2016 Chicago Cubs season

The 2016 Chicago Cubs season was the 145th season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 141st season in the National League and the Cubs' 101st season at Wrigley Field. The Cubs were managed by Joe Maddon in his second season as Cubs manager, and played their home games at Wrigley Field as members of the National League Central.

They began the season on April 4, 2016 at the Los Angeles Angels and finished the regular season on October 2, 2016 at the Cincinnati Reds. The Cubs finished with the best record in Major League Baseball at 103–58 (and 1 tie), and won their first National League Central title since the 2008 season, winning by 17½ games. The team also reached the 100-win mark for the first time since 1935 and won 103 total games, the most wins for the franchise since 1910. Kris Bryant won the National League Most Valuable Player, the first Cub to accomplish this feat since Sammy Sosa in 1998.

The Cubs defeated the San Francisco Giants in the NLDS and returned to the NLCS for the second year in a row, where they defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games.

The Cubs defeated the Cleveland Indians in seven games in the World Series, their first appearance since the 1945 World Series and first win since the 1908 World Series. In the World Series, the Cubs came back from a three-games-to-one deficit, winning the final three games. The last time a team came back from a three-games-to-one deficit to win the World Series was the Kansas City Royals in 1985. The Cubs were also the first team to win Games 6 and 7 on the road in a World Series since the Pittsburgh Pirates did it against the Baltimore Orioles in 1979. The World Series victory put an end to the so-called Curse of the Billy Goat and the longest World Series championship drought in history.

Previous season The Cubs finished the 2015 season 97–65, in third place in the Central Division, but qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2008 as the second wild card. They defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League Wild Card Game to advance the National League Division Series to face the St. Louis Cardinals. Facing their rival for the first time in playoff history, the Cubs defeated the Cardinals three games to one to advance to the National League Championship Series for the first time since 2003. Facing the New York Mets in the NLCS, the Cubs were swept in four games.

Offseason Broadcast changes After just one year broadcasting on WBBM (780), the Cubs announced the move of their play-by-play to CBS Radio sister station WSCR (670) for the 2016 season, taking advantage of a contract clause allowing the move to WSCR after CBS let their rights to White Sox play-by-play lapse.

Transactions November 2015 November 19Signed a major league contract with Minor league free agent RHP Andury AcevedoNovember 19RHP Ryan Cook claimed off waivers from the Boston Red Sox.November 19LHP Jack Leathersich claimed off waivers from New York Mets.1B Dan Vogelbach, RHP Pierce Johnson, C Willson Contreras, and 3B Jeimer Candelario contracts selected from Tennessee Smokies. Traded 2B Frandy De La Rosa to Texas Rangers for RHP Spencer Patton.

December December 2RHP Ryan Cook, LHP Jack Leathersich, non-tendered by the Cubs, making them free agents.December 4Signed former St. Louis Cardinals RHP John Lackey.December 8IF Starlin Castro traded to the New York Yankees in exchange for RHP Adam Warren and a player to be named later.December 9Signed former Kansas City Royals 2B Ben Zobrist.December 15Signed former St. Louis Cardinals OF Jason Heyward.December 17The Yankees completed earlier trade by trading SS Brendan Ryan to the Cubs.December 23Released SS Brendan Ryan

February 2016 February 23Claimed LHP C.J. Riefenhauser off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles.February 25Traded OF/IF Chris Coghlan to Oakland Athletics for RHP Aaron Brooks.February 26Signed OF Dexter Fowler to one-year contract for $8 million.

