Ernie Banks dies = Cubs win the World Series?

Ernie Banks Dies, Cubs Win World Series

Ernie Banks passed away, and I can’t think of a person the baseball world could lose where it would be a bigger deal — with the possible exception of Willie Mays or maybe Yogi Berra. But follow the bouncing ball here for a second:

The last time the Cubs won the World Series, Theodore Roosevelt was President. For context, he’s been dead since 1919.

I’m not saying this is the year — there are a lot of better teams out there than the current Chicago Cubs, to be sure — but if this was the year and journalists could run to their laptops and bang out “… Ernie Banks, guardian angel…” stories, would it surprise you that much, given the overall history and lineage of that franchise?

Many people have thought of this Cubs-WS narrative, and most admit it’s a mistake. I do too. But there’s something in me about how storylines tend to unfold, and how the human brain loves to process them, and some crazy manager and new ace and a bunch of young bucks and Let’s Play Two is now in heaven, and … well, look, it’s a long shot, but …

<iframe width=”620″ height=”315″ src=”//www.youtube.com/embed/CuwMvesrw7w” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe

(Wrong team, I know. But hey, it could happen.)

 

Ted Bauer