A Tribune chart from June 22, 2012 showing Anthony Rizzo's arrival to the Chicago Cubs. (Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune)
Matt Mervis arrived at Wrigley Field Friday morning to make his Chicago Cubs debut in the opener of a three-game series against the Miami Marlins.
It was the most anticipated debut by a Cubs prospect since Kris Bryant in 2015, though Mervis’ call-up more closely resembles that of first baseman Anthony Rizzo 11 years ago.
Rizzo’s Cubs debut on June 26, 2012, was one of the most hyped events in years and served as the unofficial start of president Theo Epstein’s rebuild.
“I’m here to stay,” Rizzo said before the game. “I’m just going to work hard every day, learn, get better, go through the ups and down of a baseball player, the nicks and bruises, and that’s about it.”
WGN-Ch. 9 hyped the arrival with a commercial promoting the broadcast. The newspapers added into the hysteria, including a Chicago Tribune graphic comparing Rizzo’s arrival on the North Side with Babe Ruth going from the Red Sox to the Yankees. The headline was “The second coming.”
“Anthony Rizzo hit one home run in 49 games with the Padres. Babe Ruth had a .981 OPS and 2.19 ERA in five-plus seasons with the Red Sox. Still, the hype for Rizzo’s first game on the North Side reached Ruthian levels. So we might as well start the comparisons. A look at the debuts of Ruth and Rizzo with their second teams.”
The Tribune regrets the error.
Rizzo turned out to be a special player in Cubs history, but any resemblance between him and Ruth was purely coincidental.
The 22-year-old Rizzo went 2-for-4 with an RBI double in the Cubs’ 5-3 win over the Mets and received a standing ovation before his first at-bat.
Mervis arrives as Epstein’s replacement, Jed Hoyer, is in a key year in his own rebuild — one that he steadfastly refused to call a rebuild.
How will Mervis fare in his Cubs debut today?
Stay tuned.
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Originally published at Tribune News Service