3 unforgettable Anthony Rizzo moments Cubs fans will always remember

The fact that the Chicago Cubs are closing in on a postseason spot for the first time since 2020 will take a back seat on Saturday. It'll be all eyes on Anthony Rizzo, who is returning to the organization as he calls it a career after 14 seasons - 10 of which were spent on the North Side.

He saw it all during that decade. Rizzo came over as an unproven prospect and played for the 101-loss 2012 club, the worst Cubs team since 1966. As the roster around him improved and Theo Epstein's organizational overhaul started to yield fruit, Rizzo was at the center of it all, culminating in an unforgettable 2016 World Series run.

So as the Cubs bring him back into the fold this weekend at Wrigley Field, let's look back on three unforgettable moments from a career marked with clutch performances and incredible highlights.

3 unforgettable moments from Anthony Rizzo's Cubs career

Rizzo gets Wrigley rocking in first full attendance game post-COVID

I was there when Javier Baez launched his Mother's Day walk-off homer in 2016. I saw peak Jake Arrieta mow down opponents and was even fortunate enough to be at the Confines for a postseason game during that run to the Fall Classic nearly a decade ago.

All of those pale in comparison to being in the bleachers for the first game without attendance restrictions at Wrigley in 2021. There was an October-like charge in the air, as we all let out a collective breath at the comfort provided by being back in our favorite place on a picture-perfect day in Chicago.

Cubs-Cardinals. Friday. 1:20. All the ingredients were there. But one moment - well, rather, one at-bat - was the stuff of legends and childhood bedtime stories. Rizzo stepped in with the Cubs trailing 5-4 in the bottom of the sixth and worked a 13-pitch AB, drawing multiple standing ovations, before sending the full-capacity crowd into an uproar with one game-tying swing.

I had never seen anything like this before - and I honestly don't know that I ever will again. It was a slam-dunk to make this list.

Rizzo's severe ankle injury proves no match for his willpower, determination

Late September 2019 isn't a stretch filled with particularly fond memories. As we all know, the Cubs' late-season implosion was in full swing and the team wound up missing the playoffs, despite carrying 77% odds as late as Sept. 16.

On Sept. 19, Rizzo went down with what we all assumed was a season-ending ankle injury, casting Cubs fans even further into their pit of despair. But, against all odds, he was back just four days later, a late addition to Joe Maddon's starting lineup - and, of course, he went yard in his second trip to the plate.

At least for one moment, hope returned. Funny how often in his career Rizzo was the one putting the team on his back and acting as the catalyst when the Cubs needed him most. This is just one of many examples of that in action.

Arms raised, Rizzo celebrates a Cubs World Series championship

Come on. There's no way we're talking top Anthony Rizzo moments and don't include Game 7.

One of the best World Series in recent memories, capped by the winner-take-all affair in Cleveland, had it all: the seemingly insurmountable deficit, two historic franchises vying to end their respective title droughts and, for Cubs fans, a rain delay followed by a championship-winning, extra-inning comeback.

If there is one image etched into Cubs lore, perhaps more so than any other during the team's existence, it's Rizzo, arms raised with joy etched across his face after catching the final out to erase a 108-year drought. If there's ever a Rizzo statue at Gallagher Way, it's safe to say this could be the pose.