101 years of baseball at this location.
Day Two of my 2015 Ballpark Tours (BPT) trek began early Thursday morning in Chicago’s Gold Coast area. On the docket for “trekkers?” A day of sightseeing, a night game at Wrigley Field (Cubs/Giants) and maybe brews and blues post game. For information on Ballpark Tours and a report on Day One of this year’s trip, click here.
Early in the day, the BPT touring party fanned out in small groups heading for (among other places) – an on-the-river architectural tour, the Art Museum, the Museum of Science and Industry, Navy Pier and Magnificent Mile shopping – and those are just the excursions I heard about. (Ballpark Tours always schedules free time for trekkers to take in local culture, entertainment, food, shopping, etc.)
Wrigleyville – Welcome to the neighborhood.
By mid-afternoon – via the El, on-foot or by taxi – members of the group began making their way to Wrigleyville (Red Line Addison stop if you’re lucky enough to make a Cubs’ game). Our cadre headed for the Cubby Bear for pre-game food and beverage and – like most of the many Wrigleyville sports-oriented bars – it was packed by 3 p.m. (before a 7:05 game). BBRT’s suggestion – make it to Wrigleyville early and take in the atmosphere – sports bars packed with fans, bustling souvenir/memorabilia shops and “hustling” outdoor stands and ticket sellers seemingly on every block. Pre-game Wrigleyville is part of the Cubs’ experience.
As game time approached, the excitement in the bars and on the streets ratcheted up. There was lots of Cubs’ Blue and Giants’ Orange. This was a big series, with the Cubs trailing the Giants by just ½ game for the final Wild Card playoff spot. Clearly, the fans (on both sides) were ready for meaningful baseball (and just over 41,000 would pack into Wrigley for the contest.
I got into the park early, collecting my promotional Cubbies Water Bottle – a give-away that I promptly gave away to a Cubs’ fan (didn’t need one more thing to cram into my suitcase). Now if it had been a bobble head …
On the way into Wrigley, I noted three things: 1) Lots of photo taking with the Ron Santo, Billie Williams and Ernie Banks statues; 2) Lots of street vendors selling water and peanuts; 3) Lots of Kyle Schwarber (#12) jerseys – more on that later.
For those of you who don’t track such things, there’s a great deal of messy construction in and around Wrigley Field this year (which will continue for quite some time), as the Cubs are restoring, improving and updating the century-old facility. The effort – deemed the 1060 Project – will cost about $575 million and should be completed by 2018. It includes improvements to Wrigley’s façade and infrastructure; upgraded restrooms, concourses, suites, press boxes and clubhouses; additional seating; a giant “jumbotron”; and even an adjacent hotel and office-retail complex.
Wrigley Field – new video board in left field may be a little too much.
Once inside Wrigley, we were witness to the most visible impacts of Phase 1 of Project 1060 – additional bleacher seating, a 3,990-square-foot video board in left field and a 2,250-square-video board in right field. For BBRT at least, the changes take away some of the ancient lady’s charms. Lost behind the video board in right field was the glimpse of Lake Michigan we used to enjoy – and cumulatively the expanded bleachers and new video boards reduced the view of the Chicago skyline and Wrigleyville’s row house architecture. And, with all the usual video hoopla that comes with video boards – after spending all that money, you better maximize their use – Wrigley is no longer as much of a “step back in time” for fans. BBRT’s take? I like the tastefully sized right field video board, but find the massive left field video structure distracting and out of place with my image of Wrigley. Thank goodness they kept the ivy (Wrigley Field is the last remaining ballpark with ivy-covered outfield walls) and the manual scoreboard above the center field bleachers.
BBRT note: I set about informally surveying Cubs’ fans on how they felt about the changes and found out two things: 1) Cubs fans like the new video boards by about a 3-1 ratio (they appreciate joining the 21st century in terms of graphics and replay); 2) The Cubs make lots of money off visitors to Wrigley. On that second realization … I approached groups of fans in the ball park (concentrating on those in which at least one member was wearing Cubs’ apparel) for my survey and came fact-to-face with fans from California, Iowa, Ohio, Massachusetts, Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina and Louisiana before finding my first Chicagoan. Hopefully, changes to the park and adjacent area won’t cut into the attraction for fans from outside Chicago.
Now to observations on the game.
Hunter Pence – MLB’s highest stirrups?
The Cubs jumped out to a 5-0 lead after two innings – and then held on for a 5-4 win, taking a half-game lead (for the final Wild Card spot) over the Giants – and sending the crowd into a rousing rendition of the “Go Cubs Go” victory song. Good game, great fans in what is still a great place to watch a game. Some observations:
- My obligatory score card got off to a bad start. Before the lineups were announced, I “inked” Cubs’ pitcher Jason Hammel into the nine spot. “Clever” Joe Maddon, however, chose to bat the pitcher eighth, putting 2B Addison Russell in the nine-hole. Note: Hammel did lead off the second with a single – and later scored.
- My Hammel lineup gaff hardly mattered. It’s hard to produce a “clean” scorecard, when the two teams use 35 players, including 12 pitchers and five pinch hitters. Gotta love the National League and the double switch.
- The Cubs’ 22-year-old rookie catcher Kyle Schwarber’s (#12) replica jerseys were all over the park. In the second inning, the 2014 first-round pick – and former High School and College All American – showed us why. He poled a three-run homer – and ended the contest hitting .342 with six homers and 18 RBI in 25 games. Schwarber, who made his major league debut in mid-June, played in 147 minor league games in 2014-15, putting up a .333-34-102 line.
- Kyle Schwarber is only one of many young players to watch on this exciting young Cubs’ team. Starting the game were: 3B Kris Bryant, 2B Addison Russell, RF Jorge Soler, SS Starlin Castro.
- Giants’ RF Hunter Pence must have the highest stirrups in MLB.
- The Giants’ offense was based on the “Brandon Principle.” Four runs on a pair of two-run homers – by 1B Brandon Belt (great baseball name) and SS Brandon Crawford.
- It was a game of deep counts (on both sides). Twelve hurlers threw 315 pitches (136 balls, 179 strikes).
Ode to Cubbies/Giants
Young Cubbies take the day.
Put Champion Giants away.
Schwarber and Soler drive in five.
Two Brandons keep SF alive.
Still much to my dismay.
Not a single double-play.
And to top off my chagrin.
Also heard the Twinkies didn’t win.
Bad Bloody – somewhat saved by the Chicago Dog guy.
Bloody Mary Review
When it comes to the traditional BBRT Bloody Mary Review, Wrigley won’t be flying the big “W” flag. The $10 Bloody Mary, although featuring a generous vodka pour, suffered from a weak, very mild mix – and NO (that’s zero/nada) salt, pepper, tabasco or condiments (no pickles, olives, lime, celery, peppers, etc.). I actually ended up commandeering some celery salt, pepper and peppers from the Chicago Dog stand.
Decade Dogs
Decade Dogs – tastes for the ages.
A final thought. While in Wrigley, stop by the Decade Dogs booth featuring – on an alternating basis – ten specialty dogs to commemorate each of Wrigley’s ten decades. On our day at the park, the featured item was “Mini Corn Dogs,” but you could also enjoy jumbo versions of the: Chicago Dog (a seven on a scale of ten according to one of our trekkers); Chili-Cheese Dog; Maxwell Street Polish; and (Ugh!) Veggie Dog.
And, now it’s on to Cleveland for the Twins, Dollar Dog Night and Two-dollar Bud Night. I’ll keep the Pepto ready for all three.
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me.
