Hope Springs Eternal

I was going to write about something completely different from what I will be sharing with you today. I was going to write about racism (isn't that every blog?) until I saw a video on ESPN about the Cubs. And it dawned on me...I've never written about the Cubs. And since they take up at least 1/8th of my day, everyday from April to (occasionally) October, I figure they deserve their own place on this blog. So, instead of dwelling on the well-publicized misery of the last 100 years, I'm going to look at the positives that have happened since the Cubs last visited the World Series. 6 Greatest Cub Moments Since 1945.


6. Near Perfection
The Game: Cubs vs. Padres at Wrigley, September 2, 1972.
The Moment: Cubs pitcher Milt Pappas pitches a no-hitter, losing a perfect game on a walk on a 3-2 count with 2 outs in the 9th.
Significance: Besides being nothing but bitter over the 3-2 pitch, which (apparently) just missed the outside corner, Milt Pappas' day was among the best in Cubs pitching history. The Cubs haven't had a pitcher throw a no-hitter since then and have never thrown a perfect game. He remains the only pitcher ever the lose the perfect game on the 27th batter and still pitch a no-hitter. But if you ask Pappas about the game, you'll get nothing more than a angry rant over umpire Bruce Froemming, who was once called by a player "a cross between Napoleon and Hitler." He also called an MLB official a "stupid Jew bitch." In 1981, Pappas wife went missing for 5 months until she was found in a pond in her car, drowned. Pappas blamed the incident on Froemming. Ok, that's not that funny. But it's a little funny.
Legacy: Pappas, who was in his second to last year, never got over the no-hitter but it remains the 2nd greatest pitching performance in Cub history. However, the game, along with being fondly remembered, is also a major subject of angst with Cubs fans, who feel cheated out of one of the greatest accomplishments in sports.

5. Club Membership
The Game: Cubs vs. Atlanta Braves at Wrigley, May 12, 1970.
The Moment: Ernie Banks hits his 500th homer, becoming the first Cub player to hit 500 homers.
Significance: Ernie Banks was one of, if not the, greatest Cub to play at Wrigley. On a dreary day in another dreary season, Banks hit a sailing line drive that just got over the ivy-covered walls. It was a moment that gave Cubs fans something to cheer about when there was little to be optimistic over. If anyone deserved a moment like this, it was Ernie. Ernie Banks both personifies why it's so fun to be a Cub fan and so horrible to be a Cub fan. It was one of the greatest home runs ever hit at Wrigley Field, but in the end, the home run was just another run on the board in a Cubs loss.
The Legacy: Poor Ernie played in the most games to never appear in a postseason game. He sits now in the Hall of Fame and at home with his 2 MVP awards, even though the Cubs finished in last place. Banks had his number retired an has a statue in front of Wrigley. His 500th homer meant more than a run: it meant happiness and job where there was little.

4. Living in Infamy
The Game: Cubs vs. Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley, September 13, 1998
The Moment: Sammy Sosa hits his 61st and 62nd home runs in the same game.
Significance: It's one of those years that everyone remembers. Rarely do the Cubs make the playoffs, yet have the MVP. This year they would do it twice. In mid-September, Sosa was coming off a intense series with the Cardinals, witnessing the travesty that was Mark McGwire breaking Maris' home run record. In a day game against Milwaukee, with Sosa trailing Big Sack by 2 homers, Sosa hit his 61st and 62nd homers to tie McGwire and break Maris' record. The home runs were more meaningful for Sosa, as the Cubs rode him (literally. name a player on that team besides Grace) to the playoffs. Sosa's home runs on that afternoon were both crushed out of the park. It was truly an amazing moment at Wrigley, finally giving Cubs fans to cheer about for the first time in the 90's.
Legacy: Sosa's (alleged. ha.) steroid use have pretty much ruined that moment, that season, and baseball's home run record. The Cubs got swept in the playoffs and wouldn't make it again until the now infamous 2003 season. That's so Cub.

