Jake Arrieta retired yesterday, though the league had announced it for him about two years ago. I will never forget his run that started in the year of the World Series.
When your team has not just a genuine ace, but one that has seen everything fall into place at once, is a better feeling for a baseball fan. On the day of their starts, you anticipate more than a game, but an art viewing. There is no chance that your team will lose that day. You are just watching how the canvas will be covered.
Jake did it with a cutter that moved so late and violently that you thought your reception was over, and a fastball that turned bats into dust. We got enough out of it because he couldn't overcome the incredible jump in the number of runs. So did he.
He won the Cy Young in 2015, going 22-6 with a 1.77 ERA in 33 starts.
It is rare when you know the other team has no hope. When Jake took the mound, it was one of the few moments that all Cubs fans could relax and take in a game. The wild-card game of 2015 was pressure packed. We knew it was over when the Cubs got one run. The Pirates did as well. He had two wins in the World Series, which was more than any other Cubs pitcher has ever had.
Maybe that time is over, as pitchers don't go more than five or six. It was fun to live there.
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