South Bend Cubs Gameday Program - May 2024

25 At 24

Felix Stevens led the Cubs farm system in home runs in 2023 with 27. But No. 25 was the particularly meaningful.

By: Max Thoma

On August 24, 2023, Felix Stevens returned to his apartment and his wife, Belinda had a question for one of the most powerful players in the Chicago Cubs farm system.

South Bend had just lost that night 14-8 to the eventual league champs Cedar Rapids on an incandescent 94 degree day at Four Winds Field.

She asked him what he was going to do when he hit number 25.

See, before the season ever began Stevens had created a goal for himself to hit 25 home runs. At 6-foot-4 and listed at 225 pounds, the big first baseman/ right fielder produced vicious swings and tremendous power. But through the first three years of his career he’d launched a total of 24 only homers. Which, in a sample of 159 games was nothing to shy away from, but he wanted more and he’d put in the work to make 25 feasible.

Canizares, who made it all the way up to the bigs with the Atlanta Braves in 2009.

When I sat down with Felix to discuss this story and his background, South Bend Cubs Development Hitting Coach Collin Andrews served as our translator. But the funny thing, even though he didn’t understand every question I asked, there were certain words that made him light up.

When he heard me say “Havana”, before Andrews even asked the question in Spanish, Stevens already displayed an ear-to-ear smile adorned on his face. That’s exactly the type of player and human being that Stevens is.

His joy and happiness is contagious and either at some point during the question or at a separate juncture during his answer, no matter the topic, he found a way to smile and it was hard to not be joyful just listening to him discuss his life.

When he was 2 years old he began swinging around his uncle’s bats and he’d slide in the grass as his Barbaro would emphatically toss him arms out to the side and exclaim, “safe!”

His love for the game of baseball developed at an early age, especially because he grew up right next door to a baseball field.

Stevens was born in Havana, Cuba and grew up idolizing Rudy Reyes, an Cuban infielder who played 22 years of pro ball in his home country, and his uncle Barbaro

Nearly a decade after beginning to swing a bat, Stevens found himself playing together with the best young teenagers in Cuba. He hadn’t truly thought too much about playing the game professionally or going to the United States and trying to replicate his uncle’s success.

But at that tryout he was able to look around and see the talent he was up against and realized he could pursue becoming a pro

Stevens smiles as he rounds the bases following a grand slam, his second HR of the game.

Credit: Casey McDonald.

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ball player.

Stevens broke spring camp a little late and joined the Cubs in mid-April in 2024.

Credit: Dr. Tim Reilly.

Not too long after his mom took a job in the Dominican Republic and that’s where Felix would call home for the next four years. the Dominican Republic and that’s where Felix would call home for the next four years. Being in the Dominican he felt like gave him a better chance to get scouted and on March 15, 2019 as a then 19-year-old, Stevens inked a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs.

The first time he ever ventured to the United States was so to pass his physical with the organization. When I asked him about that trip and his initial thoughts about America he again grinned widely and went on at length with his response.

His flight to Arizona connected through Miami, which naturally has an expansive Cuban population and is home to his uncle Barbaro too. The big man immediately fell in love and spoke of the cleanliness of the city and how he admired the height of the buildings; immediately the United States became a place he wanted to live for the rest of his life.

Later that year he debuted as a professional baseball player actually back in the Dominican Summer League with one of the two Cubs affiliates down there. In 51 games he hit .280 with six home runs and 31 RBIs, while striking out 62 times.

The following year got washed away with the Covid Pandemic and the Minor League Baseball season being cancelled. Stevens, though 19, signed late and at an older age than most Latin players and now had to miss an entire year of pro ball like everyone else in the lower levels.

2021 came and brought with it a stateside debut as he began the year with 30 games in the rookie Arizona Complex League and capped his season for the first time at a full season affiliate, the Low-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans.

But then came what Felix described as the worst season he’s ever had.

He spent all season back in Myrtle Beach in 2022 and batted a career low .222, finishing with a .723 OPS, far below his previous low of .877. For a man known for the thunderous long balls and the loud contact, he just wasn’t doing much of anything right.

