CHICAGO — It’s one of the most common phrases uttered around Major League Baseball rosters:

Postseason experience.

Teams are always prioritizing it and discussing how adding veteran players into their clubhouse can help the current team.

And make no mistake, it does matter.

David Ross certainly had a big impact on the Cubs’ young position players in 2016.

There’s a reason why Justin Turner has been on the Cubs’ roster all season despite a part-time role that affords him very few starts.

Playoff experience matters.

But it’s also not an end-all, be-all.

“I think we kind of build this up a little too much of just like, ‘Oh youth or veteran,’” Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson said. “But at the end of the day, we each have a role, right? I’ve been very fortunate to have played in games like this, and that has its benefits. But also being young and kind of almost naive, in a way, and just going out there and laying it all on the line has its benefits too.

“So it’s a perfect blend of youth and veteran guys, and very thankful and grateful to be able to take the field with them.”

“There’s just a resounding feeling of belief that this group has.”

Dansby Swanson and the Cubs believe they have what it takes to make a deep postseason run. pic.twitter.com/Y6n8b8NRdZ

— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) September 29, 2025

This will be Swanson’s fifth trip to the postseason after experiencing it with the Atlanta Braves every year from 2019-22. That included a World Series championship in 2021.

Outfielder Kyle Tucker has played in October almost every season of his career, including a World Series in 2022 with the Houston Astros.

Turner has played more than half a regular season’s worth of games in the playoffs: 86 career postseason contests with the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2014-22. He, too, won a World Series (in 2020).

On the mound, the Cubs are rolling with a Game 1 starter (Matthew Boyd) who got a taste of the postseason in 2022 and then pitched into the ALCS last year with the Cleveland Guardians. The Cubs also have players like Jameson Taillon and Caleb Thielbar on the staff who know what it takes to get big outs in October.

[Matthew Boyd shares heartfelt, emotional response to Game 1 start with Cubs]

Of course, there is also Ian Happ, who is really the only player that understands what it truly means to win in Chicago. He was a part of the 2017 Cubs team that made it to the NLCS and heard all the stories from the historic 2016 squad.

Then there is a long list of position players (headlined by Pete Crow-Armstrong, Matt Shaw, Seiya Suzuki and Michael Busch) who have never played in October. Pitchers like Shota Imanaga, Brad Keller and Daniel Palencia will be asked to get key outs in an environment they have never experienced before.

Manager Craig Counsell has been a guiding voice for this roster all season and knows all about what October has to offer. He won two World Series rings as a player — first in 1997 with the upstart Florida Marlins and then in 2001 with the expansion Arizona Diamondbacks.

[READ: What to know for NL Wild Card Series vs. Padres]

He has also been to the postseason five different times as a manager with the Milwaukee Brewers.

“The experience of the guys that have been here and done it — Dansby and JT, and the guys that have made deep postseason runs who’ve won, and then a group of young guys that’s excited for this opportunity,” Happ told Marquee Sports Network’s Elise Menaker. “It’s going to be new, and there’s definitely going to be some parts of it that they’re not used to, but in a great way with the excitement, the energy.

“Counse made some really good points about letting the game come to you and letting the energy take you to another level, and not pressing yourself to be there. I think that’s one of the biggest keys to postseason baseball. The energy is fantastic. There is this atmosphere, but you’re still doing the same thing you’ve done for 162 games.”

The Cubs hope that perfect blend will help carry them to a deep run in October.