It’s clear when you ask Cubs players about missing the postseason last year that the experience motivated them as they prepared for the 2020 season.
After fighting through the 60-game season, going 34-26 to win the NL Central division title and get back in the postseason, the Cubs aren’t taking anything for granted.
“It’s really cool that we’re back here again,” left fielder Kyle Schwarber. “Every small detail matters and you get that excitement, that butterfly feeling just like you do every time, but I think just a little bit more just because we’re back. We missed it last year.”
“We’re not taking anything for granted,” said Kyle Hendricks, who was named Game 1 starter. “But I would say in the past, the playoffs are what you play for. When you make it year after year, maybe you grow a little bit accustomed to it. But I think this group, we really don’t fall into that too much.”
The Cubs will face Marlins’ young ace RHP Sandy Alcantara in Game 1. Alcantara (3-2, 3.00 ERA) leads Miami’s rotation and pitched well down the stretch going 2-1 with a 2.30 ERA.
He’ll be followed by phenom Sixto Sanchez, who was one of the game’s highly touted arms and has not disappointed at the major league level. Sanchez was 3-2 with a 3.46 ERA in seven starts this season.
The Cubs aren’t overlooking the Marlins just because they’re young and respect what Miami has done after a long, slow rebuild. For Schwarber, a young and hungry team like the Marlins reminds him of another group in a similar spot a few years ago.
“It kind of brings you back to 2015, and I think that they’re just going out there and they’re gonna be excited to play,” he said. “You know, this is a whole new experience for pretty much all these individuals.
“I’m sure there’s some veteran guys on the team. I know [Brandon] Kintzler over there. Pretty sure Matt Joyce’s been in the playoffs before. And they’re going to try to share experiences, but you know, there’s nothing like it when you’re in it.”
But the Marlins aren’t the only ones experiencing the postseason for the first time. Cubs rookie infielder Nico Hoerner will also have his first taste of playoff baseball.
“The resounding emphasis from all the older guys has been just, ‘Don’t take this at all for granted,’ because everyone says you don’t know when your next chance to play in the playoffs will be and so just really appreciating it being grateful for the season even happening and taking taking a second to actually enjoy it.”
Cubs manager David Ross has played in several postseasons and has a pair of World Series rings, so if anybody knows what it’s like to be prepared for the playoffs, it’s him.
But in his first postseason as Cubs skipper, he knows he’ll have some nerves to get through as Game 1 gets closer.
“There’s nerves for sure,” Ross said. “I was laying in bed last night feeling like today was the day that the games were starting. I remember just actually talking to David Bodie about that. You know, having to kind of say over and over in your head, ‘The game is not tomorrow. It’s not tomorrow,’ You’re anxious to get started.
“I get nervous, you know, the first day back from taking my kids to school. That’s just my personality. I think it helps me prepare and be ready.”
