Chicago Cubs: Greatest moments in Wrigley Field history

Since its inception over a century ago, Wrigley Field has witnessed many historical moments – but these particular instances stand out.

If these walls could talk. The hallowed stomping grounds of the Chicago Cubs abound with the ghosts of baseball’s past and the legacy of which began 105 years ago. As the second-oldest stadium still open, beaten out by Fenway Park in Boston by two years, Wrigley is a legendary cathedral full of reminiscence.

Trying to break down all the unbelievable heart-stopping moments in Wrigley’s history is a challenging endeavor. Muddling through all the heartbreak, however, there are still so retrospection that we as fans can carry.

Here you won’t find the Steve Bartman story, the Sammy Sosa corked bat incident or the ‘Curse of the Billy Goat.’ No, here you will find the happiest, stadium-shaking conglomerate of experiences. Hold onto your seats, its time we flashback to what has been.

Chicago Cubs: Kerry Wood 20 strikeout game

Amidst the buzz of memories for Cubs fans, this one finds itself at the top of the list. Starting in just his fifth career major league game, Kerry Wood dominated the Houston Astros on May 6, 1998.

Wood was just 20 years old. It was fitting for a set up to 20 strikeouts. The ‘blips’ on the radar, if you can even call it that, was a hit batter and an infield single. Other than that, perfection. According to Bill James’ Game Score metric, it remains to this day the greatest game ever pitched.

To make it sweeter, it was an Astros lineup which carried now Hall-of-Famers Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell and was one of the best teams in the league at the time. Wood tossed 122 pitches in that complete-game effort, with zero walks to boot.

Wood finished off his rookie campaign in 1998 13-6, 3.40 ERA over 26 starts. He managed to post a ridiculous 33.3 percent strikeout rate over 166 2/3 innings. To imagine a 20-year-old striking out one out of three batters across the scope of a season is insane. Needless to say, that dreary May afternoon 21 years ago will always hold its weight as one of the best moments in Wrigley’s history.

Chicago Cubs: The basket-saving bomb

2016. National League Division Series. San Francisco Giants at Wrigley to face the Cubs. An even year. What could go wrong?

The past six years before the 2016 regular season saw the Giants win three World Series championships in consecutive ‘even’ seasons: 2010, 2012, 2014. Matched with the Cubs to kick October off in 2016, there was a nervousness in the air as the NLDS kicked off.

The starting pitchers were Jon Lester and Johnny Cueto. It would morph into an unbelievable pitchers duel which kept fans on the edge of their seats. Lester finished off eight shutout frames, striking out five while walking nobody and allowing five hits. His counterpart had the Cubs’ number as well, as Cueto allowed just three hits and struck out ten. Everything for Cueto was going great, and then the eighth inning happened.

On a cold October night with the wind blowing in, nothing was going right for either team. In the bottom of the eighth, that would all change as Javier Baez stepped to the plate. With one-out, on a 3-2 pitch, Cueto attempted a ‘quick pitch’ against Baez.

Sitting on that exact pitch, Baez annihilated the baseball. Had it not been for the wind, it would have gone out on to Waveland Avenue. It landed in the basket above Angel Pagan, however, leading the Cubs to a 1-0 victory, beginning their quest for glory.

Chicago Cubs: Miguel Montero, Game 1 hero

Following an exciting Division Series which laid witness to the Cubs rallying from behind in Game 4 to clinch a berth in the National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the club required a bit more late-game magic in Game 1.

Back in the ‘Friendly Confines’ of Wrigley, Lester faced off against Dodgers right-hander Kenta Maeda. Jumping out to a lightning-quick 3-0 lead after two innings, courtesy of a Kris Bryant RBI double and an exciting steal of home from Baez, Lester was in control throughout the game.

Coming into the game, staked to a 3-1 lead in the eighth after the Dodgers put two men on, Aroldis Chapman struck out two Dodgers hitters in a row before allowing a two-run single to Adrian Gonzalez tying the game.

As luck, or magic, would have it, it would be the eighth inning once again to light the fuse. Joe Blanton came in relief, allowing a leadoff double to Ben Zobrist. After a groundout from Addison Russell and an intentional walk to Jason Heyward, Blanton got Baez to fly out. Another intentional walk loaded the bases for backup catcher Miguel Montero.

With the home crowd rocking and facing an 0-2 pitch with two outs, Montero smashed a ball over the right-field bleachers causing Wrigley to literally shake. It was a historic home run and one that will remain in the annals of Wrigley history forever.

Chicago Cubs: A magical ride

Through heartbreak and frustration buds a new hope. The 2016 season lives on as one of the greatest, if not THE greatest, season in Cubs history. You can’t write the narrative any better for what transpired that year.

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At Wrigley for Game 6 of the NLCS, the Cubs faced the great Clayton Kershaw with a chance to move on to the World Series. Climbing back from a two games to one deficit in the only way the Cubs knew how to do throughout the year, that chilly October night remains one of the games great ‘all-time’ moments.

After springing out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first, the feeling began to form that this was that moment. A Willson Contreras line-drive shot over the left-field bleachers made it 4-0. A big home run by the captain Anthony Rizzo one inning later made it 5-0. It was happening.

Watching that game, I reminisced about 2003 all over again. It was only natural. The Cubs had led 3-0 heading to the eighth inning of that game. This time, however, that narrative was written differently.

The Coup de Grâce to close it out was the Yasiel Puig double play. From then on it was a party in Wrigleyville as 42,000 plus bellowed “Go Cubs Go.” We all know what would happen after that, but clinching the pennant at home versus the Dodgers could not have been any better of a moment in Wrigley Field history.