‘Twas the night before Cub Christmas, and in 2025
The Cubs won 92, hooray! Playoff hope came alive
But the Brewers ended that dream on October 11.
We’re all waiting. C’mon, Jed, bring us to baseball heaven.
Tokyo was where the ‘25 Cubs season began
It was a very nice trip
After some more spring games and a split with the D-backs
In West Sacramento they went on the attack
In the very first game in the A’s temporary park A rare event happened, ending long after dark Carson
Kelly hit for the cycle, finishing with a triple It certainly made much more than a ripple.
The Cubs kept on winning and took over first place
It seemed that it might be a good pennant race
In April at Wrigley the D-backs scored 10 in one inning
Didn’t matter. The Cubs ended up winning!
Meanwhile the same Dodgers who took two in Tokyo
Fell to the Cubs four of five times on American soil
Pete Crow-Armstrong was beginning a coming-out party
10-for-19 with four homers in those wins — pretty hearty!
Two new Cubs helped the team set the early pace
Kyle Tucker and Matthew Boyd both knew their place
“King Tuck” hit homers and there were paper crowns for him
Boyd picked off baserunners at a near-record clip
The Cubs kept the lead in the NL Central into May
But reliever Ryan Pressly — man, he had a bad day
A 5 to 5 tie into extras against San Francisco
Pressly turned that into nine for the visitors — fans wanted him to go
Winning kept going, and by the beginning of June
The Cubs led the division by five games, quite the tune
After a win over Milwaukee on June 17
6.5 games in front in the Central. What would this mean?
On a holiday Friday at the ol’ ballyard
Eight baseballs were hit by Cubs really, really hard
Busch (thrice), PCA (twice), Seiya, Dansby and Carson
A team-record eight home runs off the Cards — now THAT was fun!
The Cubs held first place into the All-Star break
PCA and Tucker went to Atlanta to stake
Cubs places on the NL All-Star team
Matthew Boyd joined them and everyone beamed
But while the Cubs managed to stay well over
The .500 mark, the Brewers were hover…
… ing closer and closer, as they won and won and won
Two long winning streaks, they did get done
And so the Cubs fell out of first place
By the end of July. And the next month brought
The Brewers to Wrigley. The Cubs kept pace
The series they won, three to two, ‘twas hard fought
But it wasn’t enough. Milwaukee soared above Earth
And the Cubs were relegated to a wild card berth
But one Cubs player got very, very, very hot
Cade Horton’s great second half really hit the spot
The Cubs clinched a postseason place in Pitt
First since 2018, they did it with grit
And good pitching, both from starters and pen
Some games in October! Let’s do it again!
The Padres, a team that had once defeated our faves
Years ago in a playoff series, was the wild-card opponent
A hard-fought set with few runs crossing the plate
Was won by the Cubs, an electric Wrigley moment
The Brewers were next, a division series beckoned
With what result would the Cubs have to reckon?
Pitching blew up, though, in the first two games
Shōta Imanaga gave up two homers — not good for fame
But the big Wrigley crowds then came to a roar
And the Cubs shut the Brewers down in Games 3 and 4.
One game, then, in Milwaukee to get it done
Unfortunately, the Cubs lost, scoring only one run
Despite the October disappointment, there came some hardware
For Happ’s play in left field, good fielding with care
A fourth straight Gold Glove, and there were two more
Nico won, so did PCA, catches made flying through air
Nine years have passed since the World Series win
(“Better than 108,” I thought with a grin.)
It’s time for Tom and Jed to realize what they’re leading
A team that should be in place for succeeding.
As the offseason started, Jed Hoyer was panned
Behind the scenes, did he have some sort of plan?
Just a handful of relievers have come the team’s way
Hey Jed! Do you have anything more to say?
Shōta decided to take the team’s qualifying offer
Now he, Jamo and Cade need help so the rotation won’t suffer
PCA had a 30-30 season, a great accomplishment
He slumped in the second half, for whatever that meant
Michael and Seiya took big steps forward
Thirty-plus homers each, I bet you heard
About that. Those hitters can anchor a lineup
With power galore… if they get help behind ‘em
What’s still up in the air as we approach ‘26
Is whether youngsters Palencia, Brown, Hodge and Wicks
Can solidify manager Counsell’s circle of trust
And make sure Cubs late-inning leads don’t go bust
And some other young Cubs could make an impact
Some of them could have very big bats
Alcántara, Amaya, Ballesteros, Caissie
They all deserve more than just a look-see
There is still time to get guys who hit base knocks
And thus bring winning themes to Addison & Clark
Put together a winner, and please make it come soon
C’mon, Jed, sign Tatsuya Imai. It won’t cost the moon.
So we enter ‘26 and Cubs baseball next year
Will start March 26 at Wrigley — “Brrrrr,” fans will cheer
Counsell and the guys will put up the good fight.
Happy Cub Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
