Editorial: Maddon deserves city's thanks for helping transform Cubs' image

Manager Joe Maddon has never fit the once-stereotypical image of a Cubs lovable loser. And he continued to defy that description as he left the team following Sunday's loss to the division champion St. Louis Cardinals.

Some managers being discarded after amassing a .581 win percentage, an unprecedented-for-the-Cubs four straight playoff appearances and a World Series title might be forgiven for leaving on a sour note, or at least offering nothing more than a diplomatic cliché on the way out the door. But Maddon had these departing words Sunday, quoted in a story by our Cubs writer Bruce Miles: "Anybody that wants to denigrate anything we've done over the last five years, come see me at some point. There's nothing to denigrate. There's nothing to bemoan. There's nothing to lament. It's been fabulous. Anybody would take that five-year run including a World Series championship for the first time in 108 years. Come on. It's a wonderful day."

Maddon, in short, didn't just lead the Cubs to their first World Series in more than a century; he also helped redefine the spirit of the team.

The transformation may best be reflected in two of the characteristics that most defined him as a manager and as a person - an unwavering commitment to keep the importance of baseball in perspective and an equally steadfast refusal to seek something or someone to blame in times of misfortune. The game is supposed to be fun, he always insisted, and he never blamed black cats, overly excited fans, goats or anything else outside the confines of the playing field for any of his team's failures.

When it comes to win-loss records, it is often hard to understand the logic in the personnel shifts that take place in professional sports. In 2017, the Boston Red Sox fired manager John Farrell after winning three division titles and a World Series in five years. Joel Quenneville was abruptly cut loose early in the 2018-19 NHL season after leading a Blackhawks resurgence that brought three Stanley Cups to Chicago. The Bulls fired Tom Thibodeau in 2015 despite a five-year run that included a Coach of the Year title, five playoff appearances and, at the time, the sixth-best winning percentage of any manager in NBA history.

So, we won't begin to wade into a debate over the Cubs' decision not to renew Maddon's contract. But we will share appreciation for what Maddon brought to the team and to the city. As second-baseman Ben Zobrist, who also played for Maddon in Tampa Bay, said in a video interview Sunday, "Joe's a special, special person. Those kind of people, let alone managers, don't come along very often."

Every sports fan can be glad to have been here when this special person came along in Chicago.