Last night’s Game 7 was one of the most thrilling games you will ever see.  It was full of twists, turns, and surprises.  Neither manager had their best day.  Players went from goats to heroes and vice versa.  Most of the players were not sharp in this game.  While it is hard to say that a great game like that wasn’t the best baseball, it is certainly true seeing the errors, poor judgments, and miscues.  Despite all of that, it was a great game with a lot to unpack.

First off, the umpiring was atrocious as it was most of the World Series.  Throughout the telecast John Smoltz and Joe Buck did a good job highlighting how first Home Plate Umpire Sam Holbrook was just missing clear strikes throughout the game, and then when the game got tight late, his zone became inconsistent.  There was a pitch that Mike Napoli struck out on that was a foot off the outside corner, which is all the more appalling when you consider Holbrook wasn’t even calling pitches strikes that were actually on the outside corner.

Then there was the call John Hirschbeck completely blew in the third inning.

You can’t get that play wrong.  It wasn’t even close.  This game and this World Series made the best possible case for the need for replay in baseball, and it also made the case for the need to get going on the technology for automated called balls and strikes.

The play was also terrible because it was just a bad play by Javier Baez.  It was one of two bad errors he made in the field trying to do too much.  Baez would make everyone forget about those two errors, and his overall shaky play in Game 7 by leading off the fifth inning with a monster home run off Corey Kluber.

Baez was one of THREE players to make everyone forget about his poor play by hitting a huge home run.

The next up was David Ross of all people.  With Jon Lester pitching, Ross was the only player who could have fielded a dribbler off the bat off Jason Kipnis.  He got to it, but instead of eating the ball, the threw it away giving the Indians second and third with two outs.  A wild pitch later in the ensuing at-bat would ricochet off his helmet (not his fault) and would lead to two Indians runs to get them back in the game.  Of course, we would forget about it as Ross hit a solo home run in the sixth inning off of Andrew Miller which would make it a 6-3 game.  At that point, we would not know how crucial that run was.

It was crucial because of Rajai Davis.  While it was doubtful Davis could get either Ross’ or Dexter Fowler‘s leadoff home run, it is true he gave himself little chance by mistiming his jumps.  That really wasn’t a big deal.  What was a big deal was his hesitation and poor throw in the fourth inning.

With Kris Bryant (one of the few players on the day who actually played well throughout) standing on third base, Addison Russell hit a medium depth fly ball.  Many people don’t go on that play, but someone with Bryant’s speed and base running ability does.  Davis didn’t get his full force behind the throw, he hesitated his throw, and he threw it high.  The combination of the three along with a great slide by Bryant allowed the Cubs to score the go-ahead run.

Later that same inning, he misplayed a Willson Contreras ball to the wall.  He initially broke in on a ball that went to the wall.  It is up for debate whether or not he could have got there, but it is undisputed he gave himself no chance whatsoever to get there.

Of course, everyone forgets his play in the field because he squared up an Aroldis Chapman fastball in the bottom of the eighth to hit one of the most dramatic and improbable World Series home run this side of Bill Mazeroski:

Rajai. Davis.

Cleveland. Legend. #Game7 pic.twitter.com/PptzTVwcu5

— MLB (@MLB) November 3, 2016

Normally, Davis wouldn’t have had a shot against Chapman, but Chapman has been over worked and exhausted.  It is strange Maddon stuck with Chapman because Lester was dealing.  On the other hand, it wasn’t that strange when taken in context of the full game.

Despite the Cubs having a 5-1 lead in the fifth, and Kyle Hendricks, the NL leader in ERA this season, in complete control of the game, he went to Lester after a Santana two out walk.  It was either desperation, sticking with a pre-determined formula or both.  Whatever the case, as noted above, it led to the Indians getting back in the game.

As we saw with Davis’ home run, Maddon sticking with a Chapman who had nothing out there also let the Indians back into the game.

Sticking with pitchers far too long is ultimately what did cost the Indians the World Series.  While Kluber wasn’t getting help from the home plate umpire, he wasn’t helping his own cause either.  He wasn’t as sharp, and the Cubs went to work.  Despite this, Francona got greedy trying to push him through the fourth.  It ended up with a 3-1 Cubs lead, and eventually a 4-1 Cubs lead when Francona put Kluber back out there for the fifth.

Francona then went to Miller who had nothing.  As a result, he allowed two earned over 2.1 inning.  Both Kluber and Miller allowed more earned runs in this game then they had allowed all postseason.

Francona almost did it again with Cody Allen.  Allen took over for Miller in the seventh, and he got out of a mini-jam.  Allen would pitch effectively into the top of the ninth where he seemingly lost it all at once.  Jason Heyward was tattooing him left and right before finally hitting into a fielder’s choice.  For the only time in the game, Francona went to his bullpen in time to get Bryan Shaw.  Shaw got out of the ninth, but fate would not be on his side.

As if the game wasn’t crazy enough, right after the ninth inning, there was a rain delay.  It was a short one, but it was enough to have a profound impact on the game.

During the telecast, we heard how Heyward calmed the Cubs down in the weight room during the rain delay.  With the Cubs scoring two in the top of the 10th, his speech was and will forever be attributed to the Cubs rallying to win the World Series.  Not to downplay it, but there was more at hand there.

Shaw, the latest pitcher available Francona trusted, was getting cold in the clubhouse.  It showed when he came out for the 10th.  Kyle Schwarber hit a blistering ground ball through the shift to get the rally started.  Bryant then just missed one as he hit it to the deepest part of the park.  It was at this point that a game with so many twists and turns finally reached its final turning point.

Rather than go halfway on the deep fly ball, especially on a ball Davis had similarly misplayed earlier in the game, the pinch runner Albert Almora tagged up and got himself into scoring position.  This lead to Francona somewhat controversially intentionally walking Anthony Rizzo to set up the double play and pitch to Ben Zobrist.  Zobrist then hit a sharp opposite field double just past Jose Ramirez to set up the go-ahead run.

After another intentional walk, Miguel Montero hit what would become the World Series winning RBI.  Only at that point did Francona lift Shaw for Trevor Bauer, who somehow managed to get out of the bases loaded one out jam to give the Indians a chance.

The Indians would start a two out rally against Carl Edwards, Jr.  Brandon Guyer worked the two out walk, went to second base on defensive indifference, and he would score on Davis’ RBI single.  However, that is as far as the Indians would go.  Mike Montgomery came into the game, and he faced Michael Martinez.  Martinez had entered the game in the ninth for defense during that rally Shaw had to sniff out.  The Indians had no more bench players left, so they had to stick with the career .197 hitter.  He hit a soft grounder to a grinning Bryant.  Bryant made the play, and Rizzo put the ball in this back pocket.

With that the Cubs won their first World Series in 108 years.

It was a thrilling game throughout that had you on the edge of your seat.  It was also a sloppy played game with poor managing and even worse umpiring.  While there might have been some poor baseball played, it was a great game nevertheless.  It will go down as one of the greatest games ever.

For me, it wasn’t THE greatest.  At this moment, the Smoltz-Jack Morris duel still sticks out to me as the greatest game I’ve ever seen.  Many will bring up Mazeroski and the 1960 World Series.  Historians will argue it was the 1924 World Series that saw the Washington Senators win the World Series behind Walter Johnson and a bad hop off a pebble.  There are many others.  This game belongs in the conversation with them, but in reality, it wasn’t the best ever, nor did it need to be to cap off what was a great World Series.