A Dream Comes True

I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams... Joel 2:28. (NIV)

If history can offer portents for the future it must be remembered that on September 17, 1908 - the last year the Chicago Cubs won the World Series - Thomas Selfridge was the first passenger to die in an airplane crash.  The pilot was Orville Wright. 

Anybody who has seen the hilarious opening Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXT4pgW_UGk) may wonder why someone wasn’t killed sooner.  (WARNING: While this link does not contain a virus it does contain an ear worm that will stuck in your brain for weeks.)

As we also know, in 1945 the Chicago Cubs were the champions of the National League. Also in that year, World War II came to an end, President Franklin D. Roosevelt died, “Carousal” debuted on Broadway, and Sir Arthur C. Clarke made a stunning prediction.  He is best known for being the co-writer of the screen play “2001: A Space Odyssey.” be he was not only a science fiction writer but a scientist.

While not the first, Clarke believed that there was a way to launch a satellite that in a geosynchronous orbit around the earth that could be used for communication purposes.

Any reasonable person would have believed that the Cubs would have returned to the World Series before we were regularly launching satellites into space. 

Those reasonable people would have been wrong. 

The 1945 World Series appearance by the Cubs might also have been classified as tainted glory because according to Gary Bedingfield’s “Baseball in World War II”

More than 500 major and minor league players swapped flannels for khakis during World War II, and such well-known players as Stan Musial, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Hank Greenberg and Bob Feller, served their nation off the diamond. The minor leagues, formerly a veritable oasis of baseball talent, were seriously affected by the manpower shortage with 4,076 players seeing military service. On a daily basis, talent was drained from the game. By the end of the war (1945 ironically) no more than 12 minor leagues survived the war years compared to 44 circuits that operated in 1940. 1

Through most of the tough years the Cubs were owned by P.K. Wrigley who was a noted recluse.

George F. Will said of him in the book A Nice Place on the North Side: Wrigley Field at One Hundred. “His business was chewing gum.  Baseball was a hobby And it was not his favorite hobby, which was tinkering with motors.”  Charlie Grimm said that “concerning baseball, Wrigley was ‘absolutely wrong about everything.’”2

Wrigley was more into marketing the sunshine and relaxation than he was baseball.

 

In the late 1950's and early 1960's Wrigley went so far as to instruct his players and broadcasters, to  “stress the green vines on the wall (and) stop calling it Wrigley Field (but) instead call it Cubs Park.  We are aiming at people not interested in baseball. These are the fans we want to get. Dyed-in-the-wool fans ... know what is going on.”3

And so it continued day in and day out with the Cubs only finishing above .500 in 1963.

In 1966 Leo Durocher become the Cubs manager.  “No one was more temperamentally opposed to Wrigley Field’s golly-the-ivy-is-so-green-and-the-sun-is-so-warm-and-the-beer-is-so-cold-and-the-ambience-is-so-gosh-darn-friendly-who-cares-what-the-score-is-ethos.”

Durocher believed that “nice guys finish last” and in his first year he did.  In 1966 they lost 103 games.

1967 and 1968 were better years but 1969 was tremendous - until September.

Playing only day baseball at home and fielding a line-up that many of us can still recite in our longtime P.A. announcer Pat Piper voice players like Don Kessinger, Glen Beckert, Billy Wiliams, Ernie Banks and Ron Santo took the field almost every day.

After Ken Holtzman threw a no-hitter on August 19, the Cubs took their biggest division lead of the season, up 8.5 games on the Cardinals and 9.5 on the Mets. With all the momentum in the world on their side, they seemed well on their way to October.

However, they went on to lose 17 of their last 25 games in what was one of the largest collapses in sports history, as they finished a full eight games behind the "Miracle Mets," who won 38 of their last 49 games. 4

The Cubs spent most of the 70's as an average to mediocre ball team.

In 1984 things turned around.  Dallas Green was the General Manager; Jim Frey was the manager; Ryan Sandberg was the National League MVP; and Rick Sutcliffe was the Cy Young Award Winner.  On September 24 Satcliffe threw a two hit complete game and the Cubs won the National League East.

A myth is that the Cubs were deprived of home-field advantage for the 1984 National League Championship Series (NLCS) because they could not host night games.

However, from 1969-1984, the LCS were five-game series played in a 2-3 format. The NL West and AL East champs hosted the first two games in odd years and the NL East and the AL West hosted the first two games in even years. Thus, no changes were made to the NLCS schedule due to Wrigley Field's lack of lights.5

The Cubs left Chicago in great shape needing only one win to beat San Diego. 

They lost game 3 in a 7-1 blowout.

In game 4 tied at 5 in the bottom of the ninth Lee Smith gave up a single to Tony Gwynn and a homer by Steve Garvey. The Cubs lost 7-5 and the series was tied at 2.

In game 5 the Cubs had a 3-2 lead going into the bottom of the seventh.
Rick Sutcliffe was on the mound.

