The 2016 Cubs are like us, they love to remember that season

The Cubs Convention Saturday was highlighted with a 45 minute session featuring members of the 2016 World Series championship team. The team had dominated Friday night, especially after they got shitfaced and showed up for the final segment of Ryan Dempster's fake talk show. So it was pretty clear that the Saturday session would be much tamer. Especially given the participants.

Not that there wasn't star power, important players from the World Series or guys who can be funny. But the participants were World Series MVP Ben Zobrist, the guy who got the last out of the World Series Mike Montgomery, the guy who drove in the winning run Miguel Montero, the guy who caught the final out Anthony Rizzo, fan favorite Pedro Strop, and...Justin Grimm?

Don't worry, Grimm proved his value right away.

Before the session I was trying to guess who would host this one. It didn't make sense for Boog Sciambi to, because he wasn't there for that season. Pat Hughes is a lot of things but a guy to host a free wheeling discussion of anything isn't one. I figured it would be Jim Deshaies. He was the perfect combination of being fun and cool and a key announcer during that entire season.

What I didn't expect is that it would be Ron Coomer. The reason I didn't expect him to do it was because he's hosted panels in the past and he just talks way too much. Boog does, too, but Coomer really hogs the mic.

But don't worry. He hosted this and, he was really terrible at it.

I like Ron. Who doesn't? But he was basically just in the way during this entire session.

It started off with Anthony Rizzo saying something really true, and Coomer over the top acting like it offended Cubs players before the Theo Epstein regime. I mean, maybe it did, but it didn't make it inaccurate.

"You come to the Cubs, and you see a fanbase that has been given nothing, except for some players."

He's not wrong.

From 1945 to when Anthony showed up in 2012 the Cubs were mostly terrible, but with more Hall of Famers than you'd expect for a team that had won jack shit during that time.

After Coomer acted offended, Rizzo said, "For me, it was, "Oh my god, that's Mark Grace!"

That's an underrated aspect of the Cubs from 1988 to 2021. Over that 33 year span the Cubs had Mark Grace, Derrek Lee or Anthony Rizzo playing first base for 30 years.

Thirty-one of you include Frank Schwindel. Which you shouldn't.

And they served as proof that you could have star level players and still not that many good teams.

Anyway, Coomer asked the guys if they had a particular memorable moment from that season, and this is where Grimm sprang to life.

"For me, it was the double play [the one the Cubs turned to win the pennant against the Dodgers], the stadium erupted the loudest it's ever been. And, Miggy's grand slam. We went to the clubhouse and Miggy was all, "You see that shit? I did that shit! I fucking got him!"

You could feel parents in the ballroom covering their kids' ears. It was great.

Coomer kept interrupting Miggy while he was trying to explain that a moment he really enjoyed was the walkoff homer the day (after) the Cubs clinched the division.

The Cubs officially clinched the division on Thursday, September 15 (after only 146 games) when the Reds lost late at night to the Giants in San Francisco.

So the Cubs planned to celebrate after their Friday game, no matter whether they won or not. They were hosting the Brewers, and the Cubs started a riveting lineup that included Matt Szczur leading off in right, Chris Coghlan at first, Tommy La Stella at third and Munenori Kawasaki at second. They fell behind 2-0 after two innings, tied it, but then fell behind 4-2 in the seventh.

Montero entered the game in the fourth inning and Willson Contreras went from catcher to left. Joe Maddon was clearly entertaining himself.

But the Cubs rallied in the ninth to tie the game at four on RBI singles by Coghlan and Addison Russell, and Joe went to Aroldis to pitch the tenth because...? Miggy led off the bottom of the tenth with a bomb to left off of Blaine Boyer and started the party. Was it important? No. Was it fun? Yeah. Was it fitting for the best Cubs team of our lives to celebrate a dominant regular season on a win? Of course.

Mike Montgomery's most memorable moment was obvious, and as he was trying to explain it, Miggy interrupted him, with, "Two pitches!"

Montgomery laughed and explained, "I was so nervous and Miggy didn't help me out. He had no clue what we were going to do and he just walked away and left me hanging."

Montero laughed, "It was 40 degrees out and he was sweating!"

Rizzo's favorite moment had more to do with mindset than anything else. "Mine was early in the year in Arizona. Lackey gave up for or five early, and we just knew we were still goign to win. That early game was a big tone setter for us."

The game he's talking about was April 7, and he was right. Lackey gave up three runs in the first and six runs over the first three innings and the Cubs had taken a 9-5 lead by the fourth and won 14-6.

But that's not what we all remember about that game. It was the game when Kyle Schwarber ran into Dexter Fowler and blew out his knee.

Montero followed that up with, "When we would lose a game, we'd be like 'Did we lose? How did that happen?'"

And Rizzo made a great point about why they were able to come back so often. "We had guys in the bullpen like Grimm, who was really a back end guy, but Joe would use him when we were behind. He'd go to guys like that and we weren't giving up any more runs so we could come back."

