History of Cubs designated hitters, from Dave Clark to Kyle Schwarber

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The designated hitter is on its way to the National League in 2020, like it or not. Designated hitting is not a new concept for the Cubs; they have been doing it since 1997, at least for a few games per season. And, of course, the DH was used in a few games in the biggest series for the franchise in recent Cubs history — the 2016 World Series. Let’s dig into the rich (not really) history of Cubs DH's.

Fifty-two players have started at least one game at DH for the Cubs. They first used it on June 16, 1997 — a game remembered most as the first ever regular season Cubs-White Sox game — at New Comiskey Park on the South Side. The batter was Dave Clark, who hit fifth in the Cubs lineup that day, going 1-for-4 off Sox right-hander Jaime Navarro with a first inning single. He also DH-ed the next game as well, collecting a pair of hits.

Clark started at DH in four of the first six games the Cubs ever played with the extra hitter, and hit the Cubs' first DH home run on Aug. 31, 1997. The Cubs used six different starters at DH in their first nine regular season games in AL parks. One was a Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg, who started there in the third game of the June 1997 Crosstown series. Ryno collected a single off Wilson Álvarez  — the only hit at DH of his MLB career. Even Lance Johnson had a turn.

MORE: Cubs' Ian Happ supports National League adding designated hitter

Henry Rodríguez was the first Cub to start three consecutive games at DH in June 1998, and was also the first Cub DH to homer in consecutive games (June 24-25, 1998 at Tiger Stadium). Glenallen Hill was the go-to guy in 1999-2000, starting 13 of 15 games in which the DH was used.

In the 2001 Crosstown series, the Cubs used a fun DH combo of Ron Coomer and Matt Stairs. They used Roosevelt Brown that July, and Brown recorded what remains the only five-hit game by a Cubs DH (July 6, 2001 at Comerica Park in Detroit). In 2002, Fred McGriff, Moises Alou and Todd Hundley all started at least one game at DH.

In 2003, Alou was the Cubs' DH for all nine games in which it was used. The only other time the Cubs went an entire season using just one DH was in 2012 (Alfonso Soriano).

In 2004, Sammy Sosa made his first starts at DH since 1989 with the Rangers (he entered a game as a pinch hitter for a DH twice with the White Sox in 1991). In his second start on June 27 at U.S. Cellular Field, Sosa posted the first ever multi-homer effort by a Cubs DH. (It was Sosa’s last game as Cubs DH.) 

In 2005, Jason Dubois homered twice in three starts at DH. Michael Barrett DH-ed at U.S. Cellular Field on May 19, 2006 but moved behind the plate the following day, when he punched A.J. Pierzynski in the face. (Todd Walker was DH that day.)

Lou Piniella arrived in 2007 and he gave Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramírez a lot of reps through 2008. In 2009, Jake Fox and Micah Hoffpauir — guys who mashed in the minors but never quite figured it out at the big league level — saw a few games at DH. Soriano got more and more opportunities there as his Cubs career went on, and by the time he left the Cubs, his 14 starts at DH passed Hill’s 13 for most in team history. Soriano was brilliant as Cubs DH, hitting .345/.367/.707 with six homers with 14 RBIs.

Next came the lean years before the recent run of success, where Mike Olt, Nate Schierholtz, Ryan Sweeney and Luis Valbuena garnered the majority of Cubs DH at-bats. And then came Kyle Schwarber.

On June 17, 2015, Schwarber became the first player in Cubs history to make his first MLB start at DH. All he did was go 4-for-5 with a triple, two RBIs and three runs. While he hasn’t DH-ed all the time, Schwarber has done his fair share — his 22 regular season starts at DH is a Cubs record (26, if you include his outstanding performance in the 2016 World Series). Schwarber’s stolen base in Game 7 remains the only steal by a Cubs DH — regular season or postseason. In Schwarber’s 26 combined starts as DH, he’s hitting .320/.393/.650 with nine homers and 22 RBIs.

All nine of Schwarber’s home runs as DH have come in the regular season, which is tied with Matt Holliday and Jim Thome for third in MLB history among National League designated hitters. Only Barry Bonds and Mike Piazza have more (10 each). So, if Schwarber gets a lot of reps as Cubs DH in 2020, he could set an obscure, yet fun record.

While many fans dislike the DH, at least there will be fewer rallies killed by the pitcher's spot. And, while Kyle Schwarber might not be the automatic choice to fill the DH role, he gives the Cubs a solid option. 

All-time Cubs DH totals 811 plate appearances .266/.322/.468 37 HR 124 RBIs
Cubs pitchers (1997-present) 8,292 plate appearances .150/.178/.205 66 HR 460 RBIs
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