The Cubs Went All The Way
Man, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a baseball game played so hard. That was Game 7, the final game of the World Series, the game that decides who the champions are.
The Chicago Cubs have not won the World Series since 1908 and they had not made it to the World Series since 1945. Long time Cub fans are probably bawlin’ their eyes out right now, so relieved that they got their “just one before I die” victory.
The Cleveland Indians did not make it easy for the Cubs, and why should they? The Indians worked every bit as hard to get to the World Series. They weren’t just going to let the Cubs have the glory. Both teams played hard. The players seemed desperate, even stressed out.
There were many wild leaps and dives, and the sprints seemed speedier than usual. It was like the guys found some godly power deep in the pits of their stomachs and used it to kick their gears into overdrive.
By the middle of the 5th inning, the score was Cubs 5 – Indians 1. But the Indians began turning things around in the bottom of the 5th, bringing in two runs and the score to 5-3.
The Cubs scored again in the top of the 6th, but the Indians got in three more in the bottom of the 8th, and the score was 6-6. Chapman looked real nervous after that, but luckily they caught a base runner attempting to steal and wrapped up the inning before the Indians could score again.
But then it was the 9th inning and the score was tied. Looked like everyone had the shakes. The Cubs didn’t score in the 9th, but neither did the Indians. A 10th inning was added, and then it rained. They rolled out the tarp and we waited to see if it was over for the night. Thankfully the rain delay didn’t last long and the game resumed.
I call this a pitching mistake. When a pitcher intentionally walks a batter, I reckon it’s because the pitcher assumes the next batter can’t hit. I didn’t memorize the name of the pitcher on the mound at that point, but he did this twice. Walked a batter on purpose, and then the next batter got a good hit. Twice this happened in the top of the 10th and the Cubs got in two runs. The score was now 8-6.
Bottom of the 10th, the Indians got in one more run. The score was 8-7.
It slipped my mind. Did the Indians have a man on first and second? Or just first? I don’t remember and I don’t feel like checking right now. But there were two outs and the Indians still had a chance to win. The batter hit, the ball bounced, was caught and thrown to first base before the batter made it there.
All I could think after that play was “CUBS WIN!!! CUBS WIN!!! CUBS WIN!!!”
This game was wild. Billy Goat’s curse is broken. The Chicago Cubs won the World Series for the first time in 108 years.