» August 14, 1996: Giants infielder Shawon Dunston is operated on and will miss the remainder of the season. Dunston suffered a head injury on August four in a collision with Astro SS Ricky Gutierrez.

» July 14, 1997: In the longest night game at Wrigley Field—5 hours, 19 minutes—Ricky Gutierrez singles home the go-ahead run in the 15th to give the Astros a 9–7 win over the Cubs.

» May 6, 1998: In one of the finest pitching efforts ever, Chicago Cub rookie righthander Kerry Wood fans 20 Houston Astros in a 2–0, one-hit victory to tie the major league mark for strikeouts in a 9-inning game. Making only his 5th big league start, the 20-year-old ties the record held by Roger Clemens, who performed the feat twice. Wood does not walk a batter in his masterpiece, allowing only an infield single to Ricky Gutierrez in the 3rd inning, that likely would have been an error had it occurred late in the game. The 20-year-old Wood became the 2nd pitcher in baseball history whose strikeout total matched his age (Bob Feller struck out 17 when he was 17-years-old). Wood struck out the first five batters of the game and struck out seven in a row between the 7th and 9th innings, a streak that ties Jamie Moyer's Cubs record.

» December 20, 1999: The Cubs sign SS Ricky Gutierrez to a 2-year contract.

» May 28, 2001: The sizzling Cubs win their 8th straight, 9–6, in 13 innings over the Reds. Ricky Gutierrez hits a 2-run homer in the 13th after an Eric Young RBI single. Reds 1B Sean Casey leaves the game with a strained lower back, and the Reds use three more first basemen, tying a NL mark set by the Phillies, on July 23, 1964. The two teams combine to tie the major league record by using six at first: the mark was set by the White Sox (5) and Yankees (1), on June 25, 1953.

» June 17, 2001: The Cubs edge Minnesota, 5–4 for their 13th straight home win and a sweep of the 3-game series with the Twins. Kerry Wood wins over Brad Radke. Ricky Gutierrez again leads the way with a home run, the 3rd straight game he's gone deep. Sosa scores his 1,000th career run, a mark he's already topped in RBIs.

» August 7, 2001: During the 7th inning stretch of the Cubs 5–4 win over the Rockies, former Chicago Bears player Steve McMichael leads the crowd in the singing of Take Me Out to the Ball Game. Prior to singing, however, McMichael, upset at a call that went against the Cubs in the previous inning, tells the crowd, "Don't worry, I'll have some speaks with that home plate umpire after the game." Umpire Angel Hernandez throws McMichael out of the game, as the umps fear his remarks could incite the crowd. The Cubs win in 9th when Ricky Gutierrez slides under a tag at home.

» December 17, 2001: The Indians sign free agent SS Ricky Gutierrez to a 3-year contract.