No 'factor' in this year's Series

A while back, Quicunque Vult's Deaconness Emily Calder- asked about the ex-Cub factor and its impact on the World Series. She expressed the hope that it would not doom the White Sox. I promised to research the matter and report back.

I have done so. And- alas, from my point of view- it does not.

At first, I thought it might. After all, two players on the Sox roster- outfielder Ross Gload and pitcher Jon Garland (traded for the infamous- at least on the North Side of Chicago- Matt Karchner)- were once Cub property, whereas, with the exception of infielder Jose Vizcaino, the Houston Astros' roster is ex-Cub free.

But no. It seems that Garland was a member of the Triple-A Iowa Cubs when traded to the White Sox. He never actually put on a Chicago Cubs uniform. Thus, the two teams are tied, with one ex-Cub each.

And there's still more to the story. You see, contrary to popular belief, the legendary "ex-Cub factor" does not doom that World Series team with the most ex-Cubs on its roster. Rather, it simply states that it is impossible for a team which as many as three of them on its roster to win the Series in any case.

Since the Cubs made their last World Series appearance in 1945, only twice- in 1960, by the Pittsburgh Pirates, and in 2001, by the Arizona Diamondbacks- has the ex-Cub factor been defeated. Here you will find links documenting its effects throughout the history of the game of baseball.

In any case, with only one ex-Cub each, neither the White Sox nor the Astros approach critical mass. They're even tied in the total number of ex-Cubs on the roster. So it appears that they're going to have to actually play the Series this year in order to determine the outcome.