Three Cubs Managers Make Hall of Fame Ballot on Championship Anniversary
Joe Maddon, Dusty Baker, and Lou Piniella join the Contemporary Era Committee slate as the 16-member panel prepares to vote in December.
By Sakura Ellis ·
The 16-member Contemporary Baseball Hall of Fame panel named three former Chicago Cubs managers to its ballot on Monday, November 2. The announcement coincided with the 10th anniversary of the Cubs’ 2016 World Series victory. This timing aligns with the day the franchise secured its first title in 108 seasons.
The committee will select eight finalists from the initial list. It will announce the final class of inductees on December 6. Candidates must secure at least 75% of the vote to earn a place in Cooperstown. The panel includes Hall of Fame players, MLB executives, media members, and historians.
Joe Maddon leads the Cubs contingent on this ballot. He took over the team before the 2015 season after managing the Tampa Bay Rays to their first World Series appearance in 2008. Maddon guided the Cubs to three consecutive National League Championship Series appearances. He compiled 471 wins during his five seasons in Chicago.
Dusty Baker also appears on the list. He ranks eighth all-time in managerial wins in Major League Baseball history. Baker spent most of his career with the San Francisco Giants, where he recorded 840 victories and a 2002 World Series berth. He then joined the Cubs for the 2003 season, helping the team defeat the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS. That victory marked the franchise’s first playoff series win in 95 years. Baker won 322 games as the Cubs manager before eventually winning a World Series title with the Houston Astros in 2022.
Lou Piniella is the third Cubs manager on the ballot. He won the 1990 World Series with the Cincinnati Reds. His tenure with the Seattle Mariners included a 116-win season in 2001. Piniella joined the Cubs before the 2007 season. He became the first manager since Frank Chance to lead the team to back-to-back playoff appearances, securing division titles in 2007 and 2008. He left the team late in the 2010 season after accumulating 316 wins.
Other finalists include Bruce Bochy, who has 2,252 career wins and four World Series rings. Brian Sabean, who served as the Giants general manager during three of their World Series victories, is also on the list. The group includes former Athletics general manager Sandy Alderson, former Braves owner Ted Turner, and former MLB player and National League President Bill White.
