Records & Legends

What a Weekend at Sloan Park!

This past weekend at Sloan Park was one for the books. The Cubs took on the Seattle Mariners in a spring training game that was anything but ordinary. It wasn’t just the action on the field that had fans buzzing—it was a weekend of milestones, with a record-breaking crowd on Saturday and the legendary Pat Hughes being inducted into the Cactus League Hall of Fame on Sunday. Baseball, history, and a whole lot of Cubs magic—what more could you ask for?

A Record-Breaking Gathering

If you were at Sloan Park on Saturday, congratulations—you helped make history! An eye-popping 16,161 fans packed the stadium, officially setting the record for the highest-attended spring training game in MLB history. To put that into perspective, that’s more people than the average home game attendance for both the Oakland A’s (11,528) and the Miami Marlins (13,425) in the 2024 regular season. Ouch.

But let’s be honest, are we really surprised? The Cubs are the undisputed kings of spring training attendance. They’ve been smashing records for decades. First MLB team to draw over 100,000 fans to a single spring season? Cubs. First team to crack 200,000? Cubs. First to cross the 250,000 mark? You guessed it—Cubs again. If there’s a record for showing up, Cubs fans are there to break it. And lucky me, I was announcing at each of those ballparks during those record-shattering seasons. Talk about a front-row seat to history!

Even Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, who had himself a day at the plate on Saturday, took notice of the massive crowd, saying, “You saw the crowd out there. That felt like a little bit more than a Spring Training game.” Yeah, Pete, when 16,000+ Cubs fans show up in early March, it feels like the regular season at Wrigley West.

Honoring a Broadcasting Legend

As if Saturday’s crowd wasn’t special enough, Sunday brought an even more sentimental moment—celebrating my friend and Cubs radio legend, Pat Hughes, as he was inducted into the Cactus League Hall of Fame.

For about three decades, Pat’s voice has been the soundtrack to Cubs baseball, narrating every thrilling victory, gut-wrenching loss, and, of course, the moment that Cubs fans waited 108 years for: “The Chicago Cubs win the World Series!” On Sunday, Pat got a little misty-eyed as he told the crowd how much he’d love to say those words again. Honestly, same, Pat. Same.

Later, in classic Cubs fashion, Pat led the Sloan Park crowd in a rousing rendition of Take Me Out to the Ball Game during the 7th-inning stretch. As far as baseball moments go, that was right up there with a perfectly grilled Wrigley Field Chicago dog. Pure perfection.

A Glimpse of What’s to Come

This weekend wasn’t just about records and Hall of Fame inductions—it was a preview of what’s shaping up to potentially be a thrilling season. With Pete Crow-Armstrong flashing superstar potential, veterans leading the way, and Cubs fans proving once again why they’re the best in baseball, there’s a whole lot to be excited about in 2025.

So, if you weren’t at Sloan Park this weekend, don’t worry—you’ll be hearing about it for a while. And if you were? Well, you got to witness baseball, history, and the best fans in the game all in one place. Not bad for a few days in the desert, huh?