Chicago Cubs: 10 greatest all-time teams in franchise history

10 greatest all-time teams in Chicago Cubs history – #2. 2016 (103-59)

After spending most of this looking back generations, this is a Cubs team we all fondly remember. After an abrupt end to the 2015 postseason that saw the Cubs get swept by the New York Mets in the their first NLCS appearance since 2003, Chicago now had that October experience under their belt and knew what it took to get there.

In 2016, the Cubs started the season red hot with a 25-6 record after 31 games. Reigning NL Rookie of the Year Kris Bryant continued to shine in his new-found stardom, going on to earn his second All-Star selection in as many years, blasting 39 home runs and tallying 102 RBI with a line of .292/.385/.554, becoming the Cubs first NL MVP since Sammy Sosa in 1998.

Demolishing everything and everyone in their way, the Cubs rolled to a 103-59 record, the best record they’d posted since 1910 and the first time they reached 100 wins since the 1935 Gabby Hartnett-led season. Determined not to see a repeat of the season prior, the Cubs made quick work of the San Francisco Giants, winning the NLDS, 3-1. It was now time to prove the Cubs had what it took to not let history repeat itself.

As fitting as ever, the Cubs won the pennant on the anniversary of the man’s death who swore they would never win another pennant as long as he should live, William Sianis, defeating the Dodgers in a seven-game series, four games to two. With the curse broken, the Cleveland Indians aimed to stop Chicago in its tracks, taking a commanding 3-1 series lead and leaving little room for hope in the process. The Cubs, though, made a comeback for the ages.

A memorable moment, when Jake Arrieta took the mound in Game 6, it marked only the second time a Cubs pitcher won multiple games in a World Series after Brown did it in 1908. After a historic year, the magic continued and the Cubs completed a comeback that ranks among the best in baseball history, defeating the Indians in Cleveland in a rainy, chilly winner-take-all Game 7.