cubs convention | The Baseball Zealot

How Cubs fans can spend their hard earned money

What better way to honor your visit to Wrigley Field than to… throw a football??

The Friendly Confines will be transformed into a football field for the first time since 1970 when the Northwestern University Wildcats host the University of Illinois Fighting Illini for a special college game in a unique setting. The Cubs are opening the ballpark the following day, Sunday, November 21, for fans to play catch on the football field-all for Chicago Cubs Charities.

I’ll wait till next year’s Dunking Contest at the Friendly Confines.

A better way to spend your money perhaps is the Chicago Cubs Convention. Since the tickets went on sale today for the January 14-16 affair your luck in getting them through the normal channels may be thin. But there’s always Ebay and other popular web auction and reseller sites. I’ve had luck doing that in the past.

Finally, if that money is still burning a hole in your wallet of yours, you could always buy a Cubs cookbook. No, the image to the right is not a joke. I wish it was. At least the proceeds go to a good cause… the Dempster Family Foundation.

I wonder if it includes goat stew… or humble pie.

Piniella has management support

The Cubs Convention (which sadly I didn’t go to this year) was this past weekend. Breaking Sports News compiles this list of Ten things learned at the 25th Cubs Convention.

Most important on the list… Piniella has management backing

(Team president Crane) Kenney said the Cubs are satisfied with the job he has done. Kenney also pointed out they have the second-best record among National League teams (behind Philadelphia) in the three years since Piniella was hired.

"We think we have the best manager in baseball," he said, adding: "We like it when he gets a little hot."

Refreshing, I guess. Lou has what it takes to get the Cubs to the playoffs. He’s already shown that. My concern and maybe I’m putting the horse before the cart, is how to translate the success during the regular season to success in the postseason.

But in the end, I support Lou and am encouraged by the management’s backing of him rather than finding a quick fix or worse, pulling a PR move to look as if they are “doing something” to solve the problem.

Links to 2009 Cubs Convention photos

By now, fans have left the 2009 Cubs Convention. If you’re interested, Al Yellon from Bleed Cubbie Blue did a writeup on the event including some his photos. Thanks Al! I wish I had gone.

The Chicago Tribune has a nice photo gallery of the Cubs Convention, too.

If anyone else has a link to their photos/blog posts about the Cubs Convention, please let me know and I’ll post them.

PS Here is the 2009 Wrigley Field Schedule of Promotional Events also courtesy of Al.

2009 Cubs Convention Attendees list

Here’s the updated schedule for the 2009 Cubs Convention this weekend. This time it’s complete with an attendees list.

And it comes with one glaring addition… Milton Bradley. Since his signing he’s been added to the list.

Be gentle with him, Cub fans. He’s a tad delicate.

Here’s the full list of attendees:

Ernie Banks
Darwin Barney
Glenn Beckert
Milton Bradley
Bob Brenly
Bill Buckner
Randy Bush
Jose Cardenal
Neal Cotts
Doug Dascenzo
Jody Davis
Ryan Dempster
Bob Dernier
Ivan DeJesus
Leon Durham
Oneri Fleita
Mike Fontenot
Joey Gathright
Doug Glanville
Kevin Gregg
Brandon Guyer
Rich Harden
Kevin Hart
Jim Hendry
Koyie Hill
Micah Hoffpauir
Pat Hughes
Randy Hundley
Ferguson Jenkins
Len Kasper
Crane Kenney
Derrek Lee
Reed Johnson
Ted Lilly
Carlos Marmol
Sean Marshall
Aaron Miles
Keith Moreland
Gerald Perry
Lou Piniella
Larry Rothschild
Rick Reuschel
Mike Quade
Jeff Samardzija
Ryne Sandberg
Scott Sanderson
Ron Santo
Matt Sinatro
Lee Smith
Alfonso Soriano
Geovany Soto
Tim Stoddard
Lester Strode
Rick Sutcliffe
Ryan Theriot
Alan Trammell
Steve Trout
Tim Wilken
Billy Williams
Carlos Zambrano

2009 Cubs Convention schedule out

Bleed Cubbie Blue has the schedule for the 2009 Cubs Convention which is January 16-18. The list of attendees isn’t out yet but my guess is that the usual suspects will be there.

I won’t be going this year for a variety of reasons, mostly financial. But if you want to get a sense of what it’s like you can check out my articles and photos from the 2007 and 2008 conventions. They were a lot of fun.

I’d love to hear from anyone who is going and especially hear reports back about how it went this year. Leave a comment and let us know what you did and who you saw.

2008 Cubs Convention: Wrap-up

I’m back in warm Champaign-Urbana. And by “warm”, I mean it was in the twenties and not in single digits. Practically a heat wave.

