PITTSBURGH — Around lunchtime, a group of Chicago Cubs staffers walked along the Allegheny River toward PNC Park, the picturesque stadium framed by the Roberto Clemente Bridge and the Pittsburgh skyline. Almost seven hours before the start of Tuesday night’s game, their workday was about to begin.
Working in the baseball industry can certainly be glamorous. Traveling with a high-profile team opens so many doors in every city. There’s access to charter flights, luxury hotels, great restaurants, country clubs and famous people. But it is definitely a grind, the price of being so close to the action.
Even on bad teams, players, coaches and staffers pour an unimaginable amount of energy into Major League Baseball’s 162-game season. The relentless schedule forces them to make sacrifices in their personal lives, push through injuries and illnesses, and develop some sense of routine.
When an opportunity to celebrate comes along, it must be taken and appreciated.
The Cubs did not hold back after clinching a spot in the National League playoffs with Wednesday afternoon’s 8-4 win over the Pirates. Inside a clubhouse covered in plastic, they sprayed bottles of cheap Champagne and prosecco, dumped Budweisers on each other and smoked victory cigars.
ABSOLUTE CINEMA. pic.twitter.com/vUoKjrNMTP
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 17, 2025
“It’s not easy to get to these moments,” manager Craig Counsell said. “I really respect and enjoy the guys that do a little bit of the behind-the-scenes work here that maybe don’t get the glory of the stuff that we get on the field every day. It’s an opportunity for them (to) feel rewarded for their work.
“In their roles, it’s harder to always feel like: ‘How am I contributing to winning?’ On that day, though, you really feel like you’re contributing to winning. And that feels great. That’s what keeps you going. It’s what fuels them to walk over at 11:30 in the morning and take care of a player. That’s what makes it special.”
In trying to create structure around an unpredictable season, Counsell empowered a serious group of veteran players to create a culture that stressed consistent preparation and communication. Rather than riding an emotional rollercoaster, every day should feel the same.
After sticking with that businesslike approach for months, the Cubs showed another side of their personality with players double-fisting drinks, lighting up cigars and posing for photos together.
They recognized this achievement is not limited to the players on the active roster. It is a reflection of years of scouting and player development, and the daily contributions from coaches and staffers that make the entire operation run. Returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2020 required a massive organizational effort.
“Especially for a group that’s so professional all the time, it’s important to be able to let loose a little bit,” shortstop Dansby Swanson said. “It’s important to celebrate one another. It’s important to celebrate the Chicago Cub logo, the organization, the fans and everything in between, because it really does take a village to get here. We’ve done it with so many guys. We’ve won games in so many types of ways.”
The Cubs opened spring training on Super Bowl Sunday, beginning preparations for a season-opening trip to Japan that would sharpen their focus and bond the group closer together. Their presence in the Tokyo Dome — facing off against the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers — was the product of investing in relationships and helping Seiya Suzuki and Shota Imanaga launch their careers in the U.S.
In another early test, Chicago’s rotation withstood the loss of All-Star pitcher Justin Steele, who underwent season-ending surgery on his left elbow in April. In Steele’s absence, Matthew Boyd earned his first All-Star selection while rookie Cade Horton emerged as one of the sport’s best young pitchers.
The offense, fueled by the addition of Kyle Tucker and Pete Crow-Armstrong’s rapid development, powered the offense in the first half. When those two players faded as MVP candidates, a bullpen pieced together with relievers discarded by other teams solidified into a dominant force.
“Resiliency, that’s what we’re all about,” Boyd said. “I’ll take this group over anybody else. We’ll go to battle with anybody.”
A fast start, a promising collection of young talent and a steady performance – the Cubs have not had a losing streak longer than three games all year – stabilized the front office for the future. Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, who entered this season as a lame duck, earned a contract extension from the Ricketts family that was finalized before the July 31 trade deadline.
Around that time, generations of Cubs fans mourned the death of Ryne Sandberg, 65, who had grown into his role as one of the sport’s classiest ambassadors and an adoring grandfather on suburban Chicago’s North Shore. People who were in contact with Sandberg believed the Hall of Famer appreciated the way this Cubs team plays the game with an attention to detail, an emphasis on crisp defense and aggressive base running.
“It’s special to get back to this point,” Hoyer said. “In baseball, it’s the next day, the next day. You always have another game. You can never get too high or too low. There are very few moments when you can just let it out and enjoy. This is one of them. So you have to do it.”
Wearing drenched gym clothes, Hoyer stood in the same room where Jake Arrieta, Kyle Schwarber and the rest of the 2015 Cubs once wildly celebrated their wild-card victory over the Pirates, an electric night that signaled this team would be good for a long time. But it would not last forever.
Ian Happ, who made his major-league debut with the defending World Series champs in 2017, understands the fleeting nature of this business. The longest-tenured Cubs player gave a speech after Wednesday’s game, soaking in the team’s first true clinch party since 2017.
Back then, thick cigar smoke also hung in the air. The Cubs had just eliminated a loaded Washington Nationals team that featured Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper and Trea Turner. The raucous scene inside the visiting clubhouse at Nationals Park highlighted the possibility that this franchise could become a dynasty.
“It’s really easy to take those things for granted,” Happ said.
The following year, the Cubs elected to pass on the initial celebration when they clinched a playoff spot, planning instead to have a blowout once they won the division. Except the upstart Milwaukee Brewers, managed by Counsell at that time, would not concede.
The Brewers forced a Game 163 and beat the Cubs at Wrigley Field, knocking them into the wild-card game. There would be no Champagne spraying in the home clubhouse after the Colorado Rockies won that 13-inning elimination game, leading to Theo Epstein’s unforgettable quote: “Our offense broke.”
That core group from 2016 could not be put back together again. Winning the division during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season only allowed for a subdued toast around the Wrigley Field batting cage.
“I very vividly remember when we clinched the division in ‘17,” Happ said. “We celebrated in St. Louis and (John) Lackey took me aside and was like, ‘Don’t take this for granted. I’ve played for a long time. You never know when you’re going to get back.’
“It’s a good lesson. I heard it then. I definitely internalized it then. But when you’re in the middle of it, you feel like you’re going to do it every year. With the group around us, it felt like we were going to be doing that every year. Things can change really quick. It’s baseball. It’s hard.”
It won’t get any easier in the next round, but that is something the Cubs can worry about tomorrow. Before leaving for Cincinnati, they gathered for a group photo on PNC’s outfield grass, framed by the Pittsburgh skyline, holding big W flags and wearing T-shirts that said it all: “October Baseball.”
“This is our first taste,” Crow-Armstrong said. “Excited to do this today, and then excited to forget about it, and work to achieve the ultimate end goal.”
(Photo: Nick Cammett / Getty Images)