Joe Maddon might not be manager of the Chicago Cubs if a ‘ballsy’ demand had backfired prior to his first managerial job

You see, Maddon already had an important appointment during the 2006 season — his girlfriend’s law school graduation — and Maddon was not going to miss it.

Here is how Maddon described the demand a few years later for “ESPN the Magazine”:

“One of my favorite Rays memories is my first one. When Matt Silverman and Andrew Friedman interviewed me in 2005, I made a special request. ‘If I get the job, can I have two days off next May to attend my girlfriend’s law school graduation?’ Jaye and I weren’t married yet.

I know, it was pretty ballsy of me. But they smiled and assured me it would not be a problem. So when I did get the job, I knew I was going to the right place.”

Curiously, the Devil Rays won both of those games as bench coach Bill Evers filled in against the then-Florida Marlins.

But it is amazing how history can turn on simple things. Many teams would not have agreed to the demand. If Maddon had not been hired by the Devil Rays, maybe he gets another job elsewhere, or maybe not. But more importantly, even if he were managing another team, maybe he would not have had a weird opt-out in his contract that let him leave the Rays for the Cubs in November, 2015.

And if that doesn’t happen, maybe the Cubs aren’t in the 2016 World Series.