Chicago Cubs to finally have walk-up music in 2015
By CM Towle
The Chicago Cubs will finally be allowed to have walk-up music at Wrigley Field for the 2015 MLB season.
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The Cubs will finally get on board with the rest of the league and allow their players to have walk-up music in 2015, according to RedEye Sports. The Cubs were previously the only team that didn’t play select songs for batters as they approach the batters box. Typically batters choose a walk-up song and it’s played over the field’s PA as the players walk up.
The Cubs will be making the change thanks to a brand new video board being installed in the outfield at Wrigley.
"“Tom (Ricketts) and Crane (Kenney) ask players for feedback at the end of every season, and this was at the top of their list,” Cubs marketing director Alison Miller said. (via SI.com)"
Miller added that the video board’s inaugural season was a chance to revisit the traditional walk-up music. Cubs players are apparently in the process of submitting their songs right now. New manager Joe Maddon is also submitting some of his favorite songs, though he wouldn’t name any of them in particular.
The new video board is made by Daktronics and will be the first of its kind in the Cubs century of history. It’s 42 feet tall and 95 feet wide. The plan is for it to play a tribute on opening night to former Cub Ernie Banks who passed away recently. Some other renovations for the new season include new bleachers in the outfield. Those will be ready to go by May 11th. The regular season opens for the Cubs on Sunday when they will host the St. Louis Cardinals.
One interesting question about the video board is where it sits in the outfield. It’s easily close enough to be hit with the long ball. The board’s manufacturer, Daktronics, is standing by its construction and saying that it will be strong enough to withstand a hit from a home run. However, Miller says that they will start putting up some protection just in case. The plan is to add some retractable netting to protect the board. The netting won’t be available for opening night, but they will start adding it for batting practice and eventually for games.
Ultimately, Miller says the team feels pretty good about the strength of the board and they also have backup panels in case something does take place. The content shown on the board during the game is expected to be replays, old Cubs footage and segments with players. Miller says they will not subject the fans to commercials between innings. Good to know.
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