How the 2016 Chicago Cubs Emerged as World Series Champions

​In 2016 the Chicago Cubs overcame a 108-year drought, winning the World Series in a hard fought series against the Cleveland Indians that went seven games. The pennant was the culmination of a seven-year rebuilding process that began when the Tribune Co. sold the team for $845 million to the Ricketts family, which founded TD Ameritrade, a pioneering online brokerage.

The Chicago Tribune had long relied on “Cubbies” baseball for newspaper content, as well as for WGN superstation broadcasts, and winning was not a priority. Everything about the team’s operations was outdated. For example, while Wrigley Field, with its iconic ivy-clad outfield wall, was historic, the facilities were in disrepair. As reported by Time Magazine, many employees worked from trailer offices, and rain leaking through the stadium roof was such an issue that cafeteria trays were used to protect computers. The team’s Dominican Republic player development academy and the Arizona spring training camp were known as some of the most poorly maintained facilities in baseball.

This all changed with an infusion of capital and winning-focused leadership, with $500 million put into a Wrigley Field renovation that included placing large video screens and billboards in the outfield. While many tradition-bound fans complained about the changes, the act of winning changed the perception of all but the most diehard traditionalists.

Critically, the Cubs brought in Theo Epstein as general manager. Known by his first name, Theo had just left the Boston Red Sox, where he had broken the “Curse of the Bambino,” engineering Boston’s first World Series win in 86 years. Upon arriving in Chicago, he created a new “Cubs Way” player development manual that set out steps to individual and organizational greatness. Theo also utilized advanced analytics in finding untapped potential in players. He had been one of the early proponents of the Moneyball approach to scouting players in the late 1990s.

Theo instituted a five-year draft plan that eschewed the usual route of selecting young pitchers and focused on hitters, because “they don't get hurt as much.” He sought out talented players of high character, who would inspire teammates to give their all on the field. Among his noteworthy picks was hitter Kyle Schwarber. In an interview with 60 Minutes, Theo described Schwarber as playing baseball “with a football mentality. He would run through a wall in order to catch a ball.”

Meanwhile, manager Joe Maddon had a team-building tactic of accentuating the positive, placing an emphasis on small gains and never giving up, even in the face of adversity. Part of this involved bringing together the catching coach and catchers in creating in-depth scouting reports. As Theo put it, great effort was put into understanding each opposing batter’s tendencies: “Maybe understand the hitter better than he knows himself.”

With defense another point of emphasis, hard work and a supportive clubhouse culminated in a World Series Game Seven for the ages. The final game of the 2016 Series was tied 1-1 in the top of the fourth when a sacrifice fly by Addison Russell, followed by a double by Willson Contreras, scored two Cubs runs. A solo Javier Baez home run added to the total, and first baseman Anthony Rizzo had a single RBI that brought the score to 5-1. Unfortunately, a wild pitch by Cubs’ reliever Jon Lester in the 5th allowed the Indians to score two runs. The score was 6-3 in the eighth when the Indians mounted a comeback, with Rajai Davis connecting for a two-run homer against closer Aroldis Chapman.

At this point, with the score tied 8-8, many long-suffering Chicago fans were expecting another heartbreaking loss. However, the baseball gods shifted in the Cubs favor, with veterans Ben Zobrist and Miguel Montero teeing up for a pair of clutch hits in the top of the 10th, which earned Chicago a single run. As it turned out that was enough, though the sold out stadium was hushed until the final pitch. Only when the Indians failed to score in the bottom of the 10th, with the ball thrown to Rizzo, who stepped on first base for an out, did the city of Chicago explode in a celebration for the ages.

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