CLEVELAND — Following a 108-year wait to get a World Series championship, the Cubs had to wait only a bit longer and the brief rain delay came at exactly the ideal time for Jason Heyward to give the players a pep talk.
A 17-minute delay followed the ninth inning, then Ben Zobrist smacked a tiebreaking RBI double at a two-run 10th that lifted the Cubs into a 8-7 victory over the Indians on Wednesday night in Game 7.
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“It was just like a heavyweight fight, guy,” explained Zobrist, who had been named World Series MVP. “Only blow for blow, everybody playing their heart out. The Indians never gave up either, and I can not believe we are finally standing, after 108 years, eventually able to hoist the trophy.”
Game 7 of a series in almost any game is significant, but that was more than a baseball match to Cubs fans. This win ended over a century of frustration as the Cubs won their first championship since 1908, ending the longest drought in sports. This was for Ronnie and Ernie and Billy and a Lot More.
“It is really great for our entire Cub-dom to get beyond that instant and continue to proceed,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said,”because now, dependent on the young players we have in this business, we have an chance to be great for a long time, and without any constraints, with no of the negative dialog.”
Dexter Fowler, Javier Baez and David Ross each homered, and the Cubs had leads of 5-1 and 6-3, but the Indians rallied against Aroldis Chapman from the eighth, tying the game at 6 on Rajai Davis’ two-run homer.
The Cubs are the first team to return from a three-games-to-one deficit and win Games 6 and 7 on the street as the 1979 Pirates.
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