The Cubs, in perhaps one of the least surprising award wins last night, took home the trophy for Team of the Year. Not only did the Cubs last fall break its infamous 108-year World Series championship curse in dramatic fashion, the club completely overhauled its franchise operations and have become a sports business and pop culture juggernaut. The Cubs’ ’16 season also included setting several new records for licensed sports merchandise sales and a dramatic overhaul of Wrigley Field and the surrounding Wrigleyville neighborhood in Chicago. Cubs Chair Tom Ricketts took the stage to accept the trophy to “Go Cubs Go,” the team’s famous theme song, and credited the Cubs players and baseball operations and business operations staffs. When asked what he viewed as the club’s turning point in a multiyear, often-painful rebuilding process on and off the field, Ricketts recalled trading P Jeff Samardzija to the A's in '14 for SS Addison Russell, a young prospect who became a key fixture in last year’s title run. “To me, that was the end of the beginning, the last of our shedding of the past and since then, it’s always been about looking forward,” Ricketts said.
