MLB's decade-defining moments: The Cubs finally win the World Series

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As the end of the decade approaches, we’re looking at five indelible moments from the world of Major League Baseball with a panel of guests talking about the events’ significance. We finish with the Cubs finally winning the World Series.

The date was Nov. 2, 2016 and if the Chicago Cubs were going to break the curse, it wasn’t going to come without a roller-coaster ride, particularly as one day bled into the next.

It took four-and-a-half hours, 10 innings, a rousing speech and two comebacks, but the Cubs finally won the World Series again after 108 years. There are a lot of things that happened in baseball in the last decade, but nothing that carried the weight of the Cubs’ curse and came with the elation of the curse being broken.

Not only was it an accomplishment for the ages, but it was also the culmination of a fantastic World Series and an instant-classic game. The Indians, trying to break their own World Series drought, put up a heck of a fight, but the Cubs prevailed in thrilling fashion.

Then we could finally say, “The Cubs won the World Series again.”

“It would be interesting to see a poll taken of the most significant event over the last 50 years and see where it ranks,” Joe Maddon, the Cubs manager when they won and now the manager of the Angels, told Yahoo Sports.

We talked to a panel of baseball players, managers and analysts — including Maddon, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone, Marlins manager Don Mattingly, ex-MLB star Cliff Floyd, Kevin Ginkel of the D-backs and Matt Beaty of the Dodgers — about this moment and its importance to this decade in baseball.

PREVIOUSLY IN THIS SERIES

• Armando Galarraga’s blown perfect game and the rise of video review

• Roy Halladay’s postseason no-hitter

• Derek Jeter’s magical farewell

• Jose Bautista’s bat flip heard ‘round the world

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Mike Oz is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @mikeoz

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