Regular season Game log

|-style="background:#cfc" |1||April 4||@ Angels||9–0||Arrieta (1–0)||Richards (0–1)||—||44,020||1–0||W1 |-style="background:#cfc" |2||April 5||@ Angels||6–1||Lester (1–0)||Heaney (0–1)||—||37,042||2–0||W2 |-style="background:#cfc" |3||April 7||@ D-backs||14–6||Lackey (1–0)||De La Rosa (0–1)||—||24,656||3–0||W3 |-style="background:#fbb" |4||April 8||@ D-backs||2–3||Ziegler (1–0)||Cahill (0–1)||—||27,539||3–1||L1 |-style="background:#cfc" |5||April 9||@ D-backs||4–2||Hendricks (1–0)||Greinke (0–2)||Rondón (1)||32,185||4–1||W1 |-style="background:#cfc" |6||April 10||@ D-backs||7–3||Arrieta (2–0)||Miller (0–1)||—||33,258||5–1||W2 |-style="text-align:center; background:#cfc" |7||April 11||Reds||5–3||Warren (1–0)||Cingrani (0–1)||Rondón (2)||40,882||6–1||W3 |-style="background:#cfc" |8||April 13||Reds||9–2||Lackey (2–0)||Simón (0–1)||—||36,496||7–1||W4 |-style="background:#cfc" |9||April 14||Reds||8–1||Hammel (1–0)||Iglesias (1–1)||—||34,898||8–1||W5 |-style="background:#fbb" |10||April 15||Rockies||1–6||Bettis (2–0)||Hendricks (1–1)||—||34,437||8–2||L1 |-style="background:#cfc" |11||April 16||Rockies||6–2||Arrieta (3–0)||Bergman (0–2)||—||41,702||9–2||W1 |-style="background:#fbb" |12||April 17||Rockies||0–2||Chatwood (2–1)||Lester (1–1)||McGee (3)||41,678||9–3||L1 |-style="background:#cfc" |13||April 18||@ Cardinals||5–0||Lackey (3–0)||Leake (0–2)||—||45,432||10–3||W1 |-style="background:#cfc" |14||April 19||@ Cardinals||2–1||Hammel (2–0)||Garcia (1–1)||Rondón (3)||43,841||11–3||W2 |-style="background:#fbb" |15||April 20||@ Cardinals||3–5||Martínez (3—0)||Hendricks (1–2)||Rosenthal (4)||43,093||11–4||L1 |-style="background:#cfc" |16||April 21||@ Reds||16–0||Arrieta (4–0)||Finnegan (1–1)||—||16,497||12–4||W1 |-style="background:#cfc" |17||April 22||@ Reds||8–1||Lester (2–1)||Moscot (0–1)||—||25,940||13–4||W2 |-style="background:#fbb" |18||April 23||@ Reds||5–13||Wood (2–0)||Lackey (3–1)||—||41,660||13–5||L1 |-style="background:#cfc" |19||April 24||@ Reds||9–0||Hammel (3–0)||Simón (0–2)||—||36,220||14–5||W1 |-style="background:#cfc" |20||April 26||Brewers||4–3||Warren (2–0)||Nelson (3–2)||Rondón (4)||35,861||15–5||W2 |-style="background:#bbb" |—||April 27||Brewers |colspan=7|Postponed (rain) |-style="background:#cfc" |21||April 28||Brewers||7–2||Arrieta (5–0)||Jungmann (0–4)||—||32,734||16–5||W3 |-style="background:#cfc" |22||April 29||Braves||6–1||Strop (1–0)||Johnson (0–3)||—||34,007||17–5||W4 |-style="background:#bbb" |—||April 30||Braves |colspan=7|Postponed (rain)

!width="5%"|Streak |- |-style="background:#fbb" |23||May 1||Braves||3–4 ||Vizcaino (1–0)||Rondón (0–1)||Grilli (2)||40,164||17–6||L1 |-style="background:#cfc" |24||May 2||@ Pirates||7–2||Hammel (4–0)||Cole (2–3)||—||18,376||18–6||W1 |-style="background:#cfc" |25||May 3||@ Pirates||7–1||Arrieta (6–0)||Niese (3–1)||—||22,195||19–6||W2 |-style="background:#cfc" |26||May 4||@ Pirates||6–2||Lester (3–1)||Nicasio (3–3)||—||28,782||20–6||W3 |-style="background:#cfc" |27||May 5||Nationals||5–2||Hendricks (2–2)||Ross (3–1)||—||37,564||21–6||W4 |-style="background:#cfc" |28||May 6||Nationals||8–6||Lackey (4–1)||Scherzer (3–2)||Rondón (5)||39,206||22–6||W5 |-style="background:#cfc" |29||May 7||Nationals||8–5||Warren (3–0)||Solis (0–1)||Rondón (6)||40,471||23–6||W6 |-style="background:#cfc" |30||May 8||Nationals||4–3 ||Wood (1–0)||Treinen (2–1)||—||41,233||24–6||W7 |-style="background:#bbb" |—||May 9||Padres |colspan=7|Postponed (rain) |-style="background:#cfc" |31||May 10||Padres||8–7||Lester (4–1)||Vargas (0–2)||Rondón (7)||34,860||25–6||W8 |-style="background:#fbb" |32||May 11||Padres||4–7||Villanueva (1–0)||Strop (1–1)||Rodney (9)||34,508||25–7||L1 |-style="background:#fbb" |33||May 11||Padres||0–1||Pomeranz (4–3)||Lackey (4–2)||Rodney (10)||37,828||25–8||L2 |-style="background:#cfc" |34||May 13||Pirates||9–4||Hammel (5–0)||Liriano (3–2)||—||37,479||26–8||W1 |-style="background:#cfc" |35||May 14||Pirates||8–2||Arrieta (7–0)||Locke (1–3)||—||40,953||27–8||W2 |-style="background:#fbb" |36||May 15||Pirates||1–2||Cole (4–3)||Lester (4–2)||Melancon (11)||40,814||27–9||L1 |-style="background:#fbb" |37||May 17||@ Brewers||2–4||Anderson (2–5)||Hendricks (2–3)||Jeffress (11)||24,361||27–10||L2 |-style="background:#cfc" |38||May 18||@ Brewers||2–1 ||Wood (2–0)||Torres (0–1)||Richard (1)||31,212||28–10||W1 |-style="background:#fbb" |39||May 19||@ Brewers||3–5||Guerra (3–0)||Hammel (5–1)||Thornburg (1)||38,781||28–11||L1 |-style="background:#cfc" |40||May 20||@ Giants||8–1||Arrieta (8–0)||Peavy (1–5)||—||41,750||29–11||W1 |-style="background:#fbb" |41||May 21||@ Giants||3–5||Cain (1–5)||Lester (4–3)||Casilla (11)||41,507||29–12||L1 |-style="background:#fbb" |42||May 22||@ Giants||0–1||Bumgarner (6–2)||Hendricks (2–4)||Casilla (12)||41,359||29–13||L2 |-style="background:#fbb" |43||May 23||@ Cardinals||3–4||Rosenthal (2–1)||Warren (3–1)||—||45,008||29–14||L3 |-style="background:#cfc" |44||May 24||@ Cardinals||12–3||Hammel (6–1)||Wacha (2–5)||—||44,588||30–14||W1 |-style="background:#cfc" |45||May 25||@ Cardinals||9–8||Arrieta (9–0)||Martinez (4–5)||Rondón (8)||45,565||31–14||W2 |-style="background:#cfc" |46||May 27||Phillies||6–2||Lester (5–3)||Morgan (1–3)||—||38,941||32–14||W3 |-style="background:#cfc" |47||May 28||Phillies||4–1||Hendricks (3–4)||Eickhoff (2–7)||—||41,555||33–14||W4 |-style="background:#cfc" |48||May 29||Phillies||7–2||Lackey (5–2)||Velasquez (5–2)||—||41,575||34–14||W5 |-style="background:#cfc" |49||May 30||Dodgers||2–0||Wood (3–0)||Wood (1–4)||Rondón (9)||41,470||35–14||W6 |-style="background:#fbb" |50||May 31||Dodgers||0–5||Blanton (3–2)||Richard (0–1)||—||34,681||35–15||L1

