Reminders of the anniversary of the Chicago Cubs’ 2016 World Series championship flooded social media Monday, as happens every year on Nov. 2.
Jason Heyward’s rain delay speech. Kris Bryant’s throw to Anthony Rizzo for the final out. David Ross being carried off the field on the shoulders of his teammates. Bill Murray swigging champagne in the raucous Cubs clubhouse with team President Theo Epstein.
As the Cubs were busy celebrating that November, the Chicago White Sox were plotting their rebuild. General manager Rick Hahn promoted bench coach Rick Renteria to manager to be the steward, calling him “quite frankly, the best candidate on the market,” and then began shopping ace Chris Sale, whose trade to the Boston Red Sox in December became the opening move in the overhaul of their roster.