CHICAGO — There was a scramble in the right-field bleachers as Ian Happ shifted into his home run trot in the first inning on Sunday afternoon. The baseball he just sent soaring to the stands was rolling among shoetops. A young fan got his hands on the souvenir.
After the Cubs’ 5-2 loss to the Brewers, Happ got to meet Harrison, the owner of the 100th home run ball of the outfielder’s career. And because the baseball gods love their round numbers, it just so happened to be the kid’s 10th birthday.
“Pretty cool 10th birthday, I think,” Happ said with a smile.
Happ signed a few items and Harrison was willing to make a trade that will go down as a memorable moment for both parties. When Happ was 10 years old, he was about two years into listening to his older brother’s advice to try his hand at switch-hitting.
Now, Happ is in the home stretch of his first All-Star campaign and the owner of the most home runs in Cubs history by a switch-hitter. You have to travel back to the 1930s to find the runner-up: Augie Galan. He belted 59 total from both sides of the plate for Chicago.
Last week in Washington, DC, Happ enjoyed a two-homer game that put him on a short list among all-time switch-hitters. He joined Mickey Mantle, Eddie Murray, Mark Teixeira, José Cruz and Ruben Sierra as the only switch-hitters in MLB history (since 1901) to start a career with at least 11 homers in their first six seasons.
True, that list is helped by an arbitrary end point, but there are also two Hall of Famers in that short grouping. That brings a smile to Happ’s face.
“When you look at it in the context of the game, in the history of the game,” Happ said, “and you see the numbers, people that have done it all the time — there’s a lot of people that have played this game — and to be able to be up there, some of those things you get to check off, it’s humbling. And it’s something that I take a lot of pride in.”
Happ’s latest milestone moment arrived in the first inning on an up-and-in fastball from Brewers right-hander Brandon Woodruff. Hitting from the left side, the Cubs outfielder pulled the ball high over the right-field wall on a day Wrigley’s flags were clinging to their poles, rippling in a strong wind blowing in off Lake Michigan.
The blast was Happ’s 13th on the season, and it made him the 26th player in Cubs history to reach 100 shots with the ballclub. Teammate Willson Contreras, who was emotional after achieving the same milestone earlier this year, clapped his hands hard from the home dugout.
In the days leading up to the Trade Deadline earlier this month, both Happ and Contreras were convinced they would be dealt to new teams. When that didn’t happen, Happ was glad to resume his pursuit of his 100th homer in a Cubs uniform.
“This was one of the things that, as the Deadline was going past,” Happ said, “I wanted to get to 100 before my time here was done. Being able to be here and get a chance to do it, it’s really special .”
The home run was Happ’s fourth in his past nine games. He had four home runs in the 66 games prior to this recent stretch. That said, one of the keys to Happ’s season has been remaining productive even when the homers have been absent.
Consider that Happ had 22 doubles and a .429 slugging percentage in that 66-game period. That is more doubles than he had in any single season prior to this year and that slugging percentage is only a touch below his .434 mark in 2021, when he had a career-best 25 blasts.
“We talk a lot about clubs in your bag, right?” Cubs manager David Ross said. “He’s brought a lot of different clubs, and it’s been from both sides of the plate. Base hits the other way. All fields. Opposite-field homers. Pulled homers — today into the wind. A lot of up-the-middle base hits.
“[He’s] getting on base. He’s done that a lot in his career, but he’s just a very well-rounded, solid, big league player. All-Star.”
An All-Star that young Harrison got to meet thanks to a birthday present that dropped near his seat.
“At first, I thought it was coming a little short,” Harrison told Marquee Sports Network’s Elise Menaker during the game broadcast. “And then it just came down. It feels good.”
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