Great players adjust, in baseball more so than in any other sport. There are so many games and as we know even the greatest players of all-time are unsuccessful the majority of the time. So how you deal with adversity is quintessential to the life of a baseball player, especially at a young age, and you can even multiply the magnitude when it’s a foreign born player who is far away from home.

Stevens knew his biggest weakness; work ethic.

He’d been playing the worst baseball of his life and wasn’t working nearly hard enough to regain his former form.

That offseason he worked with another

The powerful 1B/OF slugs his first HR of 2024.Credit: Casey McDonald.

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Cuban professional baseball player, Yulieski Gurriel, more commonly known as Yuli Gurriel. This experience helped facilitate a monumental change in how Stevens operated.

The big man bolts home from 3rd base in late July, 2023.

Credit: Ethan Levy.

He looked at Gurriel, a veteran who was 38 years old, a multi-millionaire, two-time World Series champ, gold glover, and batting champ. Gurriel is a great story in his own right with all of his success coming after he debuted in the MLB at age 32 in 2016 and in his first real full season won the World Series with the Houston Astros.

However, what Stevens pinpointed was the fact that this man before him, with all the accolades and all the money already in hand, outworked everyone.

He couldn’t believe the grind and sweat Gurriel was enduring as a proven entity already in the MLB.

So 2023 needed to be a shot in the arm of the career of Felix Stevens, he was going

to put his nose to the grindstone and come through that season the best he’d ever been.

The first half of the season the 23-year-old played again in Low-A, but now things were different. In April he reached base at a .403 clip and rocked an OPS of .922. May’s number were quite similar with a .395 OBP and .882 OPS.

Summer brought with it a continued torrid stretch and on June 20 he’d make a trip up to High-A South Bend for the first time in his pro career.

With the Pelicans in his first 55 games of the season, he crushed 13 homers, drove in 33, and ripped off a .941 OPS over two-plus months.

He experienced a tough start against older and better arms, going 0-for-7 with four strikeouts across his first two games at Parkview Field vs Fort Wayne. He homered the next day but went just 5-for-31 to finish out June.

Despite the sluggish start, everything clicked quickly in July and in the middle of the Midwest summer Stevens went on to hit

Stevens made 2 stellar plays that preserved the Cubs no-hitter last year in July vs Peoria.

Credit: Ethan Levy.

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.287 in July with a .540 slugging percentage and four more homers.

In August, his second full month in High-A, he catapulted another six round-trippers in just the first 23 days of the month.

That takes us back to August 24, 2023, when Stevens had accumulated a grand total of 24 home runs on the season.

He'd homered once in the past six games when his wife asked him what he would do with number 25.

The clairvoyant Cuban slugger said it would come tomorrow and after he hits it he’s probably going to cry.

He was letting his wife know by calling his shot that his goal would be achieved the next day, and then the 6-foot-4 man who’s probably closer to 240 than 225 lbs said he’d break down emotionally after the feat.

At this point you can probably guess what ensued.

When the Stevens came around to bat in the fourth inning the Cubs already led the game 9-1 and the offensive surge saw with it four long balls, but none from Stevens. At least, not so far.

Then Alejandro Hidlago, a 20-year-old right-hander from Venezuela threw a pitch right down the middle at 88 mph and Stevens absolutely demolished it over the seats

beyond the wall in left-center.

Number 25.

As he rounded third base he put his right hand, covered with a white batting glove, up to wipe away the tears from his eyes. At home plate he was greeted with a high-five from Yohendrick Pinango and Josh Rivera.

When Stevens entered the dugout, with a deluge of tears streaking down his face, he received the standard pats on the back and high-fives all around, but the expressions on his teammates faces were mainly that of confusion.

Then he shared an emotional hug with Angel Gonzalez at the end the dugout and as if to clear the confusion said “25”.

Stevens would go on to lead the Cubs entire farm system and capped the year with 27 home runs on the season.

What looked to most like a stereotypical trip around the bases for a man so accustomed to going into a trot before he touched first base, was anything but.

