Kris Bryant

For the last 107 seasons, any hope the Chicago Cubs held heading into postseason play was almost immediately followed by agony.

What took place in the ninth inning of Game 4 of the National League Division Series on Tuesday night is supposed to happen to the Cubs. Chicago is never the team that dishes out heartbreak.

The National League Division Series field is set after the San Francisco Giants knocked off the New York Mets in the Wild Card Game, setting up the Giants for an NLDS meeting with the Chicago Cubs.

Madison Bumgarner put the Giants on his shoulders once again in the elimination game, twilring a four-hit shutout to improve his already legendary postseason resume.

Now the Giants will have to take on baseball's best team, as the Cubs wrapped up the regular season at 103-58 with a staggerling plus-252 run differential.

If the Chicago Cubs have their way, 2016 will be the year they finally end a 108-year World Series championship drought and send the Curse of the Billy Goat the way of the Curse of the Bambino.

Over the past few weeks, the 2016 Bleacher Report MLB 300 has been ranking the top players at each individual position. Now it's time for the grand finale: the complete list.

In case you're just now joining us, the goal of the B/R MLB 300 is to rank the best players from the 2016 season by analyzing their assorted talents and scoring them accordingly. For more on how each individual position was approached, you can go straight to the source:

So it begins.

After six months and thousands of baseball games, the warm, languid promise of Opening Day gives way to the chilly pressure of the MLB playoffs.

The lights get brighter. Every pitch, at-bat and defensive chance is magnified. If you're not excited, get excited.

We'll help with a complete preview of the 2016 postseason, including rankings of every club's offense and pitching staff, a look at the managers who will be pulling the strings and predictions for every round up to and including the World Series. 

The upcoming postseason may be the main focus of the baseball world right now, but as the regular season winds down, the debate over who should win each of the league's major awards generally starts to heat up.

Kris Bryant looks like the front-runner to win NL MVP honors, while the AL race is still wide-open with Boston Red Sox teammates Mookie Betts and David Ortiz perhaps the co-favorites heading into the final week.

After checking in with the game's top shortstops, the B/R MLB 300 now heads to its final stop on the infield with a look at the top third basemen in Major League Baseball for the 2016 season.

While furious battles for MLB's four available wild-card berths will take place over the regular season's final week, indirect competitions for the game's highest individual honors are raging as well.

With only a handful of awards looking like they're wrapped up, players (and managers) have one final chance to impress voters. Some will rise to the occasion, while others will fold under the pressure. These award races only make the last stretch all the more intriguing.