As we await the Cubs playing starting tomorrow in a Wild Card series against the Padres, let’s take a look back at the team’s long Modern Era postseason history. That history dates to 1906, when the team lost the World Series to the White Sox after winning a record 116 games during the regular season — a mark that still stands (though tied by the Mariners in 2001).
You know, of course, of the 108-year drought between World Series wins in 1908 and 2016, and the rest of the team’s post-1908 postseason
history is, shall we say, not really very good.
Entering this year, the Cubs had participated in 22 postseasons with an overall record of 51-79-1. That’s a .392 winning percentage, equivalent to a 64-98 regular season. Yikes. Although, that is an improvement over last year at this time, when the winning percentage was .385. Baby steps.
The tie happened in the pre-lights era 1907 World Series, when Game 1 went 12 innings at West Side Grounds in a 3-3 tie and then was called for darkness. The Cubs won the next four games and the World Series, becoming the first team to win the championship series without losing a game.
Here are the Cubs’ records for each of the 22 postseasons in which they have participated before this year. Prior to 1984, all games are World Series games.
1906: 2-4
1907: 4-0-1
1908: 4-1
1910: 1-4
1918: 2-4
1929: 1-4
1932: 0-4
1935: 2-4
1938: 0-4
1945: 3-4
1984: 2-3
1989: 1-4
1998: 0-3
2003: 6-6 (3-2 NLDS, 3-4 NLCS)
2007: 0-3
2008: 0-3
2015: 4-5 (1-0 NLWC, 3-1 NLDS, 0-4 NLCS)
2016: 11-6 (3-1 NLDS, 4-2 NLCS, 4-3 WS)
2017: 4-6 (3-2 NLDS, 1-4 NLCS)
2018: 0-1 (NLWC)
2020: 0-2 (NLWC)
2025: 4-4 (2-1 NLWC, 2-3 NLDS)
Overall by round:
Wild card game/series: 3-4
NLDS: 14-18
NLCS: 11-21
WS: 23-36-1
Obviously none of those records is very good, and it includes nine straight losses from 2003 through 2008 before the Wild Card Game win against the Pirates in 2015.
Now, if you’ll indulge me a bit, I present to you my personal records of attending Cubs postseason games. The Cubs have played 78 postseason games in my lifetime (the games from 1984 to now). Two of those games, the wild-card series vs. the Marlins in 2020, were during the pandemic season and not open to fans.
Of the 76 Cubs postseason games open to fans since 1984, I have attended 56 — all 37 played at Wrigley Field plus 19 road games, as follows: two in San Diego (1984), three in San Francisco (1989), three in Miami (2003), two in Arizona (2007), one in Pittsburgh (2015), two in St. Louis (2015), two in San Francisco (2016), three in Los Angeles (2016) and one in Milwaukee (2025).
Personal W/L record in all postseason games attended:
1984: 2-2 (2-0 home, 0-2 road)
1989: 1-4 (1-1 home, 0-3 road)
2003: 4-6 (2-5 home, 2-1 road)
2007: 0-3 (0-1 home, 0-2 road)
2008: 0-2 (all home)
2015: 4-3 (2-2 home, 2-1 road)
2016: 8-5 (5-3 home, 3-2 road)
2017: 2-3 (all home)
2018: 0-1 (home)
2025: 4-2 (4-1 home, 0-1 road)
Total personal record: 25-31 (18-19 home, 7-12 road). Of the 56 games, nearly half (26) came between 2015 and 2018.
Beginning Tuesday, the Cubs will try to improve on that postseason record, and I hope to notch a few personal postseason wins as well. Go Cubs!
