Joe Maddon will be the next manager of the Chicago Cubs. Does this mean the Cubs will win the World Series next year? Of course not!

It means they will win EVERY World Series for the rest of time!

Obviously I’m joking … or am I?

Yes, I’m joking.

Maybe.

I think this was a really nice hire for the Cubs. Maddon is one of the game’s best managers, and he’s entering a really great situation.

He had to endure a fan base in Tampa Bay that didn’t appreciate his team’s success nearly as much as it should have.

With his fun personality, he’ll have the love and admiration of the Cubs fans in no time.

As a Sox fan, I would love to have Maddon as my manager.

So now that all of that is out of the way, I’m going to be honest with Cubs fans for a second.

Maddon might not make that much of a difference.

This is no shot to his managerial tactics, or career as he’s achieved a lot of success in the past. I’m just saying a manager doesn’t guarantee anything in baseball.

A lot of baseball is about chance.

As a White Sox fan, I am quite familiar with the Detroit Tigers. In the past few years, they’ve seemingly done everything they could to win a World Series.

Look at 2013, a year after they lost to the Giants in the World Series. They made even more moves to try and move toward a World Series win.

They had Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez, Prince Fielder, Torii Hunter, Austin Jackson, and Jhonny Peralta in their starting lineup. Their pitching rotation consisted of Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Anibal Sanchez, Doug Fister, and Rick Porcello.

Their manager was Jim Leyland, who was a pretty darn good manager in his own right.

On paper, the Tigers could have easily won the World Series in 2013. The Tigers finished the season 93-69 and looked like a team primed for a playoff run. It looked like they had no holes in their lineup, and their pitching rotation seemed unstoppable.

The Tigers lost to the Red Sox in the ALCS in 2013, four games to two.

In 2014, they traded Fielder for Ian Kinsler in a trade that turned out really well for the them. In May, Fielder received season-ending neck surgery.

Kinsler went on to have a solid season, batting .275 with 17 home runs and 92 RBIs.

The Tigers also acquired one of the best pitchers in baseball, David Price, at the trade deadline, bolstering their rotation even more.

This season the Orioles swept the Tigers in the ALDS.

The Cubs’ roster is nowhere near as strong as the Tigers’ roster has been the last few years.

I know  the Cubs will have the money this offseason to bring in some free agents, but even still, their roster isn’t going to be super strong.

You know two other teams whose rosters aren’t nearly as strong as the Tigers?

The Kansas City Royals and the San Francisco Giants. Those two teams played in this year’s World Series.

Not many people consider Ned Yost to be anything more than an average manager. His Royals still ended up in the World Series. There are other significant examples

After the Athletics acquired ace Jon Lester during the season, their rotation looked incredible.

Many people picked Oakland to win the World Series this year. Spoiler alert: they didn’t. Bob Melvin, who is considered one of the better managers in baseball, manages the Athletics.

I’m not saying Cubs fans shouldn’t be excited about the Joe Maddon signing. All I’m saying is even with a great manager, nothing is guaranteed.

Even with a great team, nothing is guaranteed.

The Cubs are certainly trending in the right direction, and Cubs fans should be excited about this.

In baseball though, nothing is guaranteed, and that’s one of the many reasons it’s an amazing sport.

Sam is a senior in Media. He can be reached at [email protected]