Left-hander Shota Imanaga endeared himself to Cubs fans at his news conference Friday by not only reciting the lyrics — in English — to ‘‘Go, Cubs, Go,’’ but by paying homage to Ben Zobrist, who was one of the more popular Cubs, by wanting to wear his No. 18 jersey.
Zobrist said that Imanaga, who signed a four-year, $53 million contract, contacted him through his agency (Octagon) and that he hopes he brings the next championship to Chicago.
“It’s very cool for me to have a guy like that honor me; coming from another culture — the Japanese culture — that means a lot,” Zobrist said Saturday.
Several members of that 2016 World Series-winning team returned to Chicago to celebrate the group at the Cubs Convention on Saturday.
Zobrist, reliever Pedro Strop, catcher Miguel Montero and starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks walked onto the stage for a panel discussion hosted by Hall of Fame broadcaster Pat Hughes.
“It’s beautiful to be able to come back and be a part of Cubs Nation,” Zobrist said. “To be recognized as one of the guys that helped the team win the World Series in ’16 is something that I’ll always get a chance to enjoy.”
It has been nearly eight years since that team won the curse-breaking World Series. Though they may not be in constant communication, the memories they created last forever.
Throughout the 40-minute panel, the players reminisced about the rain delay during the World Series, bullpen dances and the nerves going through their bodies at various points of the epic clash against Cleveland.
Montero was very joyful, telling jokes about how he “didn’t want to screw up” when he entered Game 7.
“I played a lot of time with the Diamondbacks [nine years], and I played for a short time with the Cubs [three years],” Montero said. “I feel like I’ve played pretty much my whole career with the Cubs, and it’s not even as close as when I played with the Diamondbacks. It’s just different emotions with this team, especially to win here, so it makes it a little bit more special.”
Hendricks, the lone remaining Cub who was on the ’16 team, said it’s beneficial for the 2024 team to see the old group celebrated.
“It just brings back those memories, and we’ll always be bonded and have that group,” Hendricks said. “It’s cool for all the other guys to see, and that’s what we talk about moving forward: ‘It’s what the next group’s going to be; we’re going to have that bond together.’ ’’
As spring training approaches, Hendricks admitted it’s weird to celebrate the past while preparing for the upcoming season.
“It’s definitely a little bizarre, but that’s what you play for,” Hendricks said. “At the end of the day, it’s a blessing to be here still and see all these guys coming back to these reunions. It’s a little bit weird trying to focus on the group we have here now — where we’re trying to go and win — but you have to look back on what you accomplished.”
