South Bend Cubs named Team of the Year by Ballpark Digest

With booming attendance, park improvements and a successful season on the field it’s no wonder the Cubs were named the Team of the Year by Ballpark Digest. That’s the South Bend (Ind.) Cubs, by the way.

The Cubs’ Midwest League affiliate earned the minor league honor after setting a record for attendance this season with 347,678 fans at Four Winds Field. Quite a turnaround for a team that nearly closed its doors.

“It wasn’t that long ago that South Bend almost lost professional baseball,” said Ballpark Digest Publisher, Kevin Reichard in making the announcement. “Enter a committed owner, a talented front office and some strategic investments in the community and you have the biggest success story in Minor League Baseball.”

That owner is Chicago native Andrew T. Berlin who took over the team in 2011 and applied some of his practices from his successful packaging company to turning around the then Silver Hawks.

“This is thrilling. And as I continue to say, we owe so much to the fans who are coming from a hundred miles in every direction,” Berlin said. “And as the editors at Ballpark Digest point out, this has also been a great year for the City of South Bend which benefits financially from the success of the team more today than ever before. I’m proud of our executives who manage the team day-to-day. And I’m proud to tell you that we’re just getting started. We make no small plans in South Bend.”

Fly the W.