Immediately after the Cubs dedicated their newest addition to Gallagher Way, the Champions Gate that commemorates the franchises three World Series wins in 1907, 1908 and 2016, Anthony Rizzo described the special character of the 2016 team, how hard it is to win in baseball, and honestly, what seemed like a bit of luck in how everything came together for that World Series Champion team. Those comments were echoed by his teammates throughout the day, as pitchers reflected on how rare it is for five
guys to make 29+ starts a piece, as players reflected on how Joe Maddon really was the perfect manager for this particular crew, you got a sense that yes the 2016 team was the best in baseball that season, and honestly, they also just had a bit of magic around everything they did.
Late Friday afternoon the smoky haze that had been blanketing the area around Wrigley Field cleared out through Saturday evening. It seemed like even the smoke from the Canadian wildfires wasn’t going to interrupt the long-planned celebration of the 2016 team at the corner of Clark and Addison. But maybe that shouldn’t surprise us. This is the team who had a perfectly timed 17-minute rain delay give them a chance to regroup and summon the vibes that carried them all season during one of the greatest Game 7 victories in baseball history.
Prior to Saturday’s game, the area around Gallagher Way was packed with fans. It was standing room only around a VIP area set up. There was a blue carpet where each member of the 2016 team entered to applause from fans. Marquee Sports Network’s Cole Wright served as the master of ceremonies, passing the mic to team owner Tom Ricketts, then Joe Maddon and finally Rizzo, speaking for the players:
The whole team ultimately dedicated the gate, which also honored the 1907 and 1908 teams, who were represented by the descendants of Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown. The gate has plenty of room for more plaques should the Cubs decide to win another championship (or five, as Rizzo himself requested).
But the remarks really kept returning to the unique moment of 2016, how hard it is to repeat as World Series Champions (including a great quip from David Ross about how what was really missing in 2017 was him), which Rizzo flawlessly segued to a note about how every team is different and winning is really hard.
Some of that magic is still clearly following this blessed team around. Given the elite vibes is it really all that surprising that for the second time in as many seasons Anthony Rizzo sat in the bleachers only to have a Cubs home run ball find him?
It was just that type of day at one of baseball’s greatest cathedrals. A ballpark that has seen so many historic moments. This is the ballpark where Babe Ruth called his shot. It’s the only remaining active MLB park where Jackie Robinson played a game. But one thing it had not seen, until 2017, was a victorious Cubs champion team returning with the Commissioner’s Trophy:
During the top of the fifth inning on Marquee Sports Network, one of the Cubs with multiple rings tried to put it into words. Jon Lester invoked winning “as a belief…obviously…“ However, in listening to him discuss that with Ryan Dempster it became clear, not all teams treat a championship as their destiny. Dempster, specifically described how revealing it was to him to have them just expect to win and how powerful that was in manifesting some good luck and good outcomes.
That luck was on display all afternoon at Wrigley Field, whether it was Michael Busch’s home run finding Rizzo, or the cheer that erupted all around the upper concourse as Dexter Fowler, Jason Heyward and Rizzo made their way around the concourse tossing fans baseballs and taking photos with them. And maybe, just maybe, a little bit of that expectation of winning and things going right rubbed off on the 2026 Cubs a decade later. It’s the best explanation I have for the penultimate play of the game being one of the wildest double plays you’ll ever see. You can see all of the highlights, including an 8-4-2-5-3 double play, below:
