Chicago Cubs: Ranking the top five Kyle Schwarber moments

Chicago Cubs: Cole’s look said it all…

Gerrit Cole on the mound. 2-1 count. 88 mph slider. Rawlings orb deposited into the Allegheny.

Every Cubs fan knows the moment and the importance to not only that game but the Cubs franchise. If Jake Arrieta was responsible for delivering the Cubs to the 2015 Wild Card Game with confidence, Schwarber was responsible for putting the league and all of baseball on notice with his 450-foot shot off then-Pirates ace Cole.

Hammered out of the park at 111.3 MPH and deposited safely into the Allegheny, Schwarber’s bomb served as his postseason introduction to the world: a masher with unlimited power and potential, set to be a historic home run hitter for the North Siders.

While most of that is true, the holes in the above projection have been the most glaring and hard to swallow for the Cubs organization and its fans. Schwarber has been capable of big moments and bigger bombs in his career, but he just hasn’t put it all together for a number of different reasons.

On this day, however, Schwarber’s pitch selection, swing and well-known power were on full display as he homered off one of the best pitchers in the game to help send the club on to the 2015 Division Series against the bane of Cubs fans existence in the St. Louis Cardinals.