Cubs Live
On July 2nd 2013, the Cubs sent Scott Feldman and Steve Clevenger to the Baltimore Orioles for Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop. At the time, the Orioles were looking to bolster their pitching staff as they were in the midst of a pennant race. The Cubs on the other hand were on their way to a 96 loss season. Saying a lot has changed since then may be an understatement, and a big reason why the culture of Chicago Cubs baseball has changed is because of Jake Arrieta.
As a member of the Cubs in his first year back in 2013, Arrieta posted a modest 3.66 ERA in 51.2 IP. However, it wouldn't be until the following year that he would break out and make a big impression. In 2014, Arrieta jumped onto the scene as one of baseball's best pitchers. He posted a remarkable 2.53 ERA and finished ninth in Cy Young voting. Although Cubs fans may have known his name by now, the rest of the league was left in the dark; mostly due to the fact Chicago finished last in the central with a 73-89 record. In 2015, the Cubs took the league by storm as they won 97 games and advanced to the NLCS. At the time, the Cubs were a year ahead of Theo Epstein's and Jed Hoyer’s masterful 5-year plan to become contenders. In hindsight, Jake Arrieta was one of the first big steps Theo and Jed took in order to make the Cubs a legitimate threat. As the Cubs blossomed in 2015, so did Arrieta. He dominated hitters every time he took the mound and developed into a true ace. 22 of the 97 games the Cubs won that year were due to Arrieta. He cruised through the regular season with an insane 1.77 ERA, struck out 236 batters in 229 innings of work, and threw a no-hitter. Post all-star break for Arrieta was so dominate that he set a few records along the way. His 0.75 ERA in the second half of the 2015 season was the lowest in the history of Major League Baseball. His historic year earned him the Cy Young, and sixth place in MVP voting. As if Arrieta hadn’t done enough, he threw a complete game shut out against the Pirates in the wild card game, giving the Cubs their first postseason victory since 2008. In the NLDS vs the Cardinals, Arrieta had one start in which he struck out nine and won. After the Cubs defeated the Cardinals, they ran out of steam in the NLCS vs the Mets. The way that Jake would dominate a game that season was something we've never seen before. For someone who struggled to find himself in years past in the AL, he transformed himself as an established house hold name throughout the baseball world. Something Cubs fans would call "Jake Day" became some sort of holiday for Cubs Nation where they had to tune in to watch Arrieta lay it all on the line each start, executing pitch after pitch, and fooling hitters at the plate. Still to this day, one of my favorite Arrieta starts is that 2015 Wild Card game. In a must win game, Maddon gave the ball to the horse in our staff. The grit that Arrieta showed in that Wild Card Game from striking out batters, silencing out the Pittsburgh crowd, getting intentionally hit by a pitch, and finding a way to get out of jams was warrior like. There was no stopping this man. After an unprecedented year, Arrieta followed up by accomplishing a 3.10 ERA and throwing another no-hitter in 2016. As most everyone knows by now, the Cubs went on to win the World Series in stunning fashion that year, and Arrieta was an integral part of that. In the World Series vs Cleveland Arrieta pitched 11.1 innings, had a 2.38 ERA, and won each of his two starts, including an elimination game. Jake showed up each day and delivered when called on. Some of his biggest and most important starts came in that 2016 World Series and he nonetheless showed out. After coming off a World Series high, in 2017 Arrieta's 3.53 ERA doesn't tell the whole story. In his last 18 starts he looked as good as ever, posting a 2.68 ERA and winning crucial games. In the playoffs, Arrieta was able to keep the season alive one more game with a phenomenal 6.2 inning outing vs the Dodgers in the NLCS. He once again proved his value in winning his second career elimination game. With the signing of Yu Darvish in 2018, both parties parted ways. Arrieta found a new home within Philadelphia. All Cubs fans should sincerely thank Jake Arrieta for the no-hitters, delivering a Cy Young season for the Cubs for the first time since 1992, and dazzling playoff performances each time he was called on. Above all, they should thank him for helping deliver a World Series championship to a city deprived of one for 108 years. As Theo Epstein may have opened a new chapter with Yu Darvish and closed a previous chapter in Cubs history, I'm going to leave you with this quote from the smartest man in all of baseball: "None of us have rings without Jake". Thank you, Jake Arrieta.
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Kyle MalzhanFounder who is an aspiring journalist who covers the Chicago Cubs daily. Archives
April 2020
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