Jim Hendry - Tenure With Cubs

Tenure With Cubs

Hendry's tenure as general manager produced mixed results. In 2003, the Cubs made their first playoff appearance in the Hendry era, but just three years later, Hendry's Cubs had the worst record in the National League. One of his first moves provided fodder for critics and boosters alike: late in spring training 2002, he dealt Julián Tavárez and Dontrelle Willis to the Florida Marlins for pitchers Matt Clement and Antonio Alfonseca. The deal produced mixed results; Clement was the Cubs' most consistent pitcher in 2002 and continued to be valuable in 2003, while Tavarez's volatile behavior was a distraction to the Cubs in 2001. On the downside, Alfonseca struggled while a Cub, and the minor league pitcher traded to the Marlins was Dontrelle Willis, the 2003 Rookie of the Year.

The Cubs did not contend in 2002, and Hendry fired manager Don Baylor in July, replacing him with Iowa Cubs manager Bruce Kimm on an interim basis. The Cubs staggered to the end of the season in 2002, and Hendry purged several veterans from the roster. One veteran, Todd Hundley, a free agent acquisition before the 2001 season, struggled on the field, feuded with fans, and had even begun to tarnish the image of his father Randy Hundley, a member of the Cubs teams of the 1960s and 1970s. Hundley's large contract would have made trading him difficult, so the only way that he could leave the team would be if Hendry released him. Nevertheless, former Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Dan Evans, offered second baseman Mark Grudzielanek and first baseman Eric Karros. Grudzielanek and Karros were also high-priced veterans with their careers waning. But the two players managed productive seasons in 2003, also providing veteran leadership.

Hendry made his biggest splash in the 2002–2003 offseason when he hired former San Francisco Giants manager Dusty Baker to manage the club just days after Baker's Giants lost in seven games to the Anaheim Angels in the World Series.