The 10 best MLB teams of the now-concluding 2010s
4. 2016 Chicago Cubs, 16 ½ points
The Cubs famously broke their 108-year-old World Series drought with a team that deserved the championship it won. Chicago entered post-season play with both the majors’ best record – 103-58 – and the best pitching staff.
Jon Lester went 19-5 and Jake Arrieta 18-8 to lead that staff, but Kyle Hendricks contributed a 16-8 record and 2.13 ERA. Chicago’s 133 ERA+ was 11 points better than any other team.
Its offense, with Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo as the focal points, ranked fourth with a 104 OPS+ behind only Boston, Detroit, and Seattle.
The Cubs eliminated San Francisco in four games in the division round, then beat the Dodgers in six in the NLCS to earn their first World Series trip since 1945. In an emotional Series replete with stories of multi-generational fan bases on both sides, the Cubs fell behind the mutually title-starved Cleveland Indians 3 games to 1, then came back to win the final three games.
The seventh, a World Series classic, saw the Cubs surrender a three-run lead on Rajai Davis’ eighth-inning home run, then survive a brief rain delay before winning 8-7 in extra innings. In the 10th, World Series MVP Ben Zobrist and Miguel Montero drove in the go-ahead runs, and journeyman Mike Montgomery recorded the final out.