Felix came back to South Bend to begin 2024 and now the gentle giant enters this season with two goals; to work hard each and every day, continuing to grind away and put in the time and sweat like he did last year; and this year, he wants 30.

Stevens celebrates one of his 27 home runs as he touches home and taps helmets with Ethan Hearn and Moises Ballesteros. Credit: Ethan Levy.

THE PATH TO THE IVY

How South Bend has played a strong factor Brennen Davis’ road to Wrigley Field

By: Brendan King

September 14, 2019 - 9:07 PM, Central Time. As Cole Roederer caught the center field high pop fly in Clinton, Iowa, securing the first Midwest League Championship as a Chicago cubs affiliate for the South Bend Cubs, a then 19-year-old Brennen Davis sprinted to the infield. There, Davis was jumped upon, hugged, and high-fived by his teammates, shouting and smiling as he won his first professional championship.

There were plenty of moments in that summer of 2019 that stuck out. Davis’ Midwest League debut, where he also took part in his first professional interview with me on the field after. This was before the days of Gatorade cooler dump after every interview. The former number-one Cubs overall prospect also hit his first professional home run that summer in Dayton, along with his first career walk-off homer against the Quad Cities River Bandits at Four Winds Field.

The Cubs went a perfect 7-0 in the Midwest League postseason that year; Sweeping all three rounds.

“It was a pretty fun team especially when you were that dominant in the playoffs,” Davis said. “You feel pretty unstoppable when you’re that good. We got help from some of the draft guys that came up late in the year. It’s a special team, one of my most fond baseball memories, and I stay in touch with all the guys from that team. Guys and players come

and go, but the bonds you make in baseball live forever.”

All of those individual accomplishments, combined with capping off his first fullseason of professional baseball with a championship, left Davis ready to pursue bigger and better things in the Cubs organization. Rightfully so.

He officially became the number-one prospect soon after 2019. Just in time for the COVID-19 Pandemic. Just as COVID hit in March of 2020, Davis’ climb to Wrigley Field would include the South Bend Cubs in many more future avenues. He just didn’t know it yet.

During the COVID-shortened season of 2020, South Bend and Four Winds Field became Chicago Cubs HQ. The Alternate Site. Cubs players could quickly get back-and-forth to Wrigley Field if need be for quick call-ups.

Davis playing in his first season in South Bend back in 2019. Credit: Dr. Tim Reilly

It was new for everyone, players and staff included.

Due to conditions during the pandemic, South Bend Cubs Team President Joe Hart and General Manager Nick Brown were working as part of the Grounds Crew to have the field ready each day for the Alternate Site players. Part of that taxi squad, a very young Davis. Just 20-years-old at the time, Davis’ expe-

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... continued from previous page. rience at the Alt-Site was to build the relationships and camaraderie needed to eventually play with the stars of the Cubs at Wrigley. He found his way back to South Bend for the first time, and those interactions with the brass of the Cubs organization always stuck with him.

“It’s been awesome to have the guys at the Big League level as a resource,” Davis said. “They are always so welcoming, and they’ve been in similar situations as me. They value the fact of someone trying to learn. They’re always looking to help you out, give tips as

to how to get to the next level, and of course wanting to share the outfield with me being a new teammate.”

With their being no Minor League season in 2020, it was a fresh slate for just about every prospect coming back to a full swing in 2021. Davis went back to a place he knew very well though. In 2021, he would begin he season with the South Bend Cubs, before

heading to the Double-A Tennessee Smokies, and then to the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, getting his first experience in Des Moines.

With all of the level jumps, it looked like a shoe-in that 2022 may be the year that Davis gets called up to the Big Leagues. Unfortunately, a string of injuries that have taken us to the moment you’re reading this story presented itself. In the last two years, Davis has missed a considerable amount of time, but each setback brought him back to a place that has become almost a second home.

South Bend, Indiana.

In 2022, it was a back surgery that kept him out of commission. More injuries in 2023, and then a freak accident at Spring Training here in 2024 has kept Davis off the field more often than he’s been on it. All part of the process for the man from Chandler, Arizona.

