The 1989 Chicago Cubs season was the 118th season of the franchise, the 114th in the National League and 74th season at Wrigley Field. The Cubs were managed by Don Zimmer in his second season as manager and played their home games at Wrigley Field as members of Major League Baseball's National League East Division.
The Cubs stole the National League spotlight during the 1989 season along with their NL West rivals San Francisco Giants. The Cubs had All-Star seasons from Ryne Sandberg, Andre Dawson, Rick Sutcliffe, and closing pitcher Mitch Williams. Williams gave the Cubs a strong stopper in the bullpen in his impressive National League debut while the 1989 NL Rookie of the Year was Chicago's very own Jerome Walton, who proved himself to be a dependable centerfielder.
The Cubs finished the season 93–69 to win the East Division for the second time in franchise history, battling the St. Louis Cardinals into the last week of the season. The Cubs lost the National League Championship Series four games to one to the San Francisco Giants, who proved to be more dominant with a strong hitting presence.
Offseason
December 5, 1988: Rafael Palmeiro, Jamie Moyer, and Drew Hall were traded by the Cubs to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Paul Kilgus, Mitch Williams, Curtis Wilkerson, Steve Wilson, Luis Benitez (minors), and Pablo Delgado (minors). December 7, 1988: Scott Sanderson was signed as a free agent by the Cubs. December 8, 1988: Rolando Roomes was traded by the Chicago Cubs to the Cincinnati Reds for Lloyd McClendon. March 28, 1989: Rich Gossage was released by the Cubs.
Regular season
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions
August 24, 1989: The Cubs traded players to be named later to the Atlanta Braves for Paul Assenmacher. The Cubs completed the deal by sending Kelly Mann and Pat Gomez to the Braves on September 1. August 30, 1989: Calvin Schiraldi, Darrin Jackson and a player to be named later were traded by the Cubs to the San Diego Padres for Marvell Wynne and Luis Salazar. The Cubs completed the deal by sending Phil Stephenson to the Padres on September 5.