Historical Ex-Cub Factor

Historical Ex-Cub Factor Data

 

Thanks to the hard work of Carl Condon, I now have a list of ex-Cubs for all post-season series going back to 1903. This data is still preliminary, since neither of us has been able to verify exactly who was on the official post-season rosters for every season. The data from the most recent years is verified, but before about 1993, we are going solely on who appeared in the World Series rather than who was on the roster.

The 2000s	The 1960s	The 1920s
The 1990s	The 1950s	The 1910s
The 1980s	The 1940s	The 1900s
The 1970s	The 1930s	The 19th C

2001 saw only the second instance of a team overcoming The Factor as the Diamondbacks, 4 ex-Cubs deep, won the Series in dramatic fashion. Here's the count for the rest of the '01 playoff teams:

Arizona Diamondbacks (4): Miguel Batista, Luis Gonzalez, Mark Grace, Mike Morgan
Atlanta Braves (3): Dave Martinez, Greg Maddux, Rey Sanchez
Houston Astros (3): Orlando Merced, Scott Servais, Jose Vizcaino
Oakland Athletics (1): Mark Guthrie
St. Louis Cardinals (1): Miguel Cairo
Seattle Mariners (1): Jaime Moyer
Cleveland Indians (0)
New York Yankees (0)

RESULT: DIAMONDBACKS (4) DEF. YANKEES (0) -- THE FACTOR IS DEFEATED

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In 2000, almost everyone hit the post-season safely below the threshhold:

New York Mets (3): Matt Franco, Todd Pratt, Turk Wendell
New York Yankees (2): Glenallen Hill, Jose Vizcaino
Atlanta Braves (2): Terry Mulholland, Greg Maddux
St. Louis Cardinals (1): Shawon Dunston
Oakland Athletics (1): Doug Jones
Seattle Mariners (1): Jamie Moyer
San Francisco Giants (0)
Chicago White Sox (0)

RESULT: YANKEES (2) DEF. METS (3) -- THE FACTOR HOLDS

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1999 marked the second time the Braves were tripped up by The Factor:

Atlanta Braves (3): Jose Hernandez, Terry Mulholland, Greg Maddux
New York Mets (3):Shawon Dunston, Todd Pratt, Turk Wendell
Texas Rangers (3): Mike Morgan, Rafael Palmeiro, Todd Zeile
Arizona Diamondbacks (2): Dan Plesac, Luis Gonzalez
Boston Red Sox (1): Rod Beck
Cleveland Indians (1): Paul Assenmacher
Houston Astros (1): Matt Mieske
New York Yankees (1): Joe Girardi

RESULT: YANKEES (1) DEF. BRAVES (3) -- THE FACTOR HOLDS

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1998's playoff teams were pretty much ex-Cub-free:

Cleveland Indians (2): Paul Assenmacher, Doug Jones
Boston Red Sox (1): Dennis Eckersley
Atlanta Braves (1): Greg Maddux
Houston Astros (1): Dave Clark
New Yok Yankees (1): Joe Girardi
San Diego Padres (1): Randy Myers
Texas Rangers (1): Todd Zeile

Ironically, the only team with a critical mass of ex-Cubs on their playoff roster in '98 was the Cubs themselves:

Chicago Cubs (3): Glenallen Hill, Mike Morgan, Terry Mulholland

As you may remember, they didn't make it to the World Series.

RESULT: YANKEES (1) DEF. PADRES (1) -- NO FACTOR

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The 1997 playoff teams ended up with the following ex-Cubs on their roster:

San Francisco Giants (4): Jose Vizcaino, Glenallen Hill, Damon Berryhill, Terry Mulholland
Baltimore Orioles (3): Jerome Walton, Rafael Palmeiro, Randy Myers
Seattle Mariners (3): Jamie Moyer, Heathcliff Slocumb, Rick Wilkins
New York Yankees (2): Joe Girardi, Rey Sanchez
Atlanta Braves (1): Greg Maddux
Cleveland Indians (1): Paul Assenmacher
Houston Astros (1): Luis Gonzalez
Florida Marlins (1): Alex Arias

Three of the six divisions were won by teams with critical masses of ex-Cubs. Before the playoffs, I wrote that chances were the Orioles and Mariners will drop Jerome Walton and Rick Wilkins, respectively, to drop below the 3-man threshold, which they did. The Giants, however, found themselves with way too many ex-Cubs. Even if they had made it to the World Series, there was no way they could have won.

