2016 World Series: A Position-by-Position Breakdown of the Indians and Cubs

Assessing the Matchup

On paper, it’s hard to argue that Chicago doesn’t have the edge in talent over Cleveland. There’s a reason the Cubs were the best team in baseball during the regular season, and why they find themselves on the doorstep of putting an end to their 108-year World Series drought.

They have a host of young all-stars, a few savvy veterans who have been there before, and one of the most forward-thinking managers in the game. In 2016, Chicago has seemed like MLB’s team of destiny, and that’s not something easily overcome.

But as the Indians have proven all season long, games aren’t won on paper. This is a club that has overcome adversity at every turn, endured injuries that would have been debilitating for a lot of teams, and have proven all the experts wrong in October. As Chisenhall said after learning Chicago would be the Tribe’s opponent, “That’s why we play the games.”

The Indians have also proven since April that they love to play at home, winning 53 regular season games at Progressive Field and going a perfect 4-for-4 thus far in the postseason. With home-field advantage, a raucous fanbase still experiencing the high of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ NBA title and hungry for more has been a decided advantage for the Tribe.

Next: Indians, Cubs Look to End Championship Droughts

Regardless of what either team has done before or where the games are played, the history of baseball in October tells us that anything that can happen. Unlikely heroes emerge, and underdogs often do the seemingly impossible. It’s Cleveland against the world, to quote LeBron James, and the Indians wouldn’t have it any other way.