Cases Against The Ex-Cubs Factor Hypothesis
Berler's study of the ex-Cub factor since 1945 revealed only one exception since 1945: the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates, who won the World Series with three ex-Cubs on their roster. Berler contends that one of those ex-Cubs, Don Hoak, spent so little time in Chicago, that he did not fully develop what Berler called his "Cubness". Berler quoted pitcher Jim Brosnan as saying that "Hoak is quite possibly the only man who ever conquered his Cubness".
The 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks similarly had four ex-Cubs on their roster (Miguel Batista, Mark Grace, Mike Morgan, and Luis Gonzalez) but defeated the New York Yankees in the 2001 World Series. Mark Grace declared in an post-game interview that "We beat the ex-Cub Factor!". The sympathy many fans felt for New York City following the September 11 attacks, topped off by the four ex-Cubs on the Arizona roster, seemed to stack up against the Diamondbacks. But Arizona won Game 6 in a lopsided score, and then won Game 7 in a come-from-behind finish, scoring a pair of runs in the ninth inning to win the Series. In fact, two of the four former Cubs (the others being Mike Morgan and Miguel Batista) played prominent roles in that ninth inning, Mark Grace getting a lead off single and Luis Gonzalez driving in the winning run with a single.
Both the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates and the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks (both victories over the New York Yankees) are the only times that a team has won the World Series in Game 7 walk-off victories.
The 2008 Philadelphia Phillies team was declared prior to the post-season by Berler as "doomed this year by the Ex-Cub Factor" (with three ex-Cubs Scott Eyre, Jamie Moyer, and Matt Stairs on their roster). However, the Phillies defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers (a team also with three ex-Cubs) in the National League Championship Series and the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2008 World Series.
The 2011 St. Louis Cardinals may provide another conflicting case with the ex-Cubs factor theory. In the 2011 World Series, the Texas Rangers only had one ex-Cub (Andres Blanco, who was not active for the World Series) while the Cardinals had three ex-Cubs (Ryan Theriot, Corey Patterson, and Kyle Lohse, although Lohse never played for the major league Cubs).
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