Anthony Rizzo's Retirement Party On Saturday Was Incredible. And Every Player Who Retires Should Spend A Game Sitting In The Stands With Fans Like He Did
(I apologize for the delay on this. I wanted this to be perfect and pay Anthony the respect he deserves. So it took a little bit.)
First a little background on how I came to know Anthony.
I first met Anthony Rizzo back around 2012, the infamous year the Cubs lost 100 games. Back then, Wrigley was a dump, the Cubs were irrelevent, and Anthony was just a young first baseman trying to find his place. He’d come into Underground, this club I used to DJ at on Friday nights, either alone or with a couple friends from Florida. Nobody recognized him. Nobody cared.
The only people who knew who he was were my buddy Scott, who managed the place, and Morgan, the door guy.
One night before my set, Scott grabbed me and said, “Come up to the bar. I want to introduce you to Anthony Rizzo.”
At that point, Barstool Chicago was just starting to take off. I was helping Neil launch it, and Big Cat was still part-time, but he was obsessed with Rizzo- posting wild MS Paint t-shirts and hyping him nonstop. I knew meeting Rizzo could be huge for us.
Scott introduces me as a DJ and working for Barstool Sports, and the first thing out of Anthony’s mouth is, “Wait, are you part of that Barstool group with that weirdo Big Cat guy who posts all that shit about me?” Before I could answer, his Mizuno rep buddy Kyle jumped in between us and told me to get lost.
Right then and there, I knew we were destined to be best buds.
From there, a friendship started to grow. Anthony didn’t have any friends in Chicago yet- none of his Florida crew lived here- so he’d come to the club regularly just to hang out. He asked me for restaurant recs, so I hooked him up with my guy Benny at Volare, and before long he was a regular there too.
As we built trust, he started inviting me to Cubs games, offering me his seats- which he literally couldn’t even give away back then.
Then came the legendary day I brought Carl to a game and we got Anthony to hold up one of the first-ever Barstool Chicago shirts. If you ever run into Carl, ask him about that story and the fall out from it. It’s a classic.
People today don’t realize just how behind the times the Cubs were pre-2015. Wrigley wasn't just falling apart, it was stuck in in the stone age. No video boards. A sound system that was straight garbage. All the music was run off an iPod or the organ. That’s it.
Anthony asked me to help with the music, and the best I could do was burn CDs for them to play during batting practice. It was that primitive.
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Then Theo Epstein decided to overhaul everything- just like he had at Fenway. He wanted the Cubs to compete like a major market team, and that meant acting like one, starting with the fan experience. He brought over top talent from Boston, like Matt Romito, who completely transformed Cubs production.
When the Cubs decided to add video boards and a new sound system, they started looking for an in-game DJ. Anthony immediately called me and said, “Hey, you need to do this.”
I was in, no question- though I didn’t think they’d ever take me seriously. Anthony set me up with interviews with Big Jim and Matt Romito, and after 3 series of interviews, the job was mine and another guy Mario’s.
The start was rough. Media trolls like Paul Sullivan trashed the video boards before the season even began, saying they’d ruin Wrigley’s aesthetic. People claimed an in-game DJ was the beginning of the end. They said Theo and Ricketts were ruining the most unique experience in baseball. That we would turn Wrigley into a nightclub. We proved them wrong.
No Kiss Cam. No Dunkin’ Donuts races. No cheesy bullshit.
I kept the music classic ballpark, and let Wrigley’s history shine through.
Over time, Anthony and I grew incredibly close, to the point where I got to know his entire world. I met his brother Johnny, his parents Laurie and John, Abby who runs his foundation, his agent Mark, and his closest friends, Alex and Jordan. Before long, we had all become one big extended family.
Anytime he was home in Chicago and had a chance to go out, we rounded up the squad and hit the town. Especially on Sunday. Sundays were our day. That’s how the infamous karaoke video with Big Cat and Theo occurred. At Stanley’s. On a Sunday night.
(Fun fact- I almost got fired for posting this video until Theo stepped in and told my superiors that he was the one who told me to post it. Which he did. Theo is the fucking best.)
I watched Anthony fall hard for a girl who worked at the Cubs spring training facility in Mesa, Emily, who repeatedly blew him off. He finally convinced her to go on a date with him, and he told us all the next day that she was his future wife. We laughed it off but sure enough they got married a few years later.
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(After throwing the best bachelor party weekend I've ever been on in Mexico)
That 2015 season was the most fun summer I've ever had. The Cubs played out of their minds, years ahead of schedule, and took the NL by storm. Jake Arrieta was unhittable. Kris Bryant was locked in. And Anthony was blossoming into one of the best all around players in the league.
Then came 2016. The year it all happened.
The Cubs broke the curse, and I got to be there every single night as the in-stadium DJ. Those NLCS games against the Dodgers, where the Cubs lit up Clayton Kershaw, were some of the most exhilarating moments of my life. I can still hear, and feel Wrigley shaking when I close my eyes and picture it.
