CHICAGO — Rajai Davis is standing on the grass at Wrigley Field about a half-hour after Game 4 of the World Series, laughing as he tells the story of the origin of the mindset that has fueled this entire storybook season for Cleveland.
Davis and his teammates won Game 4, of course, and now hold a commanding three-games-to-one lead in the series. The Cleveland franchise hasn’t won the championship since 1948, but the 7-2 win Saturday night pushed the club to the brink of a stunning accomplishment.
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Anyway, this magical mindset originated in spring training.
“We had some incident go on, and I was talking to Mike Napoli. There was some adversity we had to deal with, and he’s like, ‘We’re gonna overcome this,’ ” Davis told me with a laugh. “So every little thing, whether it was big or small, it’s like, ‘OK, we’re gonna overcome this. We shall overcome this.’ That’s been our mindset the entire year, and it’s been pretty fun to watch it play out.”
No, it wasn’t some secret clubhouse drama. Wasn’t a catastrophic injury, either.
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As so often is the case with out-of-nowhere motivations, this was a silly moment.
“I don’t remember specifically, but it was something small,” Davis said, laughing again (he laughs all the time), “like we didn’t have our Gatorade in the right spot and we’re like, ‘We’re gonna overcome this.’ ”
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Back then, it was a light-hearted moment in spring training.
But it stuck. It’s been a rallying cry. It’s not “Party at Napoli’s” or anything, but it has a similar origination story.
“Napoli was the one who came up with that, and I’ve just endorsed it,” Davis said.
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And this Cleveland club has overcome this season. Has it ever.
Star outfielder Michael Brantley never really got healthy. Marlon Byrd was suspended for a year after a PED violation. Clubhouse favorite Juan Uribe didn’t produce and had to be released. All-Star catcher Yan Gomes was either hurt or struggling at the plate. Star starters Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar, who were supposed to make up half the club’s playoff rotation, went down with second-half injuries. That’s not all, but you get the point.
All the while, “We’re gonna overcome this.”
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In the ALDS, Cleveland wasn’t supposed to be able to beat the powerful Red Sox. In the ALCS, Cleveland wasn’t supposed to beat the surging Blue Jays.
All the while, “We’re gonna overcome this.”
And there’s no way in the world it was supposed to come into Wrigley Field, where the Cubs were hosting World Series games for the first time since 1945, and win the first two contests here to move one win away from winning the whole darn thing.
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All the while, “We’re gonna overcome this.”
These two wins in Wrigley, though, with the World Series on the line, might take the cake.
“That’s something special,” Davis said. “It’s been a fun trip. I know all the guys just want to win this one more and go home.”
If they do, the only thing that will be left to overcome is surviving the victory parade. Don't bet against Davis and company.
