It’s been a full month since the last Major League Baseball game was played. Most seasons, fans have a general idea of when the season will end. The World Series is always the final series, but it might last four games and it might last seven. This year it lasted seven games. We as fans entered that Wednesday evening knowing that one of the two teams, the Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs, would be crowned champions. That alone was thrilling.
The context of the game made it even more thrilling. The Chicago Cubs are well-known for their large gap of years between championships, but on the other side of the ball was the Cleveland Indians. They were, and remain to this day, the team in the American League with the longest World Series drought. That night a champion would be crowned, and it would be for the first time in far too long for either franchise. An already thrilling game seven suddenly had a much deeper meaning.
By the end of the night, many were calling it the best game of all-time. If they weren’t willing to go that far, others remarked that it was the best game of their lifetime or the best game they’d ever watched. Recency bias played its part that night, no doubt. Fans were left speechless multiple times throughout the game. By the time it was over, it seemed as though baseball had nothing more to give. A game 7 for the World Series. Being played by two teams with a long history of losing. A late game-tying home run. Extra innings. A rain delay. The game simply had it all.
For that reason, I think it’s fitting that we look back now, a month removed from the game, and take stock of the moments that seemed so thrilling at the time. I have compiled what I determined to be the top 10 moments from the game. The rankings of the moments were determined based on effect they had on the game and context based on the series, player’s history, etc.. May this serve as a reminder that remarks of it being the best game of all-time were not completely farfetched.
A couple moments that didn’t quite make the top ten: Kyle Schwarber‘s infield single and subsequent stolen base in the first inning. Rajai Davis‘s single in the bottom of the 10th that pulled the Indians within one run of the Cubs.