Still, in each of those three seasons, including the start of this one, Davis has played on a rehab assignment in South Bend. Something he knows isn’t the ideal scenario, but he knows anytime he’s on a baseball field, that’s a step forward. Playing down at Single-A ball gives Davis a chance to catch the number-two ranked farm system in baseball, as ranked per MLB.com, up close.

“All of these rehab assignments has given me a chance to connect with our farm and the guys that are coming up who will be a big part of our future,” Davis said. “I think it’s important to be able to mesh, and I hope to be a bridge one day to be able to have those connections I’ve made, and that can help bring success to future teams”

The South Bend Cubs went on to win the 2019 Midwest League Championship with Davis as a key cog.

Credit: Paul Gierhart

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To say Davis has grown up in the Cubs organization would be an understatement. He’ll turn 25 in November of 2024, and was selected all the way back as an 18-year-old in the second round of the 2018 Draft. Of course, that was when Theo Epstein was calling the shots from the top. Davis has seen every major Chicago high, low, decision, or change since shortly after the 2016 World Series.

“It’s crazy,” Davis said. “I’ve seen a few whole turnovers of staff, philosophies, and how people go about their business. It’s been awesome to see the organization grow. We’ve obviously dealt some guys, and we’ve increased our farm systems depth. I thought they’ve done a great job with the picks they have gotten, and they’re really building a foundation for sustained success. It’s really exciting.”

In 2022 and 2023, however, Davis came to South Bend on rehab when he was just getting back into baseball mode from long pauses to his season. Each time being in the month of August. In April of 2024, Davis returned to South Bend, and now has appeared at Four Winds Field someway in each year since 2019. Being back in April was a totally different feel as opposed to the two previous August stints.

no path is linear, and sprits are high now. I’m ready to have a great 2024 campaign.”

That brings up another point: Expectations. For Davis, he’s a former number-one overall prospect in the Cubs organization. The expectations internally, and externally, have always been through the roof for a guy who was once the MVP of the MLB Futures Game. Injuries have caused Davis to wind and weave his way up the totem pole as he looks to make his Major League debut.

Davis digs in during his rehab with South Bend in April 2024.

Credit: Ethan Levy.

This is because there was no long layoff from Spring Training to April of 2024. Davis showed a strong command of the strike zone, a keen eye, solid timing, and a swagger that is reflective of the Brennen Davis that we all know.

“It’s definitely hard coming back after not playing for a long time,” Davis said. “I feel a lot more comfortable at the plate. I was ready to get my season rolling when it started, but it was another hiccup. Still like I always say,

But how as one of the top prospects in baseball, and one of the most recognizable names among fans in the organization, does Davis fade out the noise? Pretty simple for a guy who goes home in Arizona and helps take care of his mom’s livestock animals in the desert. Find the inner peace.

“It’s something when you take a step back and notice how fragile the game is,” Davis said. “It can be taken from you so quickly. So you have to absorb and have fun. We get to play a game for a living. I love to soak up the memories with the players, staff, friends, and people you meet along the way. I’m blessed to have been able to play as long as I have already.”

The timing for Davis arriving back in South Bend in April of 2024 was noteworthy as well. Like something out of a book, Davis traveled with the South Bend Cubs to Wrigley Field on April 15 as part of a workout at ‘The Friendly Confines’ set up by manager Nick Lovullo and the Cubs front office staff

It wasn’t the first time Davis had stepped foot into Wrigley Field, and it certainly wasn’t the last. But just observing him that day, you could tell it felt different; In a good way.

Davis positioned himself in the first-base

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side on deck circle, sitting down on one of the dugout guardrails, peering at the sights and sounds what is ‘The Federal Landmark’. Without trying to be bothersome, I shared a quick personal anecdote with Davis, and then let him continue his stargazing.

“Anytime I can get my feet on the soil there is a good time,” Davis said. “I was trying to mentally put myself there, what a debut would feel like, and filling the stands with people. Just so when the time comes I can calm my nerves.”

You could tell that warm, cloudless sky Monday sunk in somewhere deep with Davis. Heck, he was wearing his Cubs 40-man roster gear, the only guy on the field that day to have that honor.

