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Game 7 of the World Series between the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians was going to extra innings. This instant classic was destined to become one of the greatest postseason games in history. The Progressive Field crowd was electric. Fans of both teams were at the edge of their seats.

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Then, it came to a halt. Umpire and crew chief John Hirschbeck consulted with the Cleveland Indians crew chief and checking the weather reports and decided to stop the game to wait for the rain to pass. The Indians ground crew came out and put the tarp on the field. For 17 minutes, the ultimate game, Game 7, was held up. What did this mean for both teams?

On the other side, The Indians lost all the momentum that they had going into extra innings. Brian Shaw, who came on to pitch in the ninth, would come out of a rain delay with too much rest, and it showed by walking the first batter he faced. Then, he struggled the rest of the way.

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For the Cubs, it was a chance to regroup after a disastrous eighth inning which saw star reliever Aroldis Chapman give up the lead. The leaders of the clubhouse, David Ross, Jon Lester, Jason Heyward, got the team together to calm their nerves, and they came out loose and ready to go.

The rest, as they would say, would be history. Chicago plated two runs in the top of the tenth inning and held off the Indians’ rally at the bottom, and after 108 years, would become world champions.

People will talk about this game being one of the greatest of all time, and those same people will also speak of those 17 precious minutes that possibly changed the look and feel of this game. It will be known as “The Rain Delay.”