In Major League Baseball, teams that stagger out of the starting gate get something of a second chance coming out of the All-Star break.
Of course, wins and losses from the first portion of the season still count in the standings. But the second half of the season can feel like hitting the re-set button, sort of like a football team that’s trailing coming out of the locker room after halftime.
With the Cubs 6.5 games out of a playoff spot at the All-Star break this season, IllinoisBet.com – your home for the best Illinois sports betting promos – used records from MLB.com to find the biggest comebacks of the 21st century following the All-Star break.
We also wanted to know how those comeback teams fared in the postseason.
Biggest MLB All-Star Break Comebacks Since 2000
Comeback List Includes 2017 Cubs
One of the more remarkable post-All-Star Game turnarounds was staged by the 2017 Chicago Cubs, who were sluggish over the first half of that season and were limping along at 43-45 when the Midsummer Classic arrived – much like this year’s Cubs, who have been an up-and-down wagering proposition at Illinois sportsbooks.
However, in 2017 Chicago kicked it in high gear right after the break, winning 14 of 17 games. And when September arrived and the Cubs were in position to make a run, they sprinted to the finish, winning 15 of their final 19 games and cruising to the National League Central title.
However, in 2017, the Cubs had reason to be confident that they could come back from a mediocre start. They absolutely knew that they were a good team.
Comeback Came At End Of Epic Cubs Run
In 2015, the Cubbies won 97 games. Then in 2016, they were spectacular in a historic campaign when they won 103 games and ended the Curse of the Billy Goat by capturing their first World Series title in 108 years over Cleveland.
So, in 2017, with manager Joe Maddon’s steady hand on the controls, Chicago shook off that so-so start and not only won the NL Central but won it going away, six games in front of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Those 2017 Cubs fanned the flames of hope for their fans by winning the Division Series against the Washington Nationals, 3-2 in a best-of-five series. But they were unable to replicate their previous postseason against the L.A. Dodgers.
This was all well before Chicago sports betting and wagering throughout Illinois was legal and regulated as it is now.
In 2016, Chicago prevailed over the Dodgers 4-2 in a best-of-seven series to reach the World Series for the first time since 1945.
But in 2017 the Dodgers, winners of 104 games in the regular season, crushed Chicago’s repeat hopes by taking the NL Championship series, 4-1.
2023 Cubs World Series Odds
This year, the Cubs have a steep hill to climb and have +12500 odds for customers using the BetMGM bonus code Illinois for a comeback from the doldrums all the way to a World Series title in 2023.
Going into play on July 17, they were 43-49, third in the NL Central, behind first-place Milwaukee and the hot Cincinnati Reds in second. Even for a wild card spot, the Cubs entered Monday 8 games out.
In just a handful of games after the All-Star break, these Cubs were 1-2 going into play on July 17 with one thin sliver of optimism being that they have a homestand immediately in front of them.
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