Anthony Rizzo reflects on Cubs breaking 108-year World Series drought

This November marks 10 years since the Chicago Cubs were champions for the first time in generations.

On Nov. 2, 2016, the Cubs broke a 108-year curse and won their first World Series title four years before the Titanic even sank, and many members of the team will return to Wrigley Field next month to celebrate.

“It’s crazy. Time flies. I mean, it was a special team, special run, and it’s going to be fun to celebrate,” Anthony Rizzo recently told Pakinomist Digital.

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Now retired, Rizzo, who signed a one-day contract to retire a Cub after spending nearly four years with the New York Yankees, has been back in Chicago attending Cubs games and recording a podcast with former World Series teammate David Ross. But recently, with the World Cup approaching, he partnered with Abbott and Real Madrid to help give rising soccer stars in Chicago a chance to play for the Abbott Dream Team.

The 16 selected male and female “Abbott Dream Team” members aged 18-19 will travel to Spain on an all-expenses paid trip to train at Real Madrid’s official facilities.

“Giving back to the community here in Chicago means the world to me, and for these kids to have the opportunity to go to Real Madrid, train and train there is pretty special,” Rizzo said. “It’s a really cool program, they’re both respective leaders in their industry, bringing together kids who play football, and then also having to play the nutrition side of it, that means a lot because it takes a lot to get to the next level, and the fact that Abbott is drilling these kids with nutrition and the importance of that, I think is very important as well.”

Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo celebrates during the team’s World Series victory rally at Grant Park in Chicago, Ill., on Nov. 4, 2016. (Patrick Gorski/Icon Sportswire)

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“Everybody’s talented when you get to the higher levels, right? Everybody’s got the talent, but it’s the mental capacity, it’s the little things, and nutrition is, I think, for me, one of the most important things,” Rizzo added. “You can’t really see the results on the field, but you feel like you’re going to recover better, you’re going to sleep better, you have more energy, so it’s very important to take care of your body, and I let them know that when you get to a certain level, the talent level evens out, and that’s what separates you from making it, or getting that opportunity, or being ready for that opportunity when it comes.”

Rizzo obviously knows what it takes to get to and succeed at the next level. He found the ultimate success with that 2016 title, which of course came with added pressure. But the former first baseman said that despite fans’ desperate desire for a drought to end, he was able to maintain business as usual in the World Series, hitting .360 with a 1.084 OPS.

“You don’t really feel as much of that weight because you’re in the World Series, you’re at the highest level, you’re one of two teams standing, right? So, all the drought comes in on the outside, and I was only there for five or six years up to that point, so the previous 102 years… You just, you’ve got to be able to put perspective on it,” Rizzo said.

Chicago Cubs’ Anthony Rizzo celebrates on the field after making the final out of the 10th inning to win Game 7 and the World Series championship against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio, on November 2, 2016. (Al Tielemans/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)

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“You have to be able to laugh at it and for us we just kept all the outside noise out and we just focused on what we had to do to win.”

The 2016 Cubs meet on July 18, 10 years to the day Rizzo hit a three-run homer off New York Mets pitcher Steven Matz in a 5-1 victory to go 56-36.