The 2016 Major League Baseball postseason has been full of great stories. The Indians have made it to the World Series for the first time since 1997 and have a chance to win it for the first time since 1948 (on the heels of the Cleveland Cavaliers winning the city’s first title in 54 years, no less), the Red Sox young core took them to the playoffs along with a great fianl season from David Ortiz (I’m a little biased), the San Francisco Giants’ streak of even year World Series championships ended, and, oh yeah, the Chicago Cubs are in the World Series for the first time since 1945 with a chance to win for the first time since 1908. While most of baseball is abuzz with the possibility of the Cubs finally breaking the Curse of the Billy Goat, I am not. I am not rooting for the Cubs in the Fall Classic this season.
You may be asking, “But Jackson, they haven’t won in 107 years. Why root against a fanbase deprived of a championship that long?” My answer to you is they are not deprived, as in the people of Chicago. Since 1990, Chicago sports teams have won ten championships. They were blessed with seeing six championships given to them by the best player in basketball history (In their opinion. I personally think LeBron James will be the best after it’s all said and done. Another reason for Chicago to be bitter about Cleveland), they have seen a Blackhawks dynasty develop in the last six seasons in hockey, and they saw the red-headed stepchild Chicago White Sox win a championship for the first time since 1917 in 2005 (yes, even the less popular baseball team in the city won the championship in this span). I know it is unfair to base it on geographic location alone. Not all Cubs fans are Chicago sports fans. With that said, a lot of baseball fans and media members are all about flying the W and drinking Old Style to the point it is almost obnoxious.
Not only is the fanbase spreading into bandwagon territory (which is no fault of loyal Cubs fans, just like it wasn’t the fault of loyal Red Sox fans after 2004), but the media just can’t get enough of the “underdog”. ESPN, FOX (especially Joe Buck) and others have latched onto the team with the best record in baseball this season like a teenage girl does to a junior hockey player. ESPN compared Kyle Schwarber to Base Ruth (the Great Schwarbino as they like to call him), a player with just over a year of experience in the Bigs and has similar numbers to Bobby Crosby (who?) in that span. A guy who is coming off of a serious knee injury, which is very impressive and shows his toughness, doesn’t need to garner such a comparison. Also, he did not just roll off the operating table like ESPN said either. He used his recovery time wisely and fine-tuned in the Arizona Fall League which gave him at least a little bit of time to get his feet wet. What is worse than the bias towards Schwarber is the love Joe Buck gives to Javier Baez. Every time Baez makes a play, Buck swoons like a South Dakota girl who saw Luke Bryan in concert at Jacksfest and says “Javier Baez can even make a routine play look fun”. Baez gets constant praise from Buck, despite having career numbers of a .244 batting average, 24 home runs and 83 runs batted in in 222 career games (not to mention his 227 strikeouts at the plate in that span). The media bias is through the roof. It’s incredible that the Indians haven’t gotten any coverage, even though the city of Cleveland has been one of the best sports stories in the last ten years. Also, the praise for Cubs manager Joe Maddon is quite prevalent (but justified). I get that Maddon is a great baseball mind, but let’s not forget who is in the opposing dugout. Terry Francona, if he wins the World Series this season, should start preparing his Hall of Fame speech. Maddon is not quite on that level yet.
With all of that said, I do not want to short the Cubs on what they are doing. Their player development has been phenomenal. The play of Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo has shown that. The Indians, on the other hand have great player development as well. Players like Francisco Lindor, Corey Kluber and Jose Ramirez have shown the Indians know what they are doing. In fact, most of the Indians’ difference makers are homegrown talent that played in their minor league system. Out of the nine hitters in their usual starting lineup, seven of them came through the Indians’ minor league system (Mike Napoli and Rajai Davis are the exceptions). Their starting rotation this postseason includes four pitchers; three of which made their Major League debuts in Cleveland (the only one who didn’t is Trevor Bauer). Their best reliever may have been an acquisition, but their closer is Cody Allen, a homegrown player. The Cubs, on the other hand, have a starting lineup consisting of four players they did not develop (Dexter Fowler, Ben Zobrist, Jason Heyward, Miguel Montero). Their starting rotation of four pitchers includes one homegrown player (Kyle Hendricks) and their closer was acquired in one of the highest profile trades at the deadline. If you are trying to say the Cubs are the underdog in this scenario, you are wrong. It is shocking that baseball fans don’t see the amazing job the Indians have done for years to get to this stage and the incredible homegrown development that has carried them to the World Series. Yes, the Cubs have developed some bright spots, but not virtually their whole lineup. On top of that, the free agent acquisitions the Indians made have paid off and were acquired for a cheap price. Napoli has had a great year and Davis has filled his roll just fine. The Cubs, on the other hand, overspent on Heyward (fans will still say the $184 million price tag was worth the defense) and Fowler. Zobrist wasn’t all bad, but we will see how the rest of his contract plays out.
Because of the hype around the Cubs, major storylines have been forgotten. The Indians have been without arguably their best player, Michael Brantley, all season. Their pitching staff is depleted but still performing after injuries to All Star Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco. Not to mention, they had a crazy trade deadline where they acquired arguably the best reliever in baseball, Andrew Miller (ALCS MVP) and failed to acquire catcher Jonathan Lucroy (who went to the Texas Rangers and was bounced in the first round of the playoffs). With the failure to acquire Lucroy, they ended up being able to keep a great prospect in Francisco Mejia and give Roberto Perez the stage to hit two home runs in their win in game one of the World Series. The Cubs have battled adversity because of their franchise history. Something the players on the team only know through the history books. The Indians have dealt with it all season with injuries and they have battled back with a great young squad, smart acquisitions and great baseball minds helping fill the holes.
I get that the Cubs are a great team with a great young core of players and great baseball minds at the helm, but so are the Indians. The bias towards the Cubs is what makes it hard for me to root for them in the Fall Classic this season. The Indians have been doubted all year and have constantly shown why they should be there. The Cubs have been picked by many since day one to win the World Series. If you think the Cubs are the underdog with their premature World Series crowning and 100-win season, you are wrong. The Indians are the underdog, and have shown the heart of a true champion. The media bias towards the Cubs is unjustified and incredibly strong. With that said, Roll Tribe and Rally Together.
