Paul Sullivan: Empty stands, an opening statement from Cubs and Brewers and an absolute gem make for a gorgeous night at Wrigley

CHICAGO — The first fan-free opener in Wrigley Field history Friday was greeted with a mixture of excitement and apprehension, and it became apparent early on this new reality is going to take some getting used to.

Chicago Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts, who normally sits in a box seat near the home dugout and walks around the ballpark talking to fans, looked lost as he entered the elevator in the left-field concourse while wearing a sparkly Cubs mask.

Asked where he was going to watch the game, Ricketts shrugged.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” he said.

It looks as if we’re all going to have to figure this thing out as we go along, but after the Cubs beat the Brewers, 3-0, at the Empty Confines, at least we’re on our way.

The pandemic-delayed 2020 season began with an absolute gem from Kyle Hendricks, making his first opening-day start on a gorgeous summer night.

Hendricks shut out the Brewers on three hits and no walks, needing only 103 pitches.

It was the first shutout in an opener by the Cubs since Bill Bonham in 1974.

Ian Happ’s two-run home run to center field in the third off Brandon Woodruff gave Hendricks a small cushion to work with, and Anthony Rizzo added a solo shot to right in the eighth.

Hendricks did the rest, retiring 27 of the 30 batters he faced and allowing only three singles to Brewers No. 9 hitter Orlando Arcia while striking out nine. He never allowed a runner past first, making manager David Ross look like a genius in his first game, simply by giving the ball to the Professor and watching him deal.

Before the game, the Cubs and Brewers made a statement together in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. All players wore BLM T-shirts during batting practice, then stood along the foul lines holding a long “unity cloth” that signaled a bond in the national movement against systemic racism.

There was no kneeling by either team, as other players have done around the league. Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward said it was an unnecessary gesture for him; he simply appreciated that the Cubs were “walking the walk when it comes to saying we are family.”

“I told my brother I didn’t think this was a situation where I felt like I needed to kneel, because this is what progress looks like,” Heyward said. “You have acknowledgement, you have unity, you have people of multiple races, from different cultures, areas, different struggles, standing together for one, acknowledging the black struggle in this country. It’s all being held up on a pedestal that’s not been held up before, in baseball and in sports and in this world.

“So I don’t see it today as a necessary situation to kneel. But I also support the ones that are because I do understand that they’re not kneeling for anything bad. They’re kneeling for good, for people that have gone through the struggles and for people like myself, in the situation where I feel like I haven’t spoken up before. But now it’s my time.”

Team President Theo Epstein had urged Cubs players on the first day of summer camp to begin a dialogue on systemic racism, and everyone had a chance to speak.

“This is a major movement going on, a major piece of history that will be looked back on forever,” Rizzo said. “The whole world is paying attention to it, our whole country. The divide in our country right now, we’ve never seen anything like it. … We all know that to end racism, we all want to be part of that because there is no room for it.”

As the game began, Heyward raced out to right field carrying a Chicago flag, reminding some of the day in 2001 when Sammy Sosa ran around the bases with an American flag in the first game back after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Hendricks then began his clinic, retiring the first eight Brewers hitters before Arcia singled in the third. Rizzo immediately offered Arcia some hand sanitizer because, well, that’s what happens in baseball during a pandemic.

The quietude created by the empty stands was punctured every now and then by the clacking sounds of the passing “L” trains, while the cicadas began their lullaby when the sun began to set. It was a nice diversion from the cliched taped music, like “YMCA” and the fake crowd noise.

If there is any ballpark that doesn’t need artificial noise, it’s Wrigley Field.

When Happ delivered his two-run shot to center, the Cubs bench knew it was gone instantly and began yelling in unison. But the person manning the sound-effects board quickly drowned out their cheers.

Unlike the fake noise, the Wrigleyville atmosphere was muted. The ballhawks were out in force, joined by a small crowd of rubberneckers. A vendor from Clark Street Sports looked lonely near a booth full of unsold souvenirs and T-shirts at the corner of Clark Street and Waveland Avenue, wondering how he was going to get through the season. He said they needed to make $600 to break even and prayed the Cubs would let fans in at some point.

When that will happen is anyone’s guess. Cubs President of Business Operations Crane Kenney said earlier on WSCR-AM 670 that they were hopeful of bringing fans in by Sept. 1 — if MLB and the city allow it.

Doubt it.

But the game goes on, and fans only can hope the season makes it to the end without losing to the coronavirus. Epstein said it’s all about keeping everyone safe and healthy.

“If we can continue to do that, what a great feeling that will be to provide some much-needed entertainment and joy to people who have been through so much already this year in a number of areas,” he said.

Hendricks provided the joy Friday.

And now we’re on our way.

———

©2020 Chicago Tribune

Visit the Chicago Tribune at www.chicagotribune.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.