As a boy, he watched his beloved team play in the very first World Series game at Wrigley Field. A few years later, he was there to see Babe Ruth call his shot.
A lot changed over the years — a job in a different field, on another kind of bench — but retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens never lost faith in the Chicago Cubs.
Now 95 and older than the ivy at the ballpark, Stevens offers an opinion on their title drought dating to 1908.
“I don’t think it’s a question of whether they’ll win a championship,” he said. “It’s whether I’ll still be here to see it.”
“They are close,” he said. “Will it happen soon enough?”
Let’s begin right there as Major League Baseball gets loosened up for opening day.
Pitchers Zack Greinke, David Price and Johnny Cueto start fresh with new teams. Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz and Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully are on deck for fond farewells.
Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, Carlos Correa, Nolan Arenado and Noah Syndergaard among the young, bright stars all over the diamond.
Barry Bonds back in play, as the hitting coach for the Miami Marlins. Dusty Baker back in the dugout, managing the Washington Nationals.
A year after the Cubs, the Houston Astros, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Texas Rangers took huge strides to make the playoffs, fans are wondering who’s next.
American League Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel saw what happened with the Astros. His first full year was 2013, when they lost 111 games.
“It’s a progression,” the lefty said. “You get better individually, and you get better as a team.”
MLB has made changes, too, on and off the field.
There’s the “Chase Utley Rule” that outlaws certain vicious takeout slides, but the old “neighborhood play” at second base is now reviewable, and many wonder whether that will put middle infielders in peril. Some ballparks, including Nationals Park, added extra netting to protect fans from foul balls that rocket into the seats.
As always, injuries took a toll in spring training. St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Jhonny Peralta, Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier and Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder A.J. Pollock won’t be ready for openers. Pitchers Yu Darvish, Zack Wheeler, Homer Bailey and Alex Cobb seem to be recovering neatly from Tommy John surgery and are expected back soon enough.
So, how will things shake out?
The San Francisco Giants hopes their odd-even pattern holds after winning titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014. The Giants missed the playoffs last year, then added Cueto and Jeff Samardzija and former Nationals outfielder Denard Span.
“This is as solid as I think we’ve been, and that’s saying a lot,” manager Bruce Bochy said.
After consecutive last-place finishes, Boston added Price and closer Craig Kimbrel. Arizona bolstered its rotation with Greinke and Shelby Miller.
The Royals apparently didn’t do enough to impress the stat-heads. A couple of numbers-based sites predicted Kansas City will finish below .500.
“They’re probably never going to pick us to win it, no matter what we do,” all-star outfielder Lorenzo Cain said.
A season after getting swept by the pitching-rich Mets in the National League Championship Series, the Cubs acquired outfielder Jason Heyward, starter John Lackey and second baseman Ben Zobrist.
They joined Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta and young boppers Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Kyle Schwarber on a team clearly dressed for success. As manager Joe Maddon told his players about clubhouse culture, “If you think you look hot, you wear it.”
Whether that adds up to a Cubs crown, we’ll find out. It’s a supreme vacancy Justice Stevens wants to see filled.
A few years after he began listening to their games on radio, Stevens was 9 when he saw the Cubs drop the World Series opener at Wrigley in 1929. He was back in 1932 when Ruth called his shot.
“Yes, it really happened,” he said. “My recollection is still fairly clear about him pointing to the center field scoreboard, which he did.”
Stevens served more than 34 years on the Supreme Court and never moved away from rooting for the Cubs.
“As a Cubs fan, you do a lot of parallel thinking,” he said. “You have the disappointment, and you always have hope.”
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