World Series reunion at Cubs Convention celebrates 2016, ignites 'itch' for 2026

When the 2016 Cubs walked into the Wrigley Field clubhouse Thursday evening, their lockers were set up just the way they had been that championship season, each of their jerseys hanging as if it were a game day.

“The only thing that was missing was [Jon] Lester and [John] Lackey’s beer fridge,” recently-retired Cubs great Anthony Rizzo joked.

Instead, former Cubs catcher Miguel Montero noted that there was a bar set up next to his locker.

“It was honestly like we had just won a playoff series,” Rizzo said Saturday on the stage at Cubs Convention. “Because that's what we did after we won playoff series, we'd literally party in the clubhouse, or we went to [Jon] Lester's house, or somewhere in Wrigleyville.

“That's what it felt like again. The families were there, the wives were there. The only thing different was the kids are 10 years older. So that was a little bit of a mind trick.”

The 10-year anniversary celebration of the 2016 World Series team kicked off with a reunion at Wrigley Field on Thursday. Coaches, staff, front office members and most of the roster – “really good turnout,” as president Jed Hoyer said, but missing Kris Bryant, Jake Arrieta, Jorge Soler, Tommy La Stella and Hectór Rondón – gathered with their families the night before Cubs Convention officially opened.

The party carried on into the weekend. Cubs Convention’s opening ceremony centered around the 2016 team. Lester was named a Cubs Hall of Famer, with an induction ceremony set for this summer. And a panel of retired players from that team relived that magical season as a packed ballroom of fans looked on.

“It gives you the itch a little bit,” Hoyer said, “when you think about what that team accomplished and the kind of guys we had on that team.”

By bringing home the Cubs’ first World Series in over a century, that group solidified new expectations and left behind the “lovable losers” moniker.

“We set the bar really high for the guys coming up,” Montero said. “From the point of view of the fans and the kids that are actually getting to the big-leagues now, that they have that pressure, they need to win.”

The Cubs haven’t been back to the World Series in the decade since. But as they went through the 2021 rebuild that dismantled the championship core, their fan base demanded a quick turnaround.

The team doesn't have any remaining members of the 2016 team. Even former catcher David Ross was unceremoniously fired from his managerial post after the 2023 season. (Rizzo praised Ross for still attending Cubs Convention this year. "For David to be able to handle everything the way he has, as his friend, is honestly amazing.")

In a new era, the Cubs are back in win-now mode. They ended a four-year playoff drought last year, bounced by the Brewers in the National League Division Series. And they’re determined to go further this year.

“I was literally the closest I’ve ever been to that trophy,” center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong said of the Cubs Convention opening ceremony. “Call it what you want, but that wouldn't be such a bad script to write if we do it 10 years apart. That’d be a fun reunion 10 more years from now.”

There were plenty of moments from the 2016 run to reminisce about this weekend. Saturday’s panel told stories about their many team dinners – “It was a battle between Lester and Lackey on who's paying for those dinners,” Rizzo said – and revealed their thoughts when Cleveland tied up Game 7 – “Are we cursed?,” Ben Zobrist said.

Afterwards, