These 13 Cubs Have Played In The Postseason Before

The Cubs have more rookie starters than just about any postseason team in history. Kris Bryant, Addison Russell, Jorge Soler and Kyle Schwarber have been regular or semi-regular players all season.

But that doesn't mean they don't have plenty of playoff experience. It starts with manager Joe Maddon, who took the Tampa Bay Rays to the postseason four times in the six seasons from 2008-2013, and to the World Series in 2008. He was also a coach for the Angels from 1994-2005, during which time they won the World Series (2002) and made the postseason two other times (2004, 2005). That, obviously, is significant in that Joe surely knows what makes the postseason differ from the regular season and what it takes to win playoff games.

Here are all the players on the Cubs' 40-man roster who have played in previous postseason games.

Jason Hammel started one game for the 2009 Rockies in the division series, two for the Orioles in 2012 in the division series, and was the pitcher who gave up the game-winning hit to Salvador Perez in last year's A.L. Wild Card game when he was with the Athletics. That's something I'm sure he'd like to forget.

Dan Haren pitched for the Cardinals in all three rounds of the 2004 postseason, five games in all, including two scoreless relief appearances in the World Series. That was eons ago, and he's not likely to pitch this year for the Cubs in the postseason. He also started two games for the 2006 A's in the playoffs, one in the division series, one in the ALCS.

Tommy Hunter, back when he was a starter, started one game for the 2010 Rangers in each of the three rounds. He also pitched in relief for the Orioles in both the 2012 and 2014 postseasons. All told, he has a 4.40 ERA in 14⅓ playoff innings.

One of the reasons the Cubs signed Jon Lester was for his significant experience in not just the postseason, but in two World Series (2007 and 2013). He's pitched in five postseasons, has an overall postseason ERA of 2.57 in 84 innings, and has an 0.43 ERA in three World Series starts. (That wild-card game last year for the A's? Let's not mention that.)

Jason Motte pitched in three postseasons for the Cardinals (2009, 2011 and 2012) and posted eight saves without a blown save (though he did post a loss when put into the tied Game 2 of the 2011 World Series). Overall he has a 2.08 ERA in 21 playoff innings.

Clayton Richard threw six relief innings in the 2008 division series for the White Sox, allowing just one run.

One of the reasons the Cubs grabbed Fernando Rodney off the scrap heap was his experience with Joe Maddon, including three appearances in the 2013 postseason. (Don't look at the numbers, though. They aren't pretty.) He also pitched for the Tigers in the 2006 postseason, including the World Series.

Pedro Strop had two scoreless appearances for the Orioles in 2012 in their division series against the Yankees.

Miguel Montero was the starting catcher for the Diamondbacks in two postseasons: 2007 against the Cubs and Rockies, and 2011 against the Brewers. Overall he's hit .296/.367/.370 (8-for-27) with three walks and two RBI

David Ross came to the Cubs primarily to be Lester's personal catcher, but he brought significant playoff experience, too. In addition to the 2013 Red Sox World Series title, Ross also played in the postseason for the Dodgers (2004), Red Sox (2008) and Braves (2010 and 2012). His postseason numbers -- and most of this is from 2013 -- are .281/.324/.469 (9-for-32) with three doubles and a home run.

Quintin Berry played in the postseason for the Tigers (2012) and Red Sox (2013) and at least in 2012, he was more than just a pinch-runner. He went 3-for-10 in the division-series round for Detroit and 2-for-8 in the ALCS before going 0-for-8 in the World Series against the Giants. In the postseason, he's 5-for-5 in stolen-base attempts.

Dexter Fowler was the starting center fielder for the Rockies in their 2009 division series against the Phillies. He went 3-for-14, all singles.

Austin Jackson is another player acquired in part for his postseason experience. He played in three postseasons with the Tigers (2011, 2012, 2013) as their starting center fielder. He's got 35 games' worth of playoff experience and hit .233/.333/.346 (31-for-133) with seven doubles, a triple and two home runs.

Not all these players will be on the postseason roster, although that will change by round and Joe Maddon will certainly choose players who he thinks match up best against that round's opponent. Perhaps one of these men will be part of a "lucky 13" who have been there before, and will help the Cubs this year.