CHICAGO — General manager Jim Hendry and the Chicago Cubs agreed Monday to a four-year contract extension through the 2012 season.

The move came following the Cubs' best regular season in more than six decades. They won their second straight NL Central title but got swept out of the playoffs for the second straight year.

Chicago led the division or shared the lead from May 11 on, clinched the NL Central on Sept. 20 and went 97-64 — the most wins for this franchise since the 1945 team finished 98-56 — only to get knocked out by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL division series.

Last season, the Cubs were eliminated by Arizona. Still, Hendry is the only GM in Cubs history to lead the team during consecutive postseason appearances.

Since the club went 66-96 in 2006, Hendry has signed free agents Alfonso Soriano, Ted Lilly, Mark DeRosa and Kosuke Fukudome while making key in-season acquisitions last season such as Reed Johnson (in March), Jim Edmonds (May) and Rich Harden (July). He also hired manager Lou Piniella and agreed to long-term contracts with third baseman Aramis Ramirez and pitcher Carlos Zambrano.

The Cubs are 537-513 since Hendry was promoted to general manager on July 5, 2002, and have had winning records in four of his six full seasons while making three playoff appearances.