There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, except for this pitiful wisp that appeared and disappeared within moments!
But it was cold. We moved down from the upper deck 500s to the first row of the 400s where there was still sun and so reasonably comfortable. EVERYONE else in the upper deck did the same, so it looked like a full house …
… at least in the first row. But here’s what it looked like right behind us …
… in the cold seats.
And then the sun continued to move west, as it is want to do, and the fans bolted, so our row looked like this …
We sat in the last section down the left field line. At one point I mentioned to Wife of Admin that perhaps we should move south to maybe aisle 413 to improve our chances of finally getting a foul ball. And, as if ordained by the baseball gods, Aramis Ramirez got around on a pitch and drove it deep into our upper deck section! Typically, however, it landed a few rows behind us and was run down by a guy of about my age. He gave it to a cute little guy who had no idea what was up. Turns out it was the kid’s first ever Cubs game! And he gets a foul ball!
He seemed suitably unimpressed so I told him, and his sister and grandparents, that I first went to a game at Wrigley Field when I was just a little older than him and have, to this day, NEVER shagged down a foul ball, or a batting practice home run, or a ball tossed into the crowd by a bored player, or any kind of game day baseball of any kind! He didn’t understand and asked for a hot dog.
On the way out of the ballpark, as Steve Goodman’s song played on, I noticed the center field scoreboard message board exclaiming that the Cubs had won game #4000!
Photo by Katie Casey
I thought it must have meant in all of Cubs history. But that doesn’t make sense, as simple arithmetic should have told me. But who does math as he or she strolls down the ramp from aisle 403 to aisle 206 and out through Gate K?
The win marked 4000 regular season victories at Wrigley Field, not total for the franchise. Still cool to have been there, though! We grasp at anything, us Cub fans.
We were at that game!
So what’s their average wins per year?? I demand a stat!
FYI:
This game was important because with the 4000th win at home, the team became just the third franchise in major league history to win at least 4,000 games in one ballpark.
The Cubs now join the Boston Red Sox (Fenway Park) 4,428 wins to date, and the New York Yankees (original Yankee Stadium) with 4,128.
(These numbers are as of 9/6 I believe, so the Red Sox/Fenway numbers may be higher now. I do not follow them to know. )
Hi Margaret!
The Red Sox stat makes sense because they’ve played in Fenway Park since it opened in 1912. The Cubs began playing in Wrigley Field in 1916. The Yankee stat, however, is another reason to really dislike that franchise. They first played in Yankee Stadium from 1923 to 1973, when renovations began. They returned in 1976 and played there until 2008. So they accomplished the feat in many fewer seasons than the Cubs or the Red Sox. Big surprise. Can’t stand them.
PS. Are you working this last home stand? I’m going on Wednesday.
We were there that day too. I was listening on the radio so I was aware that the 4000th win was possible, not to mention the Astro’s 100th loss of the season. So that made it even more fun to win. We were in the 500’s. Over by us in 517 it was rather crowded. We didn’t think to move down to the 400’s. Wish we would have noticed how empty it was just a little ways over. Those look like great seats. It was a beautiful day to be out there.
Yes, I am working the last 3 games of this season. Actually worked all the home games this year, and also got to Miller Park and Citi Field to watch the Cubs play. It is fun to be a fan. Let me know where you will be and I’ll try to stop and say “Hello”.
Growing up in Massachusetts, and the family being Red Sox fans, the Yankees are not near the top of my list of favorite teams either. LOL
Don’t know where I’ll be on Wednesday. I’ll probably buy a 500 ticket, but may stand just for the last game. I’ll be wandering around, though, to take in the old ballpark for one last time this season.