Cubs play video of Harry Caray singing ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’
When the Chicago Cubs initially announced the Wrigley Field renovations, not everyone was on board. Some argued that Wrigley had so much historical relevance that it would be blasphemous to add video boards to the iconic stadium.
Well, the Cubs found a excellent way to get angry fans back on board with all the changes Friday. During the seventh inning stretch, the team played a video of Harry Caray singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”
Harry Caray sing the 7th inning stretch at Wrigley Field on 7/3/15 from Billy Krumb on Vimeo.
That is exceptional!
Caray was famous for leading the crowd through the song when he was a broadcaster with the club. Following his death in 1998, the Cubs have opted to bring in celebrity conductors for the event.
The team will continue to bring in celebrities, but the new video boards allow them to occasionally stray from that plan, according to Carrie Muskat of MLB.com.
“One of the things that we think would be really fun is to bring back a number of our departed historic figures, like Harry Caray, Ernie Banks, Ron Santo,” said Cubs president of business operations Crane Kenney. “We want to bring them back to the fans via the video board.”
The Cubs felt Friday was the perfect timing for Caray because they were re-opening the bleachers, which have been under construction as part of the ballpark’s renovation. Caray occasionally did his broadcasts from the bleachers.
“We listen to the fans,” Kenney said. “We’re learning from them.”
By all accounts, the Cubs’ fans really seemed to enjoy seeing Caray on the video board.
So, yeah, this is kind of excellent. Caray is a beloved figure to Cubs fans, so any chance to make sure he’s still a part of the team is a big win. The club could probably get away with playing this video every day, but the fact that it will only happen occasionally makes it more special.
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Not every supporter of the club will get on board with the Wrigley renovations, but you’ll probably be hard-pressed to find one fan who is opposed to this idea.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
