With the conclusion of the 2023 Cubs season, many fans left the Friendly Confines with an all too familiar sense of unfulfillment. After a rollercoaster of a season including injuries and a lack of bullpen talent, fans are left contemplating if being a Cubs fan is truly worth it.
As spring training started back in February, Chicagoans had something to look forward to after the Cubs acquired many new all-star worthy players in the offseason. Looking to make some moves, they gained a World-Series-winning shortstop from Atlanta, Dansby Swanson, who proved most valuable as an everyday player and reliable as both a defender and hitter. The second important acquisition to put on a Cub jersey was gold glove, former Los Angeles Dodger and center fielder, Cody Bellinger.
With the start of the season, hopes were held high by fans, but quickly diminished as soon as they fell in last place within the National League Central division at the end of May. However, by the time they played the Cardinals towards the end of June in the London Series, the Cubs had regained third place in their division and became a force to be reckoned with, having two starting pitchers who were projected to be starters in the All-Star game in early July.
Just before the All-Star game, star-Cubs-pitcher Marcus Storman lost his electric touch and was taken out for two weeks due to a rib injury. Quickly, however, Justin Steele took his place, pitching in the All-Star game and getting mentioned in talks of possible Cy Young nomination.
Steele and other all stars pushed the team to meet their preseason expectations as they rallied around good baseball. This success put the Cubs right in the middle of playoff talk, as they were projected to speed ahead of Millwake and take first place in the division. Although, soon enough, the Cubs fell once more.
The Cubs ended up being in talks of playoff contention to ultimately fall beneath even the wild card race. As the regular season ends, and we look back at baseball as a whole, we are reminded that it never pays off to be a Cubs fan, and at the end of the day, that’s just Cub.
