The indelible sounds of summer in Chicago — the crack of the bat and the calls of beer vendors, still humans, in the stands — will make a welcome return Thursday on the North Side.
Blessedly, temperatures are forecast to be somewhat summerlike, too, at a sold-out Wrigley Field as the Cubs begin their 2026 campaign against the Washington Nationals.
Fans better hope the game doesn’t go into extra innings because a dramatic cold front is expected to hit Chicago right around 4 p.m. Such is the experience of the Chicago baseball fan in March and April. Veterans of the springtime icebox otherwise known as Wrigley Field know not to show up in only shorts and a T-shirt no matter the temperature at first pitch.
But no matter what the weather gods do, the start of the baseball season marks the true end of winter around these parts and the beginning of the best season to be a Chicagoan.
As for our two baseball teams, both North Side and South Side fans have cause for optimism, even if expectations are far greater for the Cubs than the White Sox.
The Cubs made some canny moves in the offseason, and just signed budding superstar Pete Crow-Armstrong to a long-term contract extension. They’re favorites to win their division, and it will be disappointing if they don’t make a deep postseason run.
The Sox, coming off two miserable seasons of rebuilding, finally appear competitive and added slugging Japanese player Munetaka Murakami, who could bring some much-needed star power to the South Side. And for those who want to see their Sox Thursday, they don’t have to travel far. The White Sox open their season just up I-94 in Milwaukee.
Of course, professional sports being a bare-knuckled big business, there are storm clouds on baseball’s horizon. Better-than-even odds of a work stoppage in 2027 make this season more high stakes than is normally the case.
But those sorts of worries will have to be set aside on this day. We no longer need to wait until next year. Next year is here!
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