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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
CONGRATULATING THE 2016 WORLD SERIES CHAMPION CHICAGO CUBS
WHEREAS, the President and the Cook County Board of Commissioners on behalf of its residents wish to wholeheartedly congratulate the 2016 Chicago Cubs for their triumphant year, winning the National League Central Division, National League Pennant, and culminating in their World Series win which captivated fans around the world; and
WHEREAS, established in 1876 as the Chicago White Stockings, later changing their name to the Chicago Colts, the Chicago Orphans and finally settling on the name Chicago Cubs in 1903, the Cubs are the oldest Major League Baseball team to have played its entire existence in a single city; and
WHEREAS, the leadership and commitment of Chairman and Owner Tom Ricketts to invest in the Cubs’ long-term growth, starting with President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein, who brought a proven winning track record and attention to detail, set the stage to turn the Cubs from the lovable losers that caused yearly heartbreak to its devoted fans into a world-class, championship organization; and
WHEREAS, in his second season as manager, Joe Maddon guided the Cubs to 103 victories; the best record in the major leagues, finishing a dominant 17½ games ahead of the Central Division runner-up and long-time rivals the St. Louis Cardinals; making it the first 100+ win season the Cubs have had since 1935 and marking the most victories the team has had since 1910; and
WHEREAS, the 2016 Chicago Cubs featured a star-studded roster led by a dominating pitching staff including 2015 Cy Young winner Jake Arietta, 2016 Cy Young candidates Kyle Hendricks and Jon Lester, Jason Hammel, John Lackey, Carl Edwards, Jr., Justin Grimm, Mike Montgomery, Hector Rondon, Pedro Strop, Travis Wood, Trevor Cahill and Aroldis Chapman; and
WHEREAS, the Cubs also fielded an impressive All-Star line-up including National League MVP Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, Dexter Fowler, Willson Contreras, Jason Hayward, Albert Almora, Jr., Miguel Montero, David Ross, Addison Russell, Kyle Schwarber, Chris Coghlan, Munenori Kawasaki, Tommy La Stella, Matt Szczur, Jorge Soler, Joe Smith, Rob Zastryzny and World Series MVP Ben Zobrist; and
WHEREAS, the historic 2016 season saw the Cubs win their first National League Pennant in 7l years and marked the Cubs' first appearance in the World Series since 1945 and their first World Series victory since 1908; and
WHEREAS, the World Series win was especially poignant for the countless long-time Cubs fans who were overcome with emotion, remembering family members, fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers who were no longer here to witness the triumph, and for the generations of fans, many of whom came to Chicago from around the country and around the world, even without tickets to any of the games, solely to experience what they knew in their hearts was history in the making; and
WHEREAS, in the playoffs, the Cubs faced and defeated two historic and highly regarded California franchises, the San Francisco Giants in the National League Division Series and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series; and
WHEREAS, the World Series pitted our Chicago Cubs against the Cleveland Indians, who themselves had a historic run through the playoffs, in one of the most exciting and heart-wrenching match-ups in baseball history; and
WHEREAS, the World Series saw the Cubs down 3 games to 1, a deficit only 5 teams have previously overcome in World Series history, but the resilient and unshakeable Cubs never lost their confidence and roared back to win the next 3 games; and
WHEREAS, as was fitting of a World Series of such epic proportions, the championship came down to a Game 7 pitting Cubs' pitching ace Kyle Hendricks, owner of the lowest ERA (2.13) in Major League Baseball in 2016, against Cleveland ace pitcher Corey Kluber, who had already won Games 2 and 4 of the World Series. The Cubs started the scoring quickly with a Dexter Fowler lead-off home run. After six innings, the Cubs held on to a 6-3 lead, but in the bottom of the eighth, the Indians tied the game with a rally that featured a two-run home run. At the end of nine innings, the score was still tied 6 to 6 sending the final game of the baseball season into extra innings. After a seventeen-minute rain delay, the 10th inning started and the Cubs scored two runs on a double by Ben Zobrist and a single by Miguel Montero. The club’s place in history was etched in the bottom of the tenth inning, when following a Cleveland run, the Cubs got the final out, winning the game 8 to 7, and sending shockwaves and tears around the globe. Baseball experts agree that Game 7 will go down in history as one of the most dramatic and thrilling in the annals of the World Series and in sports itself; and
WHEREAS, all of Chicago and Cook County are proud of the great accomplishments of the 2016 Chicago Cubs and wish them continuing success and championships in future seasons;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the President and the Cook County Board of Commissioners does hereby congratulate Owner Tom Ricketts, President of Baseball Operations, Theo Epstein, President of Business Operations, Crane Kenney, the Chicago Cubs players and staff on an exceptional 2016 season that will deservedly be forever glorified in Major League Baseball; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Chicago Cubs organization as a token of our heartfelt congratulations.
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