Top 108 Moments for the 2016 Cubs (Now complete!)

[UMFan83]

Don't forget Lou did the same thing with Sean Marshall against the Cardinals in like 2009. But he only did it for one batter, Joe switched them back and forth which is awesome because it worked.

[bukie]

#106: Gregory Polanco Gives the Cubs a Gift That Felix Pena Saves

 

 

Why #106? - It's the season of giving, right? Sure, the Polanco error seemed irrelevant at the time, but after a string of Cub pitchers failed to get outs, it was suddenly the difference in the game that allowed Felix Pena to step up and make his lone statistical contribution to the season.

 

Why on the list? - Polanco is the gift that just keeps on giving to the Cubs, right? Plus, Pena gets to contribute, the Cubs try their darndest to blow a game they should have won easily, but Polanco and Pena won't allow it. Sure, it's not the most memorable Polanco miscue that allowed a Cub victory, but that was last year...

 

[Bull]

This is amazing. I don't even have to click through a slideshow. Great content, limited ads. nsb is the best. Tim is the best, bukie is the best. I love this and I love everyone here. God bless, us every one.

[bukie]

#105: Kalish and Russell Hit It Where They Ain't

 

 

Why #105? - Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. It's not exactly a walkoff, so it's an enjoyable moment but not extremely memorable.

 

Why on the list? - Always fun to beat Dusty Baker's Nats, right? This was maybe Jason Hammel's worst start of the first half, against Gio Gonzalez, and the Cubs pulled away anyway. Ryan Kalish played in 7 games for the Cubs this season, and this was his biggest contribution to the team.

[David]

ha i was trying to figure out why i didn't remember this game based on the description and then i realized i was actually at the game when i saw the russell hit

[bukie]

#104: Javy Baez Justifies Instant Replay With Sick Slides

 

 

Why #104? - Before replay, those are two obvious outs. Maybe not game changers, but it's fun to watch.

 

Why on the list? - Javy shows the world what happens when Javy is not the one tagging the runner. Hell, the second one he's clearly picked off, and both fielders hold the glove in front of the bag, so Javy dekes them, swims over, and reaches around the tag to the base. Just amazing, and it worked multiple times!

[UMFan83]

I hope to see another "Javy got picked off but nah he's safe anyways" play later in this list...maybe like one in the NLCS?

[bukie]

#103: Hammel Hits and Heyward Throws to Down Cards

 

 

Why on the list? - Hammel was the only offense for the Cubs that day, and combined with a solid early start, held on to defeat the Cards 2-1. Heyward's catch and throw basically extinguished the only other threat the Cards mounted that day, and combined were the biggest WPA effects of the game. Between the pitching and the hitting, it was Hammel's biggest combined WPA in any game.

[Bruno7481]

I had completely forgotten about the 7 at bats from Ryan Kalish this year.

[Sammys Boombox]

#103: Hammel Hits and Heyward Throws to Down Cards

 

 

Why on the list? - Hammel was the only offense for the Cubs that day, and combined with a solid early start, held on to defeat the Cards 2-1. Heyward's catch and throw basically extinguished the only other threat the Cards mounted that day, and combined were the biggest WPA effects of the game. Between the pitching and the hitting, it was Hammel's biggest combined WPA in any game.

 

 

I went to this game. It was both frustrating and fun.

[bukie]

#102: Travis Wood and Clayton Richard are Heroes in Milwaukee

 

 

Why on the list? - Well, let's see...first Travis Wood gets out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the 12th inning in the most Travis Wood way possible, three straight pop-outs. Then, Wood walks in the go ahead run in the 13th. After that, Clayton Richard gets out of a 2nd and 3rd 2 out jam in the 13th to pick up his first career save. Basically, the Cubs had no business winning this game several times over, but the Brewers just couldn't get it done against Wood and Richard, and thus leave in shame.

[bukie]

I don't know why the prior post breaks the board width. Nothing is extra wide.

[bukie]

#101: Vedder Teams Up With Harry to Sing Final 7th Inning Stretch of 2016

 

 

Why on the list? - Didn't really affect the game itself, but have to give it to Vedder to really nail this one, especially in what had to be an extremely tense Wrigley crowd, in a 1-run elimination game. Plus, the stretch is a Wrigley tradition, only makes sense for the best stretch of the year to make the list.