Something about that day, and the timing of it, felt significant. It will no doubt be a great story to tell when Wrigley Field public address announcer Jeremiah Paprocki introduces him to the Northside faithful for the first time.

Most rehab assignments in South Bend have the same type of feel to it. It’s a type of scenario that sounds like, “hey it’s good to see you, but let’s send you on your way.”

Davis’ time at Four Winds Field has had that feel, but it’s like seeing a close family member that lives halfway across the country. You appreciate your time with one another when it does happen, but you understand it’s going to be short-lived. In the grand scheme of things, you’re perfectly okay with that knowing that all parties are happy, healthy, and doing what makes them individually right in the world.

That’s Brennen Davis.

But it’s now time for Davis to go do what he was drafted to. Winning ballgames at Wrigley Field.

“It’s going to be something I’ve been dreaming about for a while, and I’m very excited for an opportunity to present itself one of these days,” Davis said.

We, as in us in South Bend, know exactly where he belongs. Surely, the reunions are a blast. Now, it’s time for the next step. And with no question, that 2019 Midwest League championship.

Davis celebrating the 2019 Eastern Division Championship after defeating the Great Lakes Loons in Midland, Michigan. Credit: Casey McDonald.

2023 SOUTH BEND CUBS COACHING STAFF

Nick Lovullo - Manager

Nick Lovullo’s time with the Cubs organization began as a coach two years ago. A former Boston Red Sox prospect, the 30-year-old was drafted in the 20th round of the 2016 MLB Draft by Boston, after a collegiate career at Holy Cross. He grew up and played his high school baseball in Thousand Oaks, California. In his first pro season, Lovullo was promoted as high as Double-A Portland. His professional career concluded in 2021, in a stop with the Miami Marlins organization, as well as independent baseball. The son of Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo, Nick became the Double-A Tennessee Smokies bench coach in 2022 and managed the Arizona Complex League Cubs in 2023.

Bruce Billings - Pitching Coach

Bruce Billings joins South Bend following a successful year with Low-A Myrtle Beach as their pitching coach. Under Billings the Pelicans pitching staff posted the lowest opposing batting average in the Carolina League in 2023, as well as the second most strikeouts. The former big leaguer was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 2007 MLB Draft. He was San Diego State’s all-time strikeout leader before Stephen Strasburg broke his record. Billings made his MLB debut with the Rockies in 2011 and pitched with the Oakland A's and New York Yankees. The right-hander also pitched overseas in Taiwan and China. Prior to joining the Cubs he coached within the Philadelphia Phillies organization.

Nate Spears - Hitting Coach

Nate Spears begins his first season with the South Bend Cubs as the team’s new hitting coach. Spears began his playing career with the Baltimore Orioles, after they selected him in the fifth-round of the 2003 MLB Draft. The Fort Myers, Fla. native was traded by the Orioles to the Northsiders in the Corey Patterson deal in 2006. Spears played for former South Bend manager Buddy Bailey in 2008 with Double-A Tennessee, and made it to Triple-A Iowa. His career then took him to the Boston Red Sox, where he made his MLB debut. Spears played for Boston in 2011 and 2012. As a coach, he stayed with the Red Sox, and wound-up coaching Nick Lovullo when the new South Bend skipper was a Red Sox prospect.

Kyle Moore Bench Coach

Nick Roberts Athletic Trainer

Kelcey Mosley Strength and Conditioning Coach

Collin Andrews Dev Coach (hitting)

Andrew Rueter Dev Coach (pitching)

PITCHERS

INFIELDERS OUTFIELDERS

CATCHERS

Wriley Field: All-Access

South Bend Cubs hit, workout, and spend afternoon at ‘The Friendly Confines’

By Brendan King

For many Chicago Cubs fans, their first time taking in, digesting, and admiring Wrigley Field came at a young age. Chicago is full of thousands upon thousands of lifelong Cubs fans, and many of them would do anything to be able to relive the memory of being at Wrigley for the first time.

