There was a definite euphoria around the Chicago area today. It was palpable.
Lots of smiling and talking with strangers about the Cubs. People would spontaneously break into conversations about how long they’ve been a Cubs fan…how older family members just can’t believe they’re finally in the World Series. It feels like a dream.
Oh and this article really captures the moment.
http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/world-changed-saturday-night-wrigley/story?id=42995590
I loved Joe Maddon’s responses “Q:Why do you think your team won?A: We didn’t suck” “Q:why do you think you were able to finish this on Saturday night? A:because my wife and I wanted to watch football tomorrow” lol.
The Theo Epstein/Terry Francona thing is interesting, there is little love lost between those two after the Sox fired Francona, siding with the players, rather than getting rid of the troublemakers (who couldn’t win anyway). I think whoever wins this is going to end up in the hall of fame, having built two different world series winners from teams that hadn’t won in so long could work for either of them.
I have my own vested interest in the cubs winning, besides the fact that I love Joe Maddon as manager, if the Cubs win Ken Burns has all but promised an 11th inning to “baseball”.
I can picture it for sure!
I lived in Chi in '95, a block from Wrigley. Since that was the season right after the strike, everything was half off as the league tried to woo fans back. Good times.
But more importantly, that was the year Jordan came back to the NBA after his baseball dalliance. Talk about a euphoric mood in Chicago!
Anyway, now that my Dodgers are out, bring on the NBA season, I say, and go Blazers!
Didn’t pay much attention to baseball this year. Nevertheless I have decided to root for Cleveland in the World Series, after reading the great NY Times story about Larry Doby, the first Black player in the American League, and former Cleveland owner Bill Veeck. The story brought back memories of when I rooted for Cleveland, even though I grew up over 2,000 miles from the place. I was fascinated by Bob Feller, the Indians former ace who went straight from high school to the majors. I also liked the Cleveland ace of the 1970s, ‘Sudden Sam’ McDowell. And I remember Frank Robinson’s opening day home run when he became Cleveland’s player-manager. Go Tribe!!!
Ah, Bill Veeck, now there was a baseball character. During the 1959 world series in response to Walter O’Malley (the Dodgers owner, a notorious skin flint) limiting the hours for the press hospitality room, Veeck kept it open 24 hours a day with the motto “you can have Scotch for breakfast” (and knowing the way reporters were back then, some probably did). Known for some of his more quirky things to attract fans to moribund teams (the old St. Louis Browns especially) like fielding a team of chimps, a midget ballplayer, and the disastrous “disco destruction” night at the ballpark that turned into a riot that cause the White Sox to forfeit, he had a day where fans could ‘manage’ the team by holding up cards with actions.Ironically, Veeck also was his own undoing, he was one of the few owners to testify for Curt Flood that eventually opened up the door to free agency, that destroyed him (he wasn’t a billionaire owner). He also introduced things like putting names on uniforms, the pyrotechnic scoreboards (and I believe he was one of the first to have what we call Diamond Vision). He also very early on wanted to integrated MLB, in the 40’s he attempted to buy the Phillies, and he made clear his intention to stock it with Negro league players (MLB was still run by Landis, a rednec k if there ever was one, and MLB rather than Veeck buying the team and doing that took over the team and then sold it to anyone who would promise not to hire black players), and as owner of the Indians he signed Larry Doby the year Jackie Robinson came up with the Dodgers, which was pretty radical for the American League (the AL was a lot slower in integrating then the National League, the Yankees didn’t have their first black player until 1959 for example).
@musicprnt Did you read the article on MLB.com about Tito and Theo? I think they still have warm feelings and respect for each other. They were both treated badly by the Red Sox. I don’t think they left Boston with animosity toward each other, but instead for the guys in the front office.
@ams5796:
That is interesting (I didn’t read the article you mention, yet), I thought at the time that Francona felt like Epstein let him be the fall guy for the problems the Sox had, I think both of them got the shaft, it was pretty ugly to dump the guys who had brought them several world series, and a manager who one year with a banged up squad managed to keep them in contention until September, it showed a real lack of class. I am glad for both of them, I have a lot of respect for Francona and Epstein and am glad they have made it back to the series.
@musicprnt Me too. Couldn’t be happier for both of them. I don’t even know who I’ll root for, although I’m thinking it’ll be Terry. We met him at a banquet when my son was in middle school so we feel like we “know” him. (we don’t) He got treated so, so poorly by ownership. They should be ashamed of themselves. I can’t help but think how different everything would be if the Red Sox kept them and Jon Lester etc.
Yep, Disco Night at Comiskey Park was a bomb. :))
I saw a TV news feature years ago about Veeck’s son, who by then was running a minor league franchise himself. The guy has the same sense of fun and showmanship as the old man. Clearly he and his fans (forget which town) were having a great time. Too bad owners today are exceedingly corporate. MLB is missing a lot now that there’s no Bill Veeck or Charles O. Finley around anymore.
@lakewashington:
Yeah, these days baseball is all corporate and boring, makes me even miss Baron Von Steingrabber lol. Then again, for every Bill Veeck there were people like Comiskey and Marge Schott around. I had read about his son and the minor league team he ran, I love minor league games, they are a lot more fun than the big league games, it is nice to go someplace where the highest price ticket is like 12 bucks, you can get a hot dog and a beer and have change from a 20 and then some, and where they have all those wonderful, cheesy promotions. They don’t exactly make fans feel welcome at big league games, I always feel like they think they are doing you a favor by letting you spend 500 bucks for a trip to the park, and that the only thing they care about are corporate suits in the luxury boxes.
I will be rooting for the cubs, nothing against the Indians, but I love Joe Maddon but more importantly I am selfish, if the cubs win there will be an 11th inning to “Baseball”, Cleveland winning wouldn’t be enough…
Free Taco! http://www.moneytalksnews.com/taco-bell-handing-out-free-food-for-world-series-stolen-bases/
I am from Texas, so I can not appreciate all the history. But this is fun, fun, fun! I am rooting for the Cubs, but great baseball is so much fun to watch w/o all the emotional ups and downs I get when I watch my Rangers.
Go Tribe!
I have no real skin in the game, other than leaning towards the cubs as DS’s GF lives there, but these are 2 teams whose time is long overdue. Cleveland’s 8 strikeouts in the first 3 innings was impressive, though, for sure.
They just announced that tomorrow’s game will start at 7:08 tomorrow to try to get it in before the impending rain. Visited my mom in the Cleveland area today and picked up some Indians items to decorate my house for the week.
Yay, Tribe! Keep it up!
It would’ve been amazing to be in downtown Cleveland last night with the first Cavs game and ring presentation and the World Series game.
I’m thrilled that Cleveland is shining in this way. I think it was a great city before the Cavs won last year; this is all just icing on the cake!
So, now it’s all even going to Wrigley. After game one I was not thinking, “oh no”, because Kyle Schwarber was back!
Not happy that we left the bases loded 2x, but cleveland only had 2 more hits than we did.
Last night the Cubs outhit Cleveland by a lot. Again, Kyle Schwarber. 6 months out and three hits, 2 RBI.
Go Cubs!!
How could I forget about that horror show, Marge Schott? As for Charlie Comiskey, you’d think the guy would have been more charitable to his players, since he was a former player himself. I remember the scene in ‘Eight Men Out’ when the White Sox star pitcher asks for the bonus Comiskey promised him. Comiskey says the pitcher didn’t earn it and won’t pay because the pitcher didn’t win the specified number of games that season. The pitcher reminds Comiskey that he was purposely kept out of the rotation for two games against his will, games he’s sure he would have won. No dice, said cheap skate Comiskey.