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Chicago star Dansby Swanson, new manager Craig Counsell help make 2024 Cubs Con a success
Chicago was hopping on the weekend of Jan 12-14 with the 37th edition of the annual Chicago Cubs fan event the team now calls “Cubs Con.”
Starting in 1986, the official Cubs Convention was the first fan fest among all professional sports teams. It has been held every year except for the pandemic years of 2021 and 2022. It also has moved from hotel to hotel as it got bigger and better every year until it found its current home at the Sheraton Chicago Riverwalk Hotel next to the Chicago River.
This year, fans began streaming into the hotel on Friday afternoon and lining up for autographs at approximately 4 p.m., two hours before the Opening Ceremonies. Fans lined up for what was billed as “surprise autographs,” meaning no one knew who was going to be signing when the session began at 7:30 p.m. So fans essentially stood in line for three and a half hours or more to get an autograph from a player who might have been a minor leaguer nobody had ever heard of. That is true fan dedication.
In addition to selling team-licensed gear near the autograph lines, the Cubs also held a live auction of game-used items, such as bats, balls, bases, jerseys, pants, and miscellaneous other items. In the past, the auction was held on Friday, prior to the Opening Ceremonies, and featured the team’s clubhouse personnel holding up auction items and conducting a traditional shout-out bidding process. This year, the auction was split into two parts: about half of the available items were auctioned on Friday, and the rest on Saturday. This year’s auction also featured video screens and online bidding.
Another innovation this year was mini-museums displaying iconic items from Cubs history, allowing fans to get up close and personal with the 2016 championship trophy, as well as game jerseys and other items worn or used by Cubs Hall of Famers and other former players of note.
The Opening Ceremonies followed the usual format with the introduction of current players, top-rated prospects, alumni and broadcasters. As expected, the loudest cheers were for Dansby Swanson, the former Atlanta Braves All-Star shortstop whom the Cubs acquired in free agency last offseason. He has quickly become a fan favorite in Chicago through his play on the field and friendly interactions with fans. It also helps that his wife is the star of the Red Star, Chicago’s women’s professional soccer team.
Also greeted to loud welcomes were top minor league prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong and the team’s latest marquee free agent, Shota Imanaga, who came to the Cubs from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league just days before the Convention. Although Imanaga generally relies on an interpreter to communicate with fans and media, he managed to endear himself to Chicago fans by memorizing the words to the Cubs unofficial theme song, “Go Cubs Go,” and reciting them at his introductory press conference prior to the Convention.
Imanaga told reporters at the press conference that he had done a lot of research on the Cubs before signing and was particularly impressed by the 2016 championship team. In fact, he was so impressed by Ben Zobrist that he decided to wear Zobrist’s old number 18.
This year’s convention featured dozens of past, present and future players at the Opening Ceremonies. However, not all of the players stuck around for the full weekend to participate in the panel discussions and autograph sessions.
I was able to spend a little time chatting with Cubs starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks, the only member of the 2016 team still on the Cubs roster.
Known as “The Professor” for his excellent academic background as well as his pitching mastery, Hendricks was his usual friendly self and explained how he is thrilled to still be a part of the Cubs organization.
“I still enjoy what I am doing and I think the front office is really making an effort to contend, so I will go to Spring Training with the hope that this will again be the Cubs’ year,” he said.
I also chatted briefly with Cubs’ President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer. A protégé of the iconic Theo Epstein, Hoyer is one of the most knowledgeable and accessible front office execs in the league and always has a smile when discussing the team’s prospects. He echoed Hendricks’ optimism.
Hoyer also brought his two young sons to the convention and the three of them seemed to be having a blast. The Cubs have always treated all of their personnel like family, and this was an example of that tradition.
Saturday is always the most fun and exhausting day of the weekend. The most interesting panel discussions are usually held on Saturday. If fans want to gain insight into the team’s plans for the coming season, then it is essential to attend the panels conducted by front office personnel, the manager and coaching staff.
The latter panel was particularly important this year because the Cubs have a new manager in Craig Counsell, whom they spirited away from their NL Central rival, the Milwaukee Brewers. It was clear from Counsell’s comments that he will demand a lot from his players, but not in an off-putting way. Like David Ross before him, he hopes to be a “players’ manager.”
At various panels, fans are given opportunities to ask questions after the panel discussion. This year it seemed the question on everyone’s mind was, will the Cubs bring back Cody Bellinger? It seemed like that question was asked of everyone who appeared on any panel, even the pitchers. The answer from virtually everyone was, yes, we want Belli back!
One of the players who expressed strong support for bringing Bellinger back was Crow-Armstrong, the team’s top prospect. PCA, as he is often called, said he was particularly appreciative of the time and attention Bellinger paid to him during his brief stint in the majors last season. According to PCA, Bellinger sometimes hung out with him at the batting cages and was not only a great teammate, but also a terrific human being.
PCA also had high praise for Michael Busch, another prospect the Cubs acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers just days before the Convention. Already ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Cubs’ No.3 prospect, Busch could end up as the first baseman of the future along with prospect Matt Mervis.
We also got an opportunity to catch up with pitcher Hayden Wesneski, who was interviewed by SCD at last year’s convention. He is still awestruck playing for the Cubs and enjoys interacting with fans at the convention. When shown a photo taken of him at last year’s convention and told that he is fortunate to be so photogenic, he demurred by saying that we must have him mixed up with someone else. Just another example of a player with a great sense of humor.
For fans whose main focus was garnering autographs, the team set up five autograph stages in the main hall.
In years past, the team handed out vouchers that guaranteed an autograph from players signing at the front of the voucher line. The voucher system was eliminated this year, including the special scratch-off vouchers used for signers with the greatest demand. Instead, ushers handed out tickets to fans in each line, guaranteeing an autograph. When the tickets were gone, anyone showing up later was directed to an overflow line where there was no guarantee. Except for the most popular players, like Swanson, most signers got through both the regular and overflow lines in their allotted time.
Although the new system did not seem much different than the old system, things went much more smoothly than in the past. Fans said the autograph crunch was much less chaotic and the players seemed more relaxed, finding time to joke with fans and take extra time to sign and pose with fans in wheelchairs.
According to many attendees, the 2024 Cubs Con was a great success, from the layout to the friendly staff. The Cubs likely are already tweaking the process to make next year’s convention even better, with the hope that next year’s event includes another World Series celebration.
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