The ball came across the diamond from Kris Bryant, and **Anthony Rizzo** stretched to make the catch at first base. Just like that, 108 years of Cubs misery ended.
Rizzo lifted both arms skyward as the ball settled in his glove. The celebration that followed belonged to every North Sider who’d ever believed this moment would come.
Anyone could’ve made that catch. But it’s fitting that Rizzo’s retiring as a Cub this weekend, because his journey to that moment perfectly captured what the franchise needed.
The path wasn’t easy.
At 18, doctors diagnosed him with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Chemotherapy followed, but the cancer went into remission. He was in Boston’s system then, before getting traded to San Diego as the key piece in the **Adrian Gonzalez** deal.
Rizzo got his first taste of the majors with the Padres, but it didn’t last long. Chicago acquired him in a trade where the main return piece was right-handed pitcher **Andrew Cashner**.
Yeah, that worked out for the Cubs.
As Chicago’s rebuild took shape, Rizzo was right there in the middle of it. He crowded the plate and took his share of hit-by-pitches, but anything over the plate got punished.
With Bryant, he formed a potent middle of the order that could change games.
And here’s the thing about timing – Rizzo’s best season came in **2016**. Career-best **.928 OPS**. Career-highs in homers (**32**) and RBI (**109**). In the playoffs, he hit a solid **.277** with five doubles and three home runs.
That Game 7 epic the Cubs won 8-7? Rizzo filled the box score with a hit, an intentional walk, a hit-by-pitch, a run, and an RBI.
On the final out, he stuck the baseball in his back pocket, tossed his glove aside, and trotted toward the mound to join the party.
In that moment, 108 years of waiting vanished. Rizzo had the ball that proved it.
