Chicago Cubs 2023 Best Moments Part 2 |
The Cubs, of course, missed the playoffs in a fashion that can only be called disappointing. However, they had some things to celebrate this season. The Cubs finished 83-79, their first finish above .500 in an entire season since 2019. Chicago was in second place in the NL Central and held control of playoff position for most of the second half of the season.
The Cubs had a player in MVP conversation, in the short list of Cy Young contenders, three all-stars, and had three players win Gold Gloves. It had an unfortunate ending, but it was a good season with many ways to build on and improve. That is everybody’s focus — building and improving this team for 2024. But with the calendar to be soon flipped from 2023 to 2024, we at CubsHQ thought it would be wise this holiday season to reflect on some of the best moments from a fun 2023 season. This series will have three parts; here is part two. Win in London The Cubs were a part of the second-ever London series for Major League Baseball — this time a two-game series against the division rival St. Louis Cardinals. The Cubs came into England riding a winning streak and kept it going in their London debut. Justin Steele delivered six innings of one-run ball with eight strikeouts in the Cubs 9-1 win. Ian Happ had a pair of home runs, and Dansby Swanson also had a bomb leave the yard. Mike Tauchman, Sieya Suzuki, Yan Gomes, Nick Madrigal, and Christopher Morel also drove in a run. The Cubs were gelling, which was on display for the entire world.
Drew Smyly’s near perfect game
The Cubs have some recent no-hitters of memory (Carlos Zambrano’s vs. the Astros, Jake Arrieta’s against the Dodgers and Reds, Alec Mills’ against the Brewers and the Cubs’ combined effort against the Dodgers), but the Cubs do not have a perfect game in the history of their storied franchise. But they almost had one courtesy of Drew Smyly.
Smyly had an up-and-down season in 2023, but his outing against the Dodgers was one to remember. The Cubs won 13-0, and Smyly took a perfect game into the 8th inning. Smyly was four outs away from securing the Cubs’ first-ever perfect game.
However, it all came crashing down, literally. David Peralta hit a dribbler down the third base line, and both Drew Smyly and Yan Gomes aggressively chased after the slow-moving grounder. Smyly was a lefty, so he positioned his body to grab the ball and make a quick throw to first to save the perfect — Gomes was also trying to make a play, and the two collided just as Smyly grabbed the ball.
They didn’t even get a throw-off, and Smyly exited to a lovely applause from the Wrigley crowd — but no baseball history, unfortunately.
Belli’s Resurgence
This is not one singular moment, but the biggest reason the Cubs were in any position to make the playoffs was because of Cody Bellinger's return to one of the MLB’s best players. The Cubs signed Bellinger to a “prove-it” deal, and he proved it all season long.
Bellinger finished the season as the NL Most Improved Player and was top-10 in MVP voting. Bellinger hit .307, the best mark of his career, and had 26 home runs and 97 RBIs to go along with his second Silver Slugger award.
Now, the Cubs hope to bring Bellinger back to Chicago — as he and his agent hope for a well-deserved payday.
Win streak to force front office’s hand
The most important thing that happened this season was the Cubs' win streak to force the front office into adding at the trade deadline and avoid setting the team back by a third consecutive fire sale at the deadline. The Cubs won 8 in a row and 10 of 11 to put themselves in playoff conversations and in a position to add.
Six wins over the Cardinals and two wins over the White Sox were enough for Jed Hoyer and company to feel confident enough in the Cubs’ playoff chances to add to the roster at the trade deadline — and that was plenty for the Cubs fans to have a fun last few months of the season.
Justin Steele’s eight shutout 12 K
For most of the season, Justin Steele was a staple in the conversation for the NL Cy Young award. He had 20 of his 30 starts, allowing two or fewer runs, and seven outings showed zeros for the opponents.
But none of Steele’s outings were more impressive or dominant than his 16th win — a September 4th eight-inning masterpiece allowing just two hits and 12 strikeouts against fellow wild-card hopeful San Francisco Giants.
Steele was an All-Star in 2023, and he showed some serious passion and emotion in his electric shutout.
Stay tuned for part 3.
