The Midas Touch

It’s safe to refer to Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein as King Midas because anything that he touches indeed turns to gold. Epstein’s Major League Baseball journey began in 1995 as an intern for the Baltimore Orioles which would be followed by him gaining more experience in the front office of the San Diego Padres. But Epstein would get his big break in 2003 when he was named the general manager of the Boston Red Sox. Epstein would make several key moves which included acquiring starting pitcher Curt Schilling from the Arizona Diamondbacks. And by 2004, the Red Sox had won their first World Series Championship in 86 years.

The Red Sox would go on to win another World Series Title in 2007 and the marriage between Epstein and Boston appeared to be one that would last for a very long time. But following a late season collapse by the Red Sox in 2011 that would see them miss the playoffs, Epstein would step down from his post as general manager. However it wouldn’t take Epstein that long to resurface on the baseball scene as just a few days after leaving the Red Sox, he would join the Cubs.

Epstein’s arrival in Chicago was met with a hero’s welcome as he gave hope to a fan base that hadn’t seen their beloved Cubbies win the World Series since 1908. But unlike in Boston where Epstein simply needed to put the finishing touches on a championship club, he was taking over an organization in Chicago that needed to be built from the ground up. And the Rickets family who owns the Cubs gave Epstein free reign to build the team in his image.

The Cubs would lose 101 games in 2012, but it didn’t matter as Epstein was beginning to develop the team’s minor-league system. In 2012, Epstein would acquire first baseman Anthony Rizzo from the Padres in a deal that was centered around starting pitcher Andrew Cashner. In 2013, the Cubs owned the the second overall pick of the Major League Baseball Draft which they used on third baseman Kris Bryant. That year would also see Esptein pull off another steal when he acquired starting pitcher Jake Arrieta from the Baltimore Orioles in move that completely flew under the radar.

The Cubs were still a losing team, but they showed some improvement in 2014 when they went 73-89. That season would see Epstein make another key move when he acquired infielder Addison Russell from the Oakland Athletics in a move that was centered around starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija being shipped to Oakland.

But Epstein and the Cubs would have a gift fall into their laps following the end of the 2014 Major League Baseball season when manager Joe Maddon decided to opt-out of his contract with the Tampa Bay Rays in order to bring his talent to the Windy City. In nine years with the Rays, Maddon’s record was 754-705 which included four playoff appearances along with a World Series appearance in 2008. And like Epstein, Maddon was welcomed in Chicago with a hero’s welcome as the folks in the WIndy City saw things coming together for the Cubs.

After the 2014 Major League Baseball season, the Cubs would sign free agent starting pitcher Jon Lester who played under Epstein with the Red Sox. Bryant and Russell would be ready for their debuts in 2015 as they joined Rizzo and Javier Baez to give the Cubs one of the best infields in baseball, and all of the sudden this organization was no longer a door mat.

In 2015, the Cubs won 97 games which saw them make the postseason. But being that the National League Central was the best division in Major League Baseball, the Cubs had to settle for the second wild card spot as they finished in third place in the division behind the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates.

But the Cubs would have the ultimate revenge in the postseason as they defeated the Pirates in the National League’s Wild Card Game, while they defeated the Cardinals in the NLDS. The Cubs would run into a buzz saw as they swept by the New York Mets in the NLCS. The Cubs were dominated by the Mets to the point that they never had a lead at any point of the series. However the Cubs postseason run in 2015 was a sign of good things to come on the North Side of Chicago.

Epstein would continue to load up on talent as he signed veteran starting pitcher John Lackey in order to provide the Cubs starting rotation with some depth behind Lester and Arrieta who won the National League’s Cy Young Award in 2015. The Cubs would also sign outfielder Jason Heyward away from the Cards and all of a sudden, Chicago’s hopes of winning the World Series for the first time since 1908 were as real as they’ve ever been.

The Cubs would begin the 2016 Major League Baseball season at a torrid pace as they won 27 of their first 35 games and they never looked back. Five Cubs were voted as starters for the All-Star Game which included their entire infield. But even as the Cubs were showing that they were ready for another postseason run, they weren’t quite a complete team which led Epstein to acquiring relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman from the New York Yankees prior to MLB’s trade deadline. The Cubs would easily win the National League Central and now it was time to see if they could finally slay the dragon that has been the postseason.