3. A Day to Remember
The Game: Cubs vs. Cardinals at Wrigley, June 23, 1984.
The Moment: "The Sandberg Game". Or "The Fuck You St. Louis Game." Both work for me.
Significance: It what would turn out to be a great, but disappointing, season (is there any other kind?) a nationally televised game between the Cubs and Cards put both Sandberg and the team in the national spotlight. The Cubs were down 9-3 in the 5th until Sandberg's 2 run single. The Cubs were trailing 9-8 in the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs, with Sandberg facing Bruce Sutter (who would finish the season with 45 saves). Sandberg preceded to take Sutter's bitch ass yard and tie the game. The Cardinals, however, being the annoying bastards they are, scored 2 in the top of the 10th. With a man on first in the bottom of the 10th, Sandberg came up again and hit another home run to tie the game, as Sutter left the mound to go inject heroin for the pain. In a funny tidbit, Willie McGhee was named the player of the game before the first homer. The Cubs would go on to win the game in 11 innings, while the Cardinals left the field to go get hammered to ease their sorrows.
Legacy: The game put Ryno on the map as a stud and the Cubs as a team to watch. They would make the playoffs, coming almost as close as 2003 to making the World Series, losing 3-2 to San Diego after winning the first 2 games. Sandberg was 5 for 6 with 2 HR's and 7 RBI's on his way to an MVP season as one of the first 5-tool second basemen. One of the tools: sexual energy.

2. So Close, So Far
The Game: Cubs vs. Marlins at that crappy stadium in Florida, October 11, 2003
The Moment: NLCS Game 4
Significance: May of you will ask, "Why? 2003, are you fucking mental?" Well, first off, that's offensive. Second off, it might have been the greatest Cub victory since 1945. With just one hit in the first inning the Cubs took the lead on Aramis Ramirez' grand slam. The Cubs cruised the whole night, winning 8-3. The particular moment? The 27th and final out. Most people only remember Game 6, and I have long associated the entire year of 2003 as "That Year." A year I've tried over and over, through drinking, smoking, and drugs, to completely erase from memory. 2003 is probably responsible for my early death. But can you remember how amazing you felt after Game 4, when the Cubs took a 3-1 lead and were within footsteps of reaching the World Series. That is a high I've never felt before or since. Game 6 pretty much described everything that is wrong in "Cub Nation." Game 4 was the utter pinnacle of joy. Remember the victory, not the loss. It's the only thing that could keep you sane.
Legacy: You know the legacy. I won't dare speak his name. I do everything I can to not watch that clip, but when I do, a part of me dies. I'm sure it's a similar feeling for many Cubs fans. Anger, sadness, alcoholism. All these states of mind are normal. Remember this: the Cubs have made the playoffs 5 times since 1983, averaging once every 5 years. You got to witness one of the greatest seasons in Cub history. They lost in '03, but tell me you've felt better than after Game 4 while watching sports.

2. Update: Since the blog was written 2 days before Zambrano's no-hitter, I decided to update and let you know that, if I had written it 3 days later, Z's no-hitter would definitely be number 2 and everything else would be moved down one spot. Kerry Wood's game still trumps Z's performance, but Zambrano's no-hitter was nothing short of spectacular.


1. That's Just Filthy
The Game: Cubs vs. Astros at Wrigley on May 6th, 1998.
The Moment: Kerry Wood redefines "Not Fair," "Disgusting," and "That Pitch Just Made Me Horny."
Significance: In what is often consider the best pitching performance in the history of baseball, Kerry Wood's 5th start was one that will never be forgotten. Pitch by pitch, batter by batter, Kerry Wood unleashed breaking balls that would make Babe Ruth buckle. Fastballs that would literally take off your head. Wood struck out his age. He hit triple digits and threw the nastiest curveballs ever thrown by a human being. Wood only gave up a questionable hit that deflected off 3rd basemen Kevin "This Is All I'm Known For" Orie's glove and hit a batter. He faced 29 batters and struck out 20. The Astros 3/4/5 hitters went 0 for 9 with 9 strikeouts. The game was pitched so well, it might have ruined his career. To have pitched a game like this, it may have been worth it.
Legacy: Well, the injuries. But for a 3 hour period on a rainy May day at Wrigley, the Cubs had a rookie pitcher go out and carve his name in the record books, hitter after unlucky hitter. It was a day, more than any other in the last 63 years, where fans were more than proud to call themselves "Cubs fans."
I'd show a video but Major League Baseball doesn't allow videos to be posted online sites such as YouTube.

In a season that could very well change all the misery that comes with being a Cubs fan, I hope you enjoyed my rather nostalgic look back at the history of the Cubs. Hopefully this will finally be the year so I can stop drinking. We'll see. Until next time, adios sports fans! Also, Check out this cool video over at ESPN.com about Cubs fandom. Cubs Fandom