I’m okay with expanded replay in baseball. I’m all for the National League finally adopting the designated hitter. I’m even okay with the suggested improvements to Wrigley Field.
Simply put, I’m okay when baseball tinkers with old time tradition. But this? This is too much. Clark the Cub is too much.
The Chicago Cubs introduced the first mascot in franchise history last week, officially owning up to the team’s status of the lovable loser.
With his backwards hat, bright blue eyes and deceptively inviting smile, Clark the Cub is the latest cartoon figure to be added to the Cubs’ payroll. This is a franchise that has had Billy the Goat, Harry Caray, Sammy Sosa and Kosuke Fukudome portrayed as cartoonish characterizations, all of which were wellreceived by the fan-base.
Clark the Cub is not any of those symbols. There’s no superhero-like quality in him like Sammy Sosa had, steroids aside. There are no imitable characteristics for fans to enjoy like Caray’s voice and no unique identity like Fukudome brought to the team in 2008 and 2009.
Instead, Clark the Cub is a slap in the face. Not only is his design lazy, it seems like he was only introduced to distract fans from how bad the Cubs are going to be in 2014. He’s a Band-Aid to another 85-or-worse loss season.
Since the Ricketts family purchased the Cubs in 2009, the team has totaled 453 losses. Besides their inaugural season as owners, the Cubs have finished last in the Central Division in the National League.
The hope for this team, however, is the amount of bluechip prospects the Cubs have stockpiled for the future. Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein projects that the team’s core will come together in 2015 and 2016 is when the Cubs could target a big free agent.
In the meantime, there’s Clark the Cub. If he is supposed to be the joy of the 2014 season, what does that tell you about the Cubs?
Furthermore, what is the role of a mascot in baseball? There are no half-court shots to hit or trampolines to jump on for a dunk. Is he going to be hammering out 450-foot home runs between innings?
Yes there are other teams with mascots, but only a select few – the Nationals’ Presidents Race, for example – actually have a useful purpose. There are three teams – the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees -now that still don’t have mascots. The Cubs should have remained the fourth. There’s nothing useful for Clark the Cub to contribute.
According to Cubs’ management, Clark’s role will be to greet fans as they come into Wrigley Field. You know what normally greets fans coming into the stadium?
Wrigley Field. Wrigley Field, the team’s true mascot, is iconic enough and renders a physical mascot unnecessary. The ballpark’s history and openness is why the franchise has generally had great attendance over the years, despite the Cubs tendency to post terrible records.
But what’s perhaps the worse thing about this situation is that Clark the Cub won’t go away. He’s here to stay.
As the Cubs lose one game after another next season, Clark the Cub will be there to “cheer” up the community.
When August rolls around and I’m desperately waiting for the Cubs to be playoff contenders in 2016, Clark the Cub will be there. Rather than picturing visions of prized Cubs’ prospect Kris Bryant slamming a ball into the outfield, I’ll close my eyes only to see Clark the Cub’s stupid smile. Thank you, Mr. Ricketts.