It was raining. Not a downpour, just a steady, annoying drizzle that changed the course of sports history. If you were sitting in Progressive Field on November 2, 2016, or hunched over a cold beer in a North Side Chicago tavern, you remember the smell of that damp air. The 2016 Game Seven World Series wasn't just a baseball game. It was a 108-year-old exorcism broadcast in high definition.
People forget how high the stakes actually felt. This wasn't just two teams playing for a trophy; it was a collision of two fanbases that had turned suffering into a personality trait. The Chicago Cubs hadn't won since 1908. The Cleveland Indians (now the Guardians) hadn't won since 1948. Somebody's heart had to break. It ended up being Cleveland's, but the way it happened was so chaotic that even Cubs fans will tell you they aged a decade in four hours.
The Dexter Fowler Lead-Off and the Chaos That Followed
Dexter Fowler did something nobody had ever done in a Game 7. He hit a lead-off home run. Right out of the gate, the vibe shifted. Corey Kluber, who had been an absolute cyborg for Cleveland throughout the postseason, looked human. He was pitching on short rest for the third time in the series. You could see it in the velocity. The ball wasn't jumping out of his hand like it did in Game 1.
The Cubs built a 5-1 lead. It felt over. Honestly, it felt like a blowout. Then, Joe Maddon started making moves that still get debated in Chicago sports bars today. He pulled Kyle Hendricks—who was pitching a masterclass—after a walk and a questionable strike call in the fifth inning. He brought in Jon Lester on short rest. Lester is a legend, but he’s a starter. Putting him in with runners on base was a recipe for weirdness, and weirdness is exactly what happened when a wild pitch scored two runs for Cleveland.
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Suddenly, it was 5-3. The air in Cleveland got heavy.
That Rajai Davis Home Run
If you want to talk about the loudest moment in the history of Ohio, this is it. The 8th inning. Aroldis Chapman is on the mound for the Cubs. He's gassed. He’d been used like a rented mule for three straight games. Rajai Davis, a veteran who wasn’t exactly known for towering power, steps up.
He fouls off a few. Then, he catches a 98-mph heater.
The ball cleared the left-field wall, skimming the camera well. The sound was visceral. It was a scream that had been muffled since 1948 finally letting loose. The game was tied 6-6. At that moment, every Cubs fan on the planet thought the "Curse of the Goat" was real. They thought they were destined to lose again. Chapman was on the mound looking like he wanted the Earth to swallow him whole. David Ross, the veteran catcher playing in his final game, was stunned.
The Rain Delay That Changed Everything
Then came the 9th inning. Neither team scored. We headed to the 10th. And then, the sky opened up.
A 17-minute rain delay. It sounds like nothing, right? But in the 2016 Game Seven World Series, those seventeen minutes were everything. The Cubs were reeling. They had just blown a three-run lead in the most heartbreaking way possible. They were shell-shocked.
Jason Heyward, a guy who had struggled at the plate all year, called a meeting in a small weight room behind the dugout. He didn't talk about mechanics. He didn't talk about the score. He basically told them, "We’re the best team in the world. Forget what just happened. Go out and play like it."
It worked.
When the tarp came off, the Cubs looked like a different team. Ben Zobrist—the ultimate professional—hit a double down the left-field line to score Albert Almora Jr. Then Miguel Montero singled in Anthony Rizzo. 8-6.
The Final Out and the End of a Century
Cleveland didn't go quietly. They never did. In the bottom of the 10th, they clawed back a run. It was 8-7. Michael Martinez came to the plate. Mike Montgomery was on the mound for Chicago.
A slow roller to third. Kris Bryant, with a smile on his face before he even gripped the ball, threw it to Anthony Rizzo.
The drought was over.
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Why We Still Study This Game
From a tactical standpoint, the 2016 Game Seven World Series is a goldmine for "what not to do" with a pitching staff. Joe Maddon’s usage of Chapman is still a cautionary tale in modern analytics. You can’t burn a closer for three innings in Game 5 and two innings in Game 6 and expect him to be untouchable in Game 7. It nearly cost them the title.
On the other side, Terry Francona did everything right with a decimated rotation. He had no starters left. He was playing a game of chess with a half-empty board. The fact that Cleveland even got to a 10th inning in Game 7 is a testament to the brilliance of Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez.
Common Misconceptions:
- The Cubs dominated: They didn't. They were one swing away from losing several times.
- The rain delay was long: It was only 17 minutes. People remember it as an hour because of the tension.
- Chapman was the loser: He actually got the win. Baseball is weird like that.
Lessons from the 10th Inning
If you're looking for the takeaway from this historic night, it’s not just about baseball. It’s about the psychology of the "reset." The Cubs were mentally broken after the 8th inning. Without that rain delay—that literal "cooling off" period—Cleveland likely carries the momentum and wins in the bottom of the 9th or 10th.
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Actionable Insights for Fans and Analysts:
- Watch the "Value" of the Bullpen: This game effectively ended the era of the "workhorse closer" in the postseason. Teams now pivot to "closers by committee" much faster because they saw what happened to Chapman’s arm.
- Study the Heyward Speech: It’s a masterclass in leadership. When your team is spiraling, you don't talk about the problem; you remind them of their identity.
- Visit the History: If you're a baseball nerd, go to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. They have the spikes Ben Zobrist wore when he hit that 10th-inning double. Seeing the physical artifacts makes the 2016 Game Seven World Series feel even more real.
- Check the Box Scores: Go back and look at the play-by-play. Notice how many times Cleveland had runners in scoring position. This wasn't a game of big hits; it was a game of inches and missed opportunities.
The 2016 World Series remains the gold standard for drama. It had the history, the weather, the legends, and the heartbreak. It was the night the "Lovable Losers" finally grew up, and a city in Ohio showed the world what grit actually looks like.
To truly understand modern baseball, you have to watch the full replay of the 10th inning. Look at the eyes of the players. They weren't playing for money or stats. They were playing because they knew that for the next fifty years, they would either be the guys who broke the curse or the guys who let it live on.
Go watch the documentary The 2016 World Series produced by Major League Baseball. It uses raw dugout footage that captures the Heyward meeting and the sheer panic in the stands. It's the closest you'll get to feeling that humidity and that hope again.