"Those Cubs were led by a core that included Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, and Javier Báez. The supporting cast featured the likes of Dexter Fowler and Ben Zobrist, plus unsung heroes Jason Hammel, Miguel Montero, David Ross, and Willson Contreras. They won 103 regular-season games with one tie, and beat the Giants, Dodgers, and Indians in the playoffs to end a 108-year championship drought."
"Baseball dynasties are a different kind of animal. Few teams repeat as World Series champions, but teams that annually control their divisions, like the Dodgers, are downright empirical. Los Angeles has 12 division championships in the last 13 seasons, but the Cubs have just eight titles since 1984. Like the '85 Bears, the Blues Brothers, Joe Charboneau, and Jerry O'Connell's acting career, a promising start sometimes means peaking far too early. That's why 2016 is such an endearing memory for most fans."
Chicago has not produced a sustained sports dynasty in the last 100 years outside the Bulls' 1990s run and the Blackhawks' three championships starting in 2009-10. The city fielded great teams such as the 1985 Bears and the 2016 Cubs, but both failed to sustain dominance after their peak seasons. Baseball dynasties are uncommon, though teams that consistently control divisions, like the Dodgers, demonstrate empirical dominance. The 2016 Cubs won 103 regular-season games and ended a 108-year championship drought behind a core including Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, and Javier Báez. The 2025-26 Cubs have a new, potentially transitory core amid a looming 2027 work stoppage.
Read at Cubsinsider
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