Lawton batted leadoff in his debut with the Cubs, which was against the Philadelphia Phillies on August 2. In that debut, Lawton got two hits in five at-bats. He hit his first and only home with the Cubs on August 14, against the St. Louis Cardinals. With Chicago that season, Lawton batted .244 with eight runs scored, 19 hits, two doubles, one home run, and five RBIs in 19 games played. Authors of "Cubs by the Numbers", Al Yellon, Kasey Ignarski, and Matthew Silverman later commented that Lawton's tenure with the Cubs was "useless".