Ian Happ Tips Cap, Caps Grand Game with Incredible Catch
Ian Happ is one of the most underrated Cubs of the last decade, if not ever, which is saying something for a franchise that has been home to more than a few players who’ve been sold short. Even after winning three consecutive Gold Gloves while averaging 3.57 fWAR, some fans lament the extension — and no-trade clause — that will keep him in Chicago through at least next season. But not every member of the legions that made “Wait till next year” a way of life is pining for the next left fielder.
The Wrigley crowd rose as one on Saturday when Happ was announced as the leadoff batter, offering a standing ovation to a man playing his 1,000th game in a Cubs uniform. Happ is just the 21st player in franchise history to have reached that milestone, at least with all those games coming as a Cub. Not everyone was in a celebratory mood, though, and I’m not talking about the folks who can’t seem to see how good Happ has been.
Ian Happ received a standing ovation before his first at-bat of Saturday’s game.
Happ is playing in his 1,000th career game today. pic.twitter.com/NSzeT0TPeE
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) April 5, 2025
Padres starter Nick Pivetta fired his first pitch of the afternoon up and in, which felt like a message rather than a simple mistake. It may have helped the batter to clear his mind after the warm reception.
“I was trying not to get emotional out there,” Happ said after the game. “Being able to tip the helmet to the fans and teammates, Jason (Heyward) being in the other dugout, all of those things were really special. It was just a really cool moment.”
Following a called strike on a second-pitch fastball, Happ tagged a hanging Pivetta curve for a ringing double off the wall in center. The ball almost certainly would have left the yard under better conditions, but even that wouldn’t have been the highlight of his day. With the Cubs up 7-0 going into the 7th and shaky reliever Nate Pearson on the mound, Happ made what may have been the best catch of his career.
Padres pinch-hitter Gavin Sheets sliced a 1-2 slider down the line in left, sending Happ sprinting and laying out before securing the ball and rolling over just shy of the brick wall. Statcast put the play at a 25% catch probability, but I’d say the likelihood was actually much lower. Considering how far he was playing off the line with a left-handed batter and the way Wrigley is set up with so little foul territory, I can’t imagine that catch being made one out of four times.
THERE’S A REASON IAN HAPP HAS A GOLD GLOVE ?️ pic.twitter.com/LE7CxRGlzo
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) April 5, 2025
It’s even more impressive when you consider that Happ is known for making catches running in and sliding feet-first. Not only did he have to go full Superman for this one, but he was also angling slightly toward the back wall as well. And who knows what happens if that ball makes it past him. Even with Pete Crow-Armstrong providing backup, Sheets would have gotten at least two bases.
Pearson ended up allowing three consecutive singles later in the frame, so it’s entirely possible the blowout would have gotten a little tighter. But it didn’t and the Cubs went on to win quite comfortably, after which Happ and the rest of the team could revel in the occasion.
“The big significance for me is 1,000 games with the same team, that’s what makes it rare and worth talking about,” Craig Counsell told reporters. “In this era of baseball, it’s not happening, it’s just not happening. And that speaks a lot about how Ian’s gone about it, I think. It’s hard to do, it’s rare.”
Given how consistent he’s been over the last few seasons, this milestone takes on a little more meaning when looking back at how Happ battled through early obstacles. He debuted in 2017 with 24 home runs in just 413 plate appearances, one shy of his career-best in far fewer trips to the plate. A mediocre 2018 campaign and a rough spring training led to him being left off the Opening Day roster the following year to work on holes in his swing. He wasn’t brought back to Chicago until late July of that year, after which he played quite well.
Then there was his dark horse MVP candidacy in 2020 that was scuttled by a freak injury when he fouled off a ball that bounced up and caught him in the right eye. That may have hampered him for a while in 2021 as well, when he slashed .183/.296/.330 with a 75 wRC+ in the first half before turning things around to finish with a 105 wRC+ that was the lowest of his career.
All he’s done since then is post at least a 120 wRC+ and 3.4 fWAR, but, just like Greg the Soccer Player from Superbad pissing his pants like eight years ago, people don’t forget. And just like Dave Franco can’t completely escape his older brother’s shadow, Happ remains stuck in sort of a limbo after taking the baton from a group of World Series heroes. He wasn’t on that curse-busting roster, and now some have saddled him with a measure of blame for failing to win another title.
That minority of detractors continues to shrink as Happ builds his Cubs legacy one game at a time, which is how you conduct a journey of this length.
“For me to do it here, have 1,000 games in this uniform,” Happ said, “in this city, all the great guys that have come through — coaches, people, support staff, everybody that’s helped make it happen — it means a lot.
“Going out there with the fans, being able to do that, I’m so proud to be a Cub.”
This is awesome ? pic.twitter.com/TggMLzlcum
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) April 5, 2025
By the time his current contract is up, Happ could easily find himself among the top 30 players in Cubs history according to fWAR. Getting into the top 20 is probably out of the question, with Anthony Rizzo setting the bar at 32.7 and Hack Wilson a run higher at No. 19 on the list. But numbers alone won’t define Happ, even if a number spurred this post. You won’t be able to write the story about the Cubs in the 2020s without a huge chapter on Happ, and I hope it’s one we’ll all enjoy reading.
