Well, Cub fans have had a few days to pinch themselves and it’s still real. The Chicago Cubs are World Series Champions for the first time since 1908 back when Mordecai “3-Finger” Brown was the Cubs ace on the mound.
“Wait till next year” has been a catch phrase around the North Side for years. An unrelenting lament for another season gone by. This year, however, is the year. No longer do they have to look down and sigh with fleeting hope that next year will be better. They did it.
Watching Kris Bryant fire that final out over to first with a host of Cubs fans in the Chicago suburbs, I got to see live reactions of baseball's most patient die-hards. I saw pure ecstasy along with total disbelief among some of the loyal. They leaped and sprinted up and down the hallway waving the “W” flag. Less than five minutes after that last out, I heard it again- “Wait till next year,” but this time it with pride and anticipation, gunning for a repeat.
A repeat? Is that something to be thinking about so soon? Repeats aren’t particularly common in baseball. The last time a National League team won two in a row was the Cincinnati Reds in the 1975-1976 campaigns. The last time any team was back-to-back Champs was 16 years ago: the 1998-2000 New York Yankees who took home three in a row. And if you look at that 1998 Yankee team compared to this Cubs squad, you start to see some similarities. So for the sake of “Wait till next year”, let’s take a look, shall we?
PITCHING
Both teams dominated in nearly every aspect of the game, but it was their deep rotations that kept them head and shoulders above the competition all season.
- Led League in Wins, ERA (both by .35 or lower than the next lowest team), shutouts, hits, runs, and earned runs. The Yankees also led in complete games while the Cubs finished second.
- Startlingly low unearned runs given up (Yankees 37 and Cubs 40)
- Led by 26-year-old aces who won 16 games that year were known for pinpoint accuracy and finesse style pitching that used cutters, sinkers, curveballs, changeups, and a 4-seam fastball that barely tops 90 mph (Yankees Andy Pettitte and Cubs Kyle Hendricks).
- Utilized Cy Young caliber seasons from veteran left-handed pitchers signed in high profile free agency deals a year before their Championship runs (Yankees David Wells and Cubs Jon Lester).
- Both used 28-year-old star closers to slam the door on the opposition (Yankees Mariano Rivera and Cubs Aroldis Chapman).
HITTING
- Most patient team in the league, leaders in walks
- Led league in on-base percentage
- Two position players with over 100 RBI’s
- Led 24-year-old former Rookie of the Year superstar infielders who finished in the top 3 in MVP voting the year they won the Series. Bryant may still win. (Yankees Derek Jeter and Cubs Kris Bryant)
- Scored more than 250 more runs than they gave up
Managers
- Named Joe. (Yankees Joe Torre and Cubs Joe Maddon)
Looking ahead for the Cubs, barring any trades the Cubs have most of their Championship squad locked up for at least the next year or two. Chapman as well as Center fielder Dexter Fowler being the only major pieces who could test free agency this offseason. The Yankees were able to bring back all of their starting position players and all but one starting pitcher on their way to defend the title (it’s worth noting that they sent David Wells to Toronto along with a few others in exchange for the two time reigning Cy Young winner- Roger Clemens).
So as we can see, there are plenty of similarities between the clubs. But what about any advantages that the Cubs may have?
The biggest? Age. The Cubs may have the oldest pitching rotation in baseball, but when you figure in their position players, an enviable seven position players 26-years-old or younger, including Kyle Schwarber, Jorge Soler, Addison Russell and Kris Bryant. All this considered, this year's Cubs are still much younger (28.9 years) than the 1998 Bronx Bombers (30.6).
So is a repeat in the cards? It’s far, far too early to tell. Only 7 franchises have ever gone won the Series twice or more in a row. However, one of those teams? The Chicago Cubs. Remember that 1908 season that we love to talk about? The last time the Cubs won the World Series before this year. Yeah, that was the second year of a back to back run. So how ‘bout it Cubs fans? “Wait till next year”, right?
