A Sort of Homecoming
Nope, this isn't a post about New Jersey, or a tribute to a good song by U2. Rather it's about a trip to one of the game's most storied locales - Wrigley Field.
Let's face it, anytime you get a chance to visit Wrigley Field you have to jump on it. If you're Ryne Sandberg, who built a Hall of Fame career in the Friendly Confines, it's even more of a no-brainer. Sandberg returned to Wrigley to manage his Peoria Chiefs against the Kane County Cougars in the first ever minor league game at the storied ballpark. For yours truly - a baseball history geek - it was an opportunity to make just my second trip to the yard on the corner of Clark & Addison.
There was a definite big league feel to the whole event, which was given the mellifluous moniker of "Road to Wrigley" (which is probably wishful thinking as the majority of Midwest League players will never get a sniff of the bigs, but that's nitpicking). Aside from the obvious link via the ballpark itself and the presence of Mr. Sandberg, was the horde of Chicago (and Peoria) media which flocked to cover the game. I'm fairly certain that the players had never seen so much media, which while not quite the size of the contingent which follows the Cubs around, was a good ten times (my estimate) the normal media attendance for a Midwest League game. Peoria was probably a little more comfortable due to the daily presence of their Hall-of-Fame skipper.
In the pregame press conference, before a horde of media that rivaled anything Lou Piniella sees in his daily press briefings in the tiny interview room below Wrigley's third-base seats, Sandberg answered questions for 15 minutes good naturedly and honestly. He spoke with emotion about the fracas his team was involved in while he was away attending the Hall of Fame ceremonies in Cooperstown. He opined that the brawl would not have occurred had he been there and stated that he would have to "think about it" when deciding whether to leave his team again in the future.
Lisa was on hand to handle the on-camera duties for our Road to Wrigley feature (which can be seen on cubs.com as well as milb.com) and we spoke with a pair of Chiefs players before the game to get their take on the event. Both had that wide-eyed excitement of a young player stepping onto one of the game's most storied fields with second baseman Josh Harrison comparing his anticipation to being like a kid waiting for Christmas. We also spoke with Jemile Weeks, Oakland's first-round pick this year and the younger brother of Milwaukee second baseman Rickie Weeks. Unfortunately, Jemile was injured running to first base on his first at-bat of the game. Hopefully he'll make a speedy recovery and be back in action soon.
The game itself was a good one, with Peoria storming to a 5-1 lead only to see Kane County storm back to take a 6-5 lead. Peoria tied it back up at six apiece and was threatening to win the game in the ninth with two on and one out when Mother Nature intervened. From my spot in the third base camera well what started as a drizzle quickly escalated into a full blown deluge complete with celestial fireworks. I went from relatively dry to completely soaked in a span of, oh, five seconds or so. I managed to keep the camera damp rather than sopping wet, which is good because advanced electronics don't react well to immersion in water. The game was suspended and our night at Wrigley was done.
A good crowd turned out, so I hope that the Cubs organization will consider making this an annual event, just like the Red Sox do with their "Futures at Fenway" double-header. And speaking of the Fenway two-fer, Jonathan & I will be there for this year's edition on August 9.
Let's face it, anytime you get a chance to visit Wrigley Field you have to jump on it. If you're Ryne Sandberg, who built a Hall of Fame career in the Friendly Confines, it's even more of a no-brainer. Sandberg returned to Wrigley to manage his Peoria Chiefs against the Kane County Cougars in the first ever minor league game at the storied ballpark. For yours truly - a baseball history geek - it was an opportunity to make just my second trip to the yard on the corner of Clark & Addison.
There was a definite big league feel to the whole event, which was given the mellifluous moniker of "Road to Wrigley" (which is probably wishful thinking as the majority of Midwest League players will never get a sniff of the bigs, but that's nitpicking). Aside from the obvious link via the ballpark itself and the presence of Mr. Sandberg, was the horde of Chicago (and Peoria) media which flocked to cover the game. I'm fairly certain that the players had never seen so much media, which while not quite the size of the contingent which follows the Cubs around, was a good ten times (my estimate) the normal media attendance for a Midwest League game. Peoria was probably a little more comfortable due to the daily presence of their Hall-of-Fame skipper.In the pregame press conference, before a horde of media that rivaled anything Lou Piniella sees in his daily press briefings in the tiny interview room below Wrigley's third-base seats, Sandberg answered questions for 15 minutes good naturedly and honestly. He spoke with emotion about the fracas his team was involved in while he was away attending the Hall of Fame ceremonies in Cooperstown. He opined that the brawl would not have occurred had he been there and stated that he would have to "think about it" when deciding whether to leave his team again in the future.
Lisa was on hand to handle the on-camera duties for our Road to Wrigley feature (which can be seen on cubs.com as well as milb.com) and we spoke with a pair of Chiefs players before the game to get their take on the event. Both had that wide-eyed excitement of a young player stepping onto one of the game's most storied fields with second baseman Josh Harrison comparing his anticipation to being like a kid waiting for Christmas. We also spoke with Jemile Weeks, Oakland's first-round pick this year and the younger brother of Milwaukee second baseman Rickie Weeks. Unfortunately, Jemile was injured running to first base on his first at-bat of the game. Hopefully he'll make a speedy recovery and be back in action soon.The game itself was a good one, with Peoria storming to a 5-1 lead only to see Kane County storm back to take a 6-5 lead. Peoria tied it back up at six apiece and was threatening to win the game in the ninth with two on and one out when Mother Nature intervened. From my spot in the third base camera well what started as a drizzle quickly escalated into a full blown deluge complete with celestial fireworks. I went from relatively dry to completely soaked in a span of, oh, five seconds or so. I managed to keep the camera damp rather than sopping wet, which is good because advanced electronics don't react well to immersion in water. The game was suspended and our night at Wrigley was done.
A good crowd turned out, so I hope that the Cubs organization will consider making this an annual event, just like the Red Sox do with their "Futures at Fenway" double-header. And speaking of the Fenway two-fer, Jonathan & I will be there for this year's edition on August 9.
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