In the case of the 2024 South Bend Cubs, a number of players on this year’s roster were presented with that opportunity on Monday, April 15. Thanks to manager Nick Lovullo, as well as the Chicago Cubs front office and baseball operations staff, the entirety of the South Bend roster was given the chance to tour, hit, throw, and practice at ‘The Friendly Confines’.

For some on the Cubs roster, like 18-year-old Jefferson Rojas and 20-year-old Pedro Ramirez, they were seeing Wrigley in person for the first time. And getting to experience that, mother nature could not have provided a more picturesque and delightful afternoon.

The Wrigley Field Grounds Crew had the field to a perfect, fresh cut of grass, with the dirt watered and looking in mid-season form. The sky was a rich and encapsulating shade of blue, without a cloud in the sky. If you took in the day from the radio booth and press box, Lake Michigan was displaying a turquoisecolor hint to it, with the city of Chicago wrapped around.

Talk about an ideal April day in Wrigleyville. There was no need for any sort

of extra layer or jacket.

As the South Bend Cubs were preparing for an away series at Beloit, they boarded and loaded the team bus with any and all equipment and left for Chicago. The drive due-west had to be exciting, especially for the really young guys who had yet to see Wrigley before.

Also on the bus was former number-one overall Cubs prospect Brennen Davis, who was playing with South Bend on a rehab assignment. He’s seen Wrigley from most angles, but the day would provide him with a wholesome moment as well. More on that later.

The Cubs arrived to the right field entrance where the usual visiting team will have their bus positioned before and after a game. As you enter Wrigley from that small gate, there is a small crevice of the right field wall that allows you to peek inside and see the ivy, as well as the warning track. A bit of an appetizer for what was to come.

Players walk out onto the field at Wrigley, many for the first time in their life. Credit: Chris Hagstrom-Jones.

South Bend took the stairs up to the visiting team clubhouse. As their visiting clubhouse manager, Gary, said as they entered, “this is all for you guys.” The refrigerators were packed with water, energy drinks, and soda, and the lockers were all cleared out for each Cubs player to have their own space.

Once all the equipment was in there, it was time for the grand tour.

Seeing Wrigley for the first time was nothing short of amazing,” South Bend

center fielder Brett Bateman said. “Being able to workout at such a historic ballpark and viewing the facilities will be something I remember for a long time.”

The Cubs got the full showing of what Wrigley Field is. After quick trip onto the field for pictures, and to soak it all in, baseball operations assistant Bryan Guo took the team into the home clubhouse. As the Chicago Cubs were in Arizona at the time, the clubhouse was quiet, but the environment of the room spoke for itself.

You could feel the history, with pictures of guys like Ron Santo, Ernie Banks, and others on the wall. Notions of the 2016 World Series all throughout, and the home white jerseys with the blue pinstripes all over in each locker. Every player’s locker had a jersey. Names like former South Bend Cubs Justin Steele, Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ, Christopher Morel, Luke Little, and others all came up as you passed by.

It was also a surreal moment for the younger Morel, Rafael, playing with the South Bend Cubs this season. Rafael walked by Christopher’s locker, smiled, and snapped a picture.

Then of course there was Brennen Davis. A member of the Cubs 40-man roster, Davis was the only South Bend player wearing official Major League

gear that day, with his 40-man number, 94. You could tell Davis was digesting the moment, thinking about what his moment will be like, when he gets his call to the show.

“I was trying to mentally put myself there, what a debut would feel like, and filling the stands with people,” Davis said. “Just so when the time comes I can calm my nerves.”

After the tour came the big part of the day. Practice time.

Every South Bend Cubs hitter got the opportunity to jump into the cage and take batting practice on the field. Each pitcher got to throw in the outfield grass, and also pitch on the bullpen mound inside the left field bleachers, walking into the ivy.

“Wrigley was great as always,” righthander Will Sanders said. “It’s such a privilege to be able to go and see the historic stadium. We got a workout in and had a good day of practice. Being on the field is a special feeling to be so close to greatness, it makes us all want to work hard to get there.”