!width="5%"|Streak |-style="background:#cfc" |51||June 1||Dodgers||2–1||Lester (6–3)||Bolsinger (1–2)||—||36,426||36–15||W1 |-style="background:#cfc" |52||June 2||Dodgers||7–2||Hendricks (4–4)||Urias (0–1)||—||37,422||37–15||W2 |-style="background:#cfc" |53||June 3||D-backs||6–0||Lackey (6–2)||Bradley (2–1)||—||38,813||38–15||W3 |-style="background:#cfc" |54||June 4||D-backs||5–3||Hammel (7–1)||Escobar (0–2)||Rondón (10)||40,415||39–15||W4 |-style="background:#fbb" |55||June 5||D-backs||2–3||Corbin (3–5)||Arrieta (9–1)||Ziegler (11)||41,596||39–16||L1 |-style="background:#cfc" |56||June 6||@ Phillies||6–4||Lester (7–3)||Morgan (1–5)||Rondón (11)||22,162||40–16||W1 |-style="background:#fbb" |57||June 7||@ Phillies||2–3||Eickhoff (3–8)||Hendricks (4–5)||Gómez (19)||27,381||40–17||L1 |-style="background:#cfc" |58||June 8||@ Phillies||8–1||Lackey (7–2)||Oberholtzer (2–1)||—||28,650||41–17||W1 |-style="background:#fbb" |59||June 10||@ Braves||1–5||Norris (2–7)||Hammel (7–2)||—||30,547||41–18||L1 |-style="background:#cfc" |60||June 11||@ Braves||8–2||Arrieta (10–1)||Wisler (2–7)||—||43,114||42–18||W1 |-style="background:#cfc" |61||June 12||@ Braves||13–2||Lester (8–3)||Gant (0–1)||—||31,625||43–18||W2 |-style="background:#fbb" |62||June 13||@ Nationals||1–4||Scherzer (8–4)||Hendricks (4–6)||Kelley (1)||37,187||43–19||L1 |-style="background:#cfc" |63||June 14||@ Nationals||4–3||Rondón (1–1)||Solis (1–2)||—||41,955||44–19||W1 |-style="background:#fbb" |64||June 15||@ Nationals||4–5 ||Petit (2–0)||Cahill (0–2)||—||42,000||44–20||L1 |-style="background:#cfc" |65||June 17||Pirates||6–0||Arrieta (11–1)||Liriano (4–7)||—||41,547||45–20||W1 |-style="background:#cfc" |66||June 18||Pirates||4–3||Lester (9–3)||Niese (6–4)||Rondón (12)||41,424||46–20||W2 |-style="background:#cfc" |67||June 19||Pirates||10–5||Hendricks (5–6)||Taillon (1–1)||—||41,024||47–20||W3 |-style="background:#fbb" |68||June 20||Cardinals||2–3||García (5–6)||Lackey (7–3)||Rosenthal (13)||41,166||47–21||L1 |-style="background:#fbb" |69||June 21||Cardinals||3–4||Wainwright (6–4)||Hammel (7–3)||Rosenthal (14)||41,616||47–22||L2 |-style="background:#fbb" |70||June 22||Cardinals||2–7||Wacha (3–7)||Arrieta (11–2)||—||41,058||47–23||L3 |-style="background:#fbb" |71||June 23||@ Marlins||2–4||Barraclough (4–2)||Strop (1–2)||Phelps (3)||25,291||47–24||L4 |-style="background:#cfc"