2014 Chicago Cubs season

The 2014 Chicago Cubs season was the 143rd season of the franchise, the 139th in the National League and the 99th at Wrigley Field. The Cubs were managed by Rick Renteria in his only year as Cubs manager and played their home games at Wrigley Field as members of the National League Central.

The Cubs began the season on the road against the Pittsburgh Pirates on March 31, 2014 and finished the regular season on September 28, 2014, on the road against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Cubs finished the season with a 73–89 record to finish in last place in the Central Division.

This season marked the 100th season of play at Wrigley Field, though the Cubs did not start playing there until 1916. To mark the occasion, the Cubs wore different uniforms to represent each decade during ten homestands throughout the season.

Previous season
The Cubs finished the 2013 season 66–96 to finish in last place in the Central Division. Following the season, Dale Sveum was fired as manager on September 30, 2013. His total record with the Cubs in two years was 127–197. Rick Renteria was hired as the manager of the Chicago Cubs on November 7, 2013 and signed a three-year contract.

Spring training facilities
The Cubs opened a new spring training facility in Mesa, Arizona called Sloan Park. The park replaces HoHoKam Stadium which had been their spring training home since 1979. With a capacity of 15,000, Cubs Park becomes the largest spring training stadium by capacity in Major League Baseball, surpassing Camelback Ranch in Glendale.

Opening day starters
Monday, March 31, 2014 at Pittsburgh Pirates

Game log

 * - style="text-align:center;"
 * Legend:      = Win       = Loss       = Postponement Bold = Cubs team member

Note: The Cubs finished their first winning season at Wrigley Field since 2009 with a record of 41–40. 2,652,113 fans attended Cubs home games which was the best since the 2008 season.

Transactions

 * The Cubs traded Jason Hammel and Jeff Samardzija on July 5 to the Oakland A's for minor leaguers Addison Russell, Billy McKinney and major league pitcher Dan Straily. Russell was considered a top-five prospect in baseball.
 * On July 28, Darwin Barney was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for minor league pitcher Jonathan Martinez.
 * On July 30, the Cubs acquired Félix Doubront from the Boston Red Sox.
 * On July 31, pitcher James Russell and infielder Emilio Bonifacio were traded to the Atlanta Braves for 20-year-old catcher Victor Caratini.
 * On August 15, the Cubs traded outfielder Brett Jackson to the Arizona Diamondbacks for pitcher Blake Cooper.

Batting
''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; Avg. = Batting average; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases''

Source

Pitching
Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Source

Scoring by inning
Source: Baseball-Reference

Awards and honors
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
 * Starlin Castro
 * Jeff Samardzija
 * Anthony Rizzo

Branch Rickey Award
 * Anthony Rizzo

Major League Baseball draft
During the draft, the Cubs drafted Kyle Schwarber with the fourth overall pick of the 2014 Draft who would play an important role in the 2016 World Series.

Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Kane County On September 16, 2014 the Cubs announced that they will be moving their top Class A affiliate from Daytona in the Florida State League to Myrtle Beach in the Carolina League for the 2015 season. Two days later, on the 18th, the Cubs signed a 4-year player development contract with the South Bend Silver Hawks of the Midwest League, ending their brief relationship with the Kane County Cougars. On the 25th, the Silver Hawks officially changed their name to the South Bend Cubs.