CHICAGO – There have been plenty of comebacks for former Cub favorites over the past few years. When Jed Hoyer made the decision to break up the 2016 championship core in the summer of 2021, these types of reunions were inevitable.
About 22 minutes into the first pitch on Friday afternoon, more than three years after he was traded to the New York Yankees, Anthony Rizzo finally got his moment. Rizzo stepped into the box and as he did for nearly a decade with the Cubs, dug his left foot into the back of the chalk line to the left of home plate. He then briefly stepped out of the box and raised his batting helmet to an adoring crowd of 40,101 who packed Wrigley Field to give him their props and watch a weekend series between two of baseball’s most storied franchises.
Earlier in the day, the crowd showered him with applause and cheers after the video boards played highlights from Rizzo’s time in Chicago. It showed Rizzo’s greatest moments on the field with the Cubs, and perhaps more importantly, the impact he had on the city itself with all the work he and his wife, Emily, did at Lurie Children’s Hospital.
As that reel ended, Rizzo emerged from the visitor’s dugout and received one of the loudest cheers this stadium has heard this season. He gave his love to the Wrigley Faithful before turning to his waiting family members to embrace them.
Rizzo spoke to members of the media before the game and talked about his visit to Lurie on Thursday. He discussed walking around his old neighborhood with Emily and his dog, Kevin, and enjoying a meal at Chicago Cut. He felt the thrill of returning to Wrigley Field on his drive to the ballpark Friday morning, where he could see the rough waters of Lake Michigan on a September day when the weather dipped into the 60s.
“I looked at the lake and saw it was rough, so that means the wind is blowing,” Rizzo said.
It was, a strong 16 mph on a first pitch straight into left field.
Rizzo’s return feels like the final chapter of what has been nearly three years of comebacks at Wrigley. Kyle Schwarber’s came before the team’s full breakup took place and Kris Bryant not long after the 2021 summer trade. Javier Báez didn’t return until this past August. Rizzo’s return feels like one final look back down memory lane.
“It was eight years ago now, so it’s not too crazy,” Rizzo said when asked about how only Kyle Hendricks remains from that 2016 championship team. “We were a young team and the organization just decided to go a different way in ’21. This is what happened.”
Rizzo may not have known it at the time, but being traded to New York is now something he looks back on fondly. When asked about a possible return to the Cubs one day, Rizzo didn’t rule it out but also expressed the love he has developed for his new city.
“Emily and I love (Chicago), we’ve made a lot of lifelong friendships here,” Rizzo said. “We see ourselves possibly living here again. As for playing, I really hope to retire a Yankee. I love playing for the Yankees, I love the opportunity I’ve had, especially with the guys I get to play with every day. But who knows what the future holds. I never thought I’d be a Yankee. Just take it day by day.”
Hoyer admitted that the talks about a potential extension he held with Rizzo were “more personal” than most. Because of their close nature – Hoyer was part of three different organizations that acquired Rizzo in some fashion – Hoyer said they often spoke without “the buffer of an agent.” But he didn’t want to settle for it. Instead, he was happy to hear that Rizzo now looks back on a trade he never expected to happen in a positive light.
“I’m glad he’s thinking about it that way,” Hoyer said. “I probably learned a lot about change as well. That group of players meant so much to the organization, Rizzo as much as anyone. It was brutally hard to trade those guys. It was really hard for the fan base. But realizing, ultimately, it was ultimately the right thing for the Cubs at that moment and ultimately, I’m glad he feels like it was the right thing for him as a person as well.”
Since they moved Rizzo, the Cubs now have a top prospect in Kevin Alcántara. Hoyer said the organization is happy to have Michael Busch, who is putting together a strong rookie campaign, at first base. Besides letting Schwarber go for nothing, the moves mostly paid off in terms of prospect returns and the performance of the outgoing players.
There are reasons to be optimistic.
But that Friday’s crowd, one of the largest this team has seen in September in years, tells a story of how this fan base is aching for another winner.
The Cubs have a solid group of talent, but they are nowhere near the level they were when Rizzo’s Cubs teams were at their peak. After Friday’s 3-0 loss to the Yankees, they’re barely hanging on the fringes of the wild-card race as their hopes are fading fast.
Rizzo wants teams like the Yankees — who are battling for first place with the Baltimore Orioles — and Cubs to always be in the thick of it.
“I think it’s great for the game when the big market teams are in the race,” Rizzo said. “The way the league is now, the competition is closer than ever, it’s more competitive than ever and it’s harder to win.”
Rizzo talks about the big-market teams, but some feel the Cubs aren’t flexing that big-market money enough. While there is certainly talent on the north side, the elite caliber player remains a fleeting attraction. Aaron Judge, who is in year two of a nine-year, $360 million deal, has the Yankees offense humming. Juan Soto, who the Yankees traded for last offseason and will likely garner one of the biggest free-agent deals ever this winter, gives the team one of the best one-two punches the game has seen.
The Cubs have never pursued Judge and there is not much optimism that they will be aggressive in trying to lure Soto. But Rizzo thinks free agents should line up to play at Wrigley Field.
“This is a special place to play,” Rizzo said. “Anyone who has played here will say the same. Any big-name free agent who doesn’t get the sales pitch on what it’s like to be a Chicago Cub would be a shame. Because this place is special. It generates a lot of income year in and year out. Salaries super high right now with the Cubs and it’s a big market. Big markets do big market things and that’s how this game should be.”
Public numbers aren’t always accurate and are usually a bit low, but according to Spotrac, the Cubs currently have the 10th highest luxury tax payroll in baseball. Being behind teams like the Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets should come as no surprise. But the Cubs are also behind the Texas Rangers, Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves, the last three World Series champions.
Where the Cubs rank in terms of payroll matters significantly less than where they are in the standings. But with each season that goes by without a postseason berth — the Cubs haven’t made a playoff game after a 162-game season since 2018 — that salary number grows. There’s no reason the Cubs can’t have a strong farm system and build with youth while also flexing their financial might to fill their biggest needs.
Rizzo knows that as well as anyone. He was the young prospect who developed into an All-Star under the Cubs’ watch. His presence along with other young talents was essential to the Cubs’ success. But at the time they also didn’t hesitate to buy at the top of the market, adding players like Jon Lester, Jason Heyward and Yu Darvish. Not every move worked, but fans knew that no one was truly out of reach. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.
But that was a different era of Cubs baseball. One that is further back in the past than some realize. Wondering if these Cubs can ever reach the heights that Rizzo’s teams did, may be for another time. Instead of dwelling on what this team may or may not be able to do in the near future, this weekend can be spent enjoying Rizzo and the joy he has brought to Cubs fans for years.
“Baseball is changing,” Hoyer said. “Names and people change. But nothing he did here would make him somebody you wouldn’t want here for a long time and representing the Cubs for a long time.”
(Photo: Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images)
