Cubs Insider Tours Cubs Spring Training Facility with Cult Hero John Baker
I know most people think, “Man, those bloggers live glamorous jet-set lifestyles and get access to all the cool stuff,” but that’s not actually the case. Weird, right? And while sometimes we really do get to participate in stuff like Social Media Night forums with Tom Ricketts, this most recent event wasn’t one of those situations.
Nope, I actually won — if paying the most for something is considered winning — a silent auction at the John Baker Day festivities in Chicago this past summer.
There are two lessons here. First, you should always plan to attend the annual tribute to the night the backup catcher got the win (got the win!), hosted just down the street from Wrigley Field at Nisei Lounge. You get to meet and mingle with the Cubs cult hero and a whole bunch of bloggers. Second, being a blogger isn’t always as sexy as it sounds.
Although, truth be told, I’ve never really heard anyone actually refer to being a blogger as sexy. So there’s that.
The tour started when Baker came to meet both me and my wife, escorting us through a side door, which had me feeling pretty cool before the tour really even started. We entered on a hallway that had initially been emblazoned with “WHEN IT HAPPENS.” Well, now it says, “WHERE IT HAPPENS”, and the “I” in “IT” is the Commissioner’s trophy.
In case you’re not putting two and two together, that’s all because the Cubs won the World Series. People forget that.
As we continued the tour through the back halls of the Under Armour Performance Center, one thing was clear: the Cubs have gone out of their way to acknowledge and emphasize not only the history of the organization, but also the talent being developed in the minor league system.
On nearly every wall there was something that paid homage to the team and its players. It was a dream to be able to see where the players, coaches, and staff gather to train and build toward what they (and we) hope will be another world title. I hope the pictures below give you a good feel for just how incredible this place really is. Enjoy!
