After 108 Years, Cubs Are World Champions

It took 108 years, a blown three-run lead with four outs to go, a 10th-inning rain delay, one final rally and a dramatic escape, but the Chicago Cubs, finally, are World Champions.

Ben Zobrist doubled home the tie-breaking run in the top of the 10th inning to bring the Cubs back after closer Aroldis Chapman blew a three-run lead, Miguel Montero followed with a run-scoring single for what turned out to be the decisive margin, and the Cubs outlasted the Indians 8-7 in 10 innings to win an epic Game Seven of the World Series and claim their first title since 1908.

“It’s the best thing I’ve ever heard,” third baseman Kris Bryant said postgame. “This trumps everything. I’m so happy. I can’t even put into words how this feels.”

Zobrist’s knock bailed the Cubs out of what would have been arguably the most painful collapse in a franchise history full of them. They rallied from a three games-to-one deficit to force Game Seven and held a 6-3 lead with two outs in the eighth, but Chapman entered and promptly gave away the lead.

Brandon Guyer welcomed Chapman with a two-out RBI double to cut the Indians deficit to 6-4 and bring the tying run to the plate in Rajai Davis. Davis, with 55 home runs in almost 4,000 career plate appearances, choked up on a 2-2 low-and-inside fastball and turned on it, driving it over the left-field fence for a stunning, game-tying two-run homer.

It was the first game-tying home run in the eighth inning or later in a World Series Game Seven.

It got even wilder in the ninth, when the Cubs stranded Jason Heyward at third with the go-ahead run, hampered by a failed suicide squeeze attempt by Javier Baez, and Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor made a game-saving play deep up the middle to get Dexter Fowler at first to end the inning and prevent the run from scoring. Chapman came back out for the bottom of the ninth and retired the side in order, but a storm system moved in and caused a rain delay prior to the start of the 10th inning.

During that 17-minute delay, Heyward called a team meeting.

“I just had to remind everybody who they were,” Heyward said. “Who these guys are, what we had to overcome to get here. Every time we were asked to do something this year, we answered it. These guys overcame that for the guys in the clubhouse.”

With Heyward’s words ringing in their airs, the Cubs went to work as soon as the delay ended.

Kyle Schwarber led off with a single off Bryan Shaw and, after Anthony Rizzo was intentionally walked, Zobrist smacked a line drive down the left field line to put the Cubs ahead once again. Montero’s single two batters later made it 8-6, and turned out to be the difference-maker.

The Cubs had leads of 5-1 in the fifth and 6-3 in the eighth and failed to hold them, but made their final lead stand up, albeit not without suitable drama for what had transpired before. Rookie righthander Carl Edwards Jr. entered and struck out Mike Napoli and got Jose Ramirez to ground out, but walked Guyer to bring the tying run to the plate. Guyer took second on defensive indifference and Davis, already once a hero, lined a two-out RBI single to center to make it a one-run game.

With the tying run on first, Mike Montgomery relieved Edwards and made the pitch the Cubs so desperately needed, a curveball Michael Martinez rolled over and grounded to third, and Kris Bryant charged and threw true to Rizzo for the final out.

“I knew he was fast and I knew I had to get rid of it,” Bryant said. “It’s wet out here, the longest game ever; that was one of the best games anybody will ever see.”

Chapman earned the win despite blowing the lead and Montgomery earned the save. Zobrist was named Series MVP.

The Cubs never trailed in Game Seven, despite the wild and wacky events that played out in Cleveland.

Fowler led off with a home run on the game’s fourth pitch, the first leadoff home run in World Series Game Seven history.

When the Indians tied it back up in the bottom of the third on Carlos Santana’s RBI single, the Cubs responded immediately in the next half inning and retook the lead on Addison Russell’s sacrifice fly and Willson Contreras’ RBI double. Baez sent a long drive to right to lead off the fourth and make it 4-1, chasing Indians ace Corey Kluber from the game in the process.

When once again the Indians threatened, emotional leader David Ross was there to take the momentum back for Chicago.

Ross entered at catcher in the fifth and immediately committed a crucial throwing error that put runners on second and third for the Indians. Two pitches later, he failed to get in front of Jon Lester’s wild pitch that allowed both runs to score, exacerbated by Ross tripping over his own two feet as he attempted to rise from his crouch.

With his blunders cutting the Cubs lead down to 5-3, Ross promptly stepped up the very next inning and homered to center field off Indians relief ace Andrew Miller, just the second run scored off Miller the entire postseason.

That’s where the score remained when things turned wild when Chapman entered in the eighth. It wasn’t a smooth finish by any stretch, but in the end, the Cubs found a way to persevere, and in the process become champions.

“We’re in history forever,” Rizzo said. “This team is brothers forever, no matter what.”