Ben Johnson returns to first Chicago sports love and fires a strike
Bears coach BenJohnson voiced his love for Wrigley Field when he talked about going there on trips with his family upon signing is contract to coach the Bears.
Now he has pitched there.
With family in tow, Johnson got to return to Wrigley Field and throw out the first pitch prior to Saturday’s 6-2 Chicago Cubs win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Johnson put one right over the plate and actually made it look a bit like a Bruce Sutter split-finger fastball as it dropped off the table.
Caleb Williams, Drew Dalman, Joe Thuney, Rome Odunze, Austin Reed and Tyson Bagent turned out in support, as did team president Kevin Warren.
Johnson had a talk with Cubs manager Craig Counsell as well.
“For the last 10-plus years, my family and I have been coming up for a Cubs series every summer,” Johnson said upon his hiring. “And it doesn’t take long to realize that this place is special. These people are special.
“This is exactly where I wanted to raise my family, my kids.”
Johnson had a connection with the Cubs going back to his youth. He and his brother watched the Cubs on WGN in the 1990s from their home in the Asheville, N.C. area.
According to the Bears website, Johnson’s brother put his name on a Cubs season ticket waiting list in 2007 after getting out of high school and after several years was able to buy tickets.
Johnson and family used the tickets for their annual trip.
