Special Cubs patch tonight

[sox83cubs84]

The Cubs are wearing a patch on their road greys in their Saturday night game at The Joan with the number 20000 on it, with a small Cubs logo inside the third number (second zero). It is a commemorative for the Cubs' 20,000th MLB regular season game in the team's history, the first to accomplish this feat of longevity (The Braves are a little over 300 short of the milestone.)

Dave Miedema

[coxfan]

Im confused. I thought the Braves and Cubs were two of the founding teams in the NL, with the Braves actually winning the first-ever NL game in 1876, and they've both played continuously since. So how could the Braves be 300 games behind? Did they not play the same number of games in early seasons?

[kylehess10]

Im confused. I thought the Braves and Cubs were two of the founding teams in the NL, with the Braves actually winning the first-ever NL game in 1876, and they've both played continuously since. So how could the Braves be 300 games behind? Did they not play the same number of games in early seasons?

Good question. I'm wondering the same thing, since it even has it plastered all over Turner Field that it's the longest continiously operating team in baseball.

[5kRunner]

According to Baseball Reference, the Braves are at 19,966. I assume not counting today's game since the Cubs are at 20,000.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/

With rainouts that were never made up, and who knows how they counted the games back in the 1800's a difference of 34 games could be possible.

[coxfan]

The Braves have been continously operating since 1871, in the old National Association of Professional Baseball Players that was formed that year. I think the Cubs also started then, but lost a season due to the great fire. In 1876 the National League was formed and caused the collapse of the old NA, which had no membership criteria for teams and had some very marginal clubs which were really low minor-league status.

That's why the Braves are the longest-running, but the 20,000 count, I think, should start in 1876. The original Braves, by the way ( not called the Braves then) were formed from the remnants of the 1869 Cincinatti first-ever full-salaried team we've all heard about. Their club dispanded them, and their leaders moved to Boston to start the club now known as the Braves in 1871.

[coxfan]

Thanks to 5k runner for that data. I hope the Braves know about it.

I re-checked, and the Chicago club actually lost both the 1872 and 1873 seasons due to the great fire. That's why the Braves are the longest continuously running club, since they've operated as a professional club since 1871. But both they and the Braves have played in the National League since 1876, which is when true major-league play started. That's because National League started excluding the small and weak professional clubs. Before then, in the old NA from 1871-75, any small-town "professional" team could join and require the big-market teams to schedule them.

Anyway, it sounds like from 5k runner's data that the Cubs' claim to 20,000, and the patches that go with that, are historically valid.