It's all over the news. Last night, the Chicago Cubs beat the Cleveland Indians in Game 7 of the World Series to win it all. The last time that Cleveland won a World Series title was in 1948. To give some historical context, that was the year that Israel was declared a nation after World War II. The last time that Chicago held a World Series title was in 1908, which was the same year that the first credit union was opened in the United States and the same year that Henry Ford produced the first Model-T automobile.
It's safe to say that both teams had been in a postseason drought, but that happened to make for one of the best, if not the best, World Series matchup in history. With the Indians taking the first three games of the series, the Cubs had a lot of work to do, but they defied all odds and took the series to Game 7, ultimately beating the Indians in 10 innings. The series had some amazing plays and electric moments, as well as some moments where it felt like the wheels were falling off. These are 7 of those moments.
1. A 6-4-3 double play with a bad toss from Russell to Baez, and Baez making the throw to Rizzo.
This double play was executed all thanks to Baez. A ground ball came to Addison Russell, who tossed to second to get the lead runner; his toss, however, was at Baez's feet. Baez managed to catch the toss to get the first out, and he made a fantastic play on the throw to first to Rizzo.
2. The dropped ball between Tyler Naquin and Lonnie Chisenhall in right center field (Game 6).
This was quite possibly one of the most frustrating things that could have happened for the Indians in Game 6. On a routine fly ball to right-center field, Indians outfielders Tyler Naquin and Lonnie Chisenhall miscommunicated and let the ball drop between them, which allowed the Cubs to score two runs in the top of the first inning. Even though this wasn't from Game 7, this played a huge role in the transition from Game 6 to 7, where Indians manager Terry Francona changed the starting center fielder for Game 7 to Rajai Davis.
3. David Ross's wild throw to first and passed ball... and his redeeming solo home run, all in the same inning.
Cubs veteran David Ross entered Game 7 with Jon Lester in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Cubs leading the Indians 5-1. A few moments later, Ross made a throwing error to first base off of a bunt, which allowed two Indians on base. With two outs, Jon Lester threw a wild pitch that got passed Ross, and those two runs ended up scoring. In the next half of the inning, however, David Ross smashed a solo home run into center field, redeeming himself and recovering one of the runs that the Indians got in the bottom half of the inning.
4. The way the Cubs made the Indians pay for intentionally walking Rizzo and Russell.
The top of the tenth inning in Game 7 brought chaos. After about 20 minutes of a rain delay, the Indians took the field to attempt to hold off the Cubs' offense. Kyle Schwarber led off the inning, singling to right field. He was replaced on first by Albert Almora, who made an extremely high IQ baseball decision, tagging up and advancing from first to second on a sacrifice fly ball to the warning track in center field that was hit by Kris Bryant. After that, the Indians intentionally walked Rizzo to get to Zobrist, who hit a double down the third base line, scoring Almora. The Indians made the decision to intentionally walk Addison Russell, leaving the bases loaded as they pitched to Miguel Montero. Montero singled to left, scoring Rizzo.
5. Aroldis Chapman's eighth inning/Rajai Davis's home run that tied the game.
The Cubs' star reliever and flamethrower, Aroldis Chapman, was effective earlier in the series. After being brought in to Game 6 the previous night, Chapman was again called upon by the Cubs to take care of business on the mound in Game 7. His velocity stayed consistently at around 100 miles per hour, but he couldn't get the last out of the inning as he allowed two hits: a double from Guyer, which scored Ramirez from first, and a 2-run home run from Rajai Davis that tied the game. The pitch that Davis homered on was extremely low and inside, and I'm still trying to wrap my head around just how he got a hold of that pitch and managed to belt it out of the park.
6. Dexter Fowler's leadoff home run.
Corey Kluber was trying to become the first pitcher to get three wins in a single World Series since 1968, but the Cubs' leadoff hitter, Dexter Fowler, got him off to a terrible start. On the fourth pitch of the game, Fowler belted a homer over the center field wall. This was the first leadoff home run in a Game 7 of a World Series. Ever.
7. The failed squeeze bunt by Baez in the top of the 9th inning in Game 7.
There were so many great moments and terrible moments from last night's game, but that's what made the game so captivating. Every decision and every play had the potential to succeed or to fail, and each part of the game can cause a major turnaround for the end results. The series between the Cubs and the Indians was one for the ages, and it was a great series to watch. Both the Indians and the Cubs played well and brought everything that they had to the table, but ultimately, the Cubs came away with the win that mattered.
