Happ-ily Back in October: Happ finally gets another postseason shot |
Anthony Pasquale
· · 7 hours ago
It’s no secret that things have been bleak for sports teams in Chicago. The White Sox are coming off the worst season in MLB history. The Bears haven’t won a playoff game since 2010, when Cubs All-Star Ian Happ was in high school. The Blackhawks have been in the league’s seller since its early 2010s dynasty, and the Bulls are still coasting on Michael Jordan’s coattails — without a playoff series win since 2015.
Nobody knows how badly this city is starved for a winner better than Happ — he is the city’s longest tenured athlete after all. Although he was not with the team in 2016 when they won the World Series, Happ made his debut in 2017 and was part of that era of winning baseball. Happ was there in 2017 when the Cubs won the division and made their third straight NLCS. He was there in 2018 when the Cubs won 95 games before being eliminated in the wildcard round. He was with the Cubs in 2019 when they experienced an all-too-familiar September collapse, missing the postseason for the first time since 2014. Happ was the lone contributor in the postseason in a shortened 2020 season — in fact, he possessed the last Cubs postseason home run hit. The Pittsburgh native also was with the Cubs in 2021 and 2022 — surviving the massive selloffs that saw his teammates, and World Series Champions, find new homes. Happ stayed put after each trying deadline and instead signed an extension to stay in Chicago, hopeful for an eventual turnaround after two seasons of roughly 90 losses — the first two losing campaigns of his career. He was also a part of two exciting 2023 and 2024 Cubs teams — each falling just a few games short of a postseason berth, thanks to the aforementioned September collapse that the Cubs have unfortunately been accustomed to. The Cubs played strong ball in September, securing their spot in postseason play. The Cubs went 14-11 this month, with Happ playing a massive role in their success. This month, the 31-year-old has already clubbed seven home runs and is hitting well over .300 with a slugging percentage just below .600. It seemed only fitting that the final out of the contest that clinched the Cubs’ first postseason berth since 2020 landed in the webbing of the three-time Golden Glove of Ian Happ. Happ finished his 9th MLB season with 23 homers and 79 RBIs, with an OPS of .762. Happ has been remarkably consistent despite his peaks and valleys. This is Happ’s 5th 20 HR season (3rd in a row) and his 4th straight season knocking in 70 or more runs. Happ owns the last postseason home run hit by a Chicago Cub, back in 2020, without any fans at Wrigley. Now, the longest tenured Cub gets another chance to play playoff baseball in pinstripes.
