From pre-season fringe player to MLB star, the rookie has taken the US by storm this summer in the Yankees’ march to unlikely post-season successOn Sunday night at Yankee Stadium, Francisco Lindor of the Cleveland Indians hit a baseball towards the right‑field stands that was clearly destined to be a two-run homer. And not just any home run: one that would demolish the New York Yankees and send the Indians to the edge of the World Series.Suddenly a great mitted hand rose from the depths, like the head of a sea monster, reached above the wall and snatched the ball from thin air. On its own, it was a superhuman catch: something more associated with the planet Krypton than the...
On Wednesday night, for the Cubs at least, the World Series ended in that rarest of things: an authentic, earned happy endingThere was a baseball game last night.There are three stories to tell about it, and they’re stacked on top of each other, tottering, each bigger than the last and relying on the one below it to make sense. The first story: the Cubs took a 6-3 lead into the eighth inning of Game 7 of the World Series, and Aroldis Chapman blew it. Then he won the game. Related: Chicago Cubs end most storied title drought in American sporting folklore | Bryan Armen Graham Related: Bill Murray basks in 'beautiful' victory as Obama invites Cubs to White House Continue...
Will the Cubs end their famously long drought? On the other hand, will the Indians end their famously long drought? Surely the Cubs can’t be denied the championship. Going into the World Series, Chicago have the better starting rotation, the better lineup and the better closer. But does any of that matter? Especially when the manager in the other dugout has won two World Series and has been a master of manipulating match-ups throughout the postseason. Cleveland would be in a better position if they still had Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar, who had helped carry them to the American League Central title. Instead they must try to tame the Cubs with only two certainties in their rotation: Corey Kluber...
We’ve seen teams go from worst-to-first in a single year before, but never an entire city. The success of both the Indians and Cavaliers is unprecedented“You know, these guys ain’t so fuckin’ bad.” It’s one of the greatest lines in American cinema (or at least one of the more memorable lines from the American sports comedy genre of the late 20th century). In 1989’s Major League, a Cleveland construction worker played by a young Neil Flynn declares that the local team is a lot better than he expected they would be. It’s a sentiment many are starting to feel about the real Indians – and Cleveland sports as a whole – 27 years since Rick Vaughn, Willie Hayes, Jake Taylor and Pedro...