
3B Michael Almanzar CL Efrain Gutierrez
C Devon Mesoraco SU Manny Barbely
2B Brian Holloway SR Steve Simon
SR Jared Poland
MR Zach Putnam
LR Jay Jackson
OF Don Pembrooke
C Luis Portillo
IF Shane Lyddy
OF Da'Shon Cooper
IF Alberto Gonzalez
IF Hiroshi Ren
The Key Players: You're not going to find many teams in our league's history that fielded a lineup this good without a DH. They were an absolutely brutal lineup on opposing pitchers and among the best our file has ever seen. There are a few lineups ahead in this list that might make the case of being better, but this one is up there for sure.
The highlight of this lineup was a revolutionary player in our file: Rafael Romero. Now I'm going to gush a bit about the player he was, but if you look at his career numbers he ultimately became a fringe HOF player. His career started to tail as he aged into his 30s, but in his mid 20s he was arguably the most dynamic player in the file. At age 25 in 2020, he put that ability on full display. As a gold glove caliber CF with tremendous range and a great arm, he held down one of the most important positions defensively. In addition, with the bat, he was a borderline MVP candidate. (He ultimately lost out to his own teammate James Aitkenhead)
In 2020, he scored 133 runs, hit 34 doubles, 7 triples, 12 homeruns, drove in 68, stole 79 bases in 87 attempts, grounded into only one double play the entire year, and slashed .326/.407/.472 with an .879 OPS. It wasn't his best year, that would come two years later in 2022, but it was his breakout year into super stardom. Ultimately Romero would be dealt to Florida in 2023 for a package of players that included Dexter Fowler and Greg Attaway and from that point forward he saw his career slowly decline into obscurity, but for about a 5 year stretch he was the most dynamic player in our file.
His name already came up, but one of Romero's biggest supporters in the lineup was LF James Aitkenhead, the HOF player we've mentioned before. In 2020 he scored 125 runs, hit 48 doubles, 3 triples, 36 home runs, and drove in 140 runs. His slash line of .339/.415/.609 with an 1.024 OPS is an absolutely incredible season and one of the best of his career. He won the MVP award with that season, largely driven by his power production in the middle of the lineup.
Hitting between Romero and Aitkenhead was shortstop Starlin Castro who had his own incredible season. He hit .350 on the season, scored 120 runs, hit 39 doubles, 7 triples, 20 homeruns, drove in 117 runs, stole 31 bases, and posted a .943 OPS. He also made only 16 errors on the season with very good range at shortstop.
The top three alone were impressive, but the depth just kept going. Logan Morrison was cleaning up behind those outstanding hitters and had his own sterling season. He scored 118 times, he hit 38 doubles, 39 home runs, drove in 120 runs, walked 108 times, and slashed .316/.437/.615 with a 1.052 OPS.
After LoMo we saw a bit of a step down in talent, but still a very tough group. RFer De'Lon Thomas hit .293 with 21 home runs, scored 67 times, and drove in 85 runs. Third baseman Michael Almanzar hit .263 with 10 home runs, scored 73 times, and drove in 68. Catcher Devon Mesoraco hit .296 with 21 home runs with 64 runs and drove in 78 rbi.
Lastly was the debut of 2B Brian Holloway. Holloway was a switch hitter with solid defense and a knack for getting on base. His debut didn't happen until September when he displaced Alberto Gonzalez at second, but he jumped right in as a productive player. He hit .309 with a .366 OBP and stole 6 bases. If he had played a full season he would have stolen 36 bases, scored 114 runs, and drove in 108.
The bench was also deep, two outfielders on the bench (Don Pembroke and Da'Shon Cooper) sported overalls that were over 90 and were very productive in limited opportunities. The team also had a backup catcher with a rating over 90 overall in Antonio Diaz. They also had a solid switch hitting infielder in Iino Sachiko that was on the disabled list for part of the season.
The Chicago rotation wasn't as good as the lineup but they boasted a very talented group of starters. Leading the way was a veteran HOFer that we have talked about before: R.J. Seidel. Seidel pitched 211 innings for the team with a 2.18 ERA with a 15-4 record. He allowed a meager 8 home runs, walked 52 batters, struck out 190, had 3 complete game shutouts, and held his opponents to a .212 on-base percentage. It was yet another great season from Seidel on his way to the Hall of Fame, but he wasn't the greatest career pitcher in that rotation.
That distinction belonged to lefty Jacob Widdup. Widdup would go on in his career to win 292 games and be the stalwart in the Chicago rotation for nearly two decades. Being in the same league as Donovan Pace for pretty much the entire length of his career robbed him of some hardware, but in my opinion he was the best left-hander this league has ever seen. In 2020 he pitched 203 innings with a 3.42 ERA and 178 strikeouts. He went 18-4 on the year for the team in his fourth season.
The rest of the rotation was made up of Julio Teheran, Joe Arnold, and Tylan Brown. Teheran was another future HOF player and he had a very solid season for Chicago in 2020. He posted a 16-9 record with a 3.26 ERA in 221 innings. He struck out 197 hitters to only 21 walks, pitched 4 complete games, and had 2 shutouts. Joe Arnold, a man who seems to find his way on to nearly every rotation on this list in some form or another, was also helping out Chicago in 2020. He did what he always does: not strike many out, post a good ERA, walk very few, and just be an all around good dude to have in your rotation. He went 13-3 with a 3.24 ERA with 103 Ks, 37 walks, and only 10 home runs allowed. Lastly, Tylan Brown held down the fifth spot and pitched 167 innings with a 3.56 ERA and a 15-4 record. He struck out 178 with a .238 OBP against.
The bullpen was effective, but not especially dominant. The closer role was held down by two guys over the course of the year: Efrain Gutierrez and Jared Poland. Gutierrez pitched 95 innings for the team with a 5-3 record, 18 saves in 22 chances, and a 2.74 ERA. Poland pitched 98 innings with a 3.41 ERA with a 4-4 and 14 saves in 15 chances. Around those two were Manny Barbely and Steve Simon. Barbely was a lefty who posted a 3.86 ERA with 52 strikeouts in 61 innings and a ridiculous 10-1 record with 6 saves. Simon pitched 80 innings with 68 strikeouts and a 10-3 record and a 3.83 ERA. Rounding out the pen was Zach Putnam and Jay Jackson. Putnam had an awful 6.28 ERA with 48 strikeouts in 57 innings and a 3-4 record with 5 saves. Jay Jackson held down the mop up role with 80 innings pitched and a 3.26 ERA with a 6-3 record and 4 saves.
Interview with the Owner: None Available
What Sets Them Apart: This Cubs team had three future hall of famers in the rotation and three in the lineup. It sported a ridiculous top of the lineup that had four batters all reach base at a clip over .400 with over 115 runs scored each and three hitter with over 115 RBI. The lineup was so stacked it had three guys with a rating over 90 on the bench as part time players. The team got knocked out in the NLCS via a sweep by the Florida Marlins but they were an extremely dangerous team in an era of FCM baseball in which the best teams were constantly battling each other for championship trophies. This Cubs team didn't ultimately achieve that victory but this ensemble was one of the most potent in league history.
Coming Next: 3rd Best Team in FCM History: Here Come the Moffats!!!
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