THE WORLD SERIES OF SUFFERING
By Steve Marsi
When Nomar Garciaparra was dealt from Boston to the Chicago Cubs three weeks ago, Yankeessuck.com General Manager Lefty briefly posed an interesting comparison of the two franchises. Clearly they have more in common than the aforementioned shortstop who wears #5, but which team has suffered more over the past century? To determine this, I offer an examination of several key factors.
1. Overall Futility
Cubs – Few can hold a candle to them in this department. The Cubs’ respectable lifetime winning percentage of .514 can be attributed largely to strong play around the turn of the century. The 20th century.
Their most recent appearance in the World Series was 1945, and last year’s N.L. Division Series win over Atlanta marked the Cubs’ first playoff series victory of any kind in 95 years.
Red Sox – Boston has known heartbreak like no other, but is always in the running. The Sox have come within one game of the championship four times, with Game Seven losses in the World Series in 1946, 1967, 1975 and 1986. Boston has been competitive for the last four decades, with only five losing seasons since 1966. Recently, the team has registered six consecutive finishes (and counting) in the A.L. East, with trips to the ALCS in 1999 and 2003.
Edge: Cubs.
2. External Forces
Cubs – The "Curse of the Billy Goat" legend states that local tavern owner and Cubs fan Sam Sianis had two box seats to Game Four of the 1945 World Series, and brought his goat to sit with him to the game. Outraged at his subsequent ejection by management, Sianis declared that the Cubs would never win another pennant or play in the World Series at Wrigley Field again. We may never know why the strange pair were allowed into the game only to be tossed later, or why Sianis opted to give a World Series ticket to his goat instead of a friend or family member. Regardless, the Cubs haven’t been back to the Series since.
Red Sox – Generations of Boston fans consider the team’s trade of Babe Ruth to New York after the 1919 to be the downturn of the franchise. Ruth became the greatest hitter of his generation and one of the game’s most iconic players ever. The Yankees have won the World Series 26 times after acquiring the portly slugger, while the Red Sox are still chasing their first since he left. There is no doubt that much of Boston’s subsequent misfortune can be attributed to the Babe’s departure, but there is no documentation of an actual "Curse of the Bambino." This was simply a terrible business decision, in which Boston provided the catalyst of New York’s 86-year dynasty for the price of $100,000. Still, this category goes to Boston, because the goat didn’t go on to help another team win 26 titles upon its dismissal from Wrigley Field.
Edge: Sox.
3. The Agony of 2003
Cubs – They were just five outs away from the World Series when it all fell apart. Leading by three runs in the 8th inning in Game Six of last year’s NLCS against Florida, the Cubs looked poised to wrap up the pennant and ignite the wildest party in Wrigley Field history. That was until Cubs fan Steve Bartman interfered with a foul ball that was apparently within reach of outfielder Moises Alou, taking away the second out of the inning. After a walk, a single, and a costly fielding error by shortstop Alex Gonzalez, the Cubs unraveled and went on to lose 8-3. The following night, Chicago squandered a 5-3 lead and dropped Game Seven as well.
Red Sox – They were just five outs away from the World Series when it all fell apart. In Game Seven of the ALCS at Yankee Stadium, manager Grady Little sent a tiring Pedro Martinez back to the mound with a 5-2 lead in the 8th inning, then elected to leave him in as New York rallied. Clutch hits from Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada tied the game, and the Yankees eventually prevailed on Aaron Boone’s home run leading off the 11th frame. The loss was epic, and it was apparently obvious to everyone in New England that Little, who immediately became the region’s pariah and left town unceremoniously, kept Martinez in too long. The Cubs take this category, though, for the sheer absurdity of the events leading to their downfall.
Edge: Cubs.
4. The Agony of 2004 (?)
Cubs – Widely considered a World Series contender after making several key additions in the offseason, the Cubs have underachieved at times, falling into distant second in their division and battling for the Wild Card spot.
Red Sox – Widely considered a World Series contender after making several key additions in the offseason, the Sox have underachieved at times, falling into distant second in their division and battling for the Wild Card spot.
Edge: Even (stay tuned).
5. Don Zimmer’s Legacy
Cubs – Zim managed at Wrigley for a little more than three seasons (1988-1991), compiling a record of 265-258. He was named the league’s Manager of the Year in 1989, but Chicago lost the NLCS to San Francisco in five games.
Red Sox – Don took the reins in the middle of the 1976 season and managed the team through 1980. Boston posted three 90-win seasons under his tutelage, including a 99-63 campaign in 1978, when the team finished tied with New York for first place in the A.L. East and lost a one-game playoff to New York on Bucky Dent’s infamous home run. Red Sox Nation’s rage over that contest is, to this day, primarily directed at Dent, but we can’t ignore that Zim was Boston’s manager. A quarter-century later, while serving as Joe Torre’s bench coach with the Yankees in Game 3 of the ALCS, Zimmer took exception to Pedro Martinez throwing at one of his players and charged out of the dugout toward the Boston ace, only to be tossed to the ground by his sizable cranium. Zimmer’s surprising, albeit justifiable role in this altercation will go down in the annals of Red Sox-Yankees lore.
Edge: Sox.
6. The Bill Buckner Connection
Cubs – Billy Buck played seven-plus seasons with Chicago before being traded to Boston in 1984. During his tenure with the Cubs, he collected 1,136 hits and batted exactly .300. Buckner won the N.L. batting title in 1980 and was named to the All-Star team in 1981.
Red Sox – No comment.
Edge: Sox.
7. Fan Bitterness
Cubs – Moderate.
Red Sox – "Yankees Suck" chants at Devil Rays games, an entire line of anti-Yankees merchandise, websites like this one.
Edge: Sox.
So there you have it. My apologies to Cubs fans, but the Sox win this series, 4-2.
