Yesterday while I was watching the Cubs game my mom texted me that Anthony Rizzo was in the booth at the Yankees game. My mom has been around baseball as my brother played Little League and she’s the foremost champion of my dad’s (multiple) senior softball teams. But she never got as into baseball as she did during 2016 with the World Series Champion Chicago Cubs. Here, nine years later, she still makes sure I don’t miss a thing that one of her favorite players from that team does, like Rizzo chugging
this beer from the Legends seats at Yankee Stadium during the game:
Of course Anthony Rizzo showed up a new dad, chugging a beer on the big screen.
But as Al noted earlier, the bigger news is coming this weekend. The Cubs announced that Anthony Rizzo will join the team to retire a Cub on Saturday, and honestly, I’ve got chills typing this:
Al shared the headline numbers earlier, and I’m sure there will be many compilations of highlights over the coming days. But I wanted to take some time today to look at some great Anthony Rizzo moments — the type of moments that maybe don’t make the history books, but all of them added up over the years created a fan favorite. This is the short porch, so I limited myself to five, but please add on and share your favorites in the comments.
No. 5: Playing the right way
One of my favorite pieces of baseball writing ever is this piece written by former Cubs mental skills coach, John Baker. I have no idea why Fox Sports pulled Baker’s byline off this piece, but you’re just going to have to take my word on it that it used to be there. It describes a season in the Dominican Winter League and takes issue with the idea of what exactly people mean when they say players should “play the game the right way,” with some lessons he learned from a young Padres first basemen just starting his career. You should read the whole thing.
No. 4: A pandemic hero
Baseball in 2020 and 2021 was a strange time. I documented so many moments about the nation’s pastime during the pandemic here with my Diary of a Life Without Baseball. However, two moments when baseball returned stand out and both involve Anthony Rizzo.
In the first game back with no fans in the stands, Cubs killer Orlando Arcia was the first guy to get a hit in the top of the third (because of course he was). It was a potentially awkward situation in close quarters at first base, but Rizzo was ready:
But that wasn’t the only time Rizzo provided the perfect moment during a particularly rough stretch. Less than a year after offering Arcia hand sanitizer the Cubs hosted the Cardinals at Wrigley Field for their first full capacity game since 2019. Anthony Rizzo was not about to miss an opportunity to put on a show, or in this case, an epic 14-pitch at bat followed by a home run [VIDEO].
No. 3: The greatest leadoff hitter of all time
Okay, okay, I get it, Rickey Henderson or Wade Boggs would like a word. But in the “moonlighting as an occasional leadoff guy” category, it’s hard to get better than what Anthony Rizzo did from that spot for the Cubs. What started as a bit of fun for Joe Maddon to lighten things up in 2017, turned into a pretty exceptional line for the Cubs first baseman from the leadoff spot. Anthony Rizzo played 64 games batting first for the Cubs. In those 275 plate appearances he slashed .323/.411/.562 with a wRC+ of 155 and 14 home runs, including this one that came in the bottom of the third inning against the Cardinals, days after a catastrophic ankle injury, sending Wrigley Field into a frenzy [VIDEO].
No. 2: A relief pitcher for the ages
Anthony Rizzo is a Dude and it’s clear he loves the game. On July 23, 2018, after a lot of internal lobbying of Joe Maddon to let him pitch, Rizzo finally got the call…from the pen. But Maddon being Maddon, it had a bit of gamesmanship [VIDEO].
Rizzo got a second chance to show off his stuff as a reliever, and the stakes were a lot higher as he took his career 0.00 ERA up against Freddie Freeman in 2021.
No. 1: A World Series champion
Of course, no list of the greatest Anthony Rizzo moments would be complete without the moment generations of Cubs fans waited their whole lives to celebrate. It’s perfection that this ball wound up in the glove — and the pocket — of Anthony Rizzo:
Saturday’s celebration of Rizzo as he retires a Cub will be a day to remember at the old ballpark. Maybe the Cubs should let him leadoff one more time for old times’ sake.
