WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Chicago Cubs, who arrived at spring training before everyone else, traveled to Tokyo and back, spent two different stints in Arizona and initiated a new ballpark in Sacramento, packed their suitcases Wednesday afternoon after sweeping the Athletics at Sutter Health Park.
Finally, they are heading home.
The freezing temperatures and 70% chance of rain in the forecast that await the Cubs for their Wrigley Field opener will never feel so good.
“This feels like the longest spring training in the world,’ Cubs closer Ryan Pressly told USA TODAY Sports. “You go all of the way across the world to Japan, come back, play a couple more spring training games, and then start the season in Arizona.
“It was nice being on the same sleep schedule, but you know, I would like to go back to Chicago every once in awhile.’
The Cubs, 10-2 winners on Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep, have been gone for so long that they’ve already experienced six pregame ceremonies — four in Tokyo, one in Arizona, one in Sacramento – and now they’re about to get another one at home.
“That’s got to be a record, right?’ Cubs reliever Eli Morgan said.
Well, it’s certainly a record for a team to spend nearly five weeks in spring training in Mesa, Arizona, fly to Japan for a week, spend another week in spring training in Mesa, move to a downtown Phoenix hotel to open the domestic season with a four-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and then travel to Sacramento to play in the Athletics’ first games at their new temporary ballpark.
“It felt like we were in Arizona for four months,’’ says Cubs catcher Carson Kelly. “It was definitely a little weird when we go to Tokyo, come back, play some spring training games, and then open in Arizona. It was a little disorienting.
“It was almost like we needed to get on the plane, fly around Arizona a couple of times, and then land. We did our trip, now we’re here. And now this season starts. The time change was a little rough when we get back, but I think guys are starting to get into their rhythm.’’
Certainly, no one found their groove more than the combo of DH Seiya Suzuki and right fielder Kyle Tucker.
Suzuki, who was batting .095 with one extra-base in the first five games, then went 11-for-19 (.579) with four home runs and 11 RBI the last four games, including two homers and five RBI Wednesday.
“Seiya, pound for pound, some of the most juice in the league,’ Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong said. “I think it was a bit of a tough start for him this year, but he’s made these last games look pretty easy. That’s going to be a regular thing for Seiya. We’ve all seen it before, and he’s going to continue to do that.’
Tucker, the Cubs’ marquee acquisition during the winter, couldn’t hit in spring training, going 0-for-19 to open his spring. He hit .125 (2-for-16) his first four games of the season with only one extra-base. Now, he looks like Andre Dawson, the pure power hitter the Cubs envisioned all along when they acquired him from the Houston Astros. He’s hitting .476 with three doubles, four homers and nine RBI in his last five games.
“Don’t tell him this,’ said Pressly, also teammates with Tucker in Houston, “but he’s a special player. He really is special. Watching him come up, and how he swings it, is really fun. I’ve had a front row seat to it for a couple of years now.
“Every time he comes up to the plate, something pretty cool could happen.’
It’s hard to believe this was the same guy that had fans freaking out in spring training that perhaps the Cubs surrendered too much in prospect Cam Smith and third baseman Isaac Paredes to acquire him.
“I didn’t necessarily worry about it,’ said Tucker, who’s now hitting .324 with a 1.228 OPS, “but at the end of the day it was spring training. I felt good in spring training. I hit some balls that I thought were hit well, and they just didn’t fall for a hit. So, I didn’t care too much.
“Besides, I’d rather show them during the season.’
Oh, is he ever, showing the rest of team his disciplined – yet aggressive – approach at the plate.
“That’s what other players have definitely commented on,’ Cubs manager Craig Counsell said, “is watching a great hitter’s approach and how it’s just a little bit different. And you learn something from that. It’s a confidence he has in himself, and he executes it.’
Says Suzuki, who’s hitting .275 with a .958 OPS: “I think for pitchers, they want to get ahead and get that first strike. And now, I’m swinging and staying aggressive. Those pitches I can hit, early on I was taking them. As long as I’m able to continue to do that, the results will be there.’
The Cubs, the first visiting team to play at Sutter Health Park, are excited to finally get home, but, honestly, they’re going to kind of miss these minor-league digs in Sacramento. Sure, the visiting clubhouse is tiny, and it’s located outside the center-field fence, but hey, they joked, at least the showers worked. There actually was hot water. There was no raw sewage seeping through the floors. And not a single rat or stray cat was spotted.
“The clubhouse is way better, it’s really nice in here,’ Pressly said. “It’s just the stadium. You know, you’re playing in a Triple-A stadium. That’s the only downfall of it.
“I feel bad for the guys who get called up and then you got to play in a Triple-A stadium. I mean, the Coliseum was a pretty special place, even though it had its flaws. I always liked playing there. The fans were great. They always got on you pretty good, especially being on the Astros, they really got on you. But I always liked playing in Oakland, staying in San Francisco, and you couldn’t beat the weather.’
While the Cubs destroyed the A’s, outscoring them 35-9, while hitting .337 with eight homers in the three-game series, it’s still too early to know just how the ballpark will play during the season. The prevailing sentiment is that it will be quite hitter-friendly, particularly in the hot summer months, with the Cubs predicting that the A’s slugger Brent Rooker will be a 50-homer hitter.
“It’ll be interesting later on in the year to see what teams do,’ Pressly said. “Obviously, Rooker is a good hitter. [Shea] Langeliers is a good hitter. It’s going to be pretty impressive to see the number they put up.’
If the opening series was any indication, Sutter Health Park could turn into Coors Field West.
There was a total of 42 runs, 64 hits and 12 homers in the three-game series, with the Cubs wishing the Athletics all the best moving forward, knowing they’ll pitching at a place where there’s no forgiveness for mistakes.
There’s no second and third upper decks to cut down the wind, and the ball is already carrying without the temperature rising above 65 degrees.
Still, as winning Cubs starter Jameson Taillon proved Wednesday, giving up just four hits and two runs in six innings while striking out seven, it’s not as if every pitcher has no chance to dominate in a minor-league park.
“I’ve heard the stories of the PCL [Pacific Coast League], I never played in it, but I know the ball flies in that league,’ Taillon said. “But I felt it was pretty fair. I know we scored a lot of runs, but I also feel like that was a lot on our hitters putting up great at-bats.’
Then again, as Taillon noted, there were strong winds gusting 12-20 mph the first two nights, but only about 5 mph Wednesday. The 385-foot homer to left field that he allowed to Rooker would have gone out anywhere.
“The park still plays like a minor-league park,’ Cubs reliever Caleb Thielbar said, “much more exposed to the wind factor and all of that stuff. Once it gets hot, especially if the wind keeps up like it has been here, there’s going to be some high-scoring games here. It’s not the ideal situation, but they have to deal with it, I guess.
“It’s going to be a big adjustment for those guys having pitching in the Coliseum. They never had a batting champion for a reason. But there’s definitely going to be some guys who have some breakout seasons here.
“I’m just glad we got here early and don’t have worry about 110 (degrees).’
Instead, the Cubs will just have to worry about staying dry and warm in Chicago, knowing that summer is still two months away.
“Is Chicago warm yet?’ Suzuki said, laughing. “I’ll be ready to have a lot of hot packs all over my body.’
But no matter how cold, windy or wet the conditions are when they play the San Diego Padres this weekend, for the first time in 2025, they’ll finally be home.
“I’m really excited to get back to Wrigley,’ Taillon said. “I’m really excited for all of our new players to experience Wrigley. And the fans.
“And I’m real excited to sleep in my own bed.’
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