“He’s done it! Jake Arrieta has thrown his second no-hitter!”
-Len Kasper, April 21st, 2016
It took a lot to get to that moment. It took a lot to get Jake Arrieta to throw a ball that would be lofted to Jason Heyward in right field, caught, and ending a gem of a game in which Cincinnati hadn’t gotten a hit all night. It took a lot to hand over the ball to Jake Arrieta in Games Two and Six of the 2016 World Series. It took a lot for him to win both of those games. It took a lot to get Jake Arrieta from being the worst starting pitcher in all of Major League Baseball to a Cy Young Award Winner merely two years later. It took a lot for him to hoist the World Series Trophy over his head in front of millions upon millions of people. It took a lot for Jake Arrieta to become one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball, giving Chicago a little more to root for and Jake a little more to pitch for.
Jake started off just as the Chicago Cubs did, except with a little less lovable and a little more loser. Believe it or not, before he was winning twenty games in a season or throwing fastballs with a velocity of ninety-seven miles per hour, Jake Arrieta was down in Baltimore quite literally, dropping the ball. With an ERA of 7.32, Jake was leading the Majors with the most earned runs allowed by a starting pitcher. Meanwhile, a rebuild was happening on the North Side. At the time, 104 years had passed since the Cubs’ last World Series Championship, and after losing one hundred and one games in 2012, Theo Epstein was ready to jump at any chance he had at making his team go from Windy City Write-Offs to World Series Champions. Jake Arrieta was that chance. Arrieta, just like the Cubs, was looking for a bit of redemption. And redemption is exactly what he got.
Jake Arrieta was a Cub fan’s dream come true. He brought a feeling of indescribable hope to a city that hadn’t felt it in a very, very long time. People all around Chicago started buying jerseys with the number 49 stitched onto the back, going to games to see the new guy pitch, cheering him on along with their other newfound heroes. Jake Arrieta started to become a household name. And the buzz had only gotten started when the 2015 National League Wild Card Game came to town. Pitching in the first postseason action he had ever seen in his Big League career, Jake looked unstoppable. He pitched a shutout, showing the Pittsburgh Pirates who really ran the National League Central. It was the type of game that, looking back, was far more important than the advancement to the elusive World Series Title, especially for Jake. This game showed the guts he was willing to give to his team, his city, everything he was willing to lay out on the mound. That year, the Cubs will go on to lose the NLCS to the New York Mets in four games, wrapping up the 2015 season with a loss. But Jake didn’t lose a goddamned thing. Quite the opposite, actually. He pitched himself a name, moving up in the ranks like a lieutenant who always wanted to be the hero. And that is just what Jake became for Cub fans in the magical year that was 2016.
Jake didn’t miss a beat coming back from the rough NLCS loss the previous season. Starting off the 2016 season with a bang, Jake won his first nine starts and threw his second career No-No in the Bigs. That season, Jake also showed Chicago how to use a bat. In the 2016 NLDS against the San Francisco Giants, Jake hit a three-run homer to left off of Madison Bumgarner, giving the Cubs the lead. They would go on to lose that game but take the series, and the series after that, and, well, you know how the story goes. Jake Arrieta was a phoenix, rising out of the ashes and pitching his Cubs into World Series contention. Arrieta took the mound in two games of the World Series that year, winning both when down by a game, tying up the series, and staving off elimination. In Game Seven, while Jake didn’t pitch, he was still there to celebrate afterward, still there to encourage his team, still there to cry and scream, hug Rossy at the end, and become a World Champ. Jake was there through it all with Chicago, never giving up on us, just as we had never given up on him. On November 4th, 2016, as Jake Arrieta pumped his fist in the air and made a “W” with his hands, millions of fans all over Chicago cheered and clapped for the ACE we never knew we would get out of the poor pitcher from Baltimore. We cheered and clapped for the man we never knew would mean so much to us.
When talking about Jake, I always get this sense of quiet proudness, just like parents do when they’re watching their kid win the spelling bee. When Jake stepped off the mound on October 18th, 2017, I could already feel the tears welling up in my eyes, rolling down my face and falling onto my shirt, the shirt that bore the number 49 on the back. It is a little weird how the mind works that way, knowing that it’ll be your last “something”, without even knowing what that something is. As he walked off the field, he gave Wrigley a tip of his cap, as if saying, “If this is it, thank you. For everything.” Wrigley was on its feet, giving a standing ovation to a man who pitched them to glory again that night, a man who had just left everything on the mound for them. Because that is who Jake Arrieta came to be as a Cub: a selfless teammate, who would stop at nothing to get out of a bases-loaded jam or that final out in an important game. There is this little quote from Geoffrey Chaucer that reads, “All great things must come to an end”, and I think that fits the situation beautifully. Jake’s reign as a Chicago Hero was much more than great, I could use an infinite amount of words to describe it, but the end was bound to come. And Jake? That was one hell of a way to go out, man.
Jaker, you are one helluva human being. And I am going to miss you in Chicago pinstripes more than you could ever imagine. I’ll miss that iconic fist pump and scream I would see from you after every major moment, every spell-binding victory. I’ll miss all the wacky things you do to get an out, like diving into the first base bag. I’ll miss your pilates jokes and hype walk-up songs. I’ll miss Cooper, because man does he know how to make you laugh. I’ll miss your little hop after delivering every pitch and your insanely crazy beard. I am gonna miss being led into battle by you, watching you as apart of my team. Thank you for not giving up on pitching because you aren’t just a random pitcher the Cubs took a wild chance on anymore. You are a Chicago hero. Coming here, you brought so much more than a couple of no-hit bids, a Cy Young Award, or even a World Series Title. You brought us hella good times, uncontainable happiness, a tremendous amount of hope, and endless glory. Because that’s just you. That’s our Jake. And for that you are forever a Cub, no matter what team you’re pitching for or the jersey on your back. This ride has been surreal with you Jake, each of the four years better than the last. You tipped your cap to us that last night, Jake. But really, we’re the ones who should be tipping our caps to you. You helped launch our No Good Nobodies into Hometown Heroes, creating memories that forever replay in our minds. The Cubs wouldn’t have those rings without you, wouldn’t be the men they are today without you. So thank you Jake. For the dream I will never have to wake up from.
Okay to kind of wrap this thing up before I totally collapse into a bucket of tears, as if I am not already drowning in them, I wanted to say a few last things. First, I am not trying to immortalize Jake or make him seem flawless, as if he didn’t blow leads or quite frankly, suck pretty bad sometimes. He didn’t carry this team, it is called a team for a reason. I am trying to show my gratitude towards a man whom I have looked up to for a while now, giving thanks to where it is due. I mean, I did get chills when I saw his Cy Young Award, but he still is human, I promise.
Next, to Philly, you got yourself a good one so take care of him. Never take a single moment you have with him for granted, because four years will fly, you’ll get way too attached to him, and will find yourself sitting in your bedroom sobbing wondering where all the time has gone. Also note that he is forever a Cub, so if he acts like one once in a while, don’t get too mad. Just roll with it.
As for you Jaker? Thank you for what you have done for our franchise, our city, and our game. I would never have imagined it would be this hard to see you go, but know that Chicago is always rooting for you, no matter where you may find yourself, even if it is against the Cubs. I will see you in June when the Cubs play on the opposite side, for the first time in a long time. But, until then, fly the dub for Chicago one last time, 49. After all, you deserve it.
xx
Alyssa Clare
Here We Go Again. 