paragraph_text: The Cubs defeated the Indians when they won 4 games to 3 to win their first World Series since 1908. Game 7, an 8 -- 7 victory in extra innings, marked the fifth time that a Game 7 had gone past nine innings and the first since 1997 (which, coincidentally, also featured the Indians). It was also the first to have a rain delay which occurred as the tenth inning was about to start. The Cubs became the sixth team to come back from a 3 - 1 deficit to win a best - of - seven World Series, following the 1925 Pittsburgh Pirates, the 1958 New York Yankees, the 1968 Detroit Tigers, the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates, and the 1985 Kansas City Royals.

paragraph_text: "Baseball's Sad Lexicon," also known as "Tinker to Evers to Chance" after its refrain, is a 1910 baseball poem by Franklin Pierce Adams. The poem is presented as a single, rueful stanza from the point of view of a New York Giants fan seeing the talented Chicago Cubs infield of shortstop Joe Tinker, second baseman Johnny Evers, and first baseman Frank Chance complete a double play. The trio began playing together with the Cubs in 1902, and formed a double play combination that lasted through April 1912. The Cubs won the pennant four times between 1906 and 1910, often defeating the Giants en route to the World Series.

paragraph_text: The Cubs have appeared in a total of eleven World Series. The 1906 Cubs won 116 games, finishing 116 -- 36 and posting a modern - era record winning percentage of. 763, before losing the World Series to the Chicago White Sox (``The Hitless Wonders '') by four games to two. The Cubs won back - to - back World Series championships in 1907 and 1908, becoming the first major league team to play in three consecutive World Series, and the first to win it twice. Most recently, the Cubs won the 2016 National League Championship Series and 2016 World Series, which ended a 71 - year National League pennant drought and a 108 - year World Series championship drought, both of which are record droughts in Major League Baseball. The 108 - year drought was also the longest such occurrence in all major North American sports. Since the start of divisional play in 1969, the Cubs have appeared in the postseason eight times through the 2016 season.

paragraph_text: The Union Association was a league in Major League Baseball which lasted for only one season in 1884. St. Louis won the pennant and joined the National League the following season. Chicago moved to Pittsburgh in late August, and four teams folded during the season and were replaced.

paragraph_text: 2018 MLB season League Major League Baseball Sport Baseball Duration March 29 -- October 31, 2018 Number of games 162 Number of teams 30 Regular season League Postseason World Series MLB seasons ← 2017 2019 →

paragraph_text: The Major League Baseball (MLB) season schedule consists of 162 games for each of the 30 teams in the American League (AL) and National League (NL), played over approximately six months -- a total of 2,430 games, plus the postseason. The regular season typically runs from early April to late September, followed by the postseason in October. The season begins with the official Opening Day and runs 26 weeks through the last Sunday of September or first Sunday of October. One or more International Opener games may be scheduled outside the United States before the official Opening Day. It is possible for a given team to play a maximum of 20 games in the postseason in a given year, provided the team is a wild card and advances to each of the Division Series, Championship Series, and World Series with each series going the distance (5 games in the Division Series, 7 games in the League Championship Series / World Series).

paragraph_text: The 2016 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2016 season. The 112th edition of the World Series, it was a best - of - seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Chicago Cubs and the American League (AL) champion Cleveland Indians, the first meeting of those franchises in postseason history. The series was played between October 25 and November 2. The Indians had home - field advantage because the AL had won the 2016 All - Star Game. It was also the last World Series to have home - field advantage determined by the All - Star Game results; since 2017, home - field advantage is awarded to the team with the better record.

paragraph_text: The competition format follows the usual double round - robin format. During the course of a season, which lasts from August to May, each club plays every other club twice, once at home and once away, for 38 matchdays. Teams receive three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, with the highest - ranked club at the end of the season crowned champion.

paragraph_text: The 2016 -- 17 World Rugby Sevens Series, known for sponsorship reasons as the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, was the 18th annual series of rugby sevens tournaments for national rugby sevens teams. The Sevens Series has been run by World Rugby since 1999 -- 2000. South Africa won the Series with a comfortable 28 - point margin over England; South Africa won five of the ten tournaments.

paragraph_text: The 1952 Campeonato Profesional was the fifth season of Colombia's top-flight football league. 15 teams compete against one another and played each weekend. The tournament was notable for being the fourth year of El Dorado. Millonarios won the league for 3rd time in its history after getting 46 points.

paragraph_text: In 2003, Federer won his first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon, beating Mark Philippoussis in the final. Federer won his first and only doubles Masters Series 1000 event in Miami with Max Mirnyi and made it to one singles Masters Series 1000 event in Rome on clay, which he lost. Federer made it to nine finals on the ATP Tour and won seven of them, including the 500 series events at Dubai and Vienna. Lastly, Federer won the year - end championships over Andre Agassi, finishing the year as world # 2, narrowly behind Andy Roddick by only 160 points.

paragraph_text: Mariano Rivera (born November 29, 1969) is a Panamanian-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, from 1995 to 2013. Nicknamed "Mo" and "Sandman", he spent most of his career as a relief pitcher and served as the Yankees' closer for 17 seasons. A thirteen-time All-Star and five-time World Series champion, he is MLB's career leader in saves (652) and games finished (952). Rivera won five American League (AL) Rolaids Relief Man Awards and three Delivery Man of the Year Awards, and he finished in the top three in voting for the AL Cy Young Award four times. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as part of its class of 2019 in his first year of eligibility, and was the first player ever to be elected unanimously by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA).

paragraph_text: The 2015 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2015 season. The 111th edition of the World Series, it was a best - of - seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion New York Mets and the American League (AL) champion Kansas City Royals. The series was played between October 27 and November 1, with the Royals winning the series 4 games to 1. It was the first time since the 2010 World Series that the World Series extended into November. The Royals became the first team since the Oakland Athletics in the 1989 World Series to win the World Series after losing in the previous year. It was the first World Series to feature only expansion teams and the first since the 2007 World Series to not feature the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, or San Francisco Giants as the NL champions.

paragraph_text: Following the '69 season, the club posted winning records for the next few seasons, but no playoff action. After the core players of those teams started to move on, the 70s got worse for the team, and they became known as "The Loveable Losers." In 1977, the team found some life, but ultimately experienced one of its biggest collapses. The Cubs hit a high-water mark on June 28 at 47–22, boasting an 8 1⁄2 game NL East lead, as they were led by Bobby Murcer (27 Hr/89 RBI), and Rick Reuschel (20–10). However, the Philadelphia Phillies cut the lead to two by the All-star break, as the Cubs sat 19 games over .500, but they swooned late in the season, going 20–40 after July 31. The Cubs finished in 4th place at 81–81, while Philadelphia surged, finishing with 101 wins. The following two seasons also saw the Cubs get off to a fast start, as the team rallied to over 10 games above .500 well into both seasons, only to again wear down and play poorly later on, and ultimately settling back to mediocrity. This trait became known as the "June Swoon." Again, the Cubs' unusually high number of day games is often pointed to as one reason for the team's inconsistent late season play.

paragraph_text: The Major League Baseball (MLB) season schedule consists of 162 games for each of the 30 teams in the American League (AL) and National League (NL), played over approximately six months -- a total of 2,430 games, plus the postseason. The regular season runs from late March / early April to late September / early October, followed by the postseason which can run to early November. The season begins with the official Opening Day, and, as of 2018, runs 261⁄2 weeks through the last Sunday of September or first Sunday of October. One or more International Opener games may be scheduled outside the United States before the official Opening Day. It is possible for a given team to play a maximum of 20 games in the postseason in a given year, provided the team is a wild card and advances to each of the Division Series, Championship Series, and World Series with each series going the distance (5 games in the Division Series, 7 games each in the League Championship Series / World Series).

paragraph_text: In their 1962 inaugural season, the Mets posted a record of 40 -- 120, the worst regular season record since MLB went to a 162 - game schedule (two games were canceled). The team never finished better than second to last until the 1969 ``Miracle Mets ''beat the Baltimore Orioles in the 1969 World Series in what is considered one of the biggest upsets in World Series history. Since then, they have played in four additional World Series, including a dramatic run in 1973 that ended in a seven - game loss to the Oakland Athletics, a second championship in 1986 over the Boston Red Sox, a Subway Series loss against their cross-town rivals the New York Yankees in 2000, and a five - game loss to the Kansas City Royals in 2015.

paragraph_text: The 2001 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2001 season. The 97th edition of the World Series, it was a best - of - seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Arizona Diamondbacks and the three - time defending World Series champions and American League (AL) champion New York Yankees. The Diamondbacks defeated the Yankees, four games to three to win the series. Considered one of the greatest World Series of all time, memorable aspects included two extra-inning games and three late - inning comebacks. Diamondbacks pitchers Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling were both named World Series Most Valuable Players.

paragraph_text: The 2016 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2016 season. The 112th edition of the World Series, it was a best - of - seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Chicago Cubs and the American League (AL) champion Cleveland Indians, the first meeting of those franchises in postseason history. The series was played between October 25 and November 3. The Indians had home - field advantage because the AL had won the 2016 All - Star Game. It was also the last World Series to have home - field advantage determined by the All - Star Game results; since 2017, home - field advantage is awarded to the team with the better record.

paragraph_text: The Chicago Cubs have not won a World Series championship since 1908, and have not appeared in the Fall Classic since 1945, although between their postseason appearance in 1984 and their most recent in 2015, they have made the postseason seven times. 107 seasons is the longest championship drought in all four of the major North American professional sports leagues, which also includes the National Football League (NFL), the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the National Hockey League (NHL). In fact, the Cubs' last World Series title occurred before those other three leagues even existed, and even the Cubs' last World Series appearance predates the founding of the NBA. The much publicized drought was concurrent to championship droughts by the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago White Sox, who both had over 80 years between championships. It is this unfortunate distinction that has led to the club often being known as "The Lovable Losers." The team was one win away from breaking what is often called the "Curse of the Billy Goat" in 1984 and 2003 (Steve Bartman incident), but was unable get the victory that would send it to the World Series.

paragraph_text: The competition format follows the usual double round - robin format. During the course of a season, which lasts from August to May, each club plays every other club twice, once at home and once away, for a total of 38 matchdays. Teams receive three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, with the highest - ranked club at the end of the season crowned champion.

Question: What reason is frequently cited for last years' World Series winner playing inconsistently late in the season?
Answer: unusually high number of day games