CHICAGO -- The legacy of the Cubs team that hoisted the World Series trophy a decade ago extends beyond just ending the franchise’s 108-year title drought. That group not only shook off the perceived curses around the team, but created a shift in culture. Winning became the expectation.
A large portion of the ballclub’s 2016 roster was on hand for Cubs Convention this weekend, igniting a 10-year anniversary celebration that will continue into the summer. To a man, the players take a lot of pride in changing the tone around the Cubs, and showing how Chicago responds to its champions.
“The kids that are actually getting to the big leagues now, they have that pressure,” former Cubs catcher Miguel Montero said. “They need to win. Now, they walk in and they see us: ‘Those are the guys that won the World Series.’ Yeah, we are. We set the bar really high.”
During Saturday’s events at Cubs Con, players from the 2016 team that participated in a panel included Anthony Rizzo, Ben Zobrist, Pedro Strop, Mike Montgomery, Justin Grimm and Montero. Even more were on hand for Friday night’s opening ceremony, during which Jon Lester was announced as one of the new inductees into the Cubs Hall of Fame.
One night earlier, nearly the entire cast of characters was together for a private celebration at Wrigley Field. Former front-office leader Theo Epstein came in for the party, along with former manager Joe Maddon. Kyle Schwarber and Javier Báez flew in. David Ross was on hand. Jason Heyward, Kyle Hendricks and plenty of other players, coaches and staff attended, too.
“It was bizarre how quick the same energy showed up with all those same people,” Zobrist said. “The same voices are yapping and going back and forth with each other. And the joy just of the moment returns, and you feel like, it’s the same guys.”
How was the party?
“Afternoon tea,” Rizzo quipped.
“It was pretty quiet,” Montero said with a smirk to laughter from the crowd.
The Cubs had all the players’ jerseys hanging around the clubhouse at Wrigley Field. Montero quipped that he was happy to see a bar was also set up near his locker. The drinks and stories were flowing deep into the night, as they did plenty of times after big wins throughout that historic summer and fall a decade ago.
“Ten years away from each other has been the perfect amount of time,” Rizzo said, “for all of us to love each other again. It was honestly like we had just won a playoff series.”
The Cubs are planning another celebration of the 2016 team in July at the Friendly Confines, and president of business operations Crane Kenney told 670 AM The Score that the team will unveil a tribute to the group in Gallagher Way.
“I’ll be pushing for us to be in the bleachers for the reunion weekend,” Rizzo said.
Rizzo credited Lester’s arrival in 2015 as the catalyst for the culture shift around the Cubs. The big lefty’s commitment on a six-year pact and presence made winning the priority for a team featuring a mix of veterans and young prospects. Chicago won 97 games in ‘15 and reached the National League Championship Series, starting a run of five playoff berths in six seasons.
During the run in 2016, the Cubs rattled off 103 wins and cruised to the NL pennant before losing three of the first four games against Cleveland in the Fall Classic. The Cubs forced a Game 7 and that contest will forever go down as one of the great battles in World Series history. The North Siders were up early, but Rajai Davis’ homer in the eighth evened the score.
What was Zobrist thinking in that moment?
“Are we cursed?” he said with a laugh. “All year, I didn’t doubt -- this is the team. And when that happened, I was like, ‘You know what? I don’t know.’”
Zobrist, of course, broke the deadlock with his go-ahead RBI double in the 10th inning, helping him take home the World Series MVP honors. And the game ended with Montgomery inducing a groundout to seal the 8-7 victory.
“Two pitches,” Montero said of Montgomery’s Series-clinching appearance. “The best two pitches in Cubs history.”
Forever linked to that final out, Montgomery said it took time for the full gravity of the moment to hit him.
“We’re so wrapped up in us as a team and doing it for your teammates,” Montgomery said. “But I remember when we got back on the plane at 6 a.m. or whatever it was, to have the fire department, police department and the greeting that we got on our team plane. And then that parade. That was when I think it really hit me.
“I knew it was big, but I didn’t know what it was really going to mean to everyone. And then just the outpouring of people saying, ‘Hey, you changed my life.’”
The reunion has given the Cubs’ current players a first-hand look at what comes with bringing a championship to Chicago’s fans.
“That was literally the closest I’ve been to that trophy,” Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong said. “Call it what you want, but it wouldn’t be such a bad script to write if we do it 10 years apart. That’d be a fun reunion in 10 more years from now.”