Chicago Cubs success story has many chapters
Whether they're a year ahead of schedule or right on time, the Chicago Cubs are going to the National League championship series for the right to play in the World Series.
To a person, everybody in the Cubs family says they won't be satisfied until they get to and win the World Series.
To this point, though, there are several winners within the organization, some obvious, some not so obvious. Let's take a look at a few.
The Ricketts family:
Chairman Tom Ricketts and his siblings put their faith in Theo Epstein when they hired him as team president in the fall of 2011. Last fall Epstein told Ricketts that 2015 would not have to be a development year.
“I always believe everything Theo says; that's why you hire him,” a champagne-soaked Ricketts said in the Cubs' clubhouse Tuesday after they eliminated the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League division series. “He came to me and said, 'I think we have enough crucial young guys here who are playing well enough and a few pieces or parts here and we've got a real puncher's chance.' ”
The legend of the Babe:
Even though Anthony Rizzo hit a home run in Game 4 of the NLDS to put the Cubs ahead 5-4, Kyle Schwarber stole the show by hitting a monster shot in the seventh inning. The ball landed on top of the videoboard in right field.
Schwarber's immense power and stocky build have brought on comparisons to Babe Ruth. The Cubs drafted Schwarber in the first round last year, and he spent 2014 playing in Boise, for the Kane County Cougars and in Daytona.
“It's been a crazy ride, and I'm blessed to be here,” he said. “It could have been a totally different story if I was on a different team. Coming into this organization and them believing in me all the way from our front office to our ownership to our coaches and then when I did come up with our players, they made it so easy on me to come up and just do my job, and that's play baseball.
“It could have been, 'Rookie this, rookie that, you do that.' It wasn't any of that. It was, 'You're here to help us win, let's go.' ”
Starlin Castro and Travis Wood:
Castro endured trade rumors in late July and then was benched for a bit in early August when he lost his starting-shortstop job to rookie Addison Russell.
The longest-tenured Cub and a three-time all-star, Castro never complained, and he ended up being one of the Cubs' most productive players down the stretch.
When he made his big-league debut in 2010, the Cubs were in the early stages of a steep decline, so getting to the NLCS is doubly sweet for Castro.
“I think I forgot already all those tough times,” he said. “Those were the times when I was looking forward, and we keep moving forward. We keep moving forward, play like we are, and something good's going to happen.”
Like Castro, Wood lost his job, getting bumped from the starting rotation to the bullpen in May. Wood wound up working in 54 games and picking up 4 saves. He pitched in three of the four games of the NLDS.
Scouting and development:
The Cubs honored their scouting-and-development people before Monday's third game of the series by giving them a victory lap around the Wrigley Field warning track. In that night's game, the Cubs started four rookies: Russell, Schwarber, Kris Bryant and Jorge Soler.
Before his pregame media session, manager Joe Maddon went out of his way to praise the scouting-and-development people.
“I started out as a minor-league scout and manager in 1981 with the Angels, so I'm watching these guys,” Maddon said. “I know how important that walk was for them, and I just want to make sure that everybody understands that's where it begins. The life blood of every organization is the scouting department, and it's followed by the minor-league developmental guys.
“They put in so much time that's never recognized, and believe me, I understand that firsthand. So I just want to say a shout-out to our guys, thank you for all you've done because everybody sees the finished product on the field right now, and you're always going to recognize the group that's here.”