People in Northbrook want to know if the Most Valuable Player in the World Series can play for the losing team.
One of the obstacles standing between the Chicago Cubs and their first World Series championship since 1908 is Northbrook native and 2005 Glenbrook North graduate Jason Kipnis of the Cleveland Indians.
Kipnis is a two-time All-Star second baseman and he could make his World Series debut in the first game on Tuesday in Cleveland. Kipnis hurt his left ankle while celebrating after the Indians won the American League Championship Series.
There are people in Northbrook wishing him well, but they still want to see the Cubs end their 108-year championship drought.
“I want him to be a World Series MVP candidate, but I want the Cubs to win the series,” Glenbrook High Schools District 225 superintendent Mike Riggle said. “I’ve been a Cub fan for 50 years.”
Riggle, who has been superintendent since 2008, was the principal at Glenbrook North for the four years Kipnis was in school. He remembers Kipnis as an outstanding athlete with a strong work ethic.
The World Series MVP has played for the losing team just once. In 1960, the New York Yankees’ Bobby Richardson was named the MVP even though the Pittsburgh Pirates won in seven games.
“That would be a good solution, wouldn’t it,” Northbrook Village President Sandy Frum said. “I hope he has a great Series, but I want the Cubs to win.
Justin Weiner, a boyhood friend of Kipnis who is the fitness center coordinator at Glenbrook North as well as a baseball and football assistant coach, said there are no questions about where his World Series loyalties lie.
“It’s pretty simple,” Weiner said. “I don’t know a player on the Cubs. To be able to know someone who is playing in the World Series is like having your brother on the team. I’m rooting for the Tribe 100 percent.”
Brother is a word Weiner used frequently when talking about Kipnis and other former Northbrook travel baseball teammates. Weiner said some of the players were together from as young as age 7 through their days at Glenbrook North.
“We were brothers,” Weiner said. “We would razz each other like brothers. We did things together like brothers. There was nothing like Northbrook travel baseball. It is one of the reasons we are all still friends and became friends.”
Weiner said Kipnis was always the best player on the team. Chuck Leve, who coached Kipnis when he was a 14-year-old Pony Leaguer, said he remembers Kipnis as a talented teen.
“His swing was sweet but what impressed me most was his love of the game,” Leve said. “He had no fear of getting hit. He had no fear of getting dirty. He would do anything on the field. He was as fast as all get out. He hit a hard line drive every time.”
Leve and Weiner both remember a highly talented player, but neither got the sense Kipnis would play Major League Baseball until he became a standout in college. Leve said he thought it was possible Kipnis could reach the big leagues after he heard his former player was starring at Arizona State.
“He filled out,” Leve said. “He always had the love of the game, the speed, the quickness. I’m in awe of how well he has done.”
When Kipnis became the Pac-10 Player of the Year and a second-round draft choice in 2009, Weiner said he felt the majors were a strong possibility for his friend.
“It’s pretty cool,” Weiner said. “Two All-Star games and now the World Series.”
Steve Sadin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press
