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Monday, October 24, 2016

A Ballplayer's Unfortunate Dilemma ... An Anthem Opinions Editorial

World Series
Has Bittersweet Irony
for
Cleveland Indian's Second Baseman

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Jason Kipnis

The 2016 World Series starts Tuesday night at 5:00pm on FOX (Channel 5)  and two great "long suffering" teams will be "at it" to determine the Champion of Professional Baseball.....

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...who haven't won a World Series since 1948.


&

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...who haven't won a World Series since 1908.

The last time the Indians appeared in the Fall Classic was in 1995, but the Cubs....

...it's been since 1945

In 1995 the Indians were beaten in the World Series by the Atlanta Braves due to the superb pitching of FORMER CUB and Hall of Famer, Greg Maddux. 

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When the Indians last won the Series in 1948, Harry Truman was our President...

...the Marshall Plan was signed, Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated, the Hells Angels were formed in California, the State of Israel was founded, and the mighty Babe Ruth died at the young age of 53...

...but the Cubs...

...well in 1908, Teddy Roosevelt was winding down his presidency.

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...and in that same year of 1908 there was even a rumor that Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid were killed in Bolivia, Henry Ford introduced "The Model T", and a new sports song became popular as well....

"Take Me Out to the Ballgame"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4-gsdLSSQ0

In both cases....that was a LONG TIME AGO !

So...what does this World Series mean to both cities?

EVERYTHING 
WHEN IT COMES
 TO
THE NATIONAL PASTIME

but

What does any of this have to do with
Jason Kipnis
 ???

Poor Jason....no one should have to go through what he'll have to... in the next week !

Why?

Because Jason Kipnis might be the Cleveland Indians second baseman, but he's also a CHICAGOAN !

...and still a CUB fan !

...and all of his family  (parents, brothers & sisters) and friends have been DIEHARD CUB fans their entire lives.

Jason claims all of his "friends" and "family" are "with the Tribe" all the way" in this series...

...but as one of those DIEHARD Cub fans from Chicago...I can assure you....

We don't like White Sox fans, much less those from a foreign land on a contaminated Great Lake !

But for Jason the tradition is even worse.

Turns out that this kid grew up in the Chicago suburb of Northbrook...

...and...went to the same school (St. Norbert) and LIVED DOWN THE STREET from another infamous Cub fan named...

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 Steve Bartman
...and I can assure you...there is not a single person in Chicago who's not familiar with that name !

To this very day....since 2003...

Aisle 4, Row 8, Seat 113

is known as "The Bartman Seat" and is one of the most heavily photographed (and spit on)  areas of Wrigley Field.

Then...we discovered that poor Jason Kipnis has yet another "tie" to the Cubs.

One of his uncles, a doctor, delivered one of Cubs Hall of Famer Ryne  Sandberg's children.

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Ryne Sandberg

Sandberg's position on the diamond...THE SAME AS KIPNIS...

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SECOND BASE

When Jason Kipnis was confronted by all of this, his comments were the best that we could expect in any professional athlete:

"This is tough. The 10 year old kid in me is saying... Why Does it Have to be the Cubs? My whole social media and Facebook and everything is Cub posts...and I have to try to disappoint all of them".

Well, it all begins Tuesday evening...and..Jason Kipnis will be at 2nd base for the American League Champion Cleveland Indians as they welcome his childhood heroes, the Chicago Cubs.

And...though we make no excuse as to whom we want to win this affair, it appears that Jason Kipnis will have the irony of being the biggest winner (and loser) of them all !

When these two teams face off against each other, many of us Chicagoans will not only remember the days of Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, Billy WilliamsFergie Jenkins, Ryne Sandberg, and Greg Maddux, along with Hall of Fame broadcasters Jack Brickhouse and Harry Carey...

...but personally I want this one for a young 36 year old "kid" who lost a battle to leukemia one week before the Cubs would play in the 1984 Divisional Series with the San Diego Padres...a series they also lost...

....whose music will live on forever in the hearts of every true Chicago Cubs fan....

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Steve Goodman

"Go Cubs Go"
"A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request"
It's time to...
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      PLAY BALL

Dick Arendt
Anthem Opinions

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