All the makings of a classic
Sox-Cubs is special
You think Roger Goodell is the only sports commissioner who can’t hide his rooting interests? You should have been listening to WEEI back in October 2003, when now-retired Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig was all but panting for the Red Sox to play the Cubs in the World Series.
At the time, the long-suffering Sox were playing the Yankees in the ALCS. The long-suffering Cubs were playing the Florida Marlins in the NLCS. And Selig, who was in town to watch the Sox and Yankees, went on WEEI and then went on and on and on — and on — about how much fun it would be if the two longsuffering franchises were to meet in the mother of all World Series showdowns.
History had other plans. Grady Little left Pedro Martinez in to get torched by the Yankees in Game 7, and that was that for the Red Sox. And a fellow named Steve Bartman reached out with both hands and grabbed a) a foul ball, and b) infamy, and that was that for the Cubs.
Since then, both the Red Sox and Cubs have chased away years of bad management, bad luck and bad karma. The Sox took care of business in 2004, winning their first World Series in 86 years. When the Cubs toppled Tito Francona’s Cleveland Indians last fall in a breathtaking World Series, it was their first championship in 108 years.
But I am here to tell you that nothing has changed. I’m guessing current MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is appropriately buttoned-up and would never admit it, but the baseball
industry would love, love, love a Red Sox-Cubs World Series.
Red Sox fans would love it. Cubs fans would love it. The folks in the press box would love it. The players would love it. The pols would love it. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon would love it. Bill Murray and Eddie Vedder would love it.
Let me count the reasons:
Fans — In an era when football is king and some of the big league baseball clubs struggle to light a fire in their own cities, the Sox and Cubs fans are passionate, knowledgeable and will go just about anywhere to support their team. You see it when the Red Sox play in Baltimore, St. Petersburg, Anaheim and New York. And if you were at Fenway Park for last night’s long-awaited series opener between the two teams, you couldn’t help but notice all the Cubs shirts. I’m guessing the secondary ticket market made a killing. I hate that they-hateusbecause- they- ain’t- us nonsense but it certainly applies to Red Sox fans and Cubs fans: Folks in other cities may hate ’em, but . . .
Ballparks — This one is easy. Every ballpark that has been built over the last 25 years was designed to look like it’s been around for a century, which means they are essentially copies of Fenway Park and Wrigley Field. The nooks and crannies in these two parks are the result of necessity, not design. In other words, they’re real and they’re spectacular. And then there’s the history. The greatest of the greats played in these two parks, from Willie Mays and Henry Aaron to Ted Williams and Lou Gehrig. Babe Ruth played his first big league game at Fenway Park on July 11, 1914, and he hit his “called shot” at Wrigley Field on Oct. 1, 1932 in Game 3 of the World Series. That’s chilling — chills you don’t get at Tropicana Field.
Common ground — Theo Epstein is one of us. He grew up in Brookline rooting for the Red Sox, and then, as a sort-of grownup, he assembled the 2004 World Series champion Red Sox. And then he went to Chicago and came up with a blueprint that brought the Cubs a World Series. If the Red Sox and Cubs meet in this year’s World Series, Theo will emerge as the biggest frontoffice subplot in sports history.
Mutual respect — To be sure, there’d be the usual name calling and catcalls and maybe a fist fight or 20 if the Red Sox and Cubs were to meet in the World Series. But the fans of these teams are in many ways cousins in that they have traveled the same road many, many times. As evidence of this, consider the indescribably clever charity event that’s being held at Fenway Park before tomorrow night’s series finale: For a suggested donation of $20, with proceeds to be directed to the Red Sox Foundation and Cubs Charities, fans can get their picture taken aside the Sox’ 2004 World Series trophy and the Cubs’ 2016 World Series trophy.
As Epstein put it yesterday, “They are the two most famous trophies in baseball history.”
No two teams other than the Red Sox and Cubs could pull this off.
And no two teams could generate more World Series buzz than the Red Sox and Cubs.
The championship trophies will be on display in the Gate K/B concourse when Fenway Park gates open tomorrow.