The Chicago Cubs’ historic capture of the World Series last night over the Cleveland Indians wasn’t lost for one minute for baseball-playing Penguins here in Vancouver.
Penguin’s baseball head coach Mark Magdaleno said he sees a Cubs-like passion on the field with his players.
“I think at the end of the game they used two terms we use here on a regular basis,” Magdaleno said early this morning. “They said we grind, and that it was gritty.”
Magdaleno, who led Clark to a playoff berth last season, added, “Those are two words that we use here every single day.”
Clark shortstop Alec Cook became a Cubs fan only recently. “This summer I worked for the Eugene Emeralds, which is [the Cubs] single-A affiliate,” Cook said. “[The Cubs] really are a great organization and it’s awesome to finally see them get one.”
For Magdaleno, the difference between this World Series and past series is obvious. “I just think the fact that you had two teams that hadn’t won in a long time, you had two intriguing managers, two baseball clubs that you could look back and see what they’ve done since the beginning of baseball,” Magdaleno said. “I think it caught everybody’s attention nationwide. Baseball is America.”
The Cubs 8-7 victory lasted 10 innings and was held in Cleveland.
The Cubs had trailed the Indians three games to one before mounting a comeback to win games five, six and seven to give the Cubs their first World Series championship since 1908 – the longest World Series championship drought in baseball history.
The Indians are no strangers to drought themselves, suffering 68 years without winning a World Series title to date.
The game had momentum shifts throughout. With the Cubs leading 6-3 in the bottom of the eighth inning with two outs, Indians outfielder Rajai Davis smacked a three-run homerun over the left field wall to tie the game at 6-6. Ultimately, the Cubs prevailed after tacking on two runs in the top of the 10th inning to make the score 8-6. Despite the Indians scoring another run in the bottom of the 10th inning, they were unable to plate a tying run, costing them the championship.
