There’s an old saying, well known in a certain large Midwestern city: “If you don’t like the weather in Chicago, just wait five minutes -- It’ll change”.
Wrigley Field: A Tale Of Seven Cities
10:30 a.m. - San Francisco: On arrival at Wrigley Field, I was greeted with fog rolling off Lake Michigan that made the Wrigley scoreboard invisible from less than a city block away. No foghorns sounded, though we could have used them.
11:30 a.m. - Atlanta: A sudden downpour, accompanied by loud thunder and vivid lightning, prompted Cubs security to clear out the bleachers. There were, however, no sightings of Ted Turner, Bobby Cox, or Margaret Mitchell, though many things in the area were indeed “Gone With The Wind”.
12 noon - Seattle: The downpour concluded, to be replaced by a mist that enveloped the ballpark, while people stood in the bleachers watching Cubs pitchers warm up with each other in the outfield even though the tarp still covered the infield. Cubs setup man Kerry Wood, not satisfied with a teammate to take his tosses, threw baseballs to his six-year-old son and one of his son's friends in center field.
12:45 p.m. - Houston: The rain erupted into another crashing thunderstorm; hail was reported within a few blocks of Wrigley, though none was visible right at the ballpark. At least two lightning strikes were reported at Wrigley itself, including one that sent sparks showering down a stairwell next to the left-field bleachers, below which were huddling several hundred fans. Knee-deep water stood in the Cubs dugout and the outfield grounds crew storage area. And Chicagoans weren’t expecting visitors from Houston until Monday.
2:30 p.m. - San Francisco (redux): Just minutes after the rain, which fell hard for nearly two hours, ended, the fog blew back in with a vengeance. Maybe the Giants were upset enough at having to play a game under these conditions two weeks ago, that they sent the fog back just as a reminder. For a few minutes, home plate was not visible from the bleachers. As suddenly as the fog came in, the wind shifted and it was last seen heading toward downtown Chicago.
3 p.m. - Minneapolis: Our friends from the North apparently sent one last blast of winter, saved up from Target Field, just to remind us that the climate can do this to humans any time. For about thirty minutes, the temperature dropped and the wind was howling off Lake Michigan, cold enough for some fans to bring out gloves, hoodies and blankets. Huge pools of water collected in the outfield as the grounds crew dumped it all off the tarp; Wrigley’s drainage system handled all of it and the game began at 3:50 p.m.
4:30 p.m., Los Angeles: After a short time when the flags atop Wrigley’s flagpoles were completely drooped with no wind at all, the fog and clouds briefly lifted for some sunshine and the temperature jumped to around 70 degrees, just as it does when the marine layer leaves southern California many mornings. This time coincided with the Pirates being laid-back enough to let the Cubs take the lead in the game.
6:30 p.m. - Chicago: At last, the wind died down and seasonal temperatures in the upper 60s reigned as the home team finished up a 3-2 victory over the Pirates.
This major league city junket was, um, whirlwind (at times, literally) but the beleaguered Chicago baseball fan cries, "Mercy" (and not in a Hawk Harrelson accent, please) and asks for a better summer than April and May have been. Weather forecasters claim it's going to be sunny and 92 degrees when the Cubs meet the Astros on Monday. After today's tour concluded, I actually believe them.
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