Spend any time around this Chicago Cubs club, and you’ll know that they’re a special group. The national media can write all they want about how their youthful inexperience gets in the way of postseason success, but that story gets less convincing with every new team the Cubs leave sullen-faced in the visiting dugout.
And they know how to party. As I finally left the Wrigley press box late last night, I tweeted out a picture of the park at night, after all the fans—and celebrating players—had already left:
Wrigley right now. The calm after … pic.twitter.com/8ZBgIvlQcP
— Rian Watt (@rianwatt) October 14, 2015
Take a look at that picture. Notice anything interesting? I didn’t, until I looked at it again this morning. But if you compare the two NLDS logos on each side of the infield, you’ll notice that one—on the first base side—is far brighter than the other. That’s because the paint on the third base side spent a good three hours underfoot, faded by jubilant Cubs and their families, after Hector Rondon made the final out in Chicago Tuesday night. These Cubs are not opposed to celebrating.
There are few words that adequately capture what it felt like to be on that field after the game last night. Scenes flash through the mind: Fernando Rodney, cigar firmly wedged between his teeth, grabbing Theo Epstein into a bear hug and insisting that they take a selfie; Kris Bryant, noticing at the last second a team photo being taken on the mound and sprinting—all 6-foot-5 of him—from his place near the dugout to join his teammates; fans, thousands of them, staying in the park for hours afterwards to cheer on the players as they sprayed them with champagne.
Not a single player I spoke to last night was tense about what was to come—living in the present is a mantra this team has bought into completely. For example: I asked Kris Bryant about the Dodgers and Mets, either of whom might face the Cubs come Saturday.
“Both of those teams have really good pitching, and that’s what it comes down to in the playoffs, pitching and defense,” Bryant said. “I’m slowly realizing that it’s that, and getting timely hits when you need them. But, you know, we’re not getting too ahead of ourselves, just enjoying the night.”
And is the club feeling loose right now, even in the face of rising expectations?
“Yeah, nothing fazes us,” Bryant told me. “We’re playing the game because it’s fun. This, obviously, right now, is very rewarding, but we have a couple more series, and hopefully we can celebrate like this two more times.”
It’s a mantra that’s consistent with Joe Maddon’s comments in postgame yesterday, when he praised his young rookies for their character all season long, and singled out the mix of young and veteran talent as key to their success so far.
“Number one is they really are good makeup guys. They’re good character guys. They don’t make excuses. They’re very accountable to the moment. I think it begins there,” Maddon said.
“And beyond that, I’m telling you it’s about our coaching staff and our veteran players,” he continued, warming to the subject. “Our veteran players, people talk about this a lot and sometimes it’s—you kind of fluff it off, and I’m telling you how important it is. Our guys and like David (Ross) and Jon (Lester), and you saw what Miggy (Montero) did tonight. You cannot overstate how important that is.”
How many teams do you know where a rookie calls out to a veteran center fielder that he’s going to homer off of a key reliever coming into the game? That’s what happened Tuesday night: Kyle Schwarber called his shot (he admitted as much in postgame). I asked Bryant if he knew about that.
“I didn’t, but he can hit a homer with the best of them, and I believe he did it,” Bryant told me. “He crushed that ball, and it was a big hit for us.”
That’s what these Cubs can do: tell you they’ll beat you, then follow through. And they’re not stopping now. They don’t intend to stop for a few weeks, actually.
“Don’t ever take your foot off the gas pedal,” Bryant said, as the champagne poured around him and Wrigley glistened in the crisp October night. “We’ve been doing it all year, something new every night. I mean, I can’t even speak right now, I’m lost for words.”
Imagine what might come next.
Lead photo courtesy Jerry Lai-USA Today Sports.