MLB Network special delves deep into Game 7 of 2016 World Series with managers

One would think the manager who guided the Cubs to their first World Series title in 108 years would be immune from criticism. Yet, Joe Maddon might be remembered most by Cubs fans for, in their minds, pulling Game 7 starter Kyle Hendricks prematurely in 2016 and putting the team’s chances in peril.

Maddon has stood by his decision to remove Hendricks after a walk with two outs in the fourth inning, even though Hendricks had thrown only 63 pitches and the Cubs were leading 5-1. His position still hasn’t changed, but he has more to say about that move and others he made in the game.

Fans can hear it all at 7 p.m. Thursday, when MLB Network airs a special with Maddon and Cleveland counterpart Terry Francona in which they relive the epic Game 7. Bob Costas and Tom Verducci co-host the show, with a format that harkens back to the network’s “20 Greatest Games” series in 2011.

Maddon and Francona rewatched the game with open mics at MLB Network’s studio. Neither had watched it since that night in Cleveland. The show is part of MLB Network’s programming to commemorate the network’s 15th anniversary.

“We celebrated with some complications, but for this one, we decided, ‘What’s been the greatest game since we’ve been on the air?’ ” said Bruce Cornblatt, MLB Network’s senior coordinating producer. “And honestly, it wasn’t even close. What better way to do it than that format with those two managers? And, thankfully, they both said yes.”

Francona stepped away from managing after last season, and Maddon hasn’t managed since the Angels fired him in June 2022. Coordinating producer Jed Tuminaro said they got along great at the studio. Both arrived early for the recording and spent time talking with each other.

“There was an immediate connection,” Cornblatt said. “Once I heard that, Jed and I looked at each other and said, ‘We got this,’ because they’re connected personally. But more important, there’s a certain connection in sports to being in that kind of enormous event, and I think that they both feel that and they feel connected to each other in that way.”

The setting helped put Maddon and Francona at ease. Both have relationships with the co-hosts. Costas began calling MLB games in 1983, and Verducci literally wrote the book about Game 7 in “The Cubs Way,” which examines the team’s rebuild and run to the title.

Costas and Verducci delved into the managers’ thinking throughout the game. By watching it, they didn’t just remember what happened — they relived it and reacted to it viscerally. Cornblatt mentioned that when Hendricks didn’t get a third-strike call on Carlos Santana, the last batter he’d face, Maddon blurted, “That’s a strike.”

“That happened constantly,” Tuminaro said. “That’s why I think for a game like this, having managers really brought it to life, because they are involved in everything. That came out throughout the taping.”

Cornblatt said Cubs fans will be particularly interested to hear Maddon speak about three of his decisions: removing Hendricks, using closer Aroldis Chapman for more than an inning and having Javy Baez bunt with Jason Heyward on third base and one out in the ninth. Baez struck out on a fouled bunt.

The cast discussed plenty more, including what happened during the 17-minute rain delay. There were some stories even Verducci didn’t know.

“When they talked about certain strategy, stories like that, even Tom said there were things he didn’t know until taping,” Tuminaro said.

Said Cornblatt: “What surprised me was the give and take during the rain delay. Cubs fans will be surprised when they hear what happened there, what Chapman’s frame of mind was, what [umpire] Joe West said, how that players meeting unfolded.”

Costas and Verducci agreed that in their 40-plus years of broadcasting and covering baseball, no other game had the context, consequence and strategy this one had. If Cubs fans can stomach it, they, too, can relive it, but through a different lens.

“We wanted to get behind the curtain on this legendary game,” Cornblatt said, “especially for Chicago folks because I think they’ll learn something, and that’s our goal.”

Remote patrol

Former Blackhawks broadcasters Pat Foley and Eddie Olczyk will reunite for the Sports USA national radio call of the NHL Stadium Series games this weekend at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Flyers-Devils will air at 7 p.m. Saturday on WGN-AM (720), and Rangers-Islanders will air at 2 p.m. Sunday on WCKG-AM (1530). Olczyk’s son Nick will be the rink-side reporter. Foley and Nick called the 2023 Winter Classic between the Penguins and Bruins at Fenway Park.

◆ Former Bears and current Packers radio voice (and personal favorite) Wayne Larrivee on the state of NFL play-by-play on the radio, which he shared on Dan McNeil’s podcast: “We’re starting to lose a little bit of the descriptive aspect of radio play-by-play, and that’s what it’s all about. And none of us give the score enough. You jump into the car, and you just want the score. I don’t give it enough when I listen back on my stuff. I think you should give the score every third play. And none of us do that.”