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Chicago Cubs: Who are we really cheering for these days?
The recent trade talks of Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant may just be business as usual for MLB; for fans, it’s about losing the identity of your team.
I felt this way in 1989; four years after the World Champion Chicago Bears won their last Super Bowl. In 1989, the Bears went 6-10, and familiar names like quarterback Jim McMahon were being replaced with names like Jim Harbaugh; Walter Peyton played his final 1,000-yard season three years earlier.
The defensive stalwarts remained on the team, like defensive end Richard Dent and defensive tackles William Perry and Steve McMichael. Still, it was the first time I thought of my favorite team without the heroes that made it so special to me.
It reminds me of how I felt in the offseason when the Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant was recently on the chopping block for the Cubs. Imagine some seven-year-old out there saw the Chicago Cubs won it all in 2016.
For kids, Bryant and Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo and even Cubs shortstop Javier Baez are the identities of this team. They are the reason we, they and all of us go to the ballpark and see the Chicago Cubs. Now imagine those same kids finding out their heroes may be sold or traded? It’s like your friend is saying goodbye, and who knows if or how they’ll return?
In the good old days before free agency, a player tried to stay with his club for his entire career because they became the face of that club, and it meant steady work. Rizzo approached the Cubs about retiring as a Cub earlier this year.
If you are going to be the face of an organization, then the club should talk about longevity, so you don’t have to go anywhere else. I mean, if everyone keeps changing teams and players that are once hated enemies are now joining the Cubs and becoming team members, then who the heck are we cheering for these days?
Chicago Cubs: Baseball is about people, not laundry
One of my favorite comedians of all time has to be Jerry Seinfeld. Anyone who grew up while Seinfeld was on television knows how powerful Seinfeld’s simple observations and messages were for audiences. Seinfeld was famous because he told the truth about life even when it was awkward to do so; those awkward instances usually became the vehicle for many laughs weekly.
One time, I was watching a live taping of Seinfeld on video, and an audience member asked Seinfeld about baseball. Seinfeld is a lifetime New York Mets fan and a crazy baseball fan in general.
For the stand-up joke, Seinfeld said he didn’t like baseball, or he used to like it but no longer followed it because there was no loyalty left in baseball which is one of Seinfeld’s famous observations:
Loyalty to any one sports team is pretty hard to justify, because the players are always changing, the team can move to another city. You’re actually rooting for the clothes, when you get right down to it. You know what I mean? You are standing and cheering and yelling for your clothes to beat the clothes from another city. Fans will be so in love with a player, but if he goes to another team, they boo him. This is the same human being in a different shirt; they hate him now. Boo! Different shirt! Boo!
I can undoubtedly see Seinfeld’s point in just looking back at some recent Cubs history with former Cubs pitcher Aroldis Chapman. Chapman and Rizzo got at each other on the field once when Chapman was in a ‘different shirt’ and pitching against the Cubs.
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Rizzo challenged the entire Cincinnati Reds team to a fight when they laughed at the struggling Cubs. A few years later, Chapman helps the Cubs end a curse and win a championship after 108 years. While there is still some debate amongst Cubs fans to the true extent of Chapman’s contribution to the 2016 team, he nevertheless was part of the team that ultimately won.
What about the Chapman fans in Cincy who bought that $150 Cincinnati Reds Chapman jersey right after they witnessed the cool Chapman wave off Rizzo and nearly incite World War III? Were they later booing that same Chapman that stood on the mound for the Cubs during their championship season?
You bet they were. It becomes like divorcing a family. He was formerly Aroldis Chapman Reds and then became Aroldis Chapman Cubs, a completely different person. So now, fans can boo who they used to cheer for.
So what does this mean for Cubs fans today? Which players might be lifetime Cubs?
Chicago Cubs: Picking a future lifetime player jersey
So what do you tell those young fans that admire Rizzo, Bryant or Baez and wonder which of them will be lifetime Cubs? Maybe they don’t want to buy a jersey that they will have to boo against in a few years? For instance, I haven’t pulled out my former Cubs pitcher, Jake Arrieta jersey, since he departed the Cubs for the Philadelphia Phillies. So what current Cubs players might just end up being lifetime North-siders?
Unfortunately, the players aren’t in total control of the process. There are a lot of financial decisions that owners must make on behalf of their team when deciding on whether to take on a player into and past their mid-30’s. Most players say they would like to play until they are 40 years old, but the truth is that even the most physically fit players will be done by age 38.
Legendary Cubs second baseman, Ryne Sandberg, played until he was 38. Chicago Cubs manager and former catcher David Ross was 39 and Rossy has said numerous times; it was his time. The best predictor is an age when trying to figure out which players might retire as Cubs. Use age 38 as your retirement age or point of no return, and you have an idea. News and web searches can tell you the rest. Predicting which Cubs may be lifetime Cubs is a lot more difficult because of all the things that could happen in a career.
So here’s my first bit of advice on which Cubs baseball jersey is a safe bet to purchase: buy the #3 Ross jersey first. Ross was a part of the magical 2016 Cubs and is now the manager, so either way, you can’t go wrong buying a Ross jersey. Here are a few other good jerseys that could just end up being Cubs for life:
Next. Cubs need to hold the spots for the roster. dark
#44 Anthony Rizzo – 30 years-old, wants to be a Cub until he retires, currently seeking a deal to stay.
#9 Javier Baez – 27 years old, seeking a deal; Cubs could lock him up for his career.
#2 Nico Hoerner – 22 years-old, won’t be a free agent until 2025, could be a lifetime Cub depending on his performance.
These are the jersey’s I would look to buy if you want your jersey and money to last this season and several more. If you’re going to cheer for laundry, just make sure its laundry that is sticking around.