The Cleveland Indians, the runner up in the 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series, went up 3-1 and lost to the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs, who were the previous holders of the longest time without a World Series title, passed it onto the the Indians after coming back from a difficult 3-1 deficit. The Cleveland Indians now hold the record for the longest time without a World Series Title of 68 years.
The Indians were known― for the past 10 months― as the team of losses, but now they are known as the team with the longest ever winning streak in the American League. The team started their 22-game win streak on August 25, and won all games without going into the extra innings until Sept. 14. The team played the Kansas City Royals with hopes of continuing their win streak, when in the 9th inning, they were down for the first time in the bottom of the 9th. The Indians were down 2-1 and the team began a rally. Pinch hitter Tyler Naquin stepped up to the plate, and started off the rally with a single to left field. The next batter, Francisco Mejía, grounded into fielder’s choice to second,with Naquin out at second. With two outs in the bottom of the 9th, the Indians’ last batter, Francisco Lindor, stepped up to the plate. Two strikes down, he hit a double to left, scoring Mejia, and kept the Indians streak alive. The inning ended with a groundout.
The top of the 10th inning ended without any runs being scored. Jose Ramirez started the bottom of the 10th out with a double to right-center field. The following play, the Royals walked Edwin Encarnacion. In the next play, 32 year old Jay Bruce walked up to the plate. He took a few pitches, then hit a slicing ball to right, doubling and scoring Ramirez from second, winning the game.
But in the next game, the Indians— who were against the same team— did not do as well. The team was in a similar situation as the previous game. They were down 4-3 from the 6th inning to the end of the game, which ended the 22 game winning streak on September 15. The entire Indians team showed the fans that gave them their cheers for the entirety of their streak a standing ovation after the loss.
Head coach Terry Francona led the team out to show their appreciation to the fans. He recalled in an interview to ESPN.
“They’ve been so supportive. The atmosphere around here is incredible and I think our players wanted to show their appreciation. It’s by no means the last game of the year or anything like that, it’s just been pretty incredible how they’ve reacted and we just wanted to show our appreciation because we don’t take it for granted.”
The Indians’ streak was four wins away from being the longest in all of MLB history― currently held by the 1916 New York Giants. The Indians showed that they are the top team, having the best record in the American League, passing the Houston Astros in their win streak. The team clinched the top seed in the American League as of September 17, 2017.
The team is back to winning with two straight wins following their loss.