Skip to main content

Who Lead the Cubs in 2021? Interesting Stats About the Cubs Top 2021 Players

Yes, I know the Cubs season was unpleasant and kind of crazy, but you got to admit that there was SOME good about the season...(Frank Schwindel comes to mind?)
So lets explore some of those fun and crazy stats and stat leaders for the 2021 Cubs!

Ian Happ lead the Cubs in games played(148), started(120), and at-bats(465). The ironic thing is he ended up with only a .226 BA, due mostly to his cold first half of the season. We started seeing the 2020 Ian Happ in August and September...maybe he can do it again in 2022?

Ian Happ also lead the Cubs in hits(105), runs(63), RBIs(66), and walks(62). Again, how Happ can REALLY hit showed up in the latter half of the season, also showing his discipline at the plate with 10 more walks than the next leader (Contreras with 52).

Frank Schwindel lead the team with a .342 batting average in 222 ABs. That is hardly sustainable for a whole season...especially if you're a guy picked up off waivers and about 30 years old...but if he could keep a .300 average in 2022, I'd be pretty excited.

Trayce Thompson technically lead the Cubs in OPS(On base + Slugging), but his limited 28 ABs gives a too-small portion. 
Thompson: 28 AB, 1.114 OPS
Schwindel: 222 AB, 1.002 OPS
So, I would have to give this to Schwindel, since this OPS consistency lasted for 222 ABs.

Patrick Wisdom lead the Cubs with 28 homeruns (breaking Bryant's rookie homerun record), but also a MLB leading 40.8% K rate. Although Happ technically lead in strikeouts(156), with Wisdom having 153, Happ also had about 130 more ABs than Wisdom. What can I say? If I was the Cubs general office, I would be at a loss at what to do with Wisdom- whose power is obvious, but the strikeout rate absolutely ridiculous. 

Javier Baez led the Cubs with stolen bases (13), but of current players, Rafael Ortega led with 12 SB. I admit Ortega wouldn't be my first guess for stolen bases, but he seems more strategic than speedy and magical (like Javy).

Willson Contreras led the Cubs with 14 HPB (Rizzo also got plunked 14 times with the Cubs), so...I guess Contreras is either a disliked guy, or his stare invokes some crazy pitches.

ONTO PITCHING LEADERS

Kyle Hendricks was a leader in a lot for the Cubs. I'll list them all, some good, some not so good.
181 IP.
32 GS (Tied with Davies)
14 Wins
131 Ks
200 Hits allowed
101 Runs allowed (96 ER)
31 HRs allowed.
So...too many hits, too many runs, too many homeruns. But he's got good durability and the strikeouts are a nice plus.

Brad Wieck led the Cubs in ERA (minimum 15 games played) with a 0.00 ERA. You can't get much better than that...of course he had to deal with some heart problems, so he missed the latter half of the season.

Zach Davies led with 75 walks...Um...that's not too good. The Cubs better lose him over the offseason.

But...Davies, Tepera, Chafin, and Kimbrel threw the Cubs first combined no-hitter and the only no-hitter for the Cubs this year. No idea how Davies managed to do that, but, sometimes these guys surprise ya!

Rex Brothers led with 57 games played in. That's not a bad thing- usually it shows reliability, but Brothers really struggled this year- with a 5.26 ERA.

Like I have said over the past few articles- the Cubs definitely need pitching help.

What can we get from this to transfer to next year?
  • The Cubs need guys who strikeout less. (Maybe getting a new hitting coach will help)
  • Happ and Schwindel need to make the Opening Day roster and cement a spot in the Cubs roster.
  • Trayce Thompson needs another shot in 2022, along with Alfonso Rivas and Michael Hermosillo.
  • Hendricks needs to get results along with his stability. He's got the innings, not the results.
  • Cubs need to get Chafin and Tepera back, or at least more reliable bullpen. 
So...not what a Cubs fan wanted to see in 2021, but oh well. Don't forget about those Cubs shirts!
  • #Schwisdom 2022: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1097517905/schwisdom-2022-unisex-t-shirt-cubs-shirt?ref=shop_home_active_3
  • Wisdom Graphic Tee: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1098665893/patrick-wisdom-graphic-unisex-tee-cubs?ref=shop_home_active_1


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reliving the Cubs' 2016 Postseason Highlights

 As we enter the final stretch for baseball in 2021- a Braves/Astros World Series, it's a good time to look back at memorable Cubs' history in 2016, when the Cubs broke a 108 year WS win drought to beat the Indians in the World Series. The Cubs cruised to a 103-58 standing at the end of the season, getting the NL Central pennant and meaning they'd face the winner of the Wild Card, who ended up being the Giants. Game One of the NLDS Jon Lester threw 8 shut-out innings, Chapman closed the 9th with a shut-out against the Giants and Javier Baez solo-homered in the 8th to give the Cubs a 1-0 win against the Giants and get the 1-0 series lead. Game Two of the NLDS Kyle Hendricks started the game, only allowing 2 runs, and he drove in 2 runs himself in the 2nd with a single, but he left the game in the 3rd due to a line-drive injury. Reliever Travis Wood replaced Hendricks, and hit a home run, yes a home run in the 4th to give the Cubs a 5-2 lead. That was the first homer to be hi...
2 comments
Read more

Articles Coming Again to Cubbies Gazette?

It's been awhile Cubs fans. I've been pretty active on Twitter, so if you haven't yet, give me a follow there. There's plenty of Cubs blogs out there, with my personal favorite being Bleacher Nation. So I don't intend to just repeat or say the same things others are saying, but I want to provide my thoughts on certain things that might differ or be new to Cubs fans.  Basically, I want to write brief articles on different Cubs related topics that might be new or original. This is just a hobby for me, so don't expect articles every single day. I'll also be sharing some thoughts of others from Twitter that I found interesting. If you're interested in writing for Cubbies Gazette, DM me on Twitter or email me at cubbiesgazette@gmail.com. Thanks for all of your support on Twitter, and as always, GO CUBS GO!
1 comment
Read more

Evaluating the Cubs' Defense

  Just to start off, it was good to see the Braves beat the Dodgers, and even more satisfying seeing it was a walk-off hit by Austin Riley. Still hoping for a Red Sox/Braves World Series- it'd be a nice change of pace. Anyway, back to our topic for today: The Cubs' Defense. Overall ranking for defensive efficiency, the Cubs ranked no.20, just ahead of the Marlins and just behind the Twins, so certainly not good, but hey, the Cubs aren't number 30! Since a lot of fielding stats are confusing and probably won't mean much to you, I'm just going to highlight a few areas and explain them in everyday terms. 1. Shortstop and Second were a BIG Problem. A total of 41 errors of the teams' 87 errors were made at second or shortstop. That's almost half of the teams' errors at two positions! Javier Baez made an obnoxious total of 18 errors at shortstop before he left (strange for a guy who was a gold glove finalist in 2020), and Sergio Alcantara made 9 errors in his ...
Post a Comment
Read more