August, 2008
August 29th, 2008
The Time I Got Kicked Out Of Wrigley Field
When the Cubs drafted Mark Prior in 2001, the hype was unbelievable. Some considered him the best pitcher of all time and, with a few years of college behind him, the suspicion was that it would not be long before he made it to the major leagues. In 2002, he started at AA where in 6 starts, he was 4-1 with a 2.57 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. With 55 strikeouts in 35 innings, it was clear he was a man among boys so the Cubs moved him up to AAA. In AAA, he was just as good, posting a 1.69 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP, and striking out 24 in just 16 innings.
He was too good to keep down any longer so the Cubs called him up and Cubs fans, myself included, were ecstatic.
I went to his major league debut on June 22, 2002. It was a night game against the Pirates and despite the fact that the game featured two bad teams, there was a frenzy of hope in the air. Prior delivered a magnificent performance.
Late in the game, after Prior had left, a guy three rows in front of me started to annoy me. See, this jackass wanted his friends at home to see him on tv. Apparently, they told him they couldn’t see him so he decided to stand up and wave. While the game was going on. So I yelled out to him, as I have done before and since in a similar situation, “okay, everyone sees you, now sit down.” That line always gets a chuckle.
So the jackass sat down, but did not get off his cell phone. And then he started waving again. I was eating peanuts at the time and decided to share, so I threw a peanut at the guy. He put his hand down, but his Napoleonic friend went nuts. He turned around and demanded to know who threw the peanut. The drunks behind me gave me away and the little fellow sprinted out of his seat. I knew what was coming and I should have left, but I didn’t. So security comes and gets me and asks me to follow him. We went downstairs on the way to the concourse area and he told me I can’t throw peanuts. I apologized and explained why I did it and that I only threw one, it was in the shell and I tossed it softly. All of this was true expect for the part about me being sorry.
The security guard was cool, but said that the problem was that the guy was in the General Manager’s seats. I don’t think those seats are owned by the GM, but they are definitely owned by the Cubs. I was able to convince security dude that it would be ridiculous to kick me out of the stadium for throwing a peanut, so I suggested he let me stay and that I would just head to the standing room part of the stadium. He agreed and all was right with the world.
Prior, who was born on my fifth birthday, would go on to have a great rookie year and a stellar second season in 2003. But in 2003, he suffered his first injury when he hurt his shoulder trying to jump over a second basemen while running from first to second. It would be the first in a long line of injuries to Prior. Because baseball fans like to think they know the players personally, and because Prior was pretty soft-spoken and matter-of-fact when speaking with the media, Prior developed a reputation for being soft.
After years of injuries that seemed to get worse, Prior did not pitch in a single MLB game in 2007. The Cubs opted not to offer him a deal for 2008. The San Diego Padres gave the injured pitcher a one year contract, hoping he’d be ready to pitch by June. Mark Prior did not and will not play baseball this year.
In the end, Mark Prior is current Cubs fans’ #1 what-might-have-been fantasy. But in 2002 and most of 2003, that #22 jersey was pure magic.
Even without Mark Prior, 22 would still hold a special place in my Cubs heart. I’m sure it’s not an accurate memory, but I remember the first baseball card I ever pulled out of a pack to be a 1981 Topps Bill Bucker. Buckner, of course would go on to make the error devastated the 1986 Red Sox World Series hopes. Recently, some observant fan noticed that Buckner was wearing Cubs wristbands while playing that game. Coincidence? Probably not.
August 29th, 2008
Before Michael, #23 Was Huge in Chicago
I was born in 1975. My first Cubs memories are, as far as I can tell, from 1980. Ryne Sandberg came to the Cubs as a throw-in when the Cubs traded Ivan DeJesus for Larry Bowa prior to the 1982 season. By 1984, he was the National League MVP and on the way to establishing himself as one of, if not the best second baseman in baseball history.
Along the way, his wife reportedly cheated on his with numerous other professional athletes including Rafael Palmeiro and Dave Martinez. I honestly can’t say I blame her since Sandberg always seemed to be one of the more boring human beings alive.
Nevertheless, while the Cubs sucked for most of 1983-1997, Sandberg was a model of consistency at the highest level. In addition to being among the best offensive second basemen ever, he was also among the best defensively. While fielding percentage is not a perfect measure, he has the best one ever for a second baseman.
The dude may have been boring personally, but he was the second greatest Cub of my lifetime.
Michael Jordan came to Chicago in the fall of 1984. But while he made the number 23 something special across the country, Ryno had already elevated that number to greatness in Chicago.
August 28th, 2008
Documenting Some of Theriot’s Crappiness
On this blog, some smart people list twenty (20) different times this year that Theriot’s poor baserunning has hurt the team.
August 27th, 2008
Some Trades Are Better Than Others
I celebrated my seventh birthday with a party in the bleachers in Wrigley Field. The only part of the game that I remember was seeing Scott Sanderson, a pitcher, hit a grand slam that landed fairly close to us. I didn’t get the ball, and unfortunately Sanderson was playing for the victorious Expos that day.
Two years later, Scott Sanderson was a Cub thanks to a December trade. His first year was 1984 which saw the Cubs return to the postseason for the first time since 1945. Sanderson was the #3 starter for that team and went 8-5 with a 3.14 ERA. He started Game 4 of the NLCS with the Cubs up 2 games to 1. He lost, the Cubs lost Game 5, and they wouldn’t have a real chance to win the pennant again until 2003.
Today, Scott Sanderson is an agent who specializes in representing Christian athletes. His agency recently convinced Josh Hamilton leave the agent who took a risk on Hamilton as he was making his return to baseball after a few years as a crack addict and, now that he’s about to cash in on his next contract, sign up with an agency that shared his love of Jesus. When the question is what would Jesus do, I don’t think the answer is screw over your agent because of his religion, but I’m not the best authority to answer the question.
But Scott Sanderson the person is irrelevant to me; Scott Sanderson the Cub was important. He remained with the Cubs for six years through the 1989 season, but it was only in 1984, the year the Cubs first brought me pain, that he wore #24.
There was another, far more famous Cub who wore #24. He’s in the Hall of Fame, he was a six time all star, batted nearly 300 in his career, had over 3,000 hits and he has the second most stolen bases in baseball history. But the Cubs decided early on they didn’t need him, so just 3 1/2 years into his career, they traded him to the Cardinals for Ernie Broglio, a man who would last just 2 1/2 more years in baseball, all with the Cubs, in which he pitched 213 innings and had an ERA of 6.04. To this day, Brock for Broglio are three of the most painful words a Cubs fan can hear. So the number 24 hasn’t always been magical, but today it certainly is.