[Sammy Sofa]

I don't know why the prior post breaks the board width. Nothing is extra wide.

 

My boner after watching these clips disagrees.

 

Wait. NO.

[itisallpartoftheplan]

What's going on here??

[Ding Dong Johnson]

What's going on here??

bukie broke the board

[bukie]

#100: Trevor Cahill Blanks Brewers, Flashes Leather

 

 

Why on the list? - This was the first action Cahill had seen in over a month, after coming off the DL to toss in the first game of a double header, and he basically shut down the Brewers. This is your Trevor Cahill highlight of 2016, punctuated by a nice bang-bang play at first to nab Cub annoyance Kirk Nieuwenheis and help lock down a 4-0 victory in game 1 of the doubleheader.

[bukie]

#99: La Stella and Rizzo Double Up to Rally Cubs Over Brewers

 

 

Why on the list? - Cubs came back from a 4-0 deficit after 5 innings of being stymied by Javy Guerra. By the 7th they finally got him to throw enough pitches to chase him, and they rallied off Will Smith with two doubles bookending an intentional walk to Bryant. This was also the last time La Stella provided net value to the Cubs this season, as he started just one more game before going into operation shutdown for a month after being annoyed at being demoted for Coghlan because the Cubs wanted to hold on to an extra LH bat. La Stella may not be on the Cubs next year, but he gets a ring too.

[UMFan83]

Everyone probably has their own underrated favorite moments in this season that aren't commonly cited but for some reason stand out to you. #99 was one of those for me. The Cubs were still in that period between the Pre-ASB swoon and August's pure dominance. it felt like one of those games that the Cubs were just not going to win. So I was kind of half watching while doing other stuff and finally sat down to see that Cubs rally. Seeing Rizzo get that huge double off a tough lefty was very satisfying.

[Thurman Merman]

99 was definitely one of those games that stuck out, especially that rizzo double. Just felt really important at the time.

[SeldomSeen]

#107: Maddon Uses a Strategy Out of Left Field to Help Cubs Win in 15

 

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Why #107? - Using pitchers in the outfield and double switching them into the game to pitch? That's unique. However, nobody hit a flyball to LF during any of this, so the theory wasn't even tested in this game.

 

Why on the list? - I mean, it's memorable, nobody had ever done it before, and it was obscure enough that even Len and JD had to double check the rules on it. Plus it annoyed Bryan Price to no end, which made it doubly worth it. Plus, the Cubs won the game, marking it as Spencer Patton's only career Cub victory, in a game he also played LF. This is also the lone Joel Peralta positive WPA outing as he got Votto to line into a DP to end the 13th. How did the Cubs score five runs in the 15th, you ask? Well, see for yourself:

 

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Love this idea. I took my 16 year old daughter to this game and had an absolute blast. Thanks for doing this.

[Derwood]

Mallee jumping around the dugout in that clip is hilarious

[bukie]

#98: Javy Baez Tags Like None Other

 

 

Why on the list? - Okay, it's not one moment, it's a season of moments. But it's difficult to justify two separate "Javy tag" moments on the list, and it's hard to pick just one (and these are just the regular season!) of these. I actually think my favorite is where he basically slaps Janikowski in the face, not sure why.

[We Got The Whole 9]

#98: Javy Baez Tags Like None Other

 

 

Why on the list? - Okay, it's not one moment, it's a season of moments. But it's difficult to justify two separate "Javy tag" moments on the list, and it's hard to pick just one (and these are just the regular season!) of these. I actually think my favorite is where he basically slaps Janikowski in the face, not sure why.

Love the way Janikowski just lays there dumfounded of what happened

[bukie]

#97: Grimm Wins Game With One Pitch, Cubs' Scrubs Good Enough to Beat Reds in Season Finale

 

 

Why on the list? - Grimm picks up the most efficient win of the year, throwing a single pitch before the Cubs take the lead in the 9th. Szczur and Montero provide the heroics on what was the final game of the season. That was actually Szczur's final plate appearance of the year.