I have a friend named Rich, who passed away a few weeks ago. Rich grew up in the Bronx, New York, and was a huge New York Mets fan. Having grown up just outside of Chicago, I’m a die-hard Cubs fan.
In our conversations, Rich would often remind me of the year 1969. In 1969, the hapless Cubs were having their best season in decades. They were in first place almost the entire season. On August 16, they led the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals by a whopping nine games.
The Cubs then proceeded to lose 28 of their last 48 games, while the Mets won 37 of their last 48 games to win the division by a surprisingly comfortable eight games. It was the biggest end-of-theyear collapse by a team in the history of baseball. The Mets then stormed through the playoffs and routed the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series.
