What an exciting year we Cubs fans had, even if we didn’t get past the first round of the playoffs. This could have been, as Crane Kenney said to me a couple of weeks ago, one of the best years of baseball we’ve ever seen. Hey, we had 97 wins. This past season the Cubs were winning games in ways none of us imagined. There were ninth inning rallies that made our hearts stop a few beats. There were wins that took a minute or two to sink in – we’d look at each other and say, “Did what I think just happened really happen?” We were all so excited about the Cubs and our chances this year. We had an incredible team. After each home win, we left the park to the tune of Steve Goodman’s “Go Cubs Go.” As the season progressed and the Cubs kept winning, more and more people stayed when the games ended to sing along with the PA system. Lyrics were even posted under the scoreboard at some point late in the season. But leaving the Friendly Confines after a loss was like leaving a tomb. Of those 55 home wins, which five were the most exciting? While everyone has an opinion, I’d like to give you MY favorite wins of the 2008 season.
Number 5 – Geovany Soto’s September 18 two-out home run in the ninth to tie the game at 6 and lead to eventual 7-6 Cubs win in the 12th against Milwaukee. Even Soto, this year’s Rookie of the Year, said it was a highlight for him. That home run, the last of the 2008 season for Soto, was his 23rd of the year. This came just four days after he was behind the plate catching Carlos Zambrano’s no hitter.
Number 4 – The June 12 game against Atlanta when Jim Edmonds hit a home run in the ninth and Reed Johnson was hit by a pitch in the 11th with the bases loaded to bring in the winning run. What a day that was. I was sitting in the left field bleachers with some friends, ready to hop in the car and drive up to Toronto to see the Cubs play there. It was a hot day at Wrigley, VERY hot. When Jim Edmonds tied it in the ninth, none of my group was leaving. When Johnson came up to bat in the 11th with the bases loaded the group of us started taking bets as to how we would win – Grand slam? Walk? Single or double? Not one of us, and there were five or six in our group, thought of getting hit by a pitch! We sat there stunned. It took a minute for it to sink in.
Number 3 – The June 20 walk off homerun by Aramis Ramirez against the White Sox. Just when some of us were thinking Ramirez needed to “step up” and contribute, he did. The fact that it happened at home against the Sox made it sweeter for most Cubs fans. I gave this the number three spot because, well, it was against the White Sox.
Number 2 – The unbelievable May 30th game against the Rockies when the Cubs came back from being down 9-1 to win 10-9. I was out of town that day. I had checked the score before I went out and it looked like a losing cause. When I got back to the room, the Cubs had the just won the game. That was one of the four home games I missed all this season. I’m told it was the most incredible come-back win people ever saw.
Number 1 – It has to be the Carlos Zambrano no hitter in Milwaukee against the Astros on September 14. When Hurricane Ike decided to pay a visit to Houston, the League moved the series to Milwaukee (two games were played there). With less than 24 hours notice, a friend and I heard about it, got on the Internet, got tickets and we were off to Milwaukee the next afternoon. Our seats were about 10 rows up, right behind home plate. You could see the control Z had from the beginning. He was ON. As it started to sink in what was happening, the crowd, mostly Cubs fans who had made the last-minute trip as we had, became more and more excited. When the final pitch was thrown I cried. I had never seen a No – No and I may never see another. Driving up to Milwaukee, we thought we were just going to see the Cubs play.
You may have your own set of the five best wins of the season and I invite you to share them. At this point all I can do is quote Steve Goodman:
“Go Cubs Go
Go Cubs Go
Hey Chicago what do you say
The Cubs are gonna win today.”
For more info: cubs.com, chicagotribune.com, bleedcubbieblue.com
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