Spooky season: 5 scariest days of the 2021 Chicago Cubs season

#2. July 29: Chicago Cubs lose to Reds and say goodbye to Anthony Rizzo

The week leading up to the July 30 MLB trade deadline was nerve-wracking and stressful for Cubs players and fans alike. There were so many questions and not many answers. The thing that was consistent was the Cubs putting the best lineup out on the field to win every day. That all changed on Thursday, July 29.

The starting lineup for the series finale against the Reds featured no Kris Bryant and no Anthony Rizzo. Immediately the internet went to work in trying to put the pieces of this puzzle together. All game long, cameras were in the dugout focused on the two Cub legends. They were always in good spirits, smiling and laughing most the game. The Cubs lost the game 7-4, but that was not the biggest loss to come on the day.

As the team boarded the bus to start their journey onto Washington to play the Nationals, someone was missing. Rizzo returned to David Ross’ office, where he was met by Ross and Jed Hoyer. They let him know he had been traded to the New York Yankees, a team not many had on their radar as a landing spot (including Rizzo).

Rizzo had been on record saying that if the ship was going down, he wanted to be on it until the end. The Cubs had different plans, and decided it was time to start looking forward in a new direction. Rizzo spent the evening with his family walking around Wrigley Field with his family one last time and gathering his belongings, one of the hardest things for Cubs fans to watch and see.

And yet, it was not going to get any easier.