1938 Chicago Cubs

 Time distorts all perceptions. There are those of us who only think of the Cubs as that team that won the World Series in 2016 and how they had a massive title drought beforehand. Then there are those of us who lived that drought, watching those lovable losers fail year after year after year until their streak of futility hit 100 and even then it kept going. Some blamed luck, other blamed bad ownership, the rest pointed fingers at a goat (no, literally). Perhaps it was a combination of things (but not the goat) but the fact remained that the Cubs never stopped trying to get back to the top of the mountain despite the amount of times they'd get smacked back down.

In 1938, the Cubs were back again trying to climb that mountain. The previous season saw them win 93 games but finish a close 2nd for the pennant behind the Giants, and '38 didn't start too promising. By late July, the Cubs were in 3rd place and trailing the Pirates by 6 games. The decision was made to drop Charlie Grimm as Manager and install Catcher Gabby Hartnett as Player-Manager. Things picked up, and the Cubs staged a comeback in the home stretch of the season.

In the final week of games, the Cubs met the Pirates at home and just a half game back of 1st place. The game was tied 5-5 in the 9th, and darkness was threatening to cancel the game. By rule, if the game was called due to darkness in a tie game, it would be replayed from the start the next day. With 2 outs, Gabby Hartnett stepped in and hit a walk-off homer to win the game for the Cubs, putting them into 1st place where they'd never relinquish. The "Homer in the Gloamin" would ultimately put the Cubs back in the World Series.

Despite the momentum and the excitement of how they clinched the NL, the 89-63 Cubs still had to contend with a dynasty if they wanted to win the World Series. Waiting for the Cubs were the 2-time defending World Series champion New York Yankees. There would be no dramatic victories by Chicago, as the Yankees easily swept the Cubs 4-0 to take their own 3rd straight title.

The Cubs hero in more ways than one. Hartnett took over the club and led them to a 44-27 record down the stretch to take 1st place while still maintaining his all star year. The future Hall of Famer would cap off his season with one of the most famous Home Runs in Cubs history as he finished 10th in MVP voting.

Another future Hall of Famer, Herman would join his crew at that years all star game.

Stan Hack was the leagues best base thief, leading with 16 Stolen Bases in '38. He also led the Cubs with 195 Hits, 94 Walks, 109 Runs and a .320 BA. The all star finished 7th in MVP voting.

The rest of the lineup. Collins would pace the team with 13 Home Runs while Augie Galan would be the top RBI man with a nice 69.

Cubs bench was pretty tame with one notable exception. As his Hall of Fame career was winding down, Tony Lazzeri made a stop in Chicago. The World Series magic didn't follow him though.

Staff ace Bill Lee led the NL with 22 Wins and 9 Shutouts. He was the lone all star pitcher from the Cubs and finished 2nd in the MVP race.

Clay Bryant held his own, with 19 Wins and a league leading 135 Strikeouts.

The back half of the Cubs rotation was a bit more...lacking. Cubs ownership did insist on finding one more Starter...

There were no "Closers" in 1938, but Charlie Root was usually the guy Chicago called upon to close out winning games, getting 9 "Saves" for the Cubbies.

Other spare arms in the bullpen. A couple intriguing rookie call-ups among them.

Dizzy Dean was another future Hall of Famer that stopped by the North Side. He was trying to bounce back from an injury in 1938, but Cubs management *had* to have Dizzy, so a deal was struck. He wasn't quite the ace he was with the Cardinals, but his 7-1 record was a big help for the pennant. Just like with Lazzeri, though, the magic he enjoyed in winning World Series games in the past wasn't available for the Cubs to capitalize on.