MESA, Ariz. — If you were in the park that night, it would be hard to believe. Perhaps impossible. 

Because if you were at Wrigley Field on Nov. 2, 2016, how could you conceive that the team celebrating on the field would win one more postseason series from that moment until you read this sentence? 

Unfathomable not just because the Cubs had finally dealt with yesterday by winning their first title since 1908, but because tomorrow looked so dynastic promising. 

At that snapshot, nine major contributing position players had just played only their ages 22-to-26 seasons, which included Kris Bryant, who won NL MVP, and Anthony Rizzo, who was fourth in the balloting. Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks finished 2-3 for NL Cy Young and Jake Arrieta ninth. The youthful infield — Rizzo, Bryant, Javier Báez and Addison Russell — was so talented that the head of baseball operations, Theo Epstein, could famously say, “If not now, when?” in trying to end The Curse of the Billy Goat by deadline-trading touted prospect Gleyber Torres to the Yankees for walk-year closer Aroldis Chapman.