CLEVELAND -- Tuesday night at Progressive Field in Cleveland, the Cubs and Indians will open the 112th World Series with Game 1. Corey Kluber and Jon Lester are the scheduled starters. Here's how you can watch Game 1.
Both the Cubs and Indians are looking to snap long title droughts. The Cubs haven't won a championship since way back in 1908. Heck, this is their first pennant since 1945. Yeah, it has been a while. The Indians, meanwhile, have not won a title since 1948. One long-suffered fan base will have its dream come true this year.
Coincidentally enough, the last time the Cubs and Indians had a chance to snap their championship droughts, the same team got in the way: the then-Florida Marlins. The Marlins beat the Indians in the 1997 World Series, then eliminated the Cubs in the 2003 NLCS. Both series featured big-time heartbreak.
The 2003 NLCS went seven games, but Game 6 is the infamous one. The Cubbies led 3-0 after seven innings before a combination of things led to an eight-run inning for the Marlins. Among those things: Steve Bartman, Alex Gonzalez's error and Dusty Baker leaving Mark Prior in too long.
The Cubs had a 3-1 series lead in the 2003 NLCS before dropping Games 5-7. Josh Beckett threw a shutout in Game 5, all that crazy stuff happened in Game 6, then the Marlins won a battle of the bullpens in Game 7. The Cubs were eliminated and the Marlins went on to beat the Yankees in the World Series.
The 1997 World Series also went seven games, and Game 7 was one of the most exciting games of the past two decades. The Indians had a 2-1 lead going into the bottom of the ninth, but the Marlins rallied against Jose Mesa to tie the game and send it to extra innings. Singles by Moises Alou and Charles Johnson set the rally up, and a Craig Counsell sac fly got the tying run in.
In the 11th inning, the Marlins loaded the bases with one out on a single (Bobby Bonilla), an error (Tony Fernandez) and an intentional walk (Jim Eisenreich). Charles Nagy got Devon White to hit a ground ball to second base, allowing the Indians to get the force at home for the second out. Young Edgar Renteria came through with the World Series-winning walk-off single, scoring Counsell:
Unlike the Cubs in the 2003 NLCS, the Indians never had the series lead in the 1997 World Series. The Marlins took Game 1 and the two teams alternated wins the rest of the way.
The Marlins have only been to the postseason twice in franchise history and they won the World Series both times. Along the way, they added to the misery of the Indians and Cubs, who have been waiting a very long time to win a championship. This year, those two teams meet head-to-head, and one club is going to walk away happy while the other leaves with another year added to their title drought.