After a walk and a bunt, Tim Flannery came up with Carmelo Martinez on second and one out. He hit a grounder to Leon Durham at first, but the ball went between his legs and into right field, scoring Martinez with the tying run. Then the floodgates opened. Alan Wiggins singled, Gwynn doubled home two and Garvey singled home Gwynn to give the Padres a 6-3 lead. Closer Rich Gossage came in and shut down the Cubs in the eighth and ninth to send San Diego to the World Series. Final score: Padres 6; Cubs 3.6

Nine years would pass until the Cubs made the playoffs only to lose 3 games to 1 in 1998 to the Altanta Braves.

Then would come 2003.

We all know what happened.  A legendary moment occurred in Wrigley Field history that was comparable to the ejection of Billy Sianis’ goat and Babe Ruth’s called home run.

Let’s recap with facts trumping fiction.

The Cubs led by 3 with 5 outs separating them from the World Series.

Luis Castillo was at bat with a 3-2 count.  He hit a foul ball down the left field line.  Moises Alou ran faster and jumped higher than he ever had in his life.

The wall reaches 15 feet high in the corner where it meets the bleachers. That’s important to remember when you consider how high of a vertical leap Alou made.  Countless fans reached out for the ball but the closest was “a twenty-six year old man wearing a green turtle neck, black jacket and headphones.”7

There are lots of things to consider about this moment. 

First, it was a foul ball.  Had it bounced off the wall. Had it fallen three feet in front of Alou.  Had it landed four rows back in the stands,  Bob Rosenberg the official scorer then and the official scorer now, would have ruled it “no play.”

Second, Mike Everitt, the left field foul line umpire “ruled there was no fan interference because the ball had broken the plane of the wall separating the field of play from the stands and entered the stands.8

I often wonder what would have happened Everitt ruled fan interference.  The batter would have been out and every body in his section might have bought the young man a beer and hailed him as a hero.

Two attorneys, Walter J. Yurkanin and R. Thomas Hoffman, say that is exactly what should have happened.

Forming their own "Commission," they held every aspect of the infamous "Bartman Play" under the microscope - interpreting and analyzing the rules, evaluating comments from players and managers, reviewing media reports, and looking at countless photos and video replays.

This is what they concluded in their book Mad Ball: The Bartman Play.

Many fans in the entire section thought that the ball was clearly going to be in the seats and out of play but the wind seemed to blow it back toward the field.

Most important of all the lawyers determined that Steve Bartman, as well as others did reach into the field to interfere with Alou’s catch. 

The conclusion was that umpire Everitt called the play incorrectly.

Specifically, Rule 6.01 (e) (3:16) states:

If spectator interference clearly prevents a fielder from catching a fly ball, the umpire shall declare the batter out.

When there is spectator interference with any thrown or batted ball, the ball shall be dead at the moment of interference and the umpire shall impose such penalties as in his opinion will nullify the act of interference.

3:16? As in John 3:16?  Stop it!

No grace, just law. 

Castillo would have been out and the game would have continued with two outs in the inning.

Here is where things fell apart. 

The network showed the replay from multiple angles and zeroed in on the face of one fan, Steve Bartman. 

Dane Placko, a lifelong Cubs fan and a member of the parish I served, was there as a reporter for WFLD, and remembers the horrors of what happened next in a YouTube Video. Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE6iY346pNE

I have always thought the media did the Steve Bartman a great disservice.

Placko told me: “Security kept bringing fan after fan down.  Fans who had been throwing stuff at the perpetrator.  We didn’t know which one was which. Finally they brought him down with his head covered.”  The reaction was ugly beyond measure.

When I was his pastor I asked Placko if we really needed to know the fan’s name?  The question gave him pause. 

As a newsman his first reaction was to get the story, the whole story, and that story included the question, “Who?”  I understand that! But I still believe that considering the reaction of the fans at Wrigley and the general populace the “who” was not something we needed know.

The next morning The Chicago Sun-Times spilled the beans.

Had we not known his name the police wouldn’t have been called to protect his home.  The police wouldn’t have to cordon off his place of work.  His family wouldn’t have had to change their phone number because of the threatening phone calls.  And the scapegoat would have never had to go into hiding.  Steve Bartman’s name was one of those things that we just didn’t need to know.

Finally, we tend to forget what happened after - none of which could be blamed on Steve Bartman or any other fan in attendance that night.

Castillo walked. Rodriguez followed with a single, scoring Juan Pierre. Miguel Cabrera hit a grounder to short that could have been a double play, but Alex Gonzalez muffed it, loading the bases with one out. Derrek Lee doubled, scoring Castillo and Rodriguez. Kyle Farnsworth came in to replace Mark Prior and intentionally walked Lowell, loading the bases again. Conine hit a fly ball to deep right, scoring Cabrera and allowing Lee and Lowell to move up a base. Farnsworth intentionally walked Todd Hollandsworth, loading the bases for the third time. Mike Mordecai doubled, scoring all three runners. Pierre singled in Mordecai, capping the Marlins’ eight-run inning.9

The Cubs lost the controversial game 8-3 but there was still one chance left to advance to the World Series.  That game was a nothing burger and the Marlins were off to the World Series.

In 2007 and 2008 the Cubs were blanked in the NLDS 3-0 by the Diamondbacks and the Dodgers.

