CHICAGO—Cubs first baseman Michael Busch launched a towering home run to right field that was caught by a fan…wait, was that Anthony Rizzo?
…AGAIN?
Busch turned around a 96 mph fastball from Taj Bradley, sending it into the right-field bleachers where it landed next to former Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo. This wasn’t Rizzo’s first rodeo when it came to corralling dingers in the bleachers.
On September 13, 2025, Rizzo returned to Wrigley after officially retiring and caught Moisés Ballesteros’ first major league home run before it bounced off Rizzo’s hands into the row behind him.
The impossible happened again.
Fittingly, Busch, the current Cubs first baseman, delivered his 12th long ball of the year directly to the franchise’s former captain, an emblematic passing of the proverbial torch.
Joe Maddon took the stage outside Wrigley Field at 10 am Saturday, holding his spring training notes from 2016, which featured the team’s defining motto: Embrace the Target.
Obviously, that target was a World Series title. That motto came to fruition, culminating in one of baseball’s most historic seven-game series against the Cleveland Indians. A decade later, a large contingent of the squad showed up to christen the new “Champions Gate” outside the stadium.
Honoring the club’s three World Series championships, the bronze gate on Gallagher Way was erected to pay tribute to the 2016 curse-busting team as well as the 1907 and 08’ teams. Featuring an archway clad in Boston Ivy with plaques mounted on brick pillars flanking either side, the “Champions Gate” also includes a “W” pattern placed on the bottom of the truss, symbolizing Wrigley’s light towers and the tradition of Flying the “W”.
The ceremony served as a 10-year reunion.
“Today we celebrate that championship,” Cubs executive chairman Tom Ricketts said. “But even more importantly, we celebrate the people who made it possible and the generations of fans that never stopped believing.”
The loudest cheers came for beloved first baseman and 10-year Cub Anthony Rizzo. Unlike Maddon and Ricketts, Rizzo delivered the speech off the dome.
“These last few days have been the best few days in the last ten years of my life. Just being with the boys,” Rizzo said. “We thank you, Chicago. I’m hoping that in my lifetime there are five or seven more championships up here before I die. No pressure.”
Although the current Cubs didn’t come out of the All-Star break with the 53-35 mark the 2016 team had, they remain squarely in the playoff hunt. The pressure is on for the 2026 Cubs, sitting 5.5 games back of Milwaukee in the NL Central.
“When you look at the World Series team, it was a great team. They were strong in every area,” said manager Craig Counsell. “It’s a reminder of how good you have to be to win the thing.”
Maddon closed his speech with a reflection on the 2016 club’s place in franchise history.
“Destiny. Destiny’s been circling this ballpark for over a hundred years,” former skipper Joe Maddon said. “Destiny was looking for the right group of people, the right group of players with the right methods to finally break the curse. Destiny finally settled on you guys. Congratulations!”
