Last week it finally happened, the Chicago Cubs won the National League pennant as they defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers. Now, they are set to play the Cleveland Indians in the Fall Classic as you have two teams who have not won the World Series in over fifty years. It should be noted. The Cubs have not won the World Series since 1908, and last made an appearance in 1945 as they lost to the Detroit Tigers. On the other side, you have an Indians team who last won the World Series in 1948 and last made an appearance in 1997. The 2016 World Series is set to begin on Tuesday night at Progressive Field, home of the Indians. It should be noted that it also happens to be the same night that the Cavs are getting their rings as the NBA season is also set to get started that night.
Whoever ends up winning this World Series will be ending a drought that has lasted over fifty years. While this is going to be a tightly contested series, there are a few areas where the Chicago Cubs have the edge over the Indians.
Here are three reasons why the Chicago Cubs will win the 2016 World Series:
Better Pitching
According to Baseball Reference, the Chicago Cubs are first in pitching, and the Indians are second in the American League. However, the Cubs have a rotation of five guys who should not be taken lightly and some of them are underrated. You have a front end of the rotation that consists of John Lester and Jake Arrieta.
While they are both over thirty, they have still pulled in excellent numbers during the 2016 season. You also have Kyle Hendricks, John Lackey, and Jason Hammel who round out one of the best rotations in baseball. This is a rotation that was able to win over 100 games this season.
Also, this is a rotation that will end up pitching deep into games as they were also first in that department. So to put it simply, if the Indians want to have any shot to get the Cubs bullpen then they will need to try and knock out the Cubs pitching staff early in the games.
Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant
As it happens for previous teams who have made the World Series, typically you will see one or two guys who ends up becoming the leaders of the team. For the 2016 Chicago Cubs, the two leaders of the offense happened to be Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant. Both of the had over 30 home runs and both drove in over a hundred runs during the season. Also, they are both considered leaders as both played close to a full season.
Chicago Cubs bench contributed as well
What made the Cubs a dangerous team during the 2016 season was how guys were contributing off the bench like Javier Baez, Wilson Contreras, and David Ross just to name a few. I mention these names because they were the biggest contributors towards the Cubs making their run. Also, it was reported that the Cubs might use Kyle Schwarber off the bench as a DH. If healthy, Scwarber has the capability to have as much of an offensive pull like Bryant and Rizzo do. Overall, these three players are the future of the team.
Overall, the 2016 World Series will be a memorable one as you have two “underdog” teams who pushed and crawled, but in the end deserved to be where they are. You have two high power offenses and great pitching staffs. I am also expecting this World Series to be one of the highest rating World Series in the last fifty years. Game one is Tuesday night and can be seen on FOX.