The 1983 season started about as bad as anyone could have imagined for the Chicago Cubs. They opened the campaign with six consecutive losses. It had been five years since they posted a .500 record for a season, and the start was having many feel like a sixth was coming.
The Cubs’ failures in Lee Elia’s second season as manager were the talk of the town. The press did not have anything nice to say about what was happening on the field. The fans were restless and showed their frustrations by booing at home games. Nobody was having a good time during the struggle.
Then came April 29th. The Los Angeles Dodgers came to town to start their three-game series at Wrigley Field with the Cubs. At the time, they held a 0.5-game lead in the National League West division with a record of 13-5. The Cubs, on the other hand, had the inverse record of 5-13, already six games back in the National League East.
Leon Durham and Ron Cey each knocked a run in in the first to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead. They held onto the lead until Ken Landreaux’s two-run homer tied the game in the sixth inning for the Dodgers. Lee Smith’s wild pitch in the top of the eighth inning, scoring Landreaux, was the final nail in the coffin as the Dodgers defeated the Cubs, 4-3.
Boos reigned down from the Wrigley Field stands. Frustrations boiled over for fans, players, and the Cubs manager. Elia met with the press postgame and had a few choice words for everyone.
Listener discretion is advised.
Lee Elia’s Legendary Rant As Cubs Manager
If you’ve lived in Chicago and are over the age of 40, you know this audio clip by heart. Lee Elia’s frustrations with how his team had been treated finally came to a breaking point. He absolutely let loose on the press for anyone willing to listen.
“eighty-five percent of the (expletive) world’s working. The other fifteen come out here.”
Lee Elia to reporters postgame after loss to Dodgers. April 29, 1983
Did this spark the Cubs? Well, they won the next day. However, they finished the year 71-91 and in fifth place of the National League East. Elia was not brought back for a third season as manager of the Cubs.
I once had a conversation with the catcher of that 1983 Cubs team, Jody Davis. He told me he loved it when Elia stood up for them and that he was the favorite manager he had ever had. He said many players wanted to go to bat for Elia every day because he always stood up for his team.
Elia got another chance to manage in baseball in 1987-88 with the Philadelphia Phillies. The results were not too favorable there, either. Plus, I don’t know of any viral clips that came out of that.
He will always be a part of Chicago Cubs’ history because of this majestic rant, given 41 years ago today.
