Tag: Chicago Cubs

Bears QB Caleb Williams gets standing ovation at Cubs game

Bears rookie Caleb Williams made his official debut into Chicago society during Saturday’s Cubs game.

Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams made his official debut into Chicago society during Saturday’s Cubs game.

The Bears selected Williams first overall in the 2024 NFL draft, ushering in a new era following the departure of Justin Fields. And it’s safe to say there’s been plenty of excitement surrounding Williams, both among fans and inside Halas Hall.

Williams was among a slew of Bears players in attendance during Saturday’s game, including wide receivers DJ Moore and Keenan Allen, tight end Cole Kmet and offensive linemen Braxton Jones and Nate Davis.

When the Bears players were introduced, Williams received a standing ovation from the crowd — and he even flashed his new (already signature) bear claw pose, which garnered more cheers.

Williams got a jumpstart on building chemistry with his teammates during the pre-draft process, as general manager Ryan Poles admitted he knew early on that Williams was going to be the pick. That included a dinner with some Bears veterans during Williams’ Top 30 visit.

Now, Williams is gearing up for rookie minicamp, which runs May 10-11. He’ll get a chance to hit the practice field for the first time at Halas Hall, alongside fellow rookies wide receiver Rome Odunze, offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie, punter Tory Taylor, edge rusher Austin Booker and a slew of yet-to-be-confirmed undrafted rookies.

Cubs star pitcher Shota Imanaga recognized New York from Spider-Man, which is so perfect

Shota Imanaga had his “Welcome to New York” moment with Spider-Man.

Cubs starting pitcher Shota Imanaga took the mound against the Mets on Wednesday, which marked his first time pitching in New York.

Imanaga secured the victory, 1-0, after throwing seven scoreless innings against the Mets. It was his fifth win in the majors, bringing his record to a perfect 5-0 on the season. He also holds the lowest ERA (0.78) in the MLB.

After the game, Imanaga was asked about his experience visiting New York. Via an interpreter, he said that he recognized his view from the hotel as the same one from Spider-Man.

Everyone needs to have their “Welcome to New York” moment eventually.

Imanaga, a two-time All-Star in Japan who helped lead his country to win a gold medal at the World Baseball Classic last year, just had his centered on a Marvel Comics superhero.

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Michael Busch ties Chicago Cubs franchsie record

Michael Busch has tied a Chicago Cubs franchise record with a home run on Monday night.

Former North Carolina Tar Heel Michael Busch is finding his ways in Chicago.

After being traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Chicago Cubs this offseason , Busch has found his role with the team. He’s getting the chance to start almost every day at first base and he’s making the most of it.

On Monday night in Arizona, Busch tied a Chicago Cubs franchise record with his home run in the second inning. Busch has now homered in five-straight games which has tied the record for the Cubs.

Check out Busch’s latest home run to give the Cubs a early 1-0 lead in Arizona:

Busch tied Hack Wilson (1928), Ryne Sandberg (1989), Sammy Sosa (1998) and Christopher Morel (2023) as players to homer in five straight games in franchise history.

It’s nice to see Busch get his chance and find a role with his new home. That’s what he struggled with during his time with the Dodgers. Going into Monday’s game, Busch was hitting .327 with five homers and 11 RBI’s on the year. He’s now added to that total with six homers and 12 RBI’s.

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Former Diamond Heel Michael Busch taking advantage of starting opportunity in MLB

Michael Busch, who starred at UNC from 2017-2019, is one of the MLB’s best young hitters this year.

Getting chosen in the MLB Draft is every young baseball player’s dream.

Hundreds of players are selected across 20 rounds, but only a select few progress enough through the plentiful levels of minor league baseball.

One of those select few who rose through the minor leagues is former UNC baseball player Michael Busch, a 2019 first-round selection by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Busch led North Carolina to three NCAA Tournament Appearances, highlighted by a 2018 College World Series berth, by hitting for a .282 career batting average with 32 home runs and 142 RBIs.

Busch spent the 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023 season playing for four separate Dodger affiliates, compiling a .283 average and earning an MLB call-up in 2023. He was traded to the Chicago Cubs in January, as Freddie Freeman made Busch’s path to a starting first base gig significantly tougher.

After hitting under the Mendoza Line (.200 batting average) for the Dodgers last year, Busch is amongst the MLB’s best hitters in the Windy City this year.

Busch enjoyed a strong Sunday to further boost his season stats, going 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs in Chicago’s 3-2 win over the Seattle Mariners. He is now hitting .327 (25th-best in the MLB) with five home runs (sixth-most) and 11 RBIs.

Busch’s home run total and batting average also have him tops on the Cubs (9-6), who are tied for second in a stacked NL Central.

So far this year, Busch is proving he’s Chicago’s first baseman of the future. He’s just 26, so we could see the former Diamond Heel in the Windy City for a long time.

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WATCH: Former Diamond Heel Michael Busch homers against old team

It’s always tough leaving the team that drafted you, but performing well against them is a sweet sense of satisfaction. Michael Busch, the former UNC baseball star now on the Chicago Cubs, went yard against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday afternoon.

We’re just over a week into Major League Baseball season and – let me just say – I am excited for it.

Several players have found new homes, most notably Shohei Ohtani with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Juan Soto with the New York Yankees. Top prospects in the minor leagues are proving themselves worthy of MLB call-ups – has anyone seen what Jackson Holiday and his Norfolk Tides teammates are doing?

Another name you might recognize is Michael Busch, the former UNC baseball standout who’s starting at first base for the Chicago Cubs. Busch was originally the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 2019 first-round pick, but got traded in the offseason.

On Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field, Busch hit his first home run of the 2024 campaign – against the Dodgers.