Last year after defeating the Cardinals 3 games to 1 the Cubs went on to lose three games to the dreaded New York Mets.

This year, things were different. 

In a play-offs and World Series that were described by Tom Verducci as “baseball at its excruciating best” the Chicago Cubs, after five-score-years-and-eight, won the World Series.9

If there is one moment that described the entire post-season it was this exchange between David Ross and Anthony Rizzo when the Cubs were leading 3-1 in game 7.

Rizzo: I can’t control myself right now. I’m trying my best.
Ross: It’s understandably so, buddy.
Rizzo: I’m an emotional wreck.
Rizzo: I’m in a glass case of emotion right now.
Ross: Wait until the 9th with this three-run lead.10

My first reaction was - “Who talks like that?” “A glass case of emotion?” Those sound like words that were written for some soap opera.

My second was Ross should have warned us all not only about the 9th,  but the rain delay, and the 10th.

By the time it was over and the Cubs won not only was the whole city an emotional wreck but my emotional glass case had shattered all over the living room floor.  And I’m a White Sox fan!  I can’t imagine what it was like for those who bled Cubbie blue.

When I finished sweeping myself up and watching every post-game show there was and I climbed into bed my heart rate showing sure signs of tachycardia.  I thought about calling an ambulance but was worried that none would be available from others suffering the same malady.

Countless times since the turn of the century I have presided over funerals of people in their 80's, 90's and even 100's who were lifelong Cubs fans who never saw their beloved team in the Series.  That night they rejoiced with us albeit upon a distant shore and in a greater light. They sang “Go Cubs! Go!” with angels and archangels and the whole hosts of heaven.

The last time the Cubs were in the World Series World War II was ending.  When they finally won a World Series we were, by anyone’s standards, concluding perhaps the most divisive year in recent memory. 

Dare I recap?

A bomb blast in Brussels; a airport attack in Turkey; a nightclub shooting in Orlando; police shooting and being shot; people taking sides over black lives mattering or blue lives mattering; the streets some neighborhoods in Chicago, et. al.

Add to that a dumpster fire of a presidential campaign that stretched on forever and when it ends might not leave us sooty but scared.

After having our dream realized by a Chicago Cubs World Series victory perhaps now we can hope for the dream that was played out on “Saturday Night Live’s” cold open. 

For the past few weeks Alex Baldwin and Kate McKinnon have been doing devastatingly accurate portrayals of the Trump and Clinton debates and campaigns.  On the last Saturday night before the election they broke character.

“I just feel gross all the time,” Baldwin said, turning to the audience and asking, I mean don’t you guys feel gross all the time about this?”

“You know what I think would help us?” McKinnon asked. Let’s get out of here.”

Then the duo bolted from 30 Rock, running hand and hand out of the studio. Baldwin, as Trump, hugged a black man and an Hispanic/American family. McKinnon as Clinton hugs a man in a “Trump That B****” t-shirt. Finally they joined hands and formed a circle with the panoply of Americans who are visiting Times Square - Red, Yellow, Black, White, Gay Straight - and they danced.   

When the duo returned to the stage, an emotional Baldwin looked into the camera and said, “Now it’s time to get out there and vote. None of this will have mattered if you don’t vote.”

McKinnon, her eyes sincerely welling, said, “And we can’t tell you who to vote for but on Tuesday we all get a chance to choose what kind of country we want to live in.”11

We want to live in a world where even more people than the millions who gathered on Friday can come to celebrate not just a World Series win but love’s victory over hate.

That’s my dream and, if you have plowed this far through this tome on baseball and life, I’ll bet it is yours too.

Let’s pray that it doesn’t take 108 years for this dream to be realized.

______________

1. Gary Bedingfield, “Baseball in World War II.”  http://www.baseballinwartime.com/baseball_in_wwii/baseball_in_wwii.html


2. George F. Will, A Nice Little Place on the North Side: Wrigley Field at One Hundred.  p. 49.

3. ibid., 65.

4. Joel Reuter, “The 1969 Chicago Cubs: A Look Back.”  Bleacher Report, February 2, 2010.  http://bleacherreport.com/articles/338335-a-look-back-the-1969-chicago-cubs#

5.  http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1984/YPS_1984.html

6. Houston Mitchel, “The Cubs are 0-6 in NLCS Closeout Games: Here is How it Happened.  The Los Angeles Times.  October 21, 2016.
 http://www.latimes.com/sports/mlb/la-sp-cubs-chart-20161021-snap-story.html

7. Kent Babb, “Steve Bartman’s Agent Keeps the Wolves from the Door.” The Chicago Tribune. October 15, 2015. 
http://www.latimes.com/sports/mlb/la-sp-cubs-chart-20161021-snap-story.html

8. Lisa Olson, "Fan Latest Goat in Historic Hex." Los Angeles Times. October 15, 2003. p. 65.

9. Tom Verducci, "This Has Been a World Series for the Ages."  Sports Illustrated. November 2, 2016.

10. Andrew Joseph, "A Glass Case of Emotion." USA Today.  November 2, 2016.

11.  Greg Evans, "Alex Baldwin and Kate McKinnon Break Character."  Deadline Hollywood. November 6, 2016.