The Cubs would draw the San Francisco Giants in the National League Divisional Series as they are always a scary team due to the fact that they’ve won the World Series in every even year since 2010. But the Cubs won the first two games of the series at home, and when the wheels appeared ready to fall off, they answered the bell.

Chapman would suffer a blown save in Game 3 of the National League Divisional Series which prevented the Cubs from clinching. The Cubs would face a three-run deficit heading into the ninth inning of Game 4 as it appeared that they would be heading back to Wrigley Field for a decisive Game 5.

But the Cubs would stage a furious rally in the ninth inning which saw them stun the Giants for four runs to win the game 6-5. The Cubs would slay the dragon as they became the first team since the Florida Marlins in 2003 to eliminate the Giants from postseason contention.

In the National League Championship Series, the Cubs would face another team that had a long World Series drought in the Los Angeles Dodgers who haven’t won it all since 1988. But unlike last year where the Cubs had to face numerous power arms that the Mets had, they only had to deal with one in the form of starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw with the Dodgers. After losing Game 3, the Cubs would find themselves down 2-1 in the series before their offense woke up and would win the next three games to win the NL Pennant for the first time since 1945.

The Cubs would meet a Cleveland Indians team in the World Series that was as equally determined as they were. The Indians had a long title drought as well as they hadn’t won the World Series since 1948. With the series tied at 1, the Indians would seize control when they won Games 3 and 4 at Wrigley to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. But just like the Cubs rallied against the Giants and Dodgers, they would once again answer the bell as they finally began to figure out an Indians pitching staff that had been unhittable throughout the majority of the postseason.

The Cubs would win Game 5 and would once again find their groove as their bats woke up in Game 6 to force a decisive Game 7. This energy and belief would ignite their fan base in Chicago who made the trek in droves to Cleveland to see their team possibly win it all. The Cubs jumped out to a 6-1 lead in Game 7 before the Indians rallied to tie it at 6 late in the contest. And when the Indians tied it up, thoughts of so many Cubs collapses over the years came to mind as it just didn’t appear to be in the cards for them again.

But this Cubs team would find a way as they would score a pair of runs in the top of the tenth inning which proved to be the difference as they would win the game and the series for their first World Series Championship since 1908. And when you haven’t won a title for so long like the Cubs, it is the equivalent of taking a strong laxative to clean out your system as folks in the Windy City will be partying from now until the cows come home. It is to the point in the Windy City that if Epstein wanted to run for mayor in Chicago, he would win by a landslide.

Epstein has now cemented himself as one of the greatest baseball minds of all-time as he has now taken two organizations that couldn’t win for so long and made them champions. The folks in Boston didn’t have hope before Epstein as “The Curse of the Bambino” haunted them for so long. The Red Sox had their epic collapse of 1978, along with the blowing the World Series in 1986 on their resume while they had to sit back and watch their arch rival in the Yankees collect more World Series Titles (27) than any other franchise. But that all changed when Epstein came to town as it was highlighted by the Red Sox overcoming a 3-0 deficit to the Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series en route to winning it all.

The Cubs went down a similar path as “The Curse of the Billy Goat” haunted them which included blowing a huge lead in the National League East in 1969, while their own futility would cost them the N.L. Pennant in 1984, along with Steve Bartman becoming a household name in 2003 for all of the wrong reasons. And even though that the Cubs were done in for the 2015 NLCS by Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy who coincidentally has the same last name as the billy goat that the curse originated from, they didn’t sulk after being swept by New York in 2015. These Cubs found a way to win, but win in a fashion where they were able to illustrate that dreams do come true when you believe in yourself, and when leaders put a plan in place that will produce results.

Now aside from turning the Cubs in champions, Epstein has set them up for long-term success as the majority of their team is relatively young, while the Ricketts family doesn’t have a problem in spending money as far as winning goes.

Epstein is only 42- years of age, but he has already solidified himself to be Cooperstown bound one day for the Baseball Hall of Fame while he will never have to buy another drink within the city limits of Chicago.