October 3, 2017

Today, October 3, the Major League Baseball (MLB) playoffs begin with the American League (AL) Wild Card game between the Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees. The first playoff game marks the beginning of a month long Octoberfest of high-stakes baseball, culminating in the crowning of a new World Series champion. Winning the World Series is every team’s goal and every fan’s dream, but for many teams, the lack of a championship creates a haunting waiting game that can last many years, many decades, even more than century.

Dejected Cleveland Indians fans wallow in the mire of their home field loss to the Chicago Cubs in game seven of the World Series on Nov. 2, 2016, in Cleveland, Ohio. Credit: © Justin Merriman, Getty Images

In 2016, the Chicago Cubs famously ended the longest waiting game of all, a championship drought that stretched back 108 years to 1908. For the Cubs’ 2016 World Series opponent, however—the Cleveland Indians—the painful wait continued. The Indians have gone longer than any other MLB team without a title. They last won the World Series 69 years ago in 1948, a win over the Boston Braves that drew an average of 80,000 fans to Cleveland’s series home games at Municipal Stadium.

The Indians—whose only other title came in 1920—returned to the World Series in 1995, 1997, and again in 2016, but fell short each time, losing to the Atlanta Braves, Florida Marlins, and the Cubs. The losses to the Marlins and Cubs were especially painful. Those World Series each went the seven-game distance, and each time the seventh game was decided in extra innings. For Indians players and fans, the losses were excruciating, and the only tonic to heal the wounds will come in the form of that long-awaited world title.

The Chicago Cubs ended a 108-year championship drought by defeating the Cleveland Indians in the 2016 World Series. Credit: © Matt Slocum, AP Photo

The Indians will get their chance again this year, and a good chance it is. The Indians won the most games in the American League (102), ensuring home field advantage throughout the AL playoffs. And if any team but the Los Angeles Dodgers wins the National League, the Indians—should they reach the World Series—will begin that series at home, too. (The Dodgers won an MLB-best 104 games, earning home field advantage throughout the postseason.) The Indians set an AL record during the regular season by winning a remarkable 22 games in a row from August 24 through September 14. And the team’s two biggest stars—pitcher Corey Kluber and shortstop Francisco Lindor—had terrific seasons, both while carrying the painful reminder of last year’s agonizing loss to the Cubs. (Besides losing in extra innings in game seven, the Indians blew a three-games-to-one lead in the series.)

So it is “go time” for the Indians, and anything less than a World Series championship will be a major disappointment, prolonging what is already baseball’s longest waiting game.

For curious baseball fans, the next-two longest championship droughts belong to the Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros. Neither team has ever won a World Series. The Rangers entered MLB in 1961 as the Washington Senators, and the Astros began MLB life in 1962 as the Houston Colt .45′s. The Rangers, who lost the 2010 World Series to the San Francisco Giants and the 2011 series to the St. Louis Cardinals, missed out on the playoffs in 2017. But the Astros, who lost the 2005 World Series to the Chicago White Sox, won 101 games en route to an AL West division championship in 2017. The Astros, featuring such stars as José Altuve, Carlos Correa, and Justin Verlander, have an excellent chance of winning the World Series and ending one-half of the long waiting game in the state of Texas. The Astros begin a playoff series against the Boston Red Sox on Thursday, October 5.

November 4, 2016

Two nights ago, on November 2, the Chicago Cubs ended the most storied championship drought in the history of professional sports, winning their first World Series title in 108 years. The Cubs beat the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in a tense and exhausting Game 7 that carried into the 10th inning.

Chicago Cubs players celebrate their Game 7 victory over the Cleveland Indians to win the World Series on Nov. 2, 2016. It was the first World Series title for the Cubs since 1908. Credit: © Matt Slocum, AP Photo

Leading off the game in Cleveland, Ohio, Cubs outfielder Dexter Fowler started the scoring by hitting a home run against Indians ace Corey Kluber. The Cubs built their lead to 6-3, but Cleveland tied it up with a 3-run 8th inning capped by a dramatic 2-run homer by Indians outfielder Rajai Davis off Cubs flamethrowing reliever Aroldis Chapman. Following a short rain delay after the 9th inning, the Cubs scored twice on hits by World Series Most Valuable Player Ben Zobrist and catcher Miguel Montero. In a tense bottom of the 10th, the Indians pushed a run across and were threatening to score again, but Cubs star third baseman Kris Bryant made a tough play on an infield chopper to record the last out. The Cubs players then erupted into a joyous baseball pile around the pitcher’s mound, celebrating the long-awaited and hard-fought championship.

