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Building a winning tradition
The Chicago Cubs had started to slowly improve but were still coming off an 89-loss season, in 2014. Then Joe Maddon happened.
The first year in Chicago for Joe Maddon was a fun one. The team improved tenfold, winning 97 games en route to the teams first National League Championship Series appearance since 2003. The following year, 2016, Joe Maddon would be the face of the team who would break a 108-year-old curse, winning the World Series in unbelievable, comeback fashion as only a curse-breaking series could do.
Last season, Maddon once again led the Cubs to another 90+ win season, going 92-70. Once again, for the third straight season, they would find themselves in the National League Championship Series. Ultimately, the season ended there as they found themselves bested by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The likes of the roster have undoubtedly helped Maddon to be able to put together a consistently winning club. However, he is phenomenal in every facet with which he is integrated. His personality is infectious, and he runs the club his way, with the trust of Theo behind him.
Maddon, as previously mentioned, just recently completed his 500th game as the manager for the Chicago Cubs. He just earned this week, his 300th win in a Cubs uniform. Case in point, Joe Maddon has been a franchise changer.