The Chicago Cubs wrapped up their second straight division title Wednesday night, beating the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1, behind an Addison Russell three-run home run and another great start by John Lackey. He was brilliant against the Cardinals, allowing one run on only two hits over six innings and after the Cubs clinched his buddy Jon Lester gave him one hell of a toast in the visiting clubhouse at Busch Stadium.
Lester hinted that Lackey might retire after the 2017 season, as he hushed the Cubs to praise the veteran. A pretty cool moment and even though Lackey can be annoying on the field this was pretty damn cool.
Lackey, 38, will be a free agent after the season's end and despite some frustrating moments this year I think we can all appreciate him for going out there and always competing since he signed with the Cubs prior to 2016. He's also been a lot better in the second half and kept the team in most of his starts. Lackey had a 3.68 ERA in 13 starts after the All-Star break and the Cubs had a 19-11 record when he pitched this year. That's actually the most wins from the team in any of their pitcher's starts. With Lester, Kyle Hendricks, Jose Quintana and Jake Arrieta slated to be in the Cubs playoff rotation, Lackey has most likely made his last start for this team and maybe for his career. We'll see what Joe Maddon does with the fiery right-hander in the postseason, but regardless what a great way to go out.
PS: John Lackey can be a hardass most of the time, but he can be straight up funny too.
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