The Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians have split the first two games in one of the most intriguing World Series match-ups in recent memory.
The student body at Lipscomb has a range of differing predictions about the outcome, some coming from a hometown influence. Lee Solomon, a junior outfielder on the baseball team, is from Columbus, Ohio, and he has cheered for the Indians for most of his life. Solomon said that the Cleveland Cavaliers championship earlier this year gave fans new hope.
“Everyone back home is super excited right now, especially with the Cavs starting their season back up,” Solomon said. “People have been super optimistic this whole year. Since the Cavs won their Championship, people don’t think there’s any way the Indians will lose.”
Junior Erin Telfer is from the Chicago area and saw the celebrations of many friends through social media.
“The night they (the Cubs) made it to the World Series, my Facebook feed was literally full of dads crying because they finally did it,” Telfer said. “I’m not really a baseball fan, but I’m definitely happy for the Cubs.”
An unofficial poll of Lipscomb students as to which team would be victorious was virtually split, but some students were more confident in their picks than others. Sophomore Sy Taylor is a Nashville native but picked Chicago to win without hesitation.
“I can just feel it,” Taylor said. “They haven’t won one in a while; it’s just their time.”
The story-lines surrounding this year’s Fall Classic are endless, but here are a few to keep an eye on in the next week:
1. Cubs’ bats vs Indians’ arms
Chicago has made a name for itself swinging the bat this postseason, hitting 12 home runs and driving in 4.8 runs per game prior to the World Series. The Indians, on the other hand, used a 1.77 team ERA to cruise through their first two postseason series. Cleveland won the battle in Game 1 as ace Corey Kluber threw six scoreless innings, but the Cub’s offense came alive in Game 2, scoring five runs to even the series. Can Cleveland’s pitching continue to shine, or will the home runs keep coming for the explosive Cubs? Only time will tell.
2. World Series droughts
The combined years since either team has won the World Series is 176 (the Indians won in 1948 and Cubs in 1908). The last time the Cubs won it all, TV and radio were yet to be invented, America had 46 states, and the average wage was 22 cents per hour. Needless to say, the taste of victory will seem a little sweeter to whichever team wins this year’s matchup.
3. The Curse of the Cubs
The famed “Curse of the Billy Goat” has haunted Chicago fans and players since the 1940s. The last time the Cubs were in contention for a championship, Steve Bartman interfered with a foul ball in Game 6 of the NLCS, preventing Moises Alou from recording an out. Long story short, the opposing Florida Marlins went on to score eight runs in the inning, won the series in seven games, and Bartman is now the most infamous fan in baseball history. Obviously, he was not to blame for the unraveling of the Cubs that season, but sometimes weird things happen to teams that are “cursed,” whether it is real or imagined. Cubs’ fans will undoubtedly be holding their breath this coming week, hoping to avoid any supernatural incidents as their beloved team makes another run at its long-lost championship.
Game 3 in the best-of-seven series will be played tonight at 7 p.m. in Chicago. The Indians will send Josh Tomlin to the mound as Kyle Hendricks will make the start for the Cubs.