Except for the man in shirt sleeves standing in the middle of the diamond Wednesday afternoon, Wrigley Field looked like a winter clearance sale at Eddie Bauer.
Parkas, blankets, ski masks, thermals, gloves, scarves, a fur coat or two (we see you, Marquee’s Taylor McGregor) — all making a mockery of a calendar that had just flipped to April. Game time temperature, 39 degrees, with a 21 mph wind blowing toward home plate.
And then there was Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd, acting blissfully unaffected by conditions that had a crowd of 25,125 hunkered down in miserable solidarity. Every player on both teams sported a long-sleeve T-shirt under his uniform jersey. Everyone except Boyd.
“It’s like, what are we doing here?’’ said his batterymate, Carson Kelly.
But in this battle of man vs. the elements, the man won.
“I know he’s from the Northwest [Mercer Island, Washington], and it seemed to work for him,’’ Kelly said after Boyd struck out 10 and allowed only two hits (both to Angels shortstop Zach Neto) and two runs (one earned) in 5⅔ innings in the Cubs’ 6-2 victory in the rubber match of this three-game series.
But it did beg the question: If Boyd was willing to forgo an extra layer of clothing when the temperature was 39 degrees and the wind chill subtracted another 10 degrees, how cold would it have to be before he opted for a little extra warmth?
“Good question,’’ Kelly said. “Have to ask him. It might have to be in the negative range, and that might not even do it. I wonder what would happen if it’s 90 degrees and he has no undershirt. I guess we’ll have to see.’’
Boyd, you’ll be relieved to know, had added a long-sleeve shirt to his ensemble after the game.
“It’s just preference,’’ he said, “no more than that, right?’’
Boyd said he can recall wearing sleeves only once in his big-league career, when the Tigers opened the season (where else) in Chicago against the White Sox.
“I don’t remember how cold it was,’’ he said. “I think it was below 30, and I wore sleeves. I just thought it was a weird thing. I never really wore much in high school when I was pitching.’’
Boyd was way off, by the way, in his recollection of how cold it was on the South Side that day. A check of the box score shows it was 48 degrees, with 20 mph-plus winds that matched Wednesday’s North Side howlers.
But if short sleeves can produce these types of results, maybe Boyd should consider wearing Speedos under his uniform. He gave up a single to Neto to lead off the game, then promptly picked him off, his 12th successful pickoff since coming to the Cubs last season. That ranks second in club history to Hippo Vaughn, who has 17 pickoffs, but it took the crafty Hippo nine seasons to reach that number.
Boyd then got 16 of the next 17 Angels out, Neto’s walk in the fourth the only spoiler, striking out four in a row before Craig Counsell lifted him after Neto’s two-out single and a walk to Mike Trout. Jo Adell’s RBI single off Hunter Harvey brought home a run, and an error on a ball that skipped past third baseman Alex Bregman brought home another, but Harvey caught old friend Yoan Moncada looking for an inning-ending strikeout.
“That was huge,’’ Boyd said. “Getting that final out and then going back out for another inning after that, that was awesome, especially in that weather, you know.
“We just played really well all around. It was awesome.’’
For the record, Boyd is not the first pitcher to brave the cold underdressed. Any Cubs fan with a memory surely can recall others. Shoot, only one night earlier, as Counsell noted, Jose Soriano of the Angels held the Cubs scoreless.
“Maybe short sleeves is the way to go,’’ said Counsell, whose team broke even in this season-opening six-game homestead.
“I mean, short sleeves didn’t give up too many runs this series.’’
The iconic series will be revived on Major League Baseball’s X account, as well as @XOriginals, every Friday at 11 a.m. Chicago time and will run through the postseason.
Manager Craig Counsell said Suzuki will play the outfield while in Knoxville, and expects him to be gone no more than a week before he rejoins the big-league club.
About the Author
Discover more from USA NEWS
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
