“How many times…”
Never.
Never.
Never.
Unreal.
Legitimately breath taking and unreal and amazing and everything in between that the Cubs would run a full episode of The Breakdown on Lester’s walk off bunt aka The Travis Wood Game.
It’s probably the best regular season game since Kerry Wood struck out 20.
I know we love the Bote walk-off grand slam and I know there’s playoff clinching games to our record books from some great seasons. There’s Sammy’s 1998 HR season, Mark Prior in 2003 and the absurd 2007-2008 run under Sweet Lou.
There’s been a lot of good moments and years and storylines, but obviously 2016 remains the most special in club history.
And when you break down the 2016 season, I don’t know if anything out there provides more sensational drama.
You’ve got:
- Travis Wood coming in to pitch for an inning, then going to left field for 5 outs, then making a web gem in left field running into the wall, then coming back into the game to pick Sean O’Malley off 2nd base
- 3 runs in the bottom of the ninth to go to extras 6-6
- Then having 2.5 perfect innings to start Extras – 3 up and 3 down both sides of the 10th, both sides of the 11th and the top of the 12th
- Obviously Jon Lester bunt single/fielder’s choice walk-off
But it’s also one of those games that’s easily forgotten about until someone brings it up.
It’s forgettable because it’s late July 2016 – there’s so many playoff moments and early season dominance.
But in reflection, there was quite literally zero frustration or hesitation throughout the 2016 season. Start to finish, wire to wire, it was as perfect as they come.
And if you want to drill down into one particular game, the Lester Bunt so is an ideal representation of the 2016 team’s Never Quit Attitude.
The same relentlessness that sparked the NLDS Game 4 comeback in the top of the 9th.
The same relentlessness that lifted us from being dow 3-1 in the World Series.
The same relentlessness that followed this club all season long.
And this July 31st game with the Lester walk off bunt explains that relentlessness perfectly.
It was a quintessential 2016 Cubs game and it’s awesome the Cubs did a highly produced episode of The Breakdown on this one. Especially being able to hear Lester and relive these moments. The further we get away, the more it means and nobody can ever take that away.
Ever.
PS – Most of the episodes from The Breakdown kinda stink. Like Hayden Wesneski’s immaculate inning and Ian Happ’s opening day home run and a bunch of other insignificant things. But then there’s awesome moments like Montero’s 2016 Grand Slam, etc. So here’s some other classics if you’re into this kinda stuff