Dressed for a vaudeville rehearsal more than baseball practice, Cubs strength coach Tim Buss strutted to the center of a team circle Monday carrying a cane, sporting a top hat and plaid blazer, wearing gold chains around his neck.
"All bling and show,” Cubs veteran Ben Zobrist said.
All part of the plan of the Cubs staying on top, manager Joe Maddon promised everybody. Buss’ job involves breaking up the monotony as well as building players’ bodies so Maddon trusted his creativity to deliver a message before the first full team workout that established the mindset of 2017. Which is what exactly, Joe?
"It’s setting up humility — I can’t go any further … the overarching theme is humility,” said Maddon, hinting at a bigger Buss production soon. "On a daily basis, he is able to pull something off to make the guys laugh. It’s beautiful. It’s a big part of what we do.”
Nobody can say the World Series favorite will repeat as champions, but rest assured the Cubs again will lead the league in fun. It’s hard to imagine Bill Belichick using such ploys with the Patriots or Gregg Popovich encouraging such silliness on the Spurs, but the method works for Maddon because of its authenticity. If the leader of a championship team consistently comes off as a little goofy, how serious can his players take themselves?
Laughter is contagious, spreading from the manager to the staff to Anthony Rizzo to the 40th man on the roster, and Maddon believes it can help stave off selfishness that often accompanies success.
"It does not really concern me,” Maddon said. "I don’t get guys deviating from what they’ve been in the past. You get done with them (at individual meetings) and you’re even more impressed.”
Joe Maddon on Cubs’ team meeting, spring training plans
Cubs manager Joe Maddon discusses a team meeting and spring training plans on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017, in Mesa, Ariz. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Cubs manager Joe Maddon discusses a team meeting and spring training plans on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017, in Mesa, Ariz. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
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The 2003 Angels went 77-85 a season after winning the World Series with Maddon as a bench coach. The 2009 Rays went 84-78 a year after winning the American League pennant with Maddon as their manager. To Maddon, who brought up both examples, injuries had more to do with those teams falling short than their mental approach. So he focuses on affecting the latter.
"The big thing for me is the proverbial hangover (but) guys who have been hurt is my real concern and we’re pretty good with that so I’m not worried,” Maddon said.
Humility never made the roster for the 1986 Bears, one of the worst cases of egos run amok. In sports, the lack of it can make the tightest teams unravel and the surest things uncertain. The Cubs, young and hungry for more, appear to grasp this thanks to Maddon. They look and sound capable of resisting the urge for ego gratification, the way the Blackhawks have in the NHL, exuding qualities typically found in exemplary people, let alone players.
"A lot of these guys have it built into their system, from the families they grew up in,” said Zobrist, one of those guys. "It’s just natural.”
The best illustration of that perhaps came at the end of Monday’s team meeting when players applauded loudest their gesture of awarding an MLB-record 66 shares among Cubs players and team personnel — each worth a whopping $368,872. That celebration set the tone for the spring’s opening session that players enjoyed as much as a robust crowd of onlookers.
The fans included six Dominican nuns from Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in Phoenix, dressed in white tunics and veils, committed to the idea of winning as a habit for the Cubs.
"Please say a prayer for us this year,” Rizzo shouted to them before walking over to pose for a selfie and sign an autograph.
"We were praying for you at the World Series,” sister Rene Noel told Rizzo.
"Thank you, sister," Rizzo said.
Photos as the Cubs practice at spring training in Mesa, Ariz.
The nuns had to blush a little, a few minutes later, when a young female fan loudly regaled Kris Bryant when the reigning National League MVP removed his helmet after batting practice.
Woman: "I love you, Kris Bryant!"
Male friend: "He’s married."
Woman: "I don’t care. … I still do."
Behind the cage, Maddon entertained his own audience, whether it was Cubs special assistant Darnell McDonald or general manager Jed Hoyer. The manager with an open-door policy treats everybody the same, like when hot 20-year-old prospect Eloy Jimenez entered his office the other day to reintroduce himself.
"To me, it’s about getting to know him,” Maddon said.
Chicago knows Maddon pretty well as his third season on the North Side begins, yet a winter’s worth of anecdotes revealed even more of his fascinating personality. In an interview with HBO Real Sports airing Tuesday, for instance, Maddon discussed crying at his father’s grave site in Hazleton, Pa., in December as he thanked him during a visit to the cemetery. Maddon also showed host Bryant Gumbel how he rubbed his lineup card before Games 5, 6 and 7 on pictures of Dick Howser, Chuck Tanner and Earl Weaver — the three other managers who overcame a 3-1 deficit to win a World Series.
"Hey, it worked," Maddon said, laughing.
Humbly, Maddon might add that things usually do for him in the Cubs dugout.
dhaugh@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @DavidHaugh
Caption Scenes from Monday’s Cubs spring training workout
Scenes from the Cubs’ spring training workout in Mesa, Ariz., on Feb. 20, 2017. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Scenes from the Cubs’ spring training workout in Mesa, Ariz., on Feb. 20, 2017. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Caption Scenes from Monday’s Cubs spring training workout
Scenes from the Cubs’ spring training workout in Mesa, Ariz., on Feb. 20, 2017. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Scenes from the Cubs’ spring training workout in Mesa, Ariz., on Feb. 20, 2017. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Caption Tim Buss, dressed for the occasion, leads Cubs’ warmups
Cubs strength and conditioning coordinator Tim Buss leads warmups in a top hat and sports coat on Monday, Feb. 20, 2017. (Mark Gonzales/Chicago Tribune)
Cubs strength and conditioning coordinator Tim Buss leads warmups in a top hat and sports coat on Monday, Feb. 20, 2017. (Mark Gonzales/Chicago Tribune)
Caption Joe Maddon on Tim Buss, nuns and getting to know Eloy Jimenez
Cubs manager Joe Maddon reacts to strength and conditioning coordinator Tim Buss’ attire during Monday’s warmups and discusses having nuns at spring training and getting to know top prospect Eloy Jimenez on Monday, Feb. 20, 2017. (Mark Gonzales/Chicago Tribune)
Cubs manager Joe Maddon reacts to strength and conditioning coordinator Tim Buss’ attire during Monday’s warmups and discusses having nuns at spring training and getting to know top prospect Eloy Jimenez on Monday, Feb. 20, 2017. (Mark Gonzales/Chicago Tribune)
Caption Cubs’ Jason Heyward takes batting practice
Cubs right fielder Jason Heyward takes batting practice on Monday, Feb. 20, 2017, in Mesa, Ariz. (Mark Gonzales/Chicago Tribune)
Cubs right fielder Jason Heyward takes batting practice on Monday, Feb. 20, 2017, in Mesa, Ariz. (Mark Gonzales/Chicago Tribune)
Caption Ben Zobrist on Cubs’ first day of live batting practice
Ben Zobrist reacts after the Cubs’ first day of live batting practice on Monday, Feb. 20, 2017. (Mark Gonzales/Chicago Tribune)
Ben Zobrist reacts after the Cubs’ first day of live batting practice on Monday, Feb. 20, 2017. (Mark Gonzales/Chicago Tribune)
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