Seiya's title goals aren't too big for Cubs. Just look at the roster
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This story was excerpted from Jordan Bastian’s Cubs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
When the Cubs broke their 108-year World Series title drought by winning it all in 2016, it looked as though they would contend for a championship in the years to come.
It didn’t play out that way. Though Chicago reached the postseason in three of the next four years, there was no return to the Fall Classic, and the Cubs are entering the 2024 campaign looking to get back to the playoffs for the first time in four years.
The 2016 championship was glorious for the North Siders, who seemed to have a dynamic young core set up for sustained success. But by ’22, only three players from that group remained in a Cubs uniform: Kyle Hendricks, Willson Contreras and Jason Heyward.
Gone were Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Javier Báez and Kyle Schwarber. Just arriving were Patrick Wisdom, Nico Hoerner, Justin Steele and Adbert Alzolay.
But as the new season dawns this year, a glance at the roster shows that there is some significant World Series experience. For a team that missed the postseason by one game in 2023 while watching the club that edged it for the third National League Wild Card spot make a run all the way to the Fall Classic, a World Series appearance doesn’t seem far away.
Far from it.
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“I want to win the World Series.” That’s what right fielder Seiya Suzuki told Marquee Sports Network’s Elise Menaker during the Cubs’ Cactus League contest against the Guardians on Sunday afternoon.
And given the teammates who will be beside him on the field, Suzuki will have access to plenty of experience under the brightest lights of October as the latest iteration of the storied franchise tries to once again reach baseball’s pinnacle.
Cody Bellinger, whom the Cubs re-signed to a three-year, $80 million contract after his renaissance at the plate in 2023, has played in 18 World Series games. Shortstop Dansby Swanson helped the Braves win it all in '21, launching a pair of homers in a six-game win over the Astros.
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Catcher Yan Gomes has played in two World Series -- one against the Cubs while with Cleveland in 2016, and another with the Nationals in ’19. Reliever Hector Neris made three World Series appearances for Houston in ’22. And Hendricks, of course, was an indispensable member of the historic drought-busting Cubs of ’16.
The Fall Classic familiarity extends beyond the players. New manager Craig Counsell played in 13 World Series games and won a pair of rings. He scored the winning run in Game 7 of the 1997 World Series with the Marlins and played a key role in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series, in which he helped the D-backs win it all in another dramatic finish.
The NL Central is said to be wide open in 2024. But the Cubs have some personnel who know what it's like to reach well beyond divisional dreams. Suzuki’s World Series wish is much more than a far-fetched fantasy.