It looked like the Altanta Braves learned their lesson from the previous season (see below); with Dwight Smith gone and Mike Bielecki on the shelf with shoulder surgery, they were well below the ex-Cub threshold. None of the other playoff teams had anything to worry about.

RESULT: MARLINS (1) DEF. INDIANS (1) -- NO FACTOR

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Remember 1996? Here are that year's playoff teams, with their ex-Cub contingent:

Baltimore Orioles (4): Randy Myers, Rafael Palmeiro, Mark Parent, Todd Zeile
Atlanta Braves (3): Mike Bielecki, Greg Maddux, Dwight Smith
St. Louis Cardinals (2): Dennis Eckersley, Danny Jackson
Cleveland Indians (2): Paul Assenmacher, Jose Vizcaino
New York Yankees (1): Joe Girardi
San Diego Padres (0)
Los Angeles Dodgers (0)
Texas Rangers (0)

Before the playoffs, I wrote the following: "So perhaps we have found the weak link in the Braves' armor -- 3 ex-Cubs is too many, even if one of them is Greg Maddux. Similarly, the Orioles' late-season acquisitions of Mark Parent and Todd Zeile may have in fact been a deadly mistake. The Cardinals, on the other hand, were wise to leave Mike Morgan off the post-season roster."

Well, whaddyaknow? The curse of the ex-Cubs strikes again. The Braves blow a 2-0 lead in the World Series and end up losing to the Yankees.

RESULT: YANKEES (1) DEF. BRAVES (4) -- THE FACTOR HOLDS

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1995

Atlanta Braves (2): Greg Maddux, Dwight Smith
Cincinnati Reds (2) Chuck McElroy, Jerome Walton
Colorado Rockies (1): Joe Girardi
Cleveland Indians (1): Paul Assenmacher
Seattle Mariners (1): Doug Strange
Boston Red Sox (0)
Los Angeles Dodgers (0)
New York Yankees (0)

RESULT: BRAVES (2) DEF. INDIANS (1) -- NO FACTOR

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1994: No playoffs

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1993

Atlanta Braves (3): Damon Berryhill, Jay Howell, Greg Maddux
Philadelphia Phillies (2): Danny Jackson, Mitch Williams
Chicago White Sox (1): George Bell
Toronto Blue Jays (1): Joe Carter

RESULT: BLUE JAYS (1) DEF. PHILLIES (2) -- NO FACTOR

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1992

Pittsburgh Pirates (3): Danny Jackson, Lloyd McClendon, Gary Varsho
Toronto Blue Jays (2): Joe Carter, Pat Tabler
Atlanta Braves (1): Damon Berryhill
Oakland Athletics (1): Dennis Eckersley

RESULT: BLUE JAYS (2) DEF. BRAVES (1) -- NO FACTOR

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1991: The first World Series since 1963 to feature no ex-Cubs

Pittsburgh Pirates (4): Bill Landrum, Lloyd McClendon, Gary Varsho, Curtis Wilkerson
Toronto Blue Jays (2): Joe Carter, Pat Tabler
Atlanta Braves (0)
Minnesota Twins (0)

RESULT: TWINS (0) DEF. BRAVES (0) -- NO FACTOR

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1990

Oakland Athletics (3): Dennis Eckersley, Ron Hassey, Scott Sanderson
Pittsburgh Pirates (2): Bill Landrum, Carmelo Martinez
Boston Red Sox (1): Dennis Lamp
Cincinnati Reds (1): Billy Hatcher

RESULT: REDS (1) DEF. ATHLETICS (3) -- THE FACTOR HOLDS

 

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