Game 7 of this year's World Series was played the other night, and I watched the majority of it with the sound turned off, thankfully missing the drivel coming from Joe Buck. Mainly we have the television off when the Boy is awake, but Game 7 between the Cubbies and the Indians?
I say mainly because there were times when I angrily turned off the tube, quietly cursing the Cubs' manager Joe Maddon. As the game progressed, it became clear that it could be in the pantheon of Greatest Games Ever, and then, as it ended, how could you argue that it wasn't the Best Ever? Sure Mazeroski and Jack Morris and Joe Carter...but...
The Stakes: Representing the American League was the Cleveland Indians, owners of the longest drought for World Series Championships in the AL, having last won in 1948. They lost the World Series in 1995 to the Braves and in 1997 to the Marlins, but were so bad for so long that they inspired one of the best baseball movies ever with "Major League".
Now, while that World Series drought for the Indians is bad, it had nothing on the Cubs. The last World Series they were even in was in 1945, which they lost in seven games to Detroit. The last championship they won was in 1908, an over-a-century of futility, the longest drought in American professional sports, and possibly sports in the world. Few teams have remained so popular without ever winning anything.
Game 7s are weird things, and especially in the World Series: an entire season coming down to one game. A marathon of a season, from March until October, then two more weeks, and then one more week, and after all that, everything comes down to 27 outs.
The Ramifications: One team was ending an historic drought, but both teams are on the cutting edge of the data analytics revolution. How about that Theo Epstein, the architect of both the 2004 Red Sox and this Cubbie team?
The Game: Lead off homer by the Cubbies, ala Jeter against the Mets in 2000, 1-0 Cubs. Indians tie it at 1. Cubs go ahead, and sit at 5-1 when the Cubs pitcher, Kyle Hendricks---who's pitching a helluva game by the way---walks a guy with two outs.
Cubs manager comes out and removes Hendricks (who had only thrown 60+ pitches) in favor of game 5 starter Jon Lester. Lester walks a guy, throws a wild pitch, and then another, bouncing one off the dirt and into the head of the catcher, allowing two runs to score. 5-3 now, Cubs leading.
This is the first time I turned off the television in a rage. But silently.
Whatever, right? Back and forth until the 8th inning with the Cubs now ahead 6-4. The Cubs' fireballing but overtaxed closer---also a hard-to-root-for-charges-against-dropped kind of guy---Aroldis Chapman serves up a two-run homer to soft-hitting center-fielder Rajai Davis: Tie game.
Crowd totally goes apeshit. I shake my head as Corrie emerges from the bedroom. The Boy is down, but still the TV is muted. "It's karma. You can't root for Chapman," I tell her.
No score after the top and then bottom of the 9th, which Chapman pitches. I thought he was going to lose the whole season right then, obviously out of gas. This guy throws 102 regularly, but in those moments looked like toast.
THEN A RAIN DELAY!
Holy shit, the tension! A full season, a full World Series---seven games!---and now extra innings, and now a fifteen minute rain delay! (It was seventeen minutes.)
When play resumes the Cubs just keep coming. They scored two hard fought runs, taking an 8-6 lead. In the bottom of the 10th, the Indians scored a run and got another guy on base. The score was 8-7. with the season-winning run at the plate. The hitter was a defensive replacement from earlier and was getting his first at-bat of the game.
He chopped a ball to third-basemen Kris Bryant, who looked misty-eyed as he fielded it, throwing the runner out easily.
Game over, World Series over, longest drought in professional sports...over.
So...there was game 7 in 2001, when the D-Backs beat Big Mo and the Yankees, and Jack Morris pitching 10 innings in game 7 in 1984, and Bill Mazeroski beating the Yankees in game 7 in 1960 with a walk-off homer---all fantastic and classic WS Game 7s.
But these stakes? These teams? These starved baseball franchises? A game that was heart-attack-inducing every five minutes?
Has any game ever been better?
I listened to the game on the radio, then had a bonsai meeting so watched on my phone as it kept updating got in the car drove home ran in the house and saw the last out..... great game... great series..... great sport.....
ReplyDelete