The most significant postseason of modern times didn't just crown a champion, bust a curse and leave millions of Americans wondering what they could do to get that "Go Cubs Go" song out of their heads.
More than that, it opened a window -- a window into where the sport of baseball has evolved and where it is going. So if you looked through that window, what did you see?
You saw a sneak preview of the stars of the future on parade, for one thing. If you don't believe that players such as Francisco Lindor, Corey Seager, Noah Syndergaard, Aaron Sanchez, Julio Urias, Roberto Osuna and those young Cubs studs are going to leave a major impression on this game, you were clearly paying way too much attention to your fantasy football lineup.
But beyond those bright young faces, there was much more to see through that window. So let's hone in now on two of those sights. One could have a gigantic impact on this sport off the field. The other could signal a profound change on the field. Here's what we mean:
Could the Cubs be the Warriors of baseball?
More than 40 million people watched the baseball game that decided the World Series -- the most in a quarter-century. An estimated 5 million people showed up at the Cubs' World Series parade -- the largest gathering of human beings for any reason in the recorded history of the Western Hemisphere.
So ... get the impression that there's a little interest in this team?
Oh, maybe it will turn out that the Cubs are just trending because they did something that hadn't exactly been the specialty of their house for the previous century. But inside Major League Baseball, it feels like more than that.
This sport has been waiting for years for a team like this to come along. A team that moves the needle in a way that other champs don't. A team that transcends its city, its market or any sort of traditional geographic blip on the radar screen.
Well, if baseball can't turn this team into That Team, then it might be time to conclude it can't be done. Not in this sport, at least.
But all the evidence suggests it can. And it's happening. Right before your eyes.
The data verifies it: ratings, social media traffic, merchandise sales. And every force baseball could ask for to make this sustainable is all lined up to keep this meteor shooting through the American sky.
• Staying power: Is there any reason to think this club isn't built to last? It had seven position players, age 26 or younger, who got more than 250 plate appearances. That's the most by any World Series champion since the 1942 Cardinals, a team that went on to play in three straight World Series and four of five -- and win three of them. Every one of those Cubs players is under control through at least 2020.
• Star power: Maybe there's no one Cub who is the baseball equivalent of Stephen Curry. But for sheer quantity of transcendent personalities, what team in baseball compares with this one? It employs two of the top four finishers in the MVP voting (Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo). And two of the top three in the Cy Young balloting (Kyle Hendricks and Jon Lester), plus last year's Cy Young winner (Jake Arrieta). Not to mention the runner-up for NL Manager of the Year (Joe Maddon). And the World Series MVP (Ben Zobrist). And a whole array of rising stars beyond that group, in Javier Baez, Addison Russell, Kyle Schwarber and Willson Contreras. But in a moment, you'll see that this isn't just about their star power as baseball players.
• The power to connect with fans: Face it. One of the biggest problems baseball has had in attracting people outside its core fan base is that way too many franchises and way too many players say no when they should be saying yes -- to stuff that Curry, LeBron James, Peyton Manning and stars in other sports have done for years. But this is a group that gets it. Has there been a single day, since they won the World Series, where you haven't seen a delegation of Cubs showing up in front of somebody's camera with everyone from Jimmy Fallon to Ellen DeGeneres? It doesn't feel like it. And that means more in popular American 21st-century culture than you'd think.
"When you see them dancing on 'Saturday Night Live' and you see them laughing on Ellen and Jimmy Kimmel and 'The Tonight Show,' these are all the things that go with being a crossover team and crossover personalities," one baseball official said. "They've really embraced the moment."
Study after study has shown that what the casual fan wants most from its stars, in this culture, is access. Well, have you checked out your social media streams lately? This team is out there, letting its personality show -- and letting the world in to share their fun.
Anthony Rizzo [emoji]10004[/emoji] @ARizzo44
@D_Ross3 making the daytime television circuit figuring out which shows he will be watching now that he has all that time on his hands
Anthony Rizzo [emoji]10004[/emoji] @ARizzo44
@DexterFowler @benzobrist18 and I are going head to head with @KrisBryant_23 on @JimmyKimmelLive tonight. Who will be the funnier guests?
Kris Bryant [emoji]10004[/emoji] @KrisBryant_23
@ARizzo44 @DexterFowler @benzobrist18 @JimmyKimmelLive I voted for myself!
David Ross [emoji]10004[/emoji] @D_Ross3
@KrisBryant_23 @ARizzo44 @DexterFowler @benzobrist18 @JimmyKimmelLive I'm voting for KB b/c he let me fly on his jet! #Rizzdidn't
Kris Bryant [emoji]10004[/emoji] @KrisBryant_23
@ARizzo44 @DexterFowler @benzobrist18 @JimmyKimmelLive 3 against one?!
Anthony Rizzo [emoji]10004[/emoji] @ARizzo44
I hear you thrive when down 3 to 1
And what has been the upshot of all that Twitter merriment? The Cubs have exploded on social media. That's what. According to statista.com, it took them four years (2011 to 2015) to reach 500,000 Twitter followers. This year, they've gained more than 500,000 just since Opening Day. So they're now up to more than 1.36 million, the third-most followers in baseball (behind the Yankees and Red Sox). That's more than the Royals and Indians combined.
What's the magic formula for any team to reach breakout orbit, the point where it begins turning nonsports fans into sports fans, nonbaseball fans into baseball fans and non-Chicagoans into Cubs fans? I think we're looking at it.
So it turns out the Cubs didn't just leave their mark on this postseason. They appear to have left their mark on future seasons. And if that's how it turns out, their sport will be eternally grateful.