Pitching coach Bruce Billings gave some words of wisdom to the pitchers, and they worked with catchers Ethan Hearn, Casey Opitz, and Dilan Granadillo in throwing their pens. By the way, Hearn and Opitz were both mic’d up for a future video post by assistant general manager Chris Hagstrom and production manager Kayleigh Sedlacek. It was gold.

“Growing up in baseball, my brothers and I would be in the backyard pretending to be in the bottom of the 9th of a tied MLB game,” Opitz said. “Those games were always fantasized to be in either Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, or Wrigley Field. Getting to step on the

Morel points his bat at the camera suring BP. Credit: Chris Hagstrom-Jones.

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field I actually fantasized playing in when I was a kid was something I’ll never forget.”

The production staff turned up the music as the guys got ready to hit. Some players took ground ball drills in the infield, others admired the scenery and shagged BP in the outfield. It was also an opportunity for Lovullo, bench coach Kyle Moore, and development coach Andrew Rueter to throw batting practice.

It was also an opportunity, and a unique one for left-handed pitcher Jack Patterson. The 2019 Midwest League Champion was arguably the most dominant lefty in the Cubs system at his peak that year. Since, Patterson pitched in an official professional game for the first time in five years early this season in 2024. That’s a result of needing back-to-back Tommy John Surgeries. He initially pitched with Low-A Myrtle Beach when he came back, and was promoted to South Bend on that Monday. He flew straight to Chicago and joined the team at ‘The Federal Landmark’.

“Being able to visit Wrigley for the first time was an awesome experience,” Patterson

said. “Stepping onto the field is like entering a time capsule of baseball history. It was a surreal experience and a great motivator for us all. An amazing day all around for the South Bend Cubs.”

Casey Opitz, Kyle Moore, and Ethan Hearn pause to take a picture. Credit: Chris Hagstrom-Jones.

While the Cubs were hitting, throwing, and on the field, tours of Wrigley Field were taking place with tourists and fans around the stadium. The Wrigley tours had those groups all over, but a number of them also sat in the bleachers for a few moments. They were watching South Bend, and were treated

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to a show by slugger Felix Stevens.

The big man from Cuba demolished 27 home runs in 2023, and was fresh off his first career multihome run performance that previous Saturday. The tour groups needed to pay attention, as Stevens deposited numerous baseballs into the bleachers, and even had one or two bounce onto Waveland Avenue.

professional baseball bodies to live a dream. For some, it was the first and maybe last time they would get to play and practice on that field. For others, it was perhaps the first of many. You never know in this game, and that’s why April 15, 2024 will always be special.

Following the workout, it was time to freshen up, and a post-practice spread of Lou Malnati’s Pizza awaited the guys. By the way, both clubhouses at Wrigley have their own kitchen, with their own chefs, with full on grills and stovetops. The Big League lifestyle is a dynamic life to live.

As the sun was setting on the majestic Chicago day, Wrigley graced its pageantry and allowed a bunch of inner kids inside

“The team workout at Wrigley Field was a truly an incredible day,” Lovullo said. “I felt that it not only grounded the entire team, but also motivated them and reaffirmed their goals of playing there for the Chicago Cubs in the future. On top of that, it was so special to see the inner kid come out in all our players, staff, and South Bend front office members. The pure joy and excitement that filled everyone’s faces that day is something I will never forget.”

Thank you to the Chicago Cubs, and everyone involved, for a dreamful experience.

The entire South Bend Cubs roster and coaching staff took a picture at the end of the day in the outfield at Wrigley. Credit: Chris Hagstrom-Jones.

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By joining the U.S. Air Force, you instantly become part of a team with over 300,000 Airmen. You also get the choice to serve full time, part time or volunteer. No matter which path you choose, you’ll play a critical role in helping us achieve mission success.

PLAN YOUR 2024 GROUP OUTING

Are you looking for the perfect place to plan your next group outing? We have a variety of packages to suit your every need! Treat your group of 20 or more to a fun night of affordable entertainment! Four Winds Field is a great place to entertain employees, clients, team members, civic organizations, and even family reunions.

AUTOGRAPHS

WATCH EVERY MILB GAME FOR FREE