Anthony Rizzo’s first game vs Cubs post-trade was actually insane

The Chicago Cubs have seen a lot of historically good players come through and call Wrigley Field home. Anthony Rizzo is one of those guys as he was the face of the franchise for a very long time. Bringing him in all those years ago was one of the smartest moves in the history of the organization.

Unlike all of the other great faces that came before him, Rizzo actually helped what was a helpless team win the whole thing. Rizzo and the Cubs won the World Series together in 2016 so you know that he is forever connected to the squad.

Unfortunately, the business side of baseball (and some boneheaded decisions by the management team) forced them to trade Rizzo in 2021. He was dealt to the New York Yankees for future assets.

Rizzo and the Yankees were defeated by the Boston Red Sox in the 2021 Wild Card Game so his time there was looking like it might come to a quick end because of the fact that he was an unrestricted free agent.

Anthony Rizzo faced off against the Chicago Cubs on Friday night at Yankee Stadium.

He ended up staying there on an extension so he was able to face his old team on Friday. It was the first time that the Cubs paid a visit to Yankee Stadium since 2014. It was truly cool to see these two historic teams match up against one another.

It wasn’t the same as it will be when Rizzo returns to Wrigley Field as a road player but it was still odd to see him line up against the Cubs. Seeing him stand on first base next to Frank Schwindel was just odd (Schwindel took Rizzo’s spot after the trade).

Rizzo didn’t collect a hit (0-4) but he did draw a walk and was hit by a pitch in his six plate appearances. It wasn’t his best night offensively but Cubs fans know that he is still dangerous even when the ball isn’t getting through.

The game beyond the Rizzo story was absolutely insane. New York won 2-1 thanks to some 13th-inning magic. It was tied at one for a very time and it took a while to get it settled. You don’t see games get this far in terms of innings anymore but they both managed to get really good pitching in extra innings.

Former Cubs prospect Gleyber Torres hit a solo shot for the Yankees which is where they got their first run. The Cubs received their run thanks to a solo shot of their own from Jason Heyward. In the 13th inning, the Yankees scored thanks to some pinch-hitting and pinch-running.

Joey Gallo was the pinch-runner in the game and Jose Trevino hit the game-winner to score him. It was a crazy game. It was also a game where this very subpar Chicago Cubs team kept up with one of the best teams in the league.

It was an amazing way to see Rizzo play against the Cubs for the first time since the 2021 trade. Winning this one would have been awesome for the Cubs but they were lucky to even be in it. The rest of the series should be a lot of fun.