After a successful 2001 season the Cubs were looking forward to a playoff run in 2002. Sammy Sosa and Fred McGriff were joined by free agent prize Moises Alou to lead the offense, and Kerry Wood was joined by 20 game winner Jon Lieber and new pitcher Matt Clement. There were also two big prospects ready to make an impact; outfielder Corey Patterson and starting pitcher Mark Prior.

The season got off to a bad start with an 8-16 April and only got worse as it went along. A 13-16 May was made worse by free agent prize Alou off to an awful start to his Cubs career. The Cubs never did have a winning month in 2002. A 12-14 June put a ton of pressure on manager Don Baylor. On July 5th the pressure led to Baylor being fired and AAA manager Bruce Kimm taking over.

Kimm would do no better, in July they still went 11-15. August would be no better with a 12-18 record, mercifully September ended with a solid 11-16 effort. That .007 improvement in winning percentage really rose hopes for the next season. Overall the 2002 Cubs finished a pathetic 67-95 good enough to finish fifth in the central.

On an individual level there were some great offensive players. Sosa didn't do what he did the previous season, but still hit 49 homers and put up a 160 OPS+. Fred McGriff had 30 homers and a 125 OPS+ at first base making the mid-2001 trade for him worthwhile. The breakout star was second baseman Mark Bellhorn who hit 27 homers and had a 133 OPS+ despite only hitting .258. He brought power from both sides of the plate and some stability to the second base position.

The pitchers were all solid, especially the starting staff. Kerry Wood was healthy all season and went 12-11 with a 3.66 ERA. He ended up with a 110 ERA+ and 217 strikeouts. Matt Clement put up a solid year starting 32 games going 12-11 with a 3.60 ERA and a 112 ERA+. Joe Borowski set himself up to be the closer with a 148 ERA+ out of the set-up spot.

Three young players made their extended time debuts in 2002. Center-fielder Corey Patterson was the top prospect in all of baseball, but disappointed in his first full season. His 78 OPS+  and .284 OBP were telling signs that perhaps Patterson wasn't so great. Phenom Mark Prior came up and went 6-6 with a 3.32 ERA and a team leading 122 ERA+. Young Carlos Zambrano spent more time in the bigs and made 16 starts with a 3.66 ERA and a 110 ERA+. It was a promising time for young Cubs pitchers.

Ultimately the Cubs 2002 season was an epic disaster, but it was a disaster that brought a ton of hope. The pitching staff looked ripe to dominate, and there were some good veteran hitters. Still this team didn't have it and the young pitching wasn't quite ready.

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