Morning Marquee: Chicago Cubs’ season ticket holders to pay more in 2016

When the Chicago Cubs hired Joe Maddon then went out and signed free agent southpaw Jon Lester to one of the biggest contracts in franchise history, fans knew that 2015 was going to be a special season.

And we were right. Future N.L. MVP, Anthony Rizzo fed off Maddon’s postseason talk by telling the media that the Cubs were going to win the division, dethroning the St. Louis Cardinals. That didn’t happen, but they did, however, knock them out of the playoffs.

Having one of the best records in all of baseball felt great. Knowing that critics of this club were having to eat their words as they watched this young baseball team slug homers left and right on top of putting together multiple winning streaks of six games or more.

Wrigley Field was definitely jumping this year and some road games felt like they were being played on the North Side of Chicago. Fans from the Windy City usually have a strong showing and yesterday afternoon’s contest between the Chicago Bears and St. Louis Rams showed that.

Despite being on the road, it looked as if the Ed Jones Dome was filled with nothing but Bears fans. Don’t be surprised if teams start preventing Chicago fans from purchasing tickets to future games, especially next season.

Which brings us to our morning topic.

According to ESPN’s staff writer Jon Greenberg, the Chicago Cubs are expected to raise season ticket prices by 10.4 percent, which increases the average season ticket to around $50. A few dollars higher than last season’s, which should keep a handful of buyers interested in purchasing them again.

Here’s more from around the league:

‘Chicago Cubs: Alex Gordon is an intriguing option‘ – Cubbies Crib

‘Jason Hammel’s return revealed consistency issues‘ – Cubbies Crib

‘Baseballs first trade 129-years ago‘ – MLB.com