The Cubs dropped Games 3 and 4 at home, and thankfully won 5. But just being part of the World Series, playing music in front of 40,000 rabid fans and millions watching at home, was surreal. None of it would’ve happened without Anthony.
The night they won in Cleveland, Anthony called me and Scott at like 6 the next morning and told us to meet him at this bar Bottled Blonde. We showed up at 8 a.m., and it was just Anthony and his wife, a liquor rep named James, and the bar manager. Everyone else in the city was either still partying in Wrigleyville, or too hungover to function.
We swapped stories about the night before- the rain delay, Lester getting pulled, the insane comeback. For a lifelong Cubs fan like Scott, it was like heroin. I almost felt guilty for how incredible it was getting to relive it all straight from Anthony's mouth.
Around 3 or 4 p.m., Anthony casually asked if we wanted to go see the trophy at Wrigley. We didn’t even let him finish before ordering an Uber.
We piled into an Uber Black, headed to Wrigley, and snuck in through the Player’s Entrance. VJ, the team's traveling secretary, let us in.
The four of us went onto the field hammered, holding the Commissioner’s Trophy, acting like absolute idiots- and it was all thanks to Anthony.
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The next few seasons were a letdown. Injuries, underperforming players- what was supposed to be a dynasty fell apart. Then the covid years where they had to play baseball in completely empty stadiums.
Anthony, along with Javy Báez, Kyle Schwarber, and Kris Bryant, all ended up getting shipped out of town. Anthony got a raw deal, no matter how much it pisses off people inside the Cubs organization, he deserved better. He meant too much to the Cubs, and too much to the city of Chicago to be dealt like that. Especially after the assurances Theo and Ricketts gave him.
He wound up in New York, which was brutal for me personally but perfect for him- closer to his family, great protection in the lineup, and a city that celebrated his Italian-American heritage, and treated him like a king.
What was really the most impressive thing, was even after leaving the Cubs, Anthony never turned his back on Chicago. Quite thge opposite actually. Anthony never stopped giving back.
Anytime he visited the city, just like on his off days with the Cubs, he’d quietly visit Lurie Children’s Hospital. No cameras. No press. No fundraising events. Just him, showing up for the kids. To say hi, sign some autographs, take some pics, and let them know he was thinking of them.
We’d meet up for dinner and I would ask what he was up to during the day, and he’d casually mention he’d been at Lurie’s, like it was nothing. He did that all the time, simply because he cared. That’s who Anthony is.
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I always rooted for Anthony, but I couldn’t root for the Yankees. Still, when they made their World Series run, I actually wanted him to win- mostly because I hate the Dodgers even more than the Yankees.
It didn’t happen. And knowing Aaron Boone and the Yankees front office, I wasn’t shocked when they didn’t bring him back this year. Standing in his kitchen after the game five loss, and seeing how mangled and bruised his hand was, and how black and blue his body was from the pain-killer injections, I asked myself how much longer is this guy going to keep putting his body through this?
Anthony turned down one-year deals- hint hint: southern California- because, as he told me,
“If I’m not 100% committed anymore, what’s the point?”
Plus, he had his first kid on the way.
A couple months ago, Emily and him welcomed a beautiful baby boy, Anthony Jr., and now Anthony says he couldn’t be happier with his decision to stay home this season. Looking back, he doesn’t even know how he would’ve managed it otherwise.
The guy is now the happiest and healthiest I’ve ever seen him.
A few weeks ago, he told me he was coming back to Wrigley for a one-day contract celebration on September 13th- which, ironically, was Dave Portnoy’s Pizza Day. He wanted me to DJ his friends and family event that night. I was honored.
The day was perfect. Anthony brought his baby son onto the field, unveiling him to the world at first base. It still chokes me up when I think about it.
Cubs Productions did an incredible job putting together a great tribute video which played pre-game-
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He threw out the first pitch, then chose to sit in the left-field bleachers with 100 of his closest friends and patients from Lurie’s Children's Hospital.
As I walked through our section, and greeted everybody- some people I hadn't seen in years, some I was just meeting for the first time- I realized how vast Anthony’s impact is. His lifelong friends from Florida. Families from Maine who housed him when he played for the Sea Dogs. Coaches from San Diego. Chicago families whose lives he’s changed forever. All their to show love and support for the guy who's spent his life making everybody else feel special.
There's a famous quote, etched on Jackie Robinson's tombstone-
The measure of a life is the impact you have on others.
And Anthony Rizzo’s life is monumental.
In the second inning, one of the most bizarre things you'll ever see occurred. A Cubs rookie, Moises Ballesteros, blasted his first career home run into the left-center bleachers right where Rizzo was sitting. As soon as the ball left the bat Anthony knew it was coming to him.
Seriously, what are the freaking odds of this happening?
KFC did a great job breaking down just how freaky this was.
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Before the seventh-inning stretch, I stopped by the press box to say hi to my old coworkers- Max, Ken, Qamar, and new DJ Ethan.
