Among the 25 World Series champions since 2000, how did the 2016 Cubs land in this spot?
The 2016 Cubs don’t get any extra credit in the rankings for snapping a 108-year championship drought, but look at that roster and that season: they don’t need any extra credit, anyway.
Third baseman Kris Bryant was the National League MVP, and a deserving one, too, as he led the senior circuit in wins above replacement while swatting 39 homers. Anthony Rizzo could have been the star player on a number of other clubs, but he was “merely” the second-best player in the Cubs lineup. Dexter Fowler, Addison Russell, Ben Zobrist and Javier Baez were all well — well — above-average position players, and David Ross remained a magician behind the plate who also hit more than enough while at it, slugging .446 with 10 homers in just 67 games — a perfect pairing with rookie backstop Willson Contreras, whose bat was considerable enough that he spent his days off from catching in the corner outfield spots.
The rotation featured just as much depth as the lineup, with Jon Lester producing arguably the greatest season of his 16-year career — that’s saying something, considering that Lester finished in the top-4 in the Cy Young vote on three occasions, including a second-place finish in ‘16, and produced a 3.34 ERA with an average of 206 innings per year from 2008 through the Cubs’ championship campaign. Behind the veteran lefty was Kyle Hendricks, who led the majors in ERA at 2.13 but didn’t have the innings or strikeouts of Lester, so he had to settle for third in the NL Cy Young race. Then there was Jake Arrieta the club’s third-best starter who still managed to put up a 3.10 ERA over nearly 200 innings, and John Lackey, in his penultimate campaign, put up a season that numbered among his best with a 3.35 ERA in 188 innings.
The regular season was fantastic and all, but for a team that hadn’t won a championship since 1908 — or even appeared in a World Series since 1945 — that wasn’t enough. The Cubs brought it in the postseason, too, though: while the World Series itself went seven games against Cleveland, Chicago disposed of the Giants and Dodgers with ease in the first two rounds. And then they gave their fans something far more memorable than a 103-win regular season: a massive, come-from-behind World Series championship win. The Cubs were down 3-1 in the World Series to Cleveland, dropping Game 1 (6-0), Game 3 (1-0) and Game 4 (7-2) without putting up much of a fight. Lester led the way in a close-fought Game 5, however, keeping the Cubs alive for Game 6, which Chicago dominated, 9-3, and then we received a Game 7 for the ages. Late lead changes! A rain delay before extra innings! Rookie Kyle Schwarber — yes, that Kyle Schwarber — hitting the leadoff single in the 10th that would give the Cubs a lead! The first Cubs championship in well over 100 years! And the crowning of one this century’s inner-circle clubs.
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