A look back at Anthony Rizzo’s debut with the Chicago Cubs
On this day 12 years ago, the Chicago Cubs started a young first-baseman who had just been called up from Triple-A Iowa. Anthony Rizzo was relatively unknown to Cubs fans, having been acquired in the offseason in a trade with the San Diego Padres. Now, 12 years later, Rizzo is a household name in Chicago and one of the most beloved players in franchise history. Even as he continues his career with the New York Yankees, he will always be remembered from the 2016 Cubs team that did the seemingly impossible.
Rizzo was initially drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the sixth round of the 2007 MLB Draft. He quickly became a premiere prospect in Boston’s farm system as a power-hitting lefty who displayed good pitch selection. After the 2010 season, he was traded to San Diego as part of a package deal for the Red Sox to acquire All-Star first-baseman Adrian Gonzalez. Rizzo’s MLB debut with the Padres in 2011 was underwhelming to say the least. In 49 games, he hit .141/.281/.242 while hitting just one home run.
The Chicago Cubs acquire Anthony Rizzo
That following January, new Cubs President Theo Epstein worked a trade to acquire Rizzo, who he also drafted while with Boston in 2007. The Padres received right-handed pitcher Andrew Cashner and outfielder Kyung-Min Na, while the Cubs acquired Rizzo and right-handed pitcher Zach Cates. In retrospect, this would go down as one of the great moves made by Epstein in his Cubs tenure.
Starting the 2012 season in Triple-A Iowa, Rizzo quickly proved he didn’t belong in the minors. In 70 games he slashed .342/.405/.696 while posting a 1.101 OPS. He also hit 23 home runs and had 62 RBIs in that span. On June 26, Rizzo was called up by the Chicago Cubs.
The Cubs were in the early stages of an all-out rebuild in 2012. When Rizzo made his Cubs debut on June 26, the Cubs were 25-48 and 15.5 games out of first-place. This was a lost season, but the foundation was being laid for the future. Rizzo went 2-4 with an RBI double in his debut against the New York Mets at Wrigley Field. He would go on to have three game-winning RBIs in his first five games with the Cubs, the first player to do so in franchise history. Rizzo finished 2012 with 15 home runs and 48 RBIs in 87 games, while also winning National League Rookie of the Month in July.
Following the 2012 season, Rizzo hit 20+ home runs in seven consecutive seasons. He also had 100+ RBIs in four of those seasons. Rizzo was a model of consistency for the Cubs. From 2013 to 2019 his lowest RBI total was 78, while his lowest home run total was 23.
The other thing Rizzo did extremely well was get on base. Rizzo drew no fewer than 70 walks in a season from 2013 to 2019, and he actually walked more (91) than he struck out (90) in 2017. For a power hitter this trait is a rarity, as their strikeout numbers are usually high. Rizzo became known for his two-strike approach at the plate, often choking up noticeably on the bat to put the ball in play. This selfless approach is also rare in today’s game, but is yet another reason why Rizzo consistently had low strikeout numbers and a respectable batting average.
Rizzo’s selflessness was second to none
Rizzo wasn’t only known for his play on the field in Chicago. In 2012, he founded the Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation, a non-profit organization with the purpose of cancer research and benefiting families fighting cancer. Rizzo, a Lymphoma survivor himself, provides oversight while his family and his management team run the foundation. The foundation has donated over $4 million to the Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago.
It has also hosted countless ‘Walk-Off for Cancer’ and ‘Cook-off for Cancer’ events to raise money for cancer research and children’s hospitals. He has also visited children in these hospitals, showing compassion for young kids with this terrible illness. When it comes to Chicago athletes and charity, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who has been as selfless and giving as Rizzo.
2016 World Series Championship sealed Rizzo’s legacy in Cubs history
Rizzo’s ten-year Chicago Cubs career included three All-Star selections, four Gold Glove Awards, and a Silver Slugger Award. But none of these personal accolades define Anthony Rizzo’s legacy with the Chicago Cubs. Now, or in 20 years, when you ask a Cubs fan about Anthony Rizzo, their response will undoubtedly be how Rizzo was a fixture on the Cubs team that finally erased the longest championship drought in sports history. They’ll know who played every postion, and they’ll remember the final out that sealed the franchise’s first World Series Championship in 108 years.
That final out, fired into Rizzo’s outstretched glove by third-baseman Kris Bryant, is a memory that every Cubs fans will remember for the rest of their lives. The fact that he was on that team and helped the franchise win it all that year has permanently made Rizzo a Chicago Cubs legend.
Of course, his strikeout of then-Atlanta Braves slugger Freddie Freeman on a 61 mph curveball is also something Cubs fans will always remember. Rizzo, who was known to bug former manager Joe Maddon to pitch in a game where the Cubs were getting blown out, got the opportunity twice. The result? One inning with a 0.00 ERA. Just another accolade for the Chicago Cubs legend: best relief pitcher of all time.
