3.1 KiB
| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ex-Cubs Factor | 2/3 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex-Cubs_Factor | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T09:59:30.051451+00:00 | kb-cron |
Since 1945, of the 25 teams to reach the World Series with three or more Cubs players, only 4 have won the World Series (the 1960 Pirates, the 2001 Diamondbacks, the 2008 Phillies, and the 2012 Giants). Since its articulation in 1981, the Ex-Cubs Factor has been used to predict and explain post-season and World Series defeats for many different baseball teams. During the 1980s, the ex-Cubs factor was used to explain a number of losses by teams. It was used, in a letter to the editor, as a reason for the loss by the 1984 San Diego Padres (who ironically beat the Cubs to get to the Series) in the 1984 World Series (with three ex-Cubs) and by the collapse of the 1985 Toronto Blue Jays who had added ex-Cub Cliff Johnson on August 28 and went on to blow a 3–1 lead over the Royals in the 1985 American League Championship Series. While not falling under the curse in the traditional sense, Bill Buckner's infamous gaffe in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series can be interpreted to fit the Ex-Cubs Factor. Buckner, a former Cub, booted a ground ball hit by New York Mets batter Mookie Wilson, allowing Ray Knight to come around and score the winning run. The Mets would go on to win the series in seven games, and Buckner would never win the World Series in his career. Upon video analysis, Buckner was shown to be wearing a Cubs batting glove under his mitt when he made the error. The theory became more prominent in 1990 when it was popularized by syndicated Chicago Tribune columnist Mike Royko and continued predictions by Ron Berler. On October 16, 1990, Berler again asserted the ex-Cubs factor as the reason that the favored Oakland Athletics, with ex-Cubs Scott Sanderson, Dennis Eckersley, and Ron Hassey, would lose the 1990 World Series (which they did by getting swept by the Cincinnati Reds). Berler cited it again as a reason for the defeat of the league-leading 1991 Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1991 National League Championship Series to the Atlanta Braves. Mike Royko used the ex-Cubs factor to predict the playoff collapse of the 104-win 1993 Atlanta Braves (which did occur in the 1993 National League Championship Series). The ex-Cubs factor hypothesis was used to predict the loss of the San Francisco Giants (with three ex-Cubs Shawon Dunston, Benito Santiago and Tim Worrell) to the Anaheim Angels in the 2002 World Series. The ex-Cubs factor hypothesis has also been used to explain the results of the 2004 American League Championship Series (ALCS) and the 2004 World Series, both won by the Boston Red Sox. In the 2004 ALCS, the Yankees, who had six ex-Cubs, squandered a three-game series lead to the Boston Red Sox, the first time in Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox, with only two ex-Cubs, then went on to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals, with three ex-Cubs, in the World Series. The 2009 World Series resulted in a win by the New York Yankees, with two ex-Cubs, over the Philadelphia Phillies, with three ex-Cubs.