The Chicago Cubs 2012 Convention: The Inside Report

Friday  January 13th, 2012

Brian Bernardoni (Guest Writer – MLB reports):  The tour begins.  As long as baseball is played….

For 15 years I have given tours at Wrigley Field to literally thousands of Cub Fans, tourists and the occasional Canadian.  And since 1998 I have always started them the same way; with this soliloquy:

“As long as baseball is played, the memory will live of a bulbous man on matchstick leg pointing in an elegant gesture to Wrigley Field’s faraway centerfield barrier, the jibes of 50,000 Chicago fans searing his ears.  There were two strikes on George Herman (Babe) Ruth like there had been many times in his career.  The score was 4 to 4 in the fifth, and Ruth’s Yankees were gunning for their third straight win.  Two called strikes and there stood baseball’s greatest hitter in the sunset of his career, majestically drawing a bead on a spot 400 feet away.  Contemptuously the Babe held up two fingers, then pointed to the centerfield flagpole.  Charlie Root pitched.  He shouldn’t have done it.  Like a projectile the ball left the Ruthian bat to scream on a line over the right centerfield wall.” 

Any true baseball fan will recognize the story immediately.  The story is of course the “Called Shot”. 

The story is really part of American folklore; its “Casey at Bat” except Casey hits the home run.  Personally I have long contended that the “Called Shot” story is the work of Ruth and the massive public relations team that supported him.  Charlie Root and Gabby Hartnett both presented full course presses during and after their careers were over that the story was false, as did a significant volume of others.  Heck; Ruth even admitted it.  But when you strip away the grandiose story, the drama of the World Series and the great imagery the myth provided Ruth with the setting for what a star is supposed do.   A star, when provided the opportunity shines. 

Now there are undeniable facts about the story.  Fact 1: Charlie Root pitched the ball and Ruth hit it out on Sheffield Avenue.

But as a Cub fan, and a Wrigley Field tour guide the part of the story that grabs me the most is that the Ruth’s pinnacle moment didn’t happen at Ebbets Field, or Fenway, or even the house he himself built – Yankee Stadium.  No.  The moment that was the exclamation mark on his extraordinary career happened in Chicago and it happened at Wrigley Field, and that is Fact 2. 

The 27th Annual Cubs Convention will take place Friday, January 13 through Sunday, January 15, 2012, at the Hilton Chicago, located at 720 S. Michigan Avenue.  The hours of the Convention are as follows:     Friday – 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday – 9 a.m. to midnight; Sunday – 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. For Cub fans interested in what is happening at Wrigley Field during the off-season the can’t miss session is “Meet Cubs Business Management,” offering a look toward the future of the Cubs and Wrigley Field with Cubs President of Business Operations Crane Kenney, Executive Vice President, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer Wally Hayward, Executive Vice President of Community Affairs Mike Lufrano, Vice President of Stadium Operations Carl Rice, Vice President of Ticket Sales Colin Faulkner, Vice President of Business Development Alex Sugarman and Director of Fan Experiences Jahaan Blake.

The ballpark is much more than a building for me.  It’s part of my own family history as my grandmother played softball there in 1933 during the World’s Fair in Chicago.  My daughter took her first step on the field on Father’s Day just a few feet away from where her grandmother once played.  It’s also a cruel mistress – who takes me from my family.  I leave hours before I should so I can gaze upon her and sing her praises.  So as I embark on blogging about her and Chicago ballparks and their rich history  – I hope you enjoy the tour. 

I will be tweeting at the event (should the Hilton have WiFi).  Follow me on Twitter (@brianbernardoni)