Nobody’s having more fun this spring than the Cubs and their fans
MESA, Ariz. — There’s a very large man over there screaming at the Chicago Cubs. He’s Lou Ferrigno-esque, with bulging biceps and a bellowing voice. He’s pacing back and forth in front of them, shouting words of encouragement.
He’s too far away to hear exactly what he’s saying, but one word come through loud and clear: “Sledgehammer.”
What now? Oh, yes, he does in fact have a sledgehammer.
He grabs the sledgehammer, calls over Cubs manager Joe Maddon, points to cinder blocks on the ground. Maddon lays down, the cinder blocks are put on a his chest and — yes — this very large man is going to be use a sledgehammer to break them over Maddon’s chest.
The stunt goes off as it’s supposed to. The blocks break. Everyone cheers. Maddon hops to his feet and unleashes double high-fives. Just another day at Cubs spring training, eh?
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So far this season, the Cubs camp in Arizona has seen Maddon dress up as a hippie, a live electric guitar routine, karaoke from Munenori Kawasaki and a strength coach who was tied to a chair during warm-ups. And that’s just what the public has seen.
After the sledgehammer scene, the Cubs hit the field for warm-ups. When that’s done, they gather in a circle for a pep talk. Being that these are Joe Maddon’s Cubs, the pep talk ends with a dance-off.
If it’s not already obvious, these Cubs are having the most fun in baseball — a welcome relief in a sport that often forgets things should be fun.
They’re young and talented and loaded with expectations. After last year’s surprise playoff run and their big-spending offseason, the Cubs are the favorites to win the World Series.
All the fun and games aren’t necessarily to loosen things up because expectations are sky high, Maddon says. He has, in fact, being using this playbook for a long time. But he’s him and these are the Cubs, so it’s all certainly getting more attention in 2016.
“It’s business as usual. I don’t want any more, nothing less,” Maddon said Sunday. “When you attach words like pressure and expectations to a situation, I think the threat is that you think you have to do something differently. Whether it’s a manager, a player, the front office, whatever. In the conclusion, when you have those words applied to it, when it goes badly, it’s because you think you have to do something differently. I don’t think you have to.
“What you’re seeing right now is probably just amped up a little bit from last year,” he says. “There are other things to come. But there’s nothing more or less based on this year.”
All that being said, it’s quite obvious the Cubs having a blast. Even things like cut-off drills end in laughter and cheering. The classic rock blares during batting practice, as it always has with a Maddon team. But there are also scenes like this: On Saturday, during infield drills, one Cubs coach pointed to a little kid who was watching from the side of the field and asked if he could help catch.
On afternoons when the Cubs play, the scene at Sloan Park turns into the best party in the Cactus League. Fans show up hours in advance and tailgate like it’s a football game. The path between the Cubs practice facility and the ballpark is lined with people.
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Some are eager autograph seekers. Others have their tents and grills and sausages. Others are playing cornhole and blasting music. It’s not an SEC tailgate by any means, but for spring baseball in sweaty Arizona, it’s a sight to behold.
“It’s like this every day there’s a game,” a security guard near the trail says. “They’re dedicated.”
Bruce and Mary Leimbeck live in Scottsdale but have roots in Chicago. They have season tickets to Cubs spring games and rock ‘n’ roll blaring from their Cubs tailgate tent.
They used to show up at 10:30 a.m. to get a good spot to tailgate for 1 p.m. games, Mary says. This year with the excitement and the expectations, the crowds are bigger. They have to get there at 9:30 a.m.
“I swear I could tell a different vibe in this camp this year,” Bruce says. “The Cubs players, the team, they just seem to have more confident in themselves.”
The fans, they’re eating it up.
“I’ve been a Cubs fan my whole life. I was here when they were losing 96 games a year,” Bruce Leimbeck says. “Let’s just hope they can get into the World Series this year.”
And if they take a sledgehammer to that 108-year drought, imagine that party.
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
