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Baez, Lester share NL MVP honors

As Javier Baez fielded questions in the middle of Wrigley Field after being named co-MVP of the National League championship series with Jon Lester, he got a field full of laughs up by starting each answer the same way.

How do you feel about how the fans have embraced you?

"Ooh. Unbelievable, man. Just to know that so many people love you and they follow you, it's a great feeling."

How long can you celebrate?

"Ooh. Forever."

Can you describe your emotions when you realized what just happened after the final out?

"Ooh. There's a lot of oohs!"

There sure were … and Baez and Lester - the first co-MVPs in an NLCS since 1990 - gave fans plenty of 'oohs' and 'ahhs' in a six-game triumph over the Dodgers that saw the Cubs claim their first NL pennant since 1945.

Game 1 of the World Series will be in Cleveland on Tuesday.

"This is unbelievable to be part of this franchise and to be part of this to go to the World Series," Lester said. "Hopefully we can continue to keep going."

Baez made his presence felt from the opening moments of this series when he stole home in the bottom of the second inning of an 8-4 Cubs victory in Game 1. In Game 5, Baez singled to lead off the sixth inning and scored when Addisson Russell homered, giving the Cubs a 3-1 lead. He then hit a bases-clearing double with two outs in the top of the eighth to make it 8-1.

Baez was 0-for-3 in the Cubs' 5-0 victory in Game 6 on Saturday, but he turned in the defensive play of the night in the first inning by tagging out Andrew Toles, then throwing to first to get Corey Seager.

"They start with a (single by the) leadoff hitter, they got all excited and that double play kind of slowed them down," said Baez, who was 7-for-22 with 4 doubles and 5 RBI in the NLCS.

Then there's Lester, the steady veteran pitcher who started Games 1 and 5, allowing just 1 run in each. Lester, a two-time World Series champ, isn't just a co-MVP of this series to Maddon, but one of the MVPs of the entire locker room because of thinking like this:

"We've still got a long ways to go," Lester said. "We can celebrate and we can have a fun time tonight, but we're four hard wins away from doing what we set out to do in spring training.

"That's a long ways against a good team. … I know what kind of dogfight we're in for."

Said Maddon: "You saw a lot of young guys on the field for us tonight. But the veterans in that clubhouse are spectacular. They keep them focused on all of those (big-picture) things. …

"They're not just satisfied by getting to this point. We want to win this whole thing."

Ooh … now that sounds like a plan to Cubs fans everywhere.

  Javier Baez reacts after fielding a double play in the first inning during Game 6 of baseball's National League championship series. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
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