Anthony Rizzo has had quite a weekend at Wrigley Field.
On Friday, Rizzo threw out the ceremonial first pitch as the Cubs unveiled the logo for the 2027 MLB All-Star Game that will be played at Wrigley Field.
Returning to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Cubs’ 2016 World Series championship team on Saturday, Rizzo later took a seat in the right-field bleachers to watch his former club play the Minnesota Twins.
In the bottom of the first inning, Michael Busch turned on an inside fastball from Twins pitcher Taj Bradley and cranked it into the right-field seats. Who ended up with the home run ball? Rizzo picked up the ball while holding his nearly two-year-old son in his left arm. He then held the ball up as fans cheered one of their all-time favorites.
(The one fan who might not have cheered Rizzo getting the ball is the guy who let the fly ball ricochet off his hands attempting to make the catch. But he presumably felt fine about the result after seeing that Rizzo ended up with the home run.)
Perhaps adding a bit of serendipity to the moment, Busch plays first base for the Cubs, the same position Rizzo manned for 10 years.
Rizzo didn’t catch the ball on the fly, which would have elevated this fun moment into a perfect one. But maybe he would have made the catch had he not been holding his son. However, he got the ball and a moment to share with his toddler.
This was the second time in less than a year that Rizzo was on the receiving end of a home run hit at Wrigley Field. On Sept. 13, 2025, Rizzo took a seat in the left-field bleachers upon officially retiring as a Cub after 14 MLB seasons. In the second inning of that game versus the Tampa Bay Rays, Moisés Ballesteros hit his first career home run into the left-field seats, right to Rizzo.
The ball was caught by the fan sitting behind him — and Rizzo was not holding his baby son — but the home run finding a beloved former Cubs player in the seats delighted everyone watching that day.
In 10 seasons with the Cubs, Rizzo compiled a .272/.372/.489 slash average with 242 home runs and 784 RBI. He was named to three All-Star teams and won four Gold Glove awards.
Rizzo had one of his best seasons for the 2016 World Series champions, recording a .292/.385/.544 slash line with 32 homers, 43 doubles and 109 RBI. The Cubs won the NL Central with a 103-58-1 record before defeating the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL playoffs.
In the World Series, the Cubs won a seven-game classic over the Cleveland Guardians. They defeated Cleveland 8-7 in 10 innings in Game 7, a victory that was celebrated again by Cubs fans on Saturday.
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