Wrigley Field

My parents grew up and lived in Chicago through undergrad. Between grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins I have travelled to Chicago many times. My first memory of Wrigley was seeing the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1978. Back when they had the tall black hats with the yellow piping. We sat in the bleachers and I remember leaning over the ledge (above the netting) and asking Dave Parker for a ball. He faked a throw several times but never gave me a ball. Prick.


I have been back to Wrigley a few times over the years. It continues to be a great park. In 1993 I went to Wrigley as the first game on my first big ballpark tour. We had view obstructed seats down the 3rd base side almost to the foul pole. The Cubs were mediocre that year finishing fourth in the NL East. They had Ryne Sandberg, Mark Grace, Sammy Sosa, Willie Wilson, and a terrible pitching staff. The Cubs were playing the brand new Colorado Rockies with Dale Murphy, Andres Galarraga, Dante Bichette, and Vinny Castilla in his first full season. The Cubs won 5-1 on a great Mike Harkey outing.


In 1996 I helped my cousin move from Chicago to Los Angeles. In short, I flew out to Chicago and drove cross-country with her. I took the opportunity to go to Wrigley and Coors Field during this trip. The Cubs game was against the Marlins. This was a pretty good Cub team on offense with Sammy Sosa, Ryne Sandberg, and Mark Grace, but they had no pitching and finished fourth in their division. The Marlins had Gary Sheffield (who hit a home run in this game), Terry Pendleton, and the rookie Edgar Renteria. Despite having Kevin Brown and Robb Nen they finished third in their division. This game was an 8-7 win for the Marlins in 11 innings.

The last game I attended there was in 2006 with my friends John and Marc as part of a ballpark tour. The Cubs have a comfortable 8-3 lead going into the 9th. The Cub bullpen gives up 6 runs to give the visiting Rockies a 9-8 advantage. During this meltdown a fan jumps on to the field, runs up to Bob Howry and yells, “WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?” The fan was escorted off the field, but the crowd was wondering the same thing. In the bottom of the 9th Alfonso Soriano hits a walk-off 2-RBI single for the win. After the highlights and recap on sports center, the announcers said, “It’s the kind of game you wish you were at!”