WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Chicago Cubs, who arrived at spring training before everyone else, traveled to Tokyo and back, spent two different stints in Arizona and initiated a new ballpark in Sacramento, packed their suitcases Wednesday afternoon after sweeping the Athletics at Sutter Health Park.
Finally, they are heading home.
The freezing temperatures and 70% chance of rain in the forecast that await the Cubs for their Wrigley Field opener will never feel so good.
“This feels like the longest spring training in the world," Cubs closer Ryan Pressly told USA TODAY Sports. “You go all of the way across the world to Japan, come back, play a couple more spring training games, and then start the season in Arizona.
“It was nice being on the same sleep schedule, but you know, I would like to go back to Chicago every once in awhile."
The Cubs, 10-2 winners on Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep, have been gone for so long that they’ve already experienced six pregame ceremonies — four in Tokyo, one in Arizona, one in Sacramento – and now they’re about to get another one at home.
“That’s got to be a record, right?" Cubs reliever Eli Morgan said.
Well, it’s certainly a record for a team to spend nearly five weeks in spring training in Mesa, Arizona, fly to Japan for a week, spend another week in spring training in Mesa, move to a downtown Phoenix hotel to open the domestic season with a four-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and then travel to Sacramento to play in the Athletics’ first games at their new temporary ballpark.
“It felt like we were in Arizona for four months,’’ says Cubs catcher Carson Kelly. “It was definitely a little ...
