Curse of Fred Merkle

The Curse of Fred Merkle has haunted the Chicago Cubs for many years. During the 1908 National League pennant race, the Cubs took advantage of a mistake by New York Giants' rookie Fred Merkle. This served to give Chicago the title. They went on to win the World Series that year, but have yet to win another one.

Situation

Original game

In 1908, the Cubs and Giants were in a fierce battle with each other for the National League pennant. The two teams played each other at the Polo Grounds in New York on September 23. It was a key matchup in the fight for the championship.

The game was tied, 1-1, in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Giants had Moose McCormick on third base and Merkle on first with two outs. Al Bridwell was the batter. Bridwell hit a single into the outfield, scoring McCormick. The Giants had an apparent victory, setting off an emotional scene of fans running onto the field.

As McCormick scored, Merkle turned and headed off the field without reaching second base. Cubs' infielder Johnny Evers saw that Fred didn't touch the base. Through the crowd of happy Giants' fans, Evers tried to get the ball in order to get the force out at second. Giants' pitcher Joe McGinnity, seeing what Evers was up to, grabbed the ball and threw it far away. Anyway, Evers managed to come up with a ball and stepped on second base. Following the rules, umpire Hank O'Day called Merkle out, cancelling the winning run. The game was declared a tie.

Replayed game

The Cubs and Giants finished the regular season tied for first place in the National League. In order to decide the pennant (and a spot in the World Series), the teams had to replay the tie game on October 8. Chicago won, 4-2, to become the champions of the National League for the third straight year. New York was left without a title they thought was theirs.

1908 World Series

The Cubs went into the World Series, where they defeated the Detroit Tigers, 4 games to 1 for their second consecutive world championship. This is the last World Series the Cubs have won - a Series in which they would not have been had they not taken advantage of Fred Merkle.

Aftermath

Since the 1908 championship, the Cubs have appeared in the World Series seven times. The team's results of these Series were:

1910 - Lost to Philadelphia Athletics, 4 games to 1
1918 - Lost to Boston Red Sox, 4 games to 2
1929 - Lost to Philadelphia Athletics, 4 games to 1
1932 - Lost to New York Yankees, 4 games to 0
1935 - Lost to Detroit Tigers, 4 games to 2
1938 - Lost to New York Yankees, 4 games to 0
1945 - Lost to Detroit Tigers, 4 games to 3

The Cubs have not won a National League championship since 1945. It is believed that the visit of a goat to Wrigley Field during the World Series that year is the reason for the team's not getting to another Series. However, the failure of the Cubs' "winning a world championship" comes from the effects of the fate they bestowed on Fred Merkle in 1908.

Further evidence of a curse

In 1998, the Cubs were in contention for the Wild Card in the National League. During this run, they had a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at County Stadium. The Cubs were one out away from an important win when outfielder Brant Brown dropped a fly ball with the bases loaded. All three runners scored, giving the Brewers the victory. This game was played on September 23, the same date that Merkle didn't touch second base 90 years earlier. Still, the Cubs became the National League's Wild Card team in '98. However, they clinched this berth with a win in a one-game playoff over the Giants. This was strangely similar to the events of 1908.

On September 23, 2008, the 100th anniversary of Merkle's boner, the Cubs were in New York, the same city where it occurred. They lost to the Mets, 6-2, at Shea Stadium that night. In addition, the Cubs became the National League Central Division champions in 2008, accumulating the highest winning percentage in the league. Despite this, they were defeated by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Division Series and, thus, denied a championship in the curse's centennial year.