Strop was trying to come up with a moment, and Coomer suggested it should be him high stepping along with Kris Bryant after a walk off homer. Pedro not only reenacted the high step he had a funny story about why he was so excited that day.

"I called that homer," he said. "I was warming up and it was going to be my third day in a row. I was sore, and I didn't want to pitch. So I just said, 'Come on KB, hit one.' And he did."

Zobrist said his was right before his iconic hit in game seven. "I was looking at Terry Francona in their dugout and his head swinging back and forth between Rizzo and me, and he finally said, 'Yeah, we gotta walk Rizzo here.' But it worked out."

Rizzo talked about why they had so much fun with their first reunion. "The ten years apart thing is the perfect amount for us to love each other again. It was like we had just won a playoff series again when we got together. Thats' what it felt like."

His favorite walk-off homer wasn't one of his, it was Javy winning the Mother's Day game against the Nationals with a pink bat and, "Ending up on the cover of [Sports Illustrated.]"

And when asked what the craziest play he remembered from that season he didn't hesitate.

"Jon Lester picking off Tommy Pham."

Eat shit Tim McCarver.

Rizzo said Lester had been doing early work on his pickoff throw for weeks, and Anthony kept trying to convince him to just try it in a game. "I will not let the ball get by me. I'll be like a goalie, just trust me."

Coomer claims he knew Rizzo was going to do it and just couldn't say it on the air. Sure, Ron.

A lot of little kids were asking questions at this session. Why? They weren't around for the season. And right away we got back to back scintillating questions from them.

Kid one (not pictured) - "What was it like to win the World Series?"
Next question was by Kid two (pictured) - "What was your favorite part of winning the World Series?"

These guys are going to have long careers at CBS News.

Rizzo was then asked by someone to share something about that season that happened off the field that the public doesn't know about.

"There was a flight where we were feeling good, and team bartender Travis Wood was serving up cocktails. Stropy spilled something and Wood took his shirt off and yelled, "Where's Stropy?" and tried to start a fight with him. To do this day when I see either of them, that's the first thing I say, "Where's Stropy?" We loved each other a lot, and ten years later we do again, but it was the end of a two year run of being together a lot."

And, Anthony repeated a story he started to tell on Friday night about why the team was so close. "Everybody went to every team dinner because they knew the Jons, Jon Lester or John Lackey would pay. So we were together a lot. Ordering a lot of expensive wine."

Then, another kid asked what the players were thinking when they were down in game seven. Coomer told him it was "a great question." The players all gave thoughtful answers. Zobrist said it was the only time he thought maybe they were actually cursed. Miggy said, "I honestly thought we were done. But we got through the ninth, and I felt good about the tenth with Schwarber leading off."

That's great. BUT THE CUBS WERE NEVER BEHIND! It may have felt like it, but the Rajai Davis tied the game. Not only did the Cubs not trail in game seven, they never trailed in game six, and in game five they took the lead in the fourth inning and never trailed again...in the entire series.

But that spurred discussion of something I'm obsessed with about not just the World Series, but the entire playoffs.

Montero said, "Getting through that ninth inning was huge for us."

Rizzo said, "Rossy gives all the credit to Miggy." And he turned to Miggy and said, "You came in the game in the ninth and called an all new ballgame. Rossy was afraid to call for breaking balls with Chappy. He was calling all fastballs, and you came in and called for breaking pitches and got through the heart of their order."

YES!

But it wasn't just the World Series. David Ross caught 34 pitches from Aroldis Chapman in the 2016 playoffs and EVERY ONE OF THEM WAS A FUCKING FASTBALL. It's insane. No matter how good a guy's fastball is, you have to get hitters off it at least once in a while. Between that and Ross' error and the passed ball he fell down on, Grandpa should have been the biggest goat in Cubs' World Series history if they'd lost that game.

Coomer asked each player how long they spent in the minors, and it led to a funny exchange.

Mike Montgomery said eight years.

Rizzo laughed and said, "You were a first rounder. That's why you got eight years. First rounders get every chance."
And Montero laughed and said, "You were a first rounder?" to Montgomery.

They talked about weird places where fans have just come up to them and wanted a hug and to thank them. Zobrist said his was in St. Louis with his brother a couple of years after the Series. Montero said his was on a cruise ship, and one of the guys yelled, "In the middle of the ocean with nowhere to hide!"

And Rizzo wrapped up the entire session with a smirk and a smartassed laugh and said to the crowd..."You're welcome."

All in all, that was a fun session. And, it was pretty clear that if Marquee had any ambition, Rizzo, Strop and Montero would have big roles on their pre and postgame shows. I know they're all loaded and busy with other stuff. But they clearly enjoy talking about the Cubs still.

But hey, at least we have...Ryan Sweeney?

And, if you like to remember the 2016 Cubs (and who doesn't?) you can read all about it in my book, "The Immortals" on sale now!