- Commissioner’s statement on Ventura, Marte
- Ronnie O’Sullivan: Masters champion ‘felt so vulnerable’ in final
- Arron Fletcher Wins 2017 WSOP International Circuit Marrakech Main Event ($140,224)
- Smith challenges Warner to go big in India
- Moncada No. 1 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Braves land 2 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Kingery makes MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- New Zealand wrap up 2-0 after Bangladesh implosion
- Mathews, Pradeep, Gunathilaka to return to Sri Lanka
- Elliott hopes for rain for Poli
Sutcliffe among alumni for both WS clubs
- Updated: October 25, 2016
This year’s World Series matchup features two clubs with storied histories spanning more than a century. And although the Indians and Cubs have shared the field just 18 times — this will be their first meeting in the postseason — there are a few instances where that history intertwines.
Perhaps most notably, former big league pitcher Rick Sutcliffe stands at the center of the Cleveland-Chicago Venn diagram. Sutcliffe played for both franchises, even splitting time between them within the same season.
World Series Game 1: Tonight, 7:30 ET air time | 8 ET game time on FOX
On June 13, 1984, the right-hander, then 27 years old and in his second season with Cleveland, was famously dealt from the last-place Indians to the postseason-bound Cubs.
“I picked up 25 games in one night,” Sutcliffe told Sports Illustrated at the time. “That’s a Houdini type of move!”
Game Date Time (air time/game time) Matchup TV Gm 1 Oct. 25 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CHC @ CLE FOX Gm 2 Oct. 26 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CHC @ CLE FOX Gm 3 Oct. 28 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CLE @ CHC FOX Gm 4 Oct. 29 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CLE @ CHC FOX *Gm 5 Oct. 30 8 p.m. CLE @ CHC FOX *Gm 6 Nov. 1 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CHC @ CLE FOX *Gm 7 Nov. 2 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CHC @ CLE FOX * If necessary | All times listed ET • World Series coverageShop for postseason gear: Cubs | Indians
Sutcliffe endured a slow start to the year, posting a 5.15 ERA through 15 starts for the Tribe, but he turned it around upon joining Chicago. He finished the season with a 16-1 record and a 2.69 ERA in 20 starts with the Cubs, winning the National League Cy Young Award as Chicago advanced to the postseason for the first time since 1945.
In total, Sutcliffe pitched in 196 games, including three postseason starts, for Chicago (1984-91), going 82-65 with a 3.74 ERA. In two-plus years with Cleveland (1982-84), Sutcliffe posted a 35-24 record and a 3.92 ERA through 85 games. He also pitched for the Dodgers, Orioles and Cardinals, but all three of his All-Star campaigns came with the Indians (1983) and Cubs (’87 and ’89).
• Gear up: Cubs | Indians
Sutcliffe is far from the only big leaguer to play for each of this year’s World Series teams. Below is a look at some other notable players who have donned both uniforms:
Paul Assenmacher Assenmacher pitched in the postseason for both the Indians and the Cubs, picking up wins in both the 1996 American League Division Series and 1997 AL Championship Series for Cleveland. The left-handed reliever went 22-16 with a 3.42 ERA in five seasons with the Cubs and finished off his 14-year career going 19-10 with a 3.83 ERA in five years with the Indians.
Kerry Wood Wood won the National League Rookie of the Year Award with the Cubs in 1998 after they took him fourth overall in the 1995 Draft. The right-handed flamethrower was a game away from reaching the World Series with Chicago in 2003, losing Game 7 of the NLCS to the eventual World Series champion Marlins. Wood hit the first home run by a pitcher in an NLCS game since another Cub, Sutcliffe, did it in Game 1 in 1984. Wood made 81 appearances for Cleveland from 2009-10, …