They asked if I was heading back to the bleachers to see Cindy and Eddie. I was like, “Excuse me? Who?”
Oh, just Cindy Crawford and Eddie Vedder.
Mind. Blown.
Anthony came in at that moment, and I grilled him about not telling me Cindy Crawford would be there. He swore he had- spoiler: he definitely hadn’t.
As we walked back, the crowd spotted Anthony and started a massive “Rizzo!” chant. It was awesome to see just how much he was adored and appreciated.
Big Cat said it best during his Wake Up With Barstool segment with Anthony last week. Anthony was “the bridge guy.”
He went from playing in front of apathetic, beer-drinking crowds that weren't there to watch or care about subpar baseball, to leading a championship team. And making Cubs fans proud to be Cubs fans.
He was as old-school as you'll find today: crowding the plate, refusing to let anyone push his teammates around, playing his ass off every single day.
And just like his teammate Jon Lester, he beat cancers ass.
(Sidebar- Seeing Cindy Crawford in person was surreal. For my generation, kids who grew up in the 90s, she was the ultimate icon- our Farrah Fawcett.
(Sidebar- another thing Anthony did without telling anybody, was buying the bleachers beers as a "thank you".)
They did the stretch from out in left field, and it was awesome.
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They interviewed Eddie after the stretch, and he was hammered, dropping F Bombs.
We rewarded him with a curtain call.
After the game, we went to Murphy’s Bleachers, up to the legendary rooftop apartment. Cindy’s dad is a lifelong Cubs fan, and Anthony was his favorite player. Cindy brought him so he could meet Anthony and pay his respects.
Anthony did me the biggest solid ever: he went up to Cindy and told her I was obsessed with her growing up. She came over to say hi, and I completely froze. The only words I could muster were,
“I used to have your Pepsi poster on my wall growing up.”
She laughed, put her head on my shoulder for a picture, and I blacked out. The photo is hilariously awkward- I look like a statue, but how can you blame me? It's Cindy Crawford!
That night, Anthony’s friends-and-family event was at Blind Barber, and I DJ’d the whole thing. When I walked in, I was shocked to see Urban Meyer (Big Cat’s guest). The room was filled with legends: David Ross, Jason Heyward, Tom Ricketts, Ryan Dempster, and a bunch of current Cubs players.
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The class act that he is, he gave a great speech thanking everybody else for supporting him his entire career, for his parents doing everything for him and his brother growing up, and his wife for putting up with him. Then I dropped his famous walkup song "Intoxicated" by Martin Solveig and got the party started.
From there, the party moved to Good Night John Boy, my place, to close out the night. It was the perfect ending to the perfect day.
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During his playing days with the Cubs, whenever my friends went to games, he had these secret little gestures he’d flash to us from the field. It became a running inside joke that’s probably going to get me killed for writing about here, but our group called ourselves “The Horn Section.” And no, it wasn’t because we played brass instruments- it was because we were horny.
Our “gang sign” was miming playing an air saxophone or trumpet, so whenever Anthony would get on base and hit us with the gesture, we’d lose our minds in the stands (or press box for me) like idiots.
It was completely childish and stupid… but also hilarious.
After games, we’d congratulate him in the horn section group chat if he went three-for-four or hit a bomb, and without fail he’d brush it off and say, “Yeah, but did you see me do the saxophone at second base?”
Another thing Anthony was obsessed with was the cup snakes in the bleachers. He’d always ask me after games if I saw the one in left, or right, or center, before security broke it up. Turns out, all the players loved them, even though they’d never admit it publicly.
Anthony always said his dream was to start one himself someday- he even mentioned it once on his Wake Up With Barstool segment last Friday.
And again during his pregame appearance on Marquee -
And on Saturday afternoon, in the left field bleachers, section 504, that dream finally came true. Seeing him kick off a cup snake himself at Wrigley, surrounded by the same fans he used to quietly cheer on from the dugout, was absolutely perfect- the ultimate full-circle moment.
What Anthony did on Saturday should honestly become a trend across all sports. If a player is having their jersey or number retired- or is just a beloved fan favorite, they should spend one game in the stands with the true fans, soaking it all in from the other side.
There’s nothing quite like getting to feel the love and admiration from the very people you gave so many memories and so much joy to over the years. It’s a bonding experience that can’t be replicated. And judging by Anthony’s face the entire day, he had an absolute blast. Especially chirping Ian Happ from the bleachers all game.
It really was the perfect day and the perfect way to cap off the career of a truly special guy. Seeing how proud his parents, John and Laurie, his brother, Johnny, and everyone else close to him were- not just for his accomplishments on the field, but for the genuinely incredible human being he is, was something I’ll never forget.
Anthony Rizzo isn’t just a ballplayer. He’s a leader. A fighter. And a man who has touched more lives than he’ll ever realize.
I’m thankful beyond words that he took us along for the ride. And proud beyond words to call him my friend.