The New York Times Bestseller
With inside access and reporting, Sports Illustrated senior baseball
writer and FOX Sports analyst Tom Verducci reveals how Theo Epstein and
Joe Maddon built, led, and inspired the Chicago Cubs team that broke the
longest championship drought in sports, chronicling their epic journey
to become World Series champions.
It took 108 years, but it really happened. The Chicago Cubs are once
again World Series champions.
How did a team composed of unknown, young players and supposedly
washed-up veterans come together to break the Curse of the Billy Goat?
Tom Verducci, twice named National Sportswriter of the Year and
co-writer of The Yankee Years with Joe Torre, will have full access to
team president Theo Epstein, manager Joe Maddon, and the players to tell
the story of the Cubs' transformation from perennial underachievers to
the best team in baseball.
Beginning with Epstein's first year with the team in 2011, Verducci will
show how Epstein went beyond Moneyball thinking to turn around the
franchise. Leading the organization with a manual called The Cubs Way,
he focused on the mental side of the game as much as the physical,
emphasizing chemistry as well as statistics.
To accomplish his goal, Epstein needed manager Joe Maddon, an eccentric
innovator, as his counterweight on the Cubs' bench. A man who encourages
themed road trips and late-arrival game days to loosen up his team,
Maddon mixed New Age thinking with Old School leadership to help his
players find their edge.
The Cubs Way takes readers behind the scenes, chronicling how key
players like Rizzo, Russell, Lester, and Arrieta were deftly brought
into the organization by Epstein and coached by Maddon to outperform
expectations. Together, Epstein and Maddon proved that clubhouse culture
is as important as on-base-percentage, and that intangible components
like personality, vibe, and positive energy are necessary for a team to
perform to their fullest potential.
Verducci chronicles the playoff run that culminated in an instant
classic Game Seven. He takes a broader look at the history of baseball
in Chicago and the almost supernatural element to the team's repeated
loses that kept fans suffering, but also served to strengthen their
loyalty.
The Cubs Way is a celebration of an iconic team and its journey to a
World Championship that fans and readers will cherish for years to come.
