As team president Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer promised when they took the helm in December of 2011, the Chicago Cubs have rebuilt, re-tooled, and reloaded to begin their World Series run in 2015. While many fans believe in the Cubs’ vast improvement over three-straight last-place finishes and serious contention within another year or two, Cubs management – and new ace Jon Lester – believe that the Cubs could put up some serious competition for a National League Central division title and possible run at the World Series in 2015.
Cub fans have long awaited this transition. The Cubs last played in a World Series in 1945 and last won it all in 1908. While the Cubs have had recent success in occasionally making the postseason, they have not sustained a winning team for any significant duration. In fact, very rarely from 1945 on has the team even had consecutive winning seasons. This rebuilding program shows fans that Epstein and Hoyer have committed themselves to changing things for good at Wrigley Field.
Since 1969, the Cubs have come close to the World Series seven times. Each time, though, something happened to break Cub fans’ hearts. Some of those postseason series even had multiple things go wrong. Here are ten of those heartbreaking, seemingly cursed moments that have kept the Cubs out of the World Series and fans longing for just one more chance.
A black cat shares in some of the blame of what turned into the franchise season for the New York Mets. MLB.com's standings show that the Cubs led the N.L. East by five games on September 1 but finished eight games behind. In an MLB Network interview with Bob Costas, former Cubs pitcher Ferguson Jenkins describes the black cat that ran in front of Ron Santo, standing in the on-deck circle, and stopped at the Cubs' dugout during a September series in New York. The cat stared down the Cubs before leaving the field.
Jenkins said he does not believe in curses, but he did believe that the black cat cursed them that day. The Cubs dropped 13 games in the standings in the season’s final month.
The Cubs won their first ever National League Wild Card in 1998 by beating the San Francisco Giants in a one-game playoff.
The Atlanta Braves won Game 1 of the NLDS. One night later, the Cubs led 1-0 in the bottom of the ninth of Game 2 when the Braves' Javier Lopez homered with one out to tie it. Chipper Jones then won it for Atlanta with a walk-off double in the 10th. The Braves won Game 3 in Chicago to sweep the Cubs off the postseason stage.
After the Florida Marlins scored three runs on Miguel Cabrera's shot in the first, the Cubs went ahead 5-3 on Kerry Wood's and Moises Alou's two-run bombs. It appeared that the Cubs had all the momentum. The Marlins, however, scored three times in the fifth to take the lead, which they never relinquished. Florida won the game and the series. The Marlins then won the World Series in six games over the New York Yankees.
The San Francisco Giants' Will Clark set the tone for the Cubs' five-game loss in the 1989 NLCS. Clark homered twice in Game 1, including a grand slam off Greg Maddux. He put the series away in Game 5 with a tie-breaking two-run double off Mitch Williams in the eighth.
Clark hit .650 with three home runs to win the series MVP.
The Cubs won the N.L. Central title in 2007, their second division title in four years. They opened the NLDS in the Arizona desert. The Arizona Diamondbacks had an easy time as they swept the Cubs. Arizona won by four runs in Games 2 and 3. The Cubs hit only .194 in the three games. Couple that with a 5.76 team ERA, and fans can easily see how the Cubs bowed out so quickly.
The Cubs took a commanding 3-1 lead over the Marlins in the 2003 NLCS after winning three straight, appearing to end the 58–year World Series drought. Then, in Game 5, Marlins starter Josh Beckett threw a two-hit shutout to send the series back to Wrigley Field for the infamous Game 6, discussed later. Beckett struck out 11 and was untouchable for the entire game.
The Cubs won a Major-League-leading 97 games in 2008 to win their second-straight N.L. Central title and third of the decade. All season long, 2008 looked like the year, exactly 100 years after their last World Series title. However, that feeling changed quicky when James Loney's Game 1 grand slam put the Los Angeles Dodgers ahead to stay.
In Game 2, three Cubs infield errors led to five Dodger runs in the second inning.
The Cubs never recovered. They lost Game 3 in Los Angeles to cap a cursed end to an otherwise terrific season.
Cub fans will always remember the signature foul ball incident in the eighth inning of Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS.
However, shortstop Alex Gonzalez's error just moments later prevented a possible inning-ending double play that would have let the Cubs escape the Marlins’ threat.
The Cubs had a 3-1 lead at that moment before the Marlins exploded for seven more runs. If Gonzalez had made the play, Cub fans might discuss this game in a much more positive light.
In 1984, The Cubs and the San Diego Padres each won two straight in the last-ever best-of-five National League Championship Series. The Cubs led Game 5 by a score of 3-2 in the seventh inning. First baseman Leon Durham let an easy ground ball through his legs to tie the game. The Padres added three more runs in the inning to give themselves the 1984 National League pennant and end the Cubs’ hopes of reaching the World Series for the first time in 39 years.
In Game 4 of that same series, the Cubs came from behind to tie the game at 5-5 after eight innings. In the bottom of the ninth, Padres first baseman Steve Garvey drove a Lee Smith fastball over the right-field fence to give the Padres a 7-5 walk-off win. Play-by-play announcer Don Drysdale proclaimed, “There will be tomorrow!" The Durham error happened "tomorrow" night.
These “oh-so-close” moments still make Cub fans' hearts ache. Perhaps with the renewed energy surrounding Wrigley Field, the Cubs will come just as close again in 2015 or soon after. Next time, though, they need to finish the job.