The homer gave Chicago a much-needed, 4-run cushion. The Cubs nearly gave the lead away in the fifth and seventh innings, but did just enough to win, 9-7, for their fifth-straight victory.

Busch continued his torrid start to the year in Chicago’s win, as he’s now hitting .316 with a home run and two RBIs. As of Friday, April 5 at 6:52 p.m. ET, Busch’s average currently has him 57th in the MLB.

Did Busch just give the Cubs faithful an indication he’s their first baseman of the future?

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The Rockies’ pair of embarrassing outfield gaffes led to 3 runs for the Cubs

It was a comedy of errors for the Colorado Rockies on Monday.

The Colorado Rockies are off to a 1-3 star in 2024, and if the bottom of the sixth inning of Monday’s game against the Chicago Cubs was any indication, it may be a long season.

In a scoreless tie, the Rockies suffered a pair of comically bad errors in the outfield as what should have been a single to load the bases resulted in a trio of runs for Chicago.

With runners at first and second, Christopher Morel hit a deep single to left field, and the Cubs ultimately opted to hold the runner at third. At least, until the ball wasn’t fielded cleanly in left by Nolan Jones and rolled all the way back to the wall.

A pair of runs scored, and to make matters worse, the cutoff throw hit the foot of a Colorado player and went awry, allowing Morel to score and complete an unofficial inside-the-park home run.

Just the highest level of professional baseball, folks. “Oh, baby,” is right.

The Rockies are coming off the first 100-loss season in franchise history that saw them finish with the worst record in the National League. While there’s quite a bit of baseball left this season as the calendar has just turned to April, gaffes like this are certainly not a good omen.

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Every Major League Baseball team’s best promotional giveaway in 2024

What is the best giveaway your favorite MLB team is doing in 2024?

Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner are going by ‘Nickel and Dimes’ this year and everyone made the same joke

That’s one way to create more revenue at Wrigley Field

Among all the virtues of spring training in baseball’s modern era, the best might just be what it does for team chemistry. It’s where players develop the inside jokes that will sustain them all summer, create the celebrations they’ll bust out whenever they hit a walkoff and bestow nicknames upon each other that are sure to come up in interviews for the remainder of the year.

It’s that latter act where the Chicago Cubs infield duo of Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson could’ve used a little more help — or at least some audience testing.

And anyone who’s followed baseball free agency over the last decade or so could probably tell you why pretty quickly.

Ok, on the one hand, Nickel and Dimes is a great name for a double play combo. On the other, c’mon guys. Read the room! You’re playing on a team that until recently was shedding as much salary as it could.

As the team’s negotiations to bring back free agent Cody Bellinger continue to drag on, the nickname feels more apt for the front office than anywhere else.

The Cubs are a big market team that certainly hasn’t acted like it in quite some time. The North Siders last ranked among the top five payrolls in baseball 2020 and watched homegrown talents like Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez and Kyle Schwarber accept massive contracts from other franchises.

All of which is to say Hoerner and Swanson aren’t the first thing to that comes to mind when Cubs fans hear “Nickel and Dime”.

The Cubs-Dodgers trade for Yency Almonte had everyone making the same Ferris Bueller joke

Skipping school for a Dodgers game has never seemed more appealing.

The Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers swung a relatively minor deal on Thursday, sending pitcher Yency Almonte and third baseman Michael Busch to the Windy City for a package of prospects including starting pitcher Jackson Ferris and outfielder Zyhir Hope.

As far as the Dodgers go, it’s not really a big deal. This team is absolutely loaded with talent and can afford to ship away some pieces for high-end prospects. ESPN’s Jeff Passan broke the news of the trade and noted that the two teenagers are “toolsy”, which typically excites scouts and player development staffs.

But it’s not the potential of either young ballplayer or the package it cost Los Angeles to acquire them that has Dodgers fans all excited.

It’s the idea of pairing future starter Ferris with current starter Walker Buehler in the same rotation.

You can already hear the gears turning in the Dodger Stadium marketing offices as they try to plan a “Ditch School Day” for any future doubleheader with Ferris and Buehler on the mound.

Fans couldn’t start daydreaming soon enough.

Former UNC Baseball commit James Triantos named Arizona Fall League MVP

No – not the American Football League, but the Arizona Fall League. A former UNC baseball commit, James Triantos, tore up the circuit.

The country’s best high school baseball players have two choices upon graduation – play for the college they committed to, or sign with a professional organization.

The players who are good enough to go pro, but feel like they need to fine-tune their skills while enjoying their youth a little longer, opt for college ball. Those who absolutely dominated in senior year, to the point of where they could do the same in college, tend to go pro.

One high school standout who opted for the latter was former UNC baseball commit James Triantos, the Chicago Cubs’ second-round, 2021 MLB Draft selection who is among their Top 10 prospects.

On Veterans’ Day (Saturday, Nov. 11), Triantos was named the MLB’s Arizona Fall League MVP after amassing a deadly .417 batting average, which included an AFL-leading five triples, second-place finishes with a .679 slugging percentage, 1.144 OPS, 35 hits, 57 total bases, plus a third-place ranking with a .495 on-base percentage.

Triantos, listed as a second baseman on the Cubs’ official Top Prospects list, is currently in AA ball with the Tennessee Smokies. He’s currently competing for time with Andy Weber at the AA level, but only has Chase Strumpf (AAA) and Nico Hoerner (MLB) to surpass on the organizational depth chart.

Given the type of player Triantos is, it definitely would’ve been fun to see him come through Carolina.

The fact that Triantos is already hitting over .400 in minor league baseball, though, shows he’s exactly right where he’s supposed to be.

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