NEWSLETTER
Although I mentioned it in the Weekend Catch-Up this morning, I want to plug it again here: if you missed the Cubs’ 2015 ZiPS projections, they were released on Friday. Check them out here, and our discussion here. I find those things fascinating, so I may have to give it another dive to highlight some interesting bits. Is that overkill, or are you into it?
Javy, with joy in his face: "I'm very impressed with the things [the Cubs] for us players, that they send important ppl here to see us work"
— Stan (@Crewsett) January 25, 2015
On what they spoke of: "We spoke about my swing, about life, about everything, really. He spoke to me as if he already knew me from before."
— Stan (@Crewsett) January 25, 2015
"He came off very well to me. He's a tremendous person."
— Stan (@Crewsett) January 25, 2015
Randy Hundley’s Cubs Fantasy Camp got under way in Mesa the day after the close of the Cubs Convention. Practice games at the fantasy camp were held on Wednesday under sunny skies with light breezes and game temperatures at a near perfect 70 degrees.
Cubs alumni at Wednesday games were:
60’s – Randy Hundley, Glenn Beckert, Fergie Jenkins
70’s – Rick Reuschel, Pete LaCock, Carman Fanzone, Jose Cardenal
80’s – Bill Campbell, Gary Matthews, Bobby Dernier, Ed Lynch
90’s – not represented
00’s – Bobby Howry, Todd HundleyIn addition to the players noted above, Eddie Vedder is one of the campers and was promptly mobbed by autograph seekers when he reported (late) today!
Camp practice games take place in 3 of the 4 back fields on the west end of the complex. The “championship game” against the Cubs alumni is at the main field on Saturday and is open to the public. If you haven’t been to the back fields of the complex (where the practice games are taking place), the set up is much like that of Fitch Park, where an observation deck is surrounded by four regulation size practice fields with similar dimensions to Wrigley Field.
Unlike Fitch Park however, where the one practice field NOT filled with campers was usually occupied by current Cubs players who arrived for early workouts (such as “Camp Colvin” participants), the current Cubs have plenty of other practice and work out areas to use which are not accessible by fans or the public. So there is rarely a need for any of the current players to venture out into the back 4 fields. As a result, it’s much more difficult for Cubs fans to observe any of the players until they start using the back fields which should be around the time all players report to spring training. So although the new spring training complex is quite impressive and provides for a state of the art – JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING – the fan experience is not quite as enjoyable and is more limited due to the much more restricted access.
Wednesday’s fantasy camp practice probably had around 70 spectators coming and going throughout the day. I would break them down about like this:
15 – friends and family of campers
10 – Cubs fans
10 – people without a clue what was going on
35 – autograph seekers
