Constable: Lovable losers only half-accurate
For most of the past century, the Cubs have been lovable losers. In Saturday night's opening game of the National League championship series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Cubs turn in one of the most lovable moments in team history and become winners. Catcher Miguel Montero comes off the bench to slug a pinch-hit grand-slam homer with two strikes and two outs to lead the Cubs to a heart-stopping 8-4 victory and earn him a spot as the most-popular Cub player — at least until Game 2.
The Cubs, winners of 200 games in the past two regular seasons, are erasing that lovable losers reputation that at times (remember Sammy Sosa's final game?) didn't even live up to the lovable.
The Cubs have so many stars, fans have a tough time choosing their favorite among an entire team of popular guys. Cubs third-baseman Kris Bryant draws a deafening roar from the crowd for his ringing double off the left-field ivy that gives the Cubs a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Pitcher Jon Lester thrills the crowd with a clutch strikeout with two runners on, before left-fielder Ben Zobrist throws a strike to 39-year-old catcher David “Grandpa” Ross to keep the Dodgers off the board.
Shortstop Addison Russell and jovial first-baseman Anthony Rizzo both make nifty fielding plays that draw “oohs” from the crowd and team up for a game-ending double play. Even longtime Chicago fan Bill Murray coaxes cheers when the video screen shows him chugging a beer.
Cubs right-fielder Jason Heyward, victim of a subpar offensive season, wows the Wrigley crowd with a triple. Center fielder Dexter Fowler scores the first run, hits a homer and makes a pair of sensational diving catches. Second-baseman Javier Baez, who burst into the national spotlight with amazing fielding plays and clutch hits as the Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants during the first postseason series, drives in a run with a hustling bloop double — and tops that by becoming the first Cub to steal home in the postseason since Jimmy Slagle in the 1907 World Series. “Javy! Javy! Javy!” the crowd chants.
“What I love about Javy Baez is how he's so aggressive on the baseball field, and the way he fields,” say Scott Roller, a former Naperville resident who flies in with his son, David, 11, from their home in Prosper, Texas, to see Baez and the Cubs. “The guy is just aggressive at the plate, and he's got a little bit of swagger that I love to see.”
So many Cubs are lovable. Lester and Rizzo are cancer survivors who make a lot of visits to young cancer patients.
“My favorite player is Zobrist,” says 15-year-old Shane Lombardo of Glen Ellyn. Shane's buddy and fellow autograph hunter, Matthew Shellady, 15, also of Glen Ellyn, likes slugger Bryant. The players' popularity isn't just because they produce on the field.
“He's a guy who's really cool. I've seen him a ton of times and met him a few times,” Shane says.
“My favorite player is Kris Bryant because he's a great player and always supports the fans,” Matthew says. “I think he'll win MVP because he has no weaknesses. His hitting and fielding are both superb.”
Saturday's victory is a team effort. Closer Aroldis Chapman, who almost escaped a no-outs, bases-loaded jam, got the win, while former closer Hector Rondon finished off the Dodgers. Starters Kyle Hendricks, Jake Arrieta and John Lackey are primed to close out the series. This years' Cubs are winsome winners. Depending on the age and gender of the fan, each Cub is “awesome” or “adorable” or both.
“My favorite player? Kris Bryant. It's obvious,” former Wheaton resident Eve Anderson, who now lives in Nashville, says of the blue-eyed Bryant. “ I don't have to say why. I think everybody knows. Everyone who is 27 and single would love Kris Bryant.”
And, on this night, Montero is loved, as well.