Chicago Cubs: Looking back at Willson’s NLDS two-run RBI vs Giants

The year 2016 is just about over. We are winding down to New Year’s Eve. Also, another year of Chicago Cubs baseball.

It was just announced that the Associated Press sports story of the year was the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series. In Chicago, CSN-TV is playing back all of the Cubs’ games in the recent playoffs, including the now classic World Series.

For Cubs fans, that’s gotta be a lot of wintry delight to relish what most Cubs fans thought would never come, a world championship. Along the way, there were some special moments. Hits that will go down in Cubs history.

Such as Miguel Montero’s amazing pinch-hit grand slam in the ninth inning at home in game one of the NLCS versus the LA Dodgers. Montero’s hit broke a tie and the Chicago Cubs went on the win the opener of a thrilling series.

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Of course, the Ben Zobrist’s key hit in the top of the ninth inning against Cleveland to give the Cubs a 7-6 lead and break the tie.

In the same inning, Montero hit a huge single to score another insurance run that the Chicago Cubs would need to hold on to an 8-7 win.

But Willson Contreras’ two-run single in Game 4 of the NLDS vs. the San Francisco Giants was a huge hit and deserves mention.

West Coast Rally

Contreras hit a grounder up the middle in the top of the ninth inning to break a 5-3 tie and the Chicago Cubs later would add another run to take a 6-5 lead going into the last of the ninth inning in San Francisco. It seemed that Bruce Bochy used up his entire bullpen but could not get anyone out.

The Cubs rallied for four runs to eventually win the game 6-5 and clinch the NLDS.  Contreras came off the bench to hit for Chris Coghlan who was announced as a pinch-hitter. But Bochy and Maddon were making managerial moves, and Bochy went to his bullpen with Will Smith to face Contreras.

Willson was called up in the middle of the season and promptly won the starting catching job by replacing Miguel Montero. With Anthony Rizzo on first and Ben Zobrist on second base, Contreras hit a 1-1 pitch to send the ball bouncing up the middle of the infield and that scored two runs. The game was now tied, 5-5.

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That hit signaled a moment. It said: the Cubs had a lot of fight in them. The Cubs took the lead on a Javier Baez base hit and then closer Aroldis Chapman came in the game to do his thing in the last of ninth. Soon, the Cubbies were NLDS champs were heading to an NLCS series. That game four was a nail-biter and heralded much more to come in the Cubs’ run to the title.

“Everything fell into place,” manager Joe Maddon would later tell the press. It certainly did, and the Cubs had a heck of a win.