A seven-year wait on the North Side of Chicago is officially over after the Cubs clinched a playoff berth Friday by virtue of the San Francisco Giants’ 5-4 loss to the Oakland A’s.
The Cubs’ official Twitter account commemorated the achievement:
Outfielder Dexter Fowler and pitcher Jake Arrieta celebrated with a Twitter post following Oakland’s win:
Relief pitcher Jason Motte also chimed in with thoughts on how the team’s work has been validated:
“We’ll hopefully celebrate tomorrow and have a good time,” pitcher Jon Lester said after the Cubs waited to clinch following a 3-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates Friday afternoon, per ESPN.com. “These guys have never experienced this. We’ll enjoy it.”
The Cubs have now booked a spot in at least the Wild Card Round, where they will meet either the St. Louis Cardinals or Pirates, depending on which team wins the National League Central. Trailing the Cardinals by 7.5 games for the division, it’s unlikely the Cubs can win the Central with nine games remaining.
With one more victory, Chicago will have won 90 games in a season for the first time since 2008 and the fourth time in the past 31 years.
The season did not look so promising toward the end of July. On July 28, Chicago was just five games over .500, before igniting on a stretch that kept them with the Cardinals and Pirates in the division.
A new-look Cubs team has been anchored by a young core of stars that includes 26-year-old first baseman Anthony Rizzo and 23-year-old third baseman Kris Bryant, who have combined for over 30 percent of their team’s home run totals.
Add a number of other fresh young faces such as Addison Russell, Starlin Castro and Kyle Schwarber, and the Cubs have the third-youngest average age for batters this season at 26.9 years old.
It looks like the perfect mixture of talent and youth for a team that has been looking for a championship for more than a century. Chicago has a fresh side with plenty of swagger that can fearlessly attempt to exorcise the demons of losses past.
But it hasn’t just been the offense that’s lifted the Cubs. Arrieta has become one of the most dominant pitchers in the majors, deserving of Cy Young Award consideration and posting a 20-6 record, 220 strikeouts and a 1.88 ERA.
He’s heating up at the right time, too, as ESPN Stats & Info points out:
Having an arm like Arrieta’s that could roll out for a one-game playoff should have the Cubs feeling confident about advancing deeper into the playoffs.
A new hope now springs for the Cubs, who have not won a World Series since 1908 or appeared in one since 1945. But that’s the beautiful thing about baseball: Next year will eventually come, even if it’s the Cubs. Legendary former announcer Harry Caray echoed those sentiments 24 years ago, though the fortunes of the club haven’t changed since then:
With their pitching and young core, maybe Cubs fans won’t have to wait much longer and Caray’s wishes will finally come true. If there’s ever a fanbase that deserved a deep playoff run, it’s the Cubs faithful, and the team certainly looks a dangerous side entering the postseason.
Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com
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