While most people were working at a job they hate yesterday, I was lucky enough to get an inside look at the
Chicago Cubs clubhouse. Mind you, this isn't exactly a place where you can meet your buddies for a beer and check out where the team gets ready for games so the fact I was able to find my way in to the heart of Wrigley Field was a pretty bad ass experience.
I started my day around 2:00 with the "generic" tour of Wrigley Field.
This is the tour that any fan can pay to do and if you're a history buff, I strongly encourage you to do just that. Right off the bat, I was bombarded with endless knowledge about Cubs history and fun facts as we walked around the park and enjoyed the beautiful Friday afternoon (it would have been better if they were selling beer but that's neither here nor there.)
Our first stop was down the left field line where we got a chance to listen to the history of Wrigley Field and how the
team got their Cubs nickname. After about a 15-minute history lesson, we moved to the bleachers and learned about the famous Wrigley scoreboard as well as the meaning of some of the flags that are on top of the field itself. I love the scoreboard and all but the fact that it was about 85 degrees with zero cloud cover meant we had to listen to more facts while we were getting destroyed by the sun.
After we finished contracting melanoma in the bleachers, we made our way up to the press box where we got to see Gary Pressy's organ and media row. There were four rows of assigned seating for media members and I sat down in the first seat that I saw was open in the third row. How random is it that the seat I sat in belonged to a good friend of mine who covers the Cubs, Eugene McIntosh of the Chicago Defender. While we were in the press box, a wedding party made their way on to center field to take some awesome wedding photos which effectively captured all of our attention while our tour guide was trying to tell us just how old the press box is.
On our way out of the press box, we stopped by the visitor's clubhouse which to be honest, was pretty shitty. I've seen high school locker rooms that had better amenities. It had about 20 locker stalls, one bathroom with eight showers, one cooler, and a managers office that had a metal desk and a dial up telephone.
Just a little out of date to say the least.
The Clubhouse
That would have been a pretty cool day if it ended there but the fun hadn't even started yet. I won't fully explain how the next part happened because I want to make sure I don't get anyone in trouble but let's just say some conversations were had and before I knew it, I was on my way to the Cubs clubhouse.
Once again, this is not something that you can just walk into. The place was protected like Fort Knox by at least five to ten different security personnel.
I've been to Wrigley Field more times then I can count but this was the only time that I had absolutely no clue where I was at in the stadium. I started in the main concourse and made my way towards Waveland Ave. and then took a left into a stairwell that looked pretty plain. I started walking down some stairs and saw the following signs.
So at this point I'm essentially shitting my pants because once you go through the doorway you see on the left side of the picture above, I'm thinking the clubhouse will be on the other side.
Wrong.
First you have to walk down two long hallways that are lined on each side with pictures and Cubs paraphernalia that were impossible to take off the walls and put under your shirt (or so I heard.)
Notice how they had to change "When it happens" to "Where it happens." You know, because of that whole '2016 World Series Champion' thing.
To be quite honest with you, it took me a solid 30-minutes just to walk the two long hallways because I was so blown away at how awesome it looked. I didn't take any pictures of the photos on the walls but pretty much any famous photo from last year's postseason was hanging in 48 x 72 picture frames.
After I finally got through admiring all the photos and ensuring that they were safely secured on the walls, I was finally at the entrance of the clubhouse.
In case you're unaware, the Cubs have only been in this new 30,000 sq. foot facility since last season. Their old clubhouse was a small little box that was not conducive for a winning baseball team so when Tom Ricketts took the team over, he argued if you want a winning ball club, you need winning facilities.
Here's their old clubhouse.
I'm only showing you the old clubhouse to make you fully appreciate what you're about to see in their new place.
I had seen pictures of the clubhouse before but it wasn't until I actually got to see it in person that I really appreciated how impressive it is. The circular design of the room was done intentionally to drive home the message of equality and team. One of the main architects of the room, Theo Epstein, explains,
“There’s no one player who has a loftier position or loftier stature than any other player,” Epstein said. “They’re all equals. They’re all teammates.”
As soon as I entered, I took a hard right and started to look at each of the players lockers. Each player had their home white jersey hanging up, which of course I made sure were securely fasted to their lockers in case anyone thought about walking out with one.
If you notice at the end of the video, there was a locker that didn't have a jersey hanging up. I looked at the nameplate and saw "Kyle Schwarber" and possibly became a bit depressed due to the fact he's no longer on the big league roster. I did find it interesting however that Schwarber kept an Ohio State football helmet in his locker to pay homage to both his home state (and football) roots.
As I made my way around the clubhouse, I became fascinated with the random stuff that each player kept in their locker. Jake Arrieta had some weird looking white rabbit statue, CJ Edwards had a copy of David Ross' book, Willson Contreras had a huge box of Skittles, Addison Russell had a few Ninja Turtles, and World Series MVP Ben Zobrist had -- well, everything.
He was the only player on the team that had that amount of gear in his locker. I'm guessing that's due to his recent stint on the DH and he's been spending a lot more time in the clubhouse as he's rehabbing each day.
Lastly, I couldn't leave the heart of Wrigley Field without seeing the lockers of the two guys who are the heart of the Cubs, Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant. Luckily, the Cubs decided the two should have lockers right next to each other so it wasn't too hard for me to track down.
Sorry that my ugly mug is in the way but these two guys can do no wrong in my eyes so I had to get a picture in there somehow. Bryant had a nice collection of bobbleheads as well as some random Cubs collectibles (sno-glob, Commissioners trophy, and a can of Red Bull since he's a spokesman for the company.)
Rizzo's locker was pretty cool as well. He keeps a Miami Dolphins football helmet above his locker to pay homage to his favorite football team.
Calm down Bears fans, he's from Florida.
The other two items in his locker that stood out to me was a Bryzzo coffee cup and a small picture of Rizzo and David Ross from what appears to be Spring Training confirming the relationship between the two is actually a real thing.
As I was walking out, I quickly stopped by the middle of the clubhouse to the lounging area where there were circular leather couches and a few recliners. The coolest part about the middle of the circle was what you'd see if you looked up at the ceiling.
That was pretty much my facial expression during my entire 30-minutes in the Cubs clubhouse due to my brain being on Cubs overload the entire time. After I left the locker room, I made a right turn and saw the replica of last year's brick wall memorial before I walked out of the stadium.
It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I'm glad I got a chance to see the inner workings of the Chicago Cubs. Now, I'm trying to figure a way out to get into the dugout during a game -- oh trust me, it's possible.
Here's some additional pictures I was able to capture.
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