Baseball WI: Best year for Cubs WS victory?

Even as a Cardinals fan, I feel bad for the Cubs. They've been playing for a hundred years with devoted fans (not to mention their fair share of top-notch players) and they still haven't won a World Series.

So, this got be thinking: what's a good year for a Cubs World Series victory?

2003 comes to mind, but even if they had managed to win the NLCS, I'm not sure if they were up to beating the Yankees (then again, the Marlins beat them, so there's a possibility). 2008's also a possibility.
 
1945, when they actually made it to the Series and took Detroit all the way to seven games, before getting blown out in Game 7.

If they could have avoided that 5 run top of the first by the Tigers, they might have won that game.

Even if they get past the Pads in '84, the '84 Tigers were just too damn tough. In '89, they got slapped around by the Giants 4-1 in the NLCS, who then went to the Series and got slapped around by the A's, so I don't like their chances that year either.

Since then, hard to say. With the multi-tier playoffs, it's tough to speculate how much better they could have done.

Especially since they got swept the last few times they made the playoffs.
 
As a Cubs fan since 1980, when, to my amazement, they made the playoffs, I can authoritatively say that 2350 sounds about right.

But the statement that the Cubs never won the World Series is not correct; they have been in ten World Series (1906, 1907, 1908, 1910, 1918, 1929, 1932, 1935, 1938, and 1945) and won twice (1907 and 1908).
 
The Cubs always have the possibility winning every season, same for any other team. As a Giants fan I know we had a five decade wait. Boston fans had that curse for most of a century. So the Cubs might get a world championship someday.

Of course a strain of Ebola would have to knock out the rest of the National League for that to happen and the odds would still be fifty/fifty.
 
2003 is the best year, due largely to the strength and depth of their rotation. The big undoing of the Yankees was their lack of offensive depth behind Jeter, Giambi, and Williams. The Marlins capitalized on that with their talented but injury ridden rotation (Beckett, Burnett, Willis, Leiter). I could see the Cubs doing the same. How cool would it be to see the Cubbies beat the winningest team in MLB history?

2008 is an interesting one. Their rotation wasn't as strong, but they had a pretty stellar offense. Sort of like the Phillies, who won that year. I would argue it would be be much harder for them win that year.
 
Even in "Ife Baseball Integrated Early," there's not a lot of help. The leagues are so much different anyway it's not really fair to compare, but the Cubs are still the Cubs.:)

That beings aid, 2003 looks good, but surprisingly, so does the mid- to late-1930s. They had good pitching and won 4 pennants in 10 years (1929, 1932, 1935, and 1938). In 1935 the lost to the Tigers in 6, and were swept by the Yankees in 1938, but if they'd outbid the yankees and managed to land Joe DiMaggio (they get Willard Brown in IBIE) they'd have a shot in '38 or in '36 or '37. Lefty Gomez couldn't pitch near as well away from Yankee Stadium and the rest, except for Red Ruffing, weren't that spectactular, IIRC. Heck even without Dimaggio, they might hve done something in '36 or '37.

The '45 club had the last 4 at home and only had to split, and lost 3 of 4. I put that in with '08 as a club that just had no confidence. Though it's still easier than '84 and '89, which saw A.L. clubs that were too tough, IMO.

There aren't a lot of other possiblities. The Orioles were also too good in '69 and '70 (if they could have beatent he Reds in '70, which I kidn fo doubt); yes the Mets beat the Orioles, but their pitching was just *insane* that year, int he last 40 games I think they had an ERA of about 2.00! The Cubs would have made it close but the Orioles had the home field, and personally, I think the Braves give them real trouble in the NLCS anyway.

lothaw, I remember that "Back to the Future" one, it would be comical if it happened then. They can't beat Miami, though, unles there's realignment.

Miami was expected to come in 3rd in OTL to Denver and Tampa. The POD might be Bill White not having the influence to prevent Tampa from getting an expansion club, as he disliked Tampa because of how he was treated there during spring training, IIRC. Then, with no expansion in '98, the 2 teams in biggest trouble at that time move - the Expos to Arizona and the Twins to Miami.
 
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