The Schwarber Ball is No Longer on the Schwarboard and Other Bullets

schwarber ballThe Little Boy is A Little Sick, so I’m going to be taking him to the doctor. With apologies, that means the Bullets are a little shorter than usual this morning. Normal content loveliness should resume shortly hereafter, though.

  • In the flurry of the Cubs’ crazy offseason in early December, I forgot to follow up on something incredibly important: whatever happened to the Schwarber Ball atop the right field video board? I was pretty vocal in my hope that the ball would simply stay, permanently, where it was in that spot, becoming part of the Wrigley Field lore – a visible marker of the transition to a new era of competitiveness and modernization at Wrigley. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened, according to the Tribune. For now, the ball has been taken down and stored in a “safe” place while its future is decided. I guess that technically leaves open the chance that the ball could be put back up there, but I think it’s pretty unlikely at this point. I’m sure it was logistically (from a safety perspective) more complicated than I made it sound to keep an extremely valuable souvenir out in public atop a huge piece of equipment – imagine if the Cubs’ insurance company caught wind of folks trying to climb the board after hours? – but I still wish there was a way to make it happen. I am just a nerd about the 2015 season like that.
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  • As for alternative final resting places for the ball, I have some thoughts: a Cubs Hall of Fame if one is developed, in a display on the new plaza, in a display in the concourse at Wrigley, below the right field video board in a safe and viewable area, or under my pillow. Your suggestions?
  • Jason Heyward was among the best improvers last season from his first half out-of-zone swing rate to his second half.
  • MLB teams will be required to employ a full-time Spanish-speaking translator for the 2016 season and beyond. Many teams already had someone(s) who could do it, but it’s probably best to formalize things. For younger, Latin players in their early years in the States, it’s gotta be tough to try and answer media questions without that kind of assistance if they don’t speak English confidently.
  • You may or may not remember Jim Edmonds as a “Cub,” but he did play here for a bit. Also, he got booted from the Hall of Fame ballot after just one vote, which was pretty crazy.
  • A nice profile on Joe Maddon, and how his roots prepared him well to lead the Cubs.
  • This would be a very fun story to follow:
  • Hall of Fame outfielder, and former Cub, Monte Irvin has passed away.
  • Cubs logo reading glasses on Amazon … in a three-pack. Carrying your reading glasses around your house is dumb. Just have a pair in every room.
  • written by

    Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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