Kluber had dominated the Cubs in Game 1 of the series, a 6-0 shutout in Cleveland on October 25. The Cubs struck back in Game 2 on October 26, winning 5-1 behind 5 ⅓ shutout innings by Cubs starter Jake Arrieta. The series moved to Chicago for the first World Series games played at Wrigley Field since 1945. Cleveland won 1-0 on October 28, and 7-2 on October 29, pushing the Cubs to the brink of elimination. The Cubs won 3-2 in Chicago on October 30, and routed the Indians 9-3 in Cleveland on November 1. With their Game 7 victory, the Cubs became the first team to battle back from a 3-games-to-1 World Series deficit since the Kansas City Royals did so in 1985.

The Cubs’ last World Series title had come over the Detroit Tigers in 1908. At that time, Theodore Roosevelt was president of the United States. The first popular production automobile, the Ford Model T, had just been introduced. Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, and New Mexico were not yet states. Tickets to the series cost $1.50. The Cubs last trip to the series came in 1945, just after the end of World War II. During that series (which the Cubs lost to the Tigers), colorful tavern owner William Sianis was thrown out of Wrigley Field for bringing his pet goat to the game. Sianis supposedly cursed the Cubs, and the “Curse of the Billy Goat” became a popular piece of folklore during the team’s long title drought.

For Cleveland, the gut-wrenching near miss in the World Series carried a bitter reminder. The Indians last chance at the title came in 1997, when they also lost Game 7 of the World Series in extra innings, that time to the Florida (now Miami) Marlins.

October 25, 2016

Tonight, October 25, the Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series begins in Cleveland, Ohio. The World Series determines the MLB champion each autumn, but the teams involved in this year’s series make it a little extra special. The teams—the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians—have the two longest World Series droughts in baseball. A drought is a long period of dry weather, and when applied to baseball, it means a team hasn’t won a championship in a very long time.

The venerable lions guarding the Art Institute of Chicago received their first Cubs hats on Oct. 24, 2016, the day before the Cubs first World Series appearance since 1945. Credit: Art Institute of Chicago

How long are we talking about? Well, the Indians last won the World Series in 1948 (68 years ago), and the Cubs’ last title was in 1908—yes, 108 years ago. Do the math, and you have 176 years of combined futility. But with just two teams left—the two hungriest teams in baseball—something has to give. Somebody has to win. One team will end their title drought and elate generations of frustrated fans. But somebody has to lose, too. For one team’s fans, the disappointment will continue, and the ball club will have to “wait ‘til next year.” Again.

On Saturday night, the Cubs won the best-of-seven National League Championship Series (NLCS) by defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 4 games to 2. The Cubs won it in their home ballpark, Wrigley Field, which was built in 1914—six years after the Cubs last World Series win. The Cubs haven’t even played in a World Series since 1945, when they lost to the Detroit Tigers. The Cubs have been close, however—painfully close. In 2003, the team blew a 3-games-to-1 lead in the NLCS, losing to the Florida (now Miami) Marlins in seven games. In 1984, the Cubs squandered a 2-games-to-0 lead in the NLCS (it was then best-of-5), dropping the series to the San Diego Padres.

The Cleveland Indians hope to win their first World Series title since 1948. Credit: Erik Drost (licensed under CC BY 2.0)

Last week, the Indians took the American League pennant by defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 4 games to 1. The Indians’ title drought is long, too, but their last World Series appearance was a bit more recent. In 1997, Cleveland dropped a heartbreaking seventh game of the World Series in extra innings to the Marlins. The Indians also reached the World Series in 1995, but lost to the Atlanta Braves 4 games to 2.

Several MLB teams have yet to win a World Series, but none of them even existed the last time the Indians won one or the Cubs competed in one. For the cities of Chicago and Cleveland, the World Series is more than just a sporting event. It is a cultural happening, an all-consuming thing that is the point of all conversation. The teams represent an identity, a history, and a common connection. And for the team that wins this year’s wonderful World Series, it will be their fans’ dream come true.