MLB news: Former Chicago Cubs player Anthony Rizzo snares Michael Busch's home run ball in the Wrigley Field bleachers

CHICAGO — In a fitting Wrigley Field moment, the baseball from current Cubs first baseman Michael Busch’s first-inning solo home run during Saturday’s 6-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins ended up in the hands of former Chicago first baseman Anthony Rizzo in the right-field bleachers.

Rizzo did not make the catch on the fly, but after Busch’s 12th homer of the season bounced onto the concrete, the longtime Cubs fan favorite reached back, scooped it up and lifted it above the crowd while carrying a young boy on his shoulder.

The moment came on a nostalgic day at Wrigley Field. Before the game, Rizzo, a three-time All-Star who spent 10 of his 14 major league seasons with the Cubs, helped dedicate the new “Champions Gate,” a 31-foot-wide arch on the ballpark’s west side honoring the franchise’s 2016 World Series title.

Former Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo holds up the 2016 World Series Championship trophy as his walks on the field before a game in Chicago, Saturday, July 18, 2026.

Former Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo holds up the 2016 World Series Championship trophy as his walks on the field before a game in Chicago, Saturday, July 18, 2026.(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Busch said he was not aware at first that Rizzo had retrieved the home run ball. Catcher Miguel Amaya, who delivered a two-run double in the second inning, was the one who passed along the news.

The symbolism was hard to miss: one Cubs slugging first baseman coming away with the home run ball of another. Busch, 28, went deep 34 times last season, while Rizzo, 36, hit 242 regular-season homers with Chicago and 303 overall in his career.

“I thought that was super, just like mind-blowing,” Busch said. “Who knows how things work out, but I thought that was pretty cool.”

RELATED | Cubs 2016 World Series champions Anthony Rizzo, David Ross take “Lovable Reunion” to Chicago Theatre

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