To Anthony Rizzo: Cubs fans and the city of Chicago thank you

I attended my first baseball game at Wrigley Field back in 2012.

For many Chicago Cubs fans, the year 2012 presents a mixed bag of emotions. On one hand, it marked the first year of Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer’s tenure in Chicago. On the other hand, the Cubs posted a record of 61-101 for their worst season since 1966.

At nine years old, I was blissfully ignorant of all of this. I knew next to nothing about the sport of baseball, save for my brief experience in youth sports, ironically playing for the White Sox in my tee-ball league.

I don’t remember much from the game. The Cubs won that day, but there was only one question on my mind throughout the game:

“Why does that guy waggle the bat all funny like that?”

“That guy” happened to be none other than Anthony Rizzo, with the first baseman playing in his debut season on the North Side. I was quickly enamored, with Rizzo being one of the first athlete’s names I ever learned.

The story takes a brief intermission as despite my great experience at the game, I would not follow baseball for a few more years

In 2016, my parents took over the family business, which meant my mom was spending more days over the summer at work. While she was gone, my Nonna would come over to watch my brother and I, each day asking us to turn the Cubs game on for her. 

I spent many days in the basement watching baseball with my Nonna. As the Cubs continued their push toward the World Series, not only did I fall in love with the team, but the game of baseball as a whole. 

Anthony Rizzo was the real adifference-maker for the 2016 Cubs

While many attribute the Cubs’ success in 2016 to Kris Bryant’s MVP season, many forget Rizzo finished fourth in NL MVP voting for the second consecutive year, tying his career-high with 32 home runs and winning both his first Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Awards at first base.

While his on-the-field production needed no introduction, what also led me to admire Rizzo was his personality off the field. His charitable work was something I deeply respected, and I could tell that not only was he a good ballplayer, but a good person as well. 

When the Cubs won the World Series later in November, nobody was happier at school than me. I consumed more and more baseball content that offseason, trying to learn whatever I could in anticipation for the next championship chase.

Unfortunately, that chase never came. As the years went on, I watched the core grow older and older, while simultaneously believing the team was one small piece away from being championship contenders. I had heard the whispers of trades heading into the 2021 season but refused to believe them.

I knew the season was most likely the last chance for the core, and I watched in anticipation to see how they would respond. The season started perfectly. Bryant looked like an MVP candidate again, leading the Cubs as they held the divisional lead heading into June. 

The Cubs would proceed to lose 11 games in a row, and I knew what that meant. As the trade deadline grew closer, the whispers intensified. I didn’t want to believe it, but I knew the days with my favorite players were numbered.

In what could only be described as the plot to a horror movie, I watched as the core was dismantled one by one, first with Rizzo, then Javier Baez, then lastly Bryant. In two short days, the team that was once destined to be a dynasty had been reduced to nothing but a one-year wonder.

When Rizzo joined the New York Yankees, I could only smile as his famous walkup song “Intoxicated” rang through Yankee Stadium. While a reunion was not impossible, I knew in my heart that Rizzo had played his last game as a Cub, and wished him nothing but continued success going forward. 

Rizzo was never quite the player Cubs fans grew to love in New York, struggling with injuries throughout his tenure in the Bronx. He would ultimately close his career playing at the highest level, competing for a second World Series ring that eluded him throughout his career.

The Yankees let Rizzo walk following the 2024 season, and with no team signing him, Rizzo’s playing days had come to an end. Rizzo closed his career in pinstripes, but not the right ones. It always felt like Rizzo would come back for one last hurrah in Chicago, but the Cubs never made it happen.

On Saturday, the Cubs will finally get to right that wrong. 

Rizzo announced he will be retiring as a Cub on Saturday, with the team honoring him before their game against the Tampa Bay Rays. Instead of sitting in a suite like many would, Rizzo has instead said he will be sitting in the Wrigley Field bleachers, joining the thousands of Cubs fans who embraced him as one of their own.

As Rizzo takes the next steps in his life, I can’t help but thank him for helping me to achieve my passion for sports, a passion that has fueled me to pursue sports reporting as a career. The years spent watching the Cubs with my family remain some of my fondest memories of childhood, and Rizzo played a huge part in that. 

More so, I, along with the city of Chicago, will be forever thankful for the role he played in breaking the World Series curse that had plagued the Cubs for 108 years. We may not have won as much as we thought we would, but we would not have won anything if not for Anthony Rizzo.