Game # 17-Wrigley Field-Chicago Cubs vs. New York Mets

This is one of the stadiums Jim and I have most looked forward to visiting. There is just something about going to a place that has over 100 years of baseball history. This is Jim's first visit to Wrigley Field and my second. I was at Wrigley Field in 1987 the summer before the lights were put in and when Harry Caray was still singing "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" in the 7th inning stretch. Now here Jim and I are together on this Tuesday, May 23, 2023 living Our Field of Dreams! We were so thrilled to have our great friends from Southern California, Scott and Lina join us for this game. Everyone who has been to Wrigley Field knows that parking is a huge problem and they look for a variety of options to get to the park. Our friend Scott is an expert at navigating these challenges and so he came up with a plan. We thought we would just Uber but instead we went with Scott's plan. He found parking at a private residence online and paid for it through an app. People who live near the stadium sell their driveway or residence parking spots on game days for a nice fee. So we found the house he bought the parking spot from and parked under the famous Chicago "L." I must say I was a little tense walking down the alleyways to get to the stadium. We arrived at the stadium full of excitment and anticipation for a great experience. My heart raced as we came around the corner and saw the iconic marquee outside Wrigley Field. This marquee is bright red with big white letters "Wrigley Field Home of Chicago Cubs. I have to beleive this is one of the most photographed spots ever. We took several pictures in front of the marquee which you can view on our Instagram @ourfieldofdreams2023. We thought it would be beneficial to take in a tour of Wrigley Field prior to the game. We had a 3:15pm tour which was hosted by a terrific guide Kevin. He was extremely informative about Wrigley Field and even gave us a hot dog suggestion and where to go for pregame beverages after the tour. Kevin gave us a very extensive timeline of the second oldest major league baseball park, which first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park. Weeghman Park was home to the Chicago Whales of the Federal League which folded after 1915. The Cubs played their first home game at the park on April 20, 1916. William Wrigley, Jr. bought the Cubs in 1921 and the stadium was called Cubs Park until 1927 when it was renamed Wrigley Field. As of 2020 Wrigley Field was designated a U.S. National Landmark and with good reason! The Cubs have been owned by the Ricketts Family since 2009. In fact we saw Thomas Ricketts at the game sitting just 15 rows in front of us. I just can't wrap my head around being the owner of a baseball team! My family tree is just not that wealthy. Maybe Jim and I could start a Camp Brayville Baseball Team with our grandkids. We will have to negotiate their contracts. LOL. Our tour guide Kevin gave us so much information and shared so many great stories of Wrigley Field. Did you know that Wrigley Field is the only Major League Baseball field to NOT have padded outfield walls? They have ivy covered bricks which do not cushion so well when fielders hit them while going for a ball. In fact, the warning track is made of crushed brick so when a fielder is going backwards for a fly ball they can hear they are getting close to the fence by the sound under their cleats. Interestingly if a ball goes into the thick ivy it is ruled a ground-rule double but only if the fielder puts his hands up in the air. If they go for the ball it remains in play. Some of the rookies have been hurt by that rule if they don't know to put their hands up. One thing that really showcased the history of the park is the old hand-turned scoreboard. I just kept thinking how many people over the decades have put up numbers on that scoreboard to record some of the greatest players of all time home runs. So nostalgic! Wrigley Field was the very last MLB park to have lights installed which happened in 1988. Until that time all games were played during the day. This brings me to the really funny stories shared by Kevin about this time period. Have you heard about the "Bleacher Bums?" They are Chicago Cubs fans who sit in the bleacher section of Wrigley Field. The reason they were originally referred to as "bums" is because, due to their ability to regularly attend day games the assumption was that they did not have jobs. Soon because of this men started attending wearing hard hats and carrying lunch pails like they just got off work. It is too bad those bleachers can't talk because some of the things that went on are hysterical. Kevin told us of a race that was done by the "Bleacher Bums" two men, one atop the left outfield wall and another atop the right outfield wall would wait for a woman holding a beer on the centerfield wall to drop a hanky indicating the start of the race. The men would run atop the outfield fence and who reached her first got the beer. This was just one of many stories he told us. Because of the exuberant fans who would frequently fall out of the bleachers onto the field they installed a long chain-link fence strip running the entire length of the outfield wall. They call this feature "The Basket" because it catches fans before they fall to the field. When you look beyond the bleachers and into the community next to the stadium you will see bleachers on top of the roofs of neighboring buildings. I was amazed to see these bleachers filled to capacity on this Tuesday evening game! There are sixteen rooftops of residential buildings which have bleachers on them to view the baseball games. One of the stories our tour guide Kevin shared with us was that many years ago, next to the stadium near left field was an insane asylum. One day they heard some screaming from the insane asylum during a game and they said, "That came out of left field." I am sure there are so many stories and probably books have been written about these stories of Wrigley Field. Next to the bleachers the foul poles are both marked with a "Hey, Hey" in honor of Jack Brickhouse, who was the play by play voice of the Chicago Cubs from 1948 to 1981. Wrigley Park has many flags flying on the outer roofline. Currently they fly 24 flags reading the last names of Cubs Hall of Famers. They also fly flags for players with retired numbers on the right and left field foul poles. But the most amazing spectacle and long-time tradition of the Cubs is to fly the "W flag" or "L flag" following a win or loss. The win flag is white with a big blue W and the loss flag is blue with a big white L. Also drenched in tradition, is the singing of "Go, Cubs, Go" upon a Cubs win. Another tradition is that if an opposing team player hits a home run into the bleachers you must "THROW IT BACK!" The crowd will continue to scream "THROW IT BACK" until the person who caught the ball throws it back onto the field. Also, if the Cubs get a home run not only do the lights flash but the crowd breaks out into singing "Whoomp! There it is!" All of this information and we are bursting at the seams to watch the game and hope to see some of these traditions take place. Once the tour had ended we took the advice of our tour guide Kevin and set out to find the famous Murphy's Sports Bar across the street from the Harry Caray Statue. We went into this famous tavern and where amazed at the amount of memorabilia hanging on the walls not to mention the spirited fans crowding the place. We had a before hot dog drink and then made our way into the stadium. First order of business was for Jim to buy the Kosher Chicago Dog and do his review. He gave the hot dog an 8.0 and gave an excellent description. You will have to see his reel on Instagram. Scott, Lina and I had a very delicious burger with fries complete with cheese dipping sauce. We all thought the burgers were great. Now on to the game and boy what a game! I was blown away by the attendance for a Tuesday evening game 35,958! That is almost a sell out crowd. It wasn't long before we got to see one of the Cubs traditions because in the botton of the 2nd inning Seiya Suzuki hit a homer! The lights flashed, the fans cheered and they all sang, "Whoomp! There it is!" Mets 0 - Cubs 1. A walk by Christopher Morel and a single by Yan Gomes would bring in another run. Mets 0 - Cubs 2. Then a smashing 2-run homer by Matt Mervis would bring the fans once again to their feet singing, "Whoomp! There it is!" Mets 0 - Cubs 4. It would take the 4th inning for us to see the other Cubs tradition of "THROW IT BACK." When Mets Pete Alonso hit a homer into the center field bleachers, a large eruption of "THROW IT BACK" came until the fan threw the ball back onto the field. It was so funny! Next in the bottom of the 4th inning the Cubs offense was not done putting scores on the board. Matt Mervis singled on a sharp ground ball and an unsuccessful play at home plate and then a throw to second calling Matt Mervis out was overturned. Score Mets 1 - Cubs 5. Then singles by Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson would drive in a run making it Mets 1 - Cubs 6. The top of the 6th inning started pretty rough for Cubs pitcher Drew Smyly with singles by Mets Brandon Nimmo and Eduardo Excobar and then a walk by Francisco Lindor before the Cubs got the hook out. Cubs pitcher Jeremiah Estrada came out to face Mets Pete Alonso who is a force to be reckoned with. Alonso grounded into a force out bringing in a run. Score Mets 2 - Cubs 6. Then in the bottom of the 7th inning, because we had not seen it enough, the Cubs Christopher Morel hit a homer! We just loved seeing how the Cubs celebrate a homer! Score Mets 2 - Cubs 7, where the score would remain until the end of the game. Then we were able to see first hand the huge celebration of the WIN by the Cubs fans. The large white flag with the big blue W was carried around by the Cub's mascot on the field as the crowd broke out into the song, "Go, Cubs, Go!" We were all so overjoyed to be at a game where we could witness these strong Cubs tradtions. Now we are off to Milwaukee and our friends Scott and Lina are homeward bound. We will be seeing the Milwaukee Brewers face the San Francisco Giants. Right now the Field of Dreams Tour record is 8 wins and 9 loses for the home team. Our rule is that we always cheer for the home team unless they are playing the Giants or Dodgers. So for me I will be cheering on my Giants and Jim will be quietly cheering for the Giants......probably not! Until next time PLAY BALL!