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Series has a wrinkle for Chicagoland’s Kipnis
- Updated: October 24, 2016
CLEVELAND — Anthony Rizzo caught the final out and thrust his arms skyward, celebrating a moment that was more than seven decades in the making. The fans inside Wrigley Field did the same, some shedding tears of joy, as the championship-starved Cubs secured a place in the World Series.
In Cleveland, Jason Kipnis did not know how to react.
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“I’m not going to lie,” Kipnis said Sunday, while sitting on a table in the tunnel behind the dugout at Progressive Field. “I even teared up, because I didn’t know how to handle it.”
Why did it have to be the Cubs? That was Kipnis’ initial reaction, as text messages from family members and close friends began buzzing his phone. The Indians’ second baseman was born and raised in Northbrook, Ill., a suburb on Chicago’s North Side. Reaching the World Series has been a dream come true for Kipnis and his Cleveland teammates, but there is now a torturous tone to it for him.
One of Kipnis’ uncles is a doctor who delivered one of the children of Cubs great Ryne Sandberg. Kipnis grew up near Steve Bartman, who is infamous in Chicago for interfering with a foul ball in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series with the Marlins in 2003. Kipnis’ brother, Blair, has a close friend who runs a sports bar in Wrigleyville, a short walk from the ballpark.
“The Cubs are part of who I am,” Kipnis said.
In his backyard as a kid, Kipnis played through the same scenario as plenty of kids who grew up on the North Side. It was the ninth …
