Addison Russell was first with the head-first dive, into first base with one out in the ninth inning Friday.
Without Russell's hustle, which allowed the tying run to score against the Brewers, there may not have been a second, more memorable head-first dive _ Miguel Montero's belly flop into home plate after he floated around the bases thanks to his walk-off home run in the 10th inning of the Cubs' 5-4 victory.
That latter dive upped the ante on a preplanned, delayed celebration of the Cubs' clinching of the National League Central, which was complete before Friday began. And Russell, the slick-fielding shortstop whose bat has wielded 92 RBIs, not to mention 20 home runs, defied anyone to take umbrage with the Cubs' merrymaking ways.
It has been, after all, the Cubs' way all the way.
"We celebrate every single win with water and all that stuff," the beer-soaked Russell said from a beer-soaked clubhouse. "We all jump around. We take that to heart. We work hard. We celebrate at the end of the day."
Maybe not with champagne, but that wasn't Russell's point.
A 162-game schedule is grueling. The postseason is unpredictable.
The Cubs, the team that brought mimes to spring training and wears pajamas for fun on road trips, care not what critics may say.
"The next day comes and it's back to business," Russell said. "I think mindset-wise, we're good. This is only the beginning."
And it's all Russell has known in the almost two seasons he's been a Cub.
"I've been here two years and we've been here two years, in the postseason," he said. "We're looking forward to it."
Cubs President Theo Epstein, who made his way from his bleacher seat and ditched his fake mustache and "Try Not to Suck" T-shirt by the time Russell and Montero helped pull off the improbable victory, was quick to point out that October is a whole different animal.
He stopped short of agreeing with the notion that the ending of this game was fitting of this season.
"You're required in the journalist bylaws to draw extrapolations on the clinching game to the entire season," Epstein said with a grin. "This team is marked by a very selfless, team-first attitude. It was fitting to have lots of guys contribute, not just stars.
"To come back and have the consummate team player in Miguel Montero, who's handled this up-and-down year so, so well, to launch the celebration was apropos."
