CHICAGO — Anthony Rizzo displayed his youthful exuberance throughout his time with the Chicago Cubs. In 2018, in the midst of a stretch that would end up being 42 games in 43 days, Rizzo wore his uniform on a flight to Washington, D.C. for a quick one-game makeup. His childlike wonder as he put his hands on his head after Ben Zobrist’s go-ahead double in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series is etched in every fan’s memory.
There was the time just before the 2020 season when Wrigley Field sat empty and Rizzo sat in the bleachers during a workout. It’s only fitting that this time around, he joined the fan base that embraced him and helped him build a legacy in Chicago when he sat in a packed bleachers section upon his return to Wrigley Field.
“I’m gonna sit in the bleachers,” Rizzo told reporters before Saturday’s game. “I’m gonna eat a hot dog. I’m gonna drink some adult beverages. Are we allowed to do the beer snake? Because I will be the rally starter for the beer snake.”
Not only did Rizzo, who was being honored by the Cubs as he officially retired from the game, do everything he promised, but he also bought hundreds of beers for the surrounding fans. And in the Cubs’ half of the second inning, rookie Moisés Ballesteros launched the first home run of his career, a solo shot that hit off Rizzo’s hand and ricocheted toward another fan. Just another day in the bleachers at Wrigley Field.
Anthony Rizzo was THIS close to catching Moisés Ballesteros’ first career home run! 😳 pic.twitter.com/6WOdRNOYoN
— MLB (@MLB) September 13, 2025
But that is Rizzo. He’s always in the middle of the action. Before the game, former teammate Jason Heyward was on the field waiting for Rizzo to throw out the first pitch. So were Eddie Vedder, Cindy Crawford and former Chicago Blackhawks great Chris Chelios. The 1990s are apparently having a moment. The group then watched as a video was played honoring Rizzo on the scoreboard as he received yet another ovation from an adoring crowd.
Having fun and keeping it light was what made Rizzo so easy for fans, teammates and the city of Chicago to love. Leadership comes in different forms. Heyward, Jon Lester, Ben Zobrist and David Ross handled things differently. So did Rizzo. His goal was to make sure everyone enjoyed the moment because he seemed to understand how quickly it could change.
“It’s the perspective from my mom and dad,” Rizzo said. “My mom’s New Year’s resolution is ‘live it up’ every year. When you’re going bad, you still have to have fun, and when you’re going good, you have to have fun. You can’t really do it in between.”
Giving back is also at the heart of what Rizzo is all about. On Saturday, along with his beer purchase in the bleachers, he greeted and spoke to gameday staff, providing them with donuts, then sent multiple packages of treats for media and staff to snack on in the press box.
But it’s his work outside of Wrigley that left an indelible mark on the city and people who adore him. Rizzo learned of his lymphoma diagnosis in 2008. It was around that time that he told his family that he wanted to start his own foundation to help others. In 2012, he started the Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation.
“To be able to make an impact and to have a lasting legacy here in Chicago and all over the country is something bigger than the game,” Rizzo said. “Going through the airport, pretty much every time a family comes up to us and says, ‘You’ve helped us here, you’ve helped a friend here.’ And that’s such a rewarding feeling.”
Since its inception, Rizzo’s foundation has raised nearly $20 million. Last year, the foundation donated more than $1.5 million to cover rent, mortgages, car payments, gas and groceries for families. Rizzo sends out hundreds of custom and personalized letters to children fighting cancer. There was $3.75 million donated to Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, an endowment that created the Hope 44 Fund and added two child life specialists.
The list goes on. What he’s done in Chicago, New York and Miami dwarfs what he’s done on the field. And it’s impossible to forget what he did on the field.
Rizzo accumulated 33.1 WAR and posted a 131 wRC+ in nine seasons with the Cubs. He delivered four straight 30-plus homer seasons, joining Billy Williams as the only left-handed hitters to have multiple 30-homer seasons for the Cubs. He made three All-Star games, won four Gold Gloves and finished in the top five in MVP voting twice.
Of course, there was the 2016 World Series run. Rizzo was arguably the most memorable player in the group. The one that fans embraced the most and felt the biggest connection with. One reason, some players on the current team have suggested, is that Rizzo was there from the start of a rebuild. He saw the down moments and pushed through, being able to come out on the other end.
“He was one of the original building blocks of (that) team,” Nico Hoerner recently said. “(He) was (on) some teams that had tough years and then took it as far as you can take it; winning the World Series and being a part of a dominant group. Obviously, the World Series itself was historic, but just that he was there for every bit of it is part of why fans have really gravitated towards him and why it was so meaningful for him too.”
Ian Happ echoed those sentiments. Now both Hoerner and Happ want to be able to do the same. They saw the end of the run of the World Series core, the dismantling of a beloved group. They suffered through a pair of below-.500 seasons. Now they want to make the type of run that Rizzo and his teammates did nearly a decade ago.
Rizzo’s advice to the group?
“Enjoy it,” he said. “It’s September baseball now, they’re right in the thick of it. You gotta enjoy it. You gotta lean on each other. There’s a good veteran group and then you have a lot of young guys. You get into October, I think, as a young ball club, going through the wild-card route is almost more beneficial than having that first-round bye. You can get hot and get those nerves out. If you can win two out of those three, you roll onto the division series and anything can happen.”
(Photo: Geoff Stellfox / Getty Images)
