The 1909 Chicago Cubs season was the 38th season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 34th in the National League and the 17th at West Side Park. The Cubs won 104 games but finished second in the National League, 6½ games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Cubs had won the pennant the previous three years and would win it again in 1910. Of their 104 victories, 97 were wins for a Cubs starting pitcher; this was the most wins in a season by the starting staff of any major league team from 1908 to the present day. The 104 wins was the most by any team in Major League Baseball history by a team that failed to finish first—a record that would be unbroken for more than a century. The record was equaled by the 1942 Brooklyn Dodgers and eventually broken by the 2021 Dodgers, who won 106 games but finished a game behind the San Francisco Giants in the NL West. To date, the Cubs' 104 wins is the most in Major League Baseball history by a team that failed to make the postseason.
The legendary infield of Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, Frank Chance, and Harry Steinfeldt was still intact, but it was the pitching staff that excelled. The Cubs pitchers had a collective earned run average of 1.75, a microscopic figure even for the dead-ball era. Three Finger Brown was one of the top two pitchers in the league (with Christy Mathewson) again, going 27–9 with a 1.31 ERA.
Offseason February 18, 1909: Doc Marshall was purchased from the Cubs by the Brooklyn Superbas.Doc Marshall page at Baseball Reference
Regular season
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Roster 1909 Chicago Cubs Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders Manager
Player stats
Batting
Starters by position Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI C 80 261 60 .230 1 30 1B 93 324 88 .272 0 46 2B 127 463 122 .263 1 24 SS 143 516 132 .256 4 57 3B 151 528 133 .252 2 59 OF 148 525 134 .255 1 43 OF 153 527 150 .285 2 58 OF 140 538 142 .264 4 60
Other batters Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI 77 246 54 .220 1 23 69 203 40 .197 1 24 65 183 50 .273 0 21 22 52 7 .135 0 2 20 45 4 .089 0 5 12 39 8 .205 0 1 11 37 11 .297 1 9 13 28 4 .143 0 0 2 7 1 .143 0 0
Pitching
Starting pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO 50 342.2 27 9 1.31 172 38 285.0 20 11 1.42 205 35 262.2 19 10 1.78 105 29 196.2 17 6 2.43 73 17 120.1 9 4 1.65 51 1 9.0 1 0 2.00 2 1 9.0 1 0 0.00 1 1 2.0 0 1 18.00 1
Other pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO 13 79.0 4 4 1.82 32 19 78.0 5 2 2.19 32 3 14.0 1 1 3.86 3 2 4.1 0 1 4.15 0
Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G W L SV ERA SO 2 0 0 0 2.45 2 1 0 0 0 0.00 1
Awards and honors
League top five finishers Mordecai Brown NL leader in wins (27) #2 in NL in ERA (1.31) #4 in NL in strikeouts (172)
Orval Overall MLB leader in strikeouts (205) #3 in NL in ERA (1.42)
Notes
References 1909 Chicago Cubs season at Baseball Reference