Photo courtesy of Julie Fennell, Wikipedia
The Chicago Cubs will be facing off against the Cleveland Indians in the 112th edition of the Fall Classic.
After not winning the National League pennant since 1945, and not winning the World Series since 1908, Chicago Cubs fans can celebrate as their team has finally advanced to the World Series once again.
“Even as a Mets fan, it was pretty cool to watch the Cubs win the NLCS. When the cameras were panning around the crowd to show all of the fans celebrating I actually got the chills,” said Ramapo College junior Austin Unglaub.
On the other side, the Cleveland Indians have not won the American League pennant since 1997 and have not won it all in 68 years.
The Cubs moved onto the NLCS where the Los Angeles Dodgers put up a good fight, but the Cubs prevailed in six games.
Second baseman Javier Baez and starting pitcher Jon Lester shared the NLCS MVP award. Baez hit .318 with a .833 OPS and made some stellar defensive plays, while Lester made two starts totaling 13 innings pitched, nine hits allowed, two earned runs allowed and nine strikeouts.
The Cleveland Indians swept the Boston Red Sox in the ALDS. They were then able to handle the Toronto Blue Jays, defeating them four games to one to clinch their spot in the World Series.
Andrew Miller of the Cleveland Indians took home the ALCS MVP honors, becoming the fourth relief pitcher ever to win the award. Miller struck out 14 of the 26 batters he faced in the series. In total, he threw seven and two-thirds innings, allowing just three hits and no runs.
“As a Yankees fan I was not happy when they traded Miller at the deadline, especially after watching him deal in the ALCS. It was amazing to watch a guy be so dominant against one of the best lineups in the league,” said junior Nick Recarte.
The Indians took home Game 1 with great pitching by Miller and starter Corey Kluber, but a great start by Cubs’ Jake Arrieta pushed Chicago to win Game 2.
The series moves to Chicago for the next three games.
rrinsky@ramapo.edu
