The Chicago Cubs Can't Relate to the Cleveland Indians
/I've been bothered by this World Series loss all week.
I'm not writing this to spin blowing a 3-1 lead to the Chicago Cubs into proof that the Indians had a better season than their National League rivals. No, the better team won. The Cubs were better in almost every statistical category than the Tribe. They were healthier. They were deeper. Their fans should be happy and celebrate. It seems like they are doing a lot of that. That's great!
But Cubs fans, you don't know what Indians fans are feeling right now. Stop trying to reach out and offer understanding. You've never been one run away from winning it all only to have everything evaporate out of your hands. I got chills for half-a-second when Jason Kipnis ripped a foul ball off of Aroldis Chapman in the bottom of the 9th of that Game 7. For a fleeting moment, I thought I was watching my team win the World Series on a walk-off home run. I can still recall that half-feeling before I'm forced to face the cold reality of that game.
Have the Cubs ever been that close?
There's a difference between heartbreak and losing. It's easy to walk away from a team that's going nowhere. We do that as early as September with the Browns. Yes, we've done it many seasons with the Tribe too. But we've also watched some great Indians teams come oh-so close.
In the 71 years between World Series appearances by the Cubs, the Indians won the American League Pennant four times. In 1954, Cleveland set an MLB record for regular season wins, only to get swept by the New York Giants in the World Series. Most remember this series from the Giants perspective because of Willie Mays and "The Catch," but that Cleveland team still holds the American League record for winning percentage. They didn't even win a game in Fall Classic.
Cleveland lost 4-2 to the Atlanta Braves in 1995, my first memories of Cleveland Indians baseball. It sparked a run of five-straight Central Division titles. These teams made me fall in love with baseball. They had a chance every year during that run, but 1997 was as close as they got. The Indians lost in a Game 7 to the Florida Marlins. After the Indians blew a lead in the ninth inning, the Marlins won it all in the 11th inning. Sound familiar? The next World Series Game 7 to go into extra innings would be in 2016...
How can a Cubs fan empathize with any of that? The closest thing in comparison is the 2003 Steve Bartman team that blew a 3-1 lead in the NLCS to the Marlins. That's sandwiched by NLDS sweeps in 1998, 2007, and 2008, and an NLCS sweep in 2015. That's not heartbreak. That's just losing.
Now you would have gotten your first taste of heartbreak on Wednesday had my fantasy of Kipnis' home-run become true. I can only imagine the cries of curses and gnashing of teeth had Chicago lost that Game 7. But they didn't. The Cubs marched into their first World Series that most people can remember and won it all. And for the second time in my life, Cleveland is the backdrop for one of Chicago sport's most iconic moments.
So Cubs fans, go out and celebrate. But please don't feel guilty. Don't look at Cleveland and see a reflection of your own team, rationalizing your 108 years with our 68 years (now the longest current record of futility). Because Cleveland and Chicago are similar only in proximity to the Great Lakes. Metro Chicago has almost 8 million more people than Metro Cleveland. The Cubs are the 5th most valuable MLB franchise, Cleveland is 27th. The Cubs outspent the Indians by almost $80 million in 2016 and have outspent the Tribe every year since 2002. You are not the underdog. You are not the little guy.
The new future of the Cubs is coming to terms with being a normal large-market baseball team that has more in common with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees than a team like Cleveland. Though I'm sure they'll try to tell us otherwise. The myth of the Cubs drought is over. They've passed that title of despair to the Indians even though we've already been wearing the crown for years.