In the middle of the champagne-soaked celebration at Wrigley Field, Theo Epstein name-dropped Eddie Vedder, comparing this team to the band that bursts onto the scene and blows up with an amazing first album.
The Cubs had just eliminated the St. Louis Cardinals from the playoffs, and the president of baseball operations understood this joyride through October wouldn’t last forever. It would only get more complicated, the way it once did for Pearl Jam, having to deal with new expectations, extra pressure and the backlash.
There would be more money involved and even bigger egos. Tanking had given this front office a kind of artistic freedom during the rebuilding years.