Stay the curse
Indians’ Kipnis has no mixed emotions on beating Cubs
Jason Kipnis grew up down the street from him in their Chicago suburb of Northbrook. They both went to St. Norbert Catholic School. His sister was the same age as him. Kipnis even shared the same passion as him. Together, they were die-hard Chicago Cubs fans.
Kipnis went on to become the Cleveland Indians’ All-Star second baseman and will be in the starting lineup Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs for Game 1 of the 112th World Series at Progressive Field.
The other, well, remains shrouded in mystery. His name is Steve Bartman. Yes, that Steve Bartman.
In a series that features a litany of compelling story lines, with the two teams having the longest combined drought in World Series history at 174 years, the most captivating drama is Kipnis’.
He was a Cubs fan, through and through.
His uncle delivered one of Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg ’s children.
He loved Sammy Sosa, Mark Grace, Kerry Wood and the boys.
He was heartbroken when the Cubs collapsed in the 2003 National League Championship Series against the Florida Marlins, blowing a 3-1 series lead.
He was terrified when police cars spent the next month camped down the street, outside Bartman’s house, trying to ensure his safety after all the death threats he received for simply being the poor soul whose hands deflected a foul ball from the glove of left fielder Moises Alou.
“The only thing I’m mad about Bartman for is missing an easy fly ball,” Kipnis says. “You kidding me? Every other fan was going for the ball. And every other fan still goes for the ball right now. So there’s no blame on him. There never should have been.
“He didn’t deserve that. He’s a nice guy. He didn’t need to be put in that situation.
“I haven’t seen him since. I don’t think many people in Chicago have seen him since. There’s some dumb fans that have ruined it for him.”
If it were up to Kipnis, he would have Bartman throw out one of the ceremonial first pitches at Wrigley Field. If he needed a ticket, he would leave him on the pass list. If he saw him again in person, he would hug him.
“He didn’t deserve all of that,” Kipnis says. “He’s a very loyal fan who wanted a foul ball, and the way the events turned made him into a scapegoat.
“If he threw out a first pitch, I think everyone would go nuts.”
Now, here is Kipnis, possibly the one who’ll help prolong the Cubs’ 108-year championship drought.
Hey, even fans of the Indians, whose drought goes back only to 1948, could feel sorry for the Cubs.
Perhaps this is why Kipnis was so conflicted when he watched the Cubs clinch their first pennant since 1945 Saturday night when they defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers, struggling to control his emotions.
“It was just weird,” Kipnis said. “You’re happy for all of your friends and family back home, but I didn’t really know how to handle it. I couldn’t tell if I was happy, sad, mad or what.
“All I know was that I was emotional. I was choked up.”
But, please, Kipnis said, while he grew up a Cubs fan and has family members and close friends who are Cubs fans, let him say it loud and clear:
“I have zero conflict,” said Kipnis, who tried to buy lunch at Chipotle the other day, only for the cashier to refuse his money. “It’s more like, ‘Why do I have to beat the Cubs, not, why does this have to be vs. the Cubs?’
“There’s not one part of me that doesn’t wish for this curse to keep going. Every single Cubs player or any player I’ve ever been a fan of, I’ll gladly trade that in for my own personal success.”
There will be a tremendous outpouring of emotions all day Tuesday throughout this proud city. It’s being called the greatest night in Cleveland sports history, what with the Cleveland Cavaliers receiving their NBA championship rings in the arena across the street just minutes before the Indians play their first World Series game since their devastating Game 7 loss in 1997.
It went down as the Blown Save. It was simply the latest curse in Cleveland sports history.
The Fumble. The Drive. The Shot. The Move. The Decision.
Yet leave it up to Akron native LeBron James to bring Cleveland its first sports championship since 1964 in June. The Indians immediately went on a 14-game winning streak and ran away with the American League Central title. And suddenly, Cleveland has never looked more beautiful.
“It will be an absolute zoo,” Kipnis said. “The excitement. The electricity. The buzz. To have a ring ceremony and host Game 1 of the World Series, this is the center of the sports world.
“I’m hoping I can get home before 3 a.m.”
And while James has been caught wearing a New York Yankees cap before at ballgames, he is now an Indians fan, leading the charge as their No. 1 cheerleader.
“LeBron put Cleveland on his back the last few years,” Indians reliever Cody Allen says, “so now’s he’s got everybody cheering for guys, which is a good feeling.” Well, not quite everyone. Maybe not even anyone outside the 216 area code.
Those lovable Cubs, who had gone the most years of any professional sports team without even reaching a championship game or series, have become America’s Team.
They’re the ones on TV almost every Monday, Wednesday and Sunday on ESPN, Saturdays on Fox and some Sundays on TBS.
They’re the ones who have Fox salivating over their potential massive ratings, with executives declaring that by simply having the Cubs in the World Series, it was worth at least five or six ratings points more than if the Dodgers — in the nation’s No. 2 media market — had won the NLCS.
The secondary ticket marketplace in this World Series has exploded. The average ticket prices for Games 3-5 at Wrigley Field have reached $4,100, per TickPick, compared with just $1,563 per ticket in Cleveland. Certainly, the price difference has caught the Cubs fans’ attention. There are now twice as many orders coming from Illinois for the Series games in Cleveland, according to TickPick, than for the games at Wrigley Field.
There’s real fear among Indians executives that these frenzied Cubs fans are willing to pay so much money for tickets that even their own season ticketholders might find the temptation too great to pass up.
“When you say it’s Cleveland vs. the world,” Indians starter Josh Tomlin says, “it almost sounds like you’re needy. But that’s what it is.”
The Indians are the heavy underdogs again, just as they were against the Boston Red Sox in the AL Division Series and the Toronto Blue Jays in the ACLS. No one gave them a chance then. No one gives them a chance now.
“If curses are real, there seems to be a stronger curse,” Kipnis said. “If the baseball gods want to take it in their own hands, I think it’s a serious thing not to let that goat end. I don’t know how the baseball gods can ever forgive them?
“That makes the series cool, that one of those curses comes to an end.”