Carl Edwards Jr pulled a “W” flag over his shoulders and danced in the middle of the clubhouse. Ben Zobrist wiggled from side to side as ice cubes tumbled down his back to the drenched floor. David Ross closed his eyes as a bottle of beer was poured over his head.
The Chicago Cubs had to wait until Friday to celebrate their National League Central title, but they quickly made up for lost time.
Moments after Miguel Montero’s 10th-inning homer lifted Chicago to a 5-4 victory over Milwaukee, the Cubs pulled on post-season hats and shirts and then partied all over Wrigley Field.
Photo: AFP
It began with pictures and hugs all over the infield and then transitioned to a boozy segment in their plush clubhouse before returning to the field to wave to their delirious fans and pose for more pictures with family and friends.
“We enjoy each other and we have fun together,” Zobrist said, “and that’s [what] makes this kind of situation fun. Even if it’s just a regular win on a regular day, we still enjoy each other and we have fun for about a half-hour and then we’re done, but this one will last a little bit longer than that.”
The Cubs became the first major-league team to clinch their division when St Louis lost in San Francisco late on Thursday night.
Photo: AFP
They had a chance to wrap it up on the field, but Scooter Gennett’s tiebreaking two-run double in the seventh lifted Milwaukee to a 5-4 win earlier in the night.
Manager Joe Maddon and the players were long gone from Wrigley by the time the Giants finished off the Cardinals, but they were clearly ready to go on Friday.
A DJ played thumping dance music as the players and coaches sprayed each other with beer and champagne. It was mostly quiet for a short time while owner Tom Ricketts toasted baseball executives Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer, and then the party was on once again.
“It’s always great to go to October, but to go in with a group of guys that you really believe in and that are committed and connected and understand what’s at stake and want so badly to make it happen is great” Epstein said.
Epstein, Hoyer and several other members of Chicago’s front office watched most of the game from the famed bleachers, and Epstein wore a comically fake mustache for the occasion.
“We made a deal with the guys that we’d go out there the day after we won the division and then in case something went really wrong in the game I thought it might be good to be disguised out there,” a grinning Epstein said. “Then I kind of didn’t plan ahead, so last-minute, that’s what the costume store had.”
The division had seemed like a foregone conclusion since Chicago got off to a 25-6 start, serving notice that all the pre-season hype was justified.
Led by MVP candidates Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo and a ridiculously deep pitching staff, the Cubs are on top of the majors with a 94-53 record.
It is 108 years since Chicago last won the World Series in 1908.
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