Opinion | For better or worse, Cubs all in to end 108-year championship drought
Despite PR recriminations, the acquisition of dominant but troubled pitcher Aroldis Chapman could be final piece in puzzle
When the Chicago Cubs acquired Cuban relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman from the New York Yankees last week, there were many numbers to consider.
Chapman’s pitching numbers of course, which are dominant across the board, his salary number, the number of players (4) the Cubs sent to the Yankees and even the number of the police report in Florida last year when Chapman was accused of domestic violence.
There is also the number of games Major League Baseball subsequently suspended Chapman for (30) on a “personal conduct violation”. However, in the end there is only one number that really matters: 108.
It has been 108 years since the Cubs last won a World Series. It’s a drought that hangs like a plague over Chicago
It has been 108 years since the Cubs last won a World Series. It’s an incomprehensible drought that hangs like a plague over Chicago and can often precipitate desperate actions.
One of the world’s truly great cities, Chicago, Illinois is the largest and most significant American city not next to the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean.
It is also a city that knows sporting title droughts, but that all changed when Michael Jordan came to town in the mid-80s. Jordan and his Bulls would win six championships in eight years and become a global phenomenon.
