Tom Ricketts changes his tune with a message Cubs fans have been begging for

Since the Chicago Cubs won it all a decade ago, owner Tom Ricketts has gone from beloved bankroller of the organization's first championship in more than a century to a controversial figure, often criticized for small-market thinking even as his Wrigleyville business empire grows ever larger.

After postseason baseball returned to Wrigley Field last fall for the first time with fans in attendance since 2018, the vibe around Cubs camp is understandably different than it has been in awhile. Even Ricketts acknowledged a different energy - and set of expectations - surrounding the team heading into 2026.

“We have to win more World Series,” Ricketts told the media on Monday. “I mean, it’s about winning. All this other stuff, it all leads to one thing, and that’s about winning. We just have to put the kind of teams on the field that can be in the playoffs every year and get back on top.”

Cubs eyeing an NL Central title and a World Series run in 2026

Chicago hasn't won the National League Central in a 162-game season since 2017, a damning indictment of the one team in the division that is fully capable of spending its foes into oblivion, but has repeatedly refused to do so. The Cubs are as close as humanly possible to the first CBT threshold this spring - within $1 million of the $244 million mark - and could push past it with in-season additions, another welcome change of pace on the North Side.

Despite that 92-win campaign last year, the Cubs still fell well short of taking down the rival Brewers, who took home their fourth division crown in the last five years, winning 97 games and advancing to the NLCS before falling to the Dodgers. The minimum bar for measuring success has to be winning the division every year - and Ricketts is well aware of that.

“Obviously, we want to win the division — we should win the division,” Ricketts said Monday. “It’s just a matter of executing, staying healthy and I think what we should be right there. You want to win the division for a lot of reasons, not just because it’s aggravating not to, but you want to put yourself in the best position for the playoffs as well, so hopefully we’ll execute against that plan and be there at the end of the season."

Offseason additions of Alex Bregman and Edward Cabrera headlined what is being universally lauded as Jed Hoyer's best winter to-date as Cubs' president of baseball operations. That success is due, at least in part, to ownership changing its long-held stance on deferrals in the Bregman contract. Now, it's on manager Craig Counsell and the club to go out and put up results over the course of the year - hopefully setting the stage for a deep October run to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the 2016 World Series championship team.