Many thanks to my buddy Tyler who I didn’t see all weekend but who lent me his place for the weekend while I attended the Cubs Convention. His place was well within walking distance and had all the amenities I needed (an Internet connection being the primary one).

Sweet Lou getting his photo taken with a fan.

This was my second Cubs Convention and while it doesn’t make me an expert, I did know the ropes a little more and was a little less intimidated by the crowds, lines, and excitement.

Ron Santo during “Storytelling with Cubs Legends”

Last year I spent a good amount of time acquiring autographs. Not this year. I decided to forego this in favor of enjoying the atmosphere, taking in a few talks and hopefully meeting a few people. I didn’t spend a lot of time or money on memorabilia. Just a Divisional Champion ballcap for my son and 3 pins.

These guys were playing all throughout the convention

By the way, something of interest… Al Yellon of Bleed Cubbie Blue caught Piniella in a Q&A and Lou responded with a tentative opening day lineup:

Soriano, lf
Theriot, ss
Lee, 1b
Ramirez, 3b
Fukudome, rf
DeRosa, 2b
Soto, c
Pie, cf
Zambrano, p

I don’t hold much in lineups formulated well before Spring Training but it’s something for us to munch on.

Oh, one last thing. the answer to the trivia question that the Baseball Hall of Fame exhibit (at the Convention) asked and had everyone stumped. The question again:

Which player has played the most games for the Yankees?

A. Yogi Berra

B. Lou Gehrig

C. Bernie Williams

D. Mickey Mantle

Many people in the audience either guessed Berra or Gehrig. The answer: Mickey Mantle with 2410 games. Gehrig is second (2164), Williams 3rd (2076) and Berra is fourth (2116).

The convention was fun and now it’s less than a month till pitchers and catchers report.

Go Cubbies!

See all the photos from the convention at The Baseball Zealot Photo Gallery

2008 Cubs Convention- Day 3

This was the last day of the convention and events weren’t scheduled much past morning. Even as I got there, some folks were dragging their luggage out the door of the Hilton.

In an effort, I suppose, to appeal to the kids, Curious George was on hand. It didn’t work on this kid who was a bit timid to hug a strange man in a monkey suit.

Daryle Ward shares the love during a photo session.

Though the fare was a bit light on Sunday, the autograph hounds were still out in full force. Here the line for Daryle Ward.

The Baseball Hall of Fame exhibit was out today with a video and a baseball trivia contest. Let me run this question by you all and see if you get it without looking it up. Only two people in the audience got this right and I was not one of those two.

The question: Which player has played the most games for the Yankees?

A. Yogi Berra

B. Lou Gehrig

C. Bernie Williams

D. Mickey Mantle

I’ll give the answer tomorrow.

2008 Cubs Convention: Day 2

Today was the second day of the 2008 Cubs Convention. Brrr, it was below 0 degrees this morning as I walked to the Chicago Hilton for another day of fun. On my way out, I got a text message from my nephew, Joe who was going to meet me later.

I Scratched and Won

Friday night I was looking through all the swag and pamphlets I got on my first day and found my Scratch and Win card. The convention uses these for the high demand celebrities when it comes to autographs.

Well, I scratched my card and it said, “You are a winner!”

On the back it said to redeem it at the registration area and that’s the first thing I did Saturday morning. It turns out I won a Derrek Lee autograph and I was supposed to get in line for it at 2pm.

I wasn’t really collecting autographs this year so I sought out a dad and a kid and gave them the ticket. I told them the kid could have it as long as they didn’t sell it on Ebay. The dad emphatically said no, he wouldn’t.

And speaking of autographs:

Andy Pafko was signing autographs. I think Andy is the oldest former Cub to attend these conventions.

…and so was Jody Davis… always with a smile.

Two different players from different eras. Bill Madlock and Bob Feller.

Rich Hill signing a ball towards the end of the day.

Piniella gets thrown under the bus by an older lady

My first talk of the day was “Lou and his Crew”, essentially a Q&A with Piniella and his coaching staff.

The most humorous question was from a seemingly perturbed older lady who asked Piniella why he left his starting pitchers (she mentioned Marquis in particular) in when we were behind by 4 or 5 runs. She explained that sometimes it got her so mad she would throw things at her TV.

Piniella took it all in humor and invited her to sit next to him in the dugout so he could check with her in making decisions. The crowd responded with chants of Looouuu! Louuu!

A visit to the Tennessee Smokies booth

I stopped by the Tennessee Smokies booth and chatted with a nice woman with a terrific southern drawl. I rifled through the Smokies’ baseball card and found Chris Robinson. “Oh, he’s a great guy. He’s real nahce”, she said. I’m not surprised. Most players at or from Illinois have a good head on their shoulders.

I ended up buying the pack.

Storytelling with Cubs Legends

WGN’s “Storytelling with Cubs Legends” was my favorite of the day. With Ron Santo, Rick Sutcliffe, Lee Smith and Ernie Banks, it was fun to just listen their stories. As broadcasters, Santo and Sutcliffe were most talkative. That said, Lee Smith may have an intimidating facade while pitching but he’s quite funny behind the mike.

Looks like Sut is hamming it up for the camera.

Taking a break with the Cubscast guys

The hosts of the Cubscast podcast (well, two-thirds of them, Sneetch couldn’t make it to the Convention) had scheduled an informal get together at the hotel bar. I was due for a break by 3pm anyway so I stopped by. Sheps (right) shared photos of his recently passed kidney stone and Lou (left) and I talked a little shop.

Peoria Chiefs broadcaster Nathan Baliva stopped by the Cubscast table too. I had stopped by the Chiefs’ booth earlier in the day and got the above photo. Nathan was nice enough to do an interview on Baseball Zealot Radio last spring so it was good to see him again. It turns out he’s Sneetch’s brother, too Small world.

Cubs Pitching Clinic

The last event of Saturday was a pitching clinic put on for the kiddos. This was done with the help of Milt Pappas (left), Steve Trout (right) and Lester Strode. Fortunately, Bruce Froemming was not in attendance.

That’s all for now. Tomorrow is a light day at the convention but I do want to get some shopping done at the souvenir shops.

Many more photos at The Baseball Zealot Photo Gallery

2008 Cubs Convention: Day 1

I rolled into Chicago on the rails of Amtrak around 9:30am ready for a weekend of Cubs fun. Zealot friend (and friend of mine) Tyler was nice enough to give up his apartment (and stay and his girlfriend’s) so I could headquarter there.

After dropping off my stuff and getting a bite, I walked over the Chicago Hilton. It’s a good mile walk. Friday was a cold day but not unbearable. At least the sun was out and the wind was kept to a minimum.

Entering the Hilton the first time on a Cubs Convention weekend can be intimidating. There are SO many people. I remember that from last year so I was a little more prepared. Lines of people everywhere because at this point, not everything is open. Once exhibits and such start opening, it’s like the floodgates have opened.

Anyway, I went to the proper room to get registered. Like the seasoned pro I am, I knew exactly where to go this time and even directed a couple first-timers their way there.

Once open I took a quick walk through of the vendor booths in the exhibit halls. I admit this is kind of fun. “Vendor” sounds a bit corporate and in some cases that’s true. But there are a lot baseball related organizations and small businesses that show off their wares.

When 5:00 came around, it was time for the opening ceremonies. Alas, I watched from the overflow room so I didn’t get a first hand look at the speakers instead watching the fun on a large video screen along with a throng of others.

Saturday, autograph hounds will be busy hunting their ultimate goal. These now empty queues will be lined with people.

The opening ceremonies were long pomp and circumstance and short on substance. But that’s ok… I don’t think anyone would expect anything different. By the way, for my money, Wayne Messmer has deepest, richest voice and he proved it in his singing of the National Anthem.

Emcee Pat Hughes then had the pleasure of introducing the Cubs players and other Cubs celebrities. There must have been some LSU alums sitting at the table next to mine. When both Mike Fontenot and Ryan Theriot were introduced, they broke into loud chants of “LSU! LSU! LSU!”

With the intros finished, a WGN-produced video detailing the 2007 season was shown for us. Fortunately, it left out that nasty little business with the Dbacks.

By 6:30, it was time for my interview with Eric Loy at WDWS. I enjoy my talks with Eric (this was my second). He seems knowledgeable on the game and definitely has opinions. Anyway, I hope I sounded reasonably intelligent.

By then, I was ready to head back to Zealot headquarters. Right now a Giordano’s pizza on the way while I write this.

In summary, Friday was a day of rallying the troops. Tomorrow, a new day of talks, seminars, fun and who knows what else.

More photos of the Cubs Convention at The Baseball Zealot Photo Gallery

2008 Cubs Convention: 3 days and counting

MLB.com Cubs beat writer Carrie Muskat chimes in with a piece about this weekend’s festivities.

For those in the Champaign-Urbana area, I’ll be doing a remote interview from the convention on Eric Loy’s Sports Night talk show heard on WDWS AM1400. Interview time is 6:30pm Friday night.

Train ticket bought… Accommodations secured… I’m ready!