Welcome back to the Cubs Beat newsletter. Jordan Bastian has covered baseball for MLB.com since 2005, including the Cubs since the 2019 season. |
CHICAGO -- When Jon Lester made his way to the front row on stage at Cubs Convention during Friday night’s opening ceremonies, he found himself standing in front of Travis Wood (wearing a vest with no shirt underneath) and John Lackey. Lester saw his chance to get a friendly jab in at his old teammates. “I said, ‘Hey, I got my name on my seat,’” Lester quipped. “I thought that was pretty cool.” The seat was reserved for Lester not only as part of the start of this year’s 10-year celebration of the 2016 World Series champions, but as one of the newest members of the Cubs Hall of Fame. Lester said he was struggling to come up with words to describe the honor, putting him in an exclusive class with the franchise’s all-time greats. When Lester signed a six-year, $155 million deal with the Cubs prior to the '15 season, former manager Joe Maddon said the team had “won the baseball lottery.” It was a culture-shifting deal that helped usher the franchise out of a rebuild and into a period of winning that included five postseason trips and a World Series title that ended the team’s 108-year drought. |
On the eve of the convention, the bulk of the '16 team -- players, coaches, staff and front office, including former Cubs executive Theo Epstein -- gathered at Wrigley Field for a private celebration. “Ten years seems like a long time. In my mind, it was yesterday,” Lester said. “You come back and you see guys and you're like, ‘Oh yeah, I remember that dude. That dude got that out in this game.’ Memories start flowing. So, it’s awesome to get back and see these guys and be a part of it. The Cubs did a great job.” Only a handful of players from that team were unable to attend the reunion, which included the lockers in the clubhouse having their jerseys and name plates. Even a couple of active players -- Kyle Schwarber and Javier Báez -- made it into town for Thursday’s event. A significant portion of the group, including Maddon and former catcher and manager David Ross, were on hand for Friday’s ceremonies. Lester cracked a smile when asked what it was like to have the group back together.
“Probably a little bit too good of a time,” he said. “Sat around, talked, hung out. All that stuff. It was good. It was actually very low key, but it was awesome. It fit our group.”
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Lester will be inducted into the Cubs Hall of Fame during the '26 season, and the lefty more than earned his place among the team’s all-time icons. Lester racked up 77 wins with a 3.64 ERA in 171 starts, including at least 31 in five straight years. He was an All-Star in '16 and '18, finishing as the runner-up for the National League Cy Young Award in '16 with 19 wins and a 2.44 ERA. He also had a 2.44 ERA in 12 career playoff games for the Cubs, taking the ball in a Game 1 six times and working three innings in the Game 7 World Series clincher in Cleveland. “I’m excited. I get a cool new jacket,” Lester said. “I get to walk on stage with all the great Cubs legends. Some that I grew up watching. Some that were a little bit before that time, but still legends that you hear about. Right now, I don’t know how to articulate that [feeling].” |
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DAVIS JOINS LESTER IN CUBS’ HALL |
Jody Davis admitted that he had wondered if this day would come, but it nonetheless arrived with a wave of emotions when the Cubs finally did call with the news. The former Cubs catcher will be inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame this summer. “It’s really unbelievable. This is my Hall of Fame,” Davis said on Friday night at Cubs Convention. Davis will join Lester as the two new player inductees into the Cubs Hall of Fame in '26, with late broadcaster Vince Lloyd also being honored as part of the class. The 69-year-old Davis was thrilled to join former teammates and fellow Cubs Hall of Famers Rick Sutcliffe, Lee Smith and Andre Dawson at Cubs Con’s opening ceremonies, while the late Ryne Sandberg was recognized with a jersey and a few of his awards on stage. |
“God, we miss Ryno so bad,” Davis said. “That team, I was a kid, all I wanted to do was win a game. … That group was programmed to win. Nobody cared about who was the hero today, but we knew that we were never out of a game.” In parts of eight seasons with the Cubs from 1981-88, Davis hit .251 with 122 home runs, 164 doubles and 467 RBIs in 990 games for the club. He was an All-Star twice ('84 and '86), won one Gold Glove ('86) and hit .389 with two homers and a 1.202 OPS in five playoff games as part of the '84 division champs. “To be a part of that, and to watch Chicago actually start believing we could win again in '84,” Davis said, “so many good memories. So many great teammates.” |
• Cubs Con underway as excitement builds around '26 team. Read more >> • At introductory presser, Bregman explained his switch to No. 3. Read more >> • A look at how Bregman fits the Cubs’ mold as a hitter. Read more >> • Swanson deems Hoerner ‘irreplaceable’ amid trade rumors. Read more >> • Bregman to join Team USA in World Baseball Classic. Read more >> • Cubs add 3 shortstops as international signing period opens. Read more >> |
“I joined the organization in '15, so I got to see the build between '15 and '16. There’s definitely some similar feelings of building to a really good place and a really good group, and then adding to that group. I think that there’s similarities there. I think seeing those guys in the room [Thursday] and just the different personalities and the different players that came through, there’s a lot of that in this group.” -- Cubs outfielder Ian Happ, on the current team being in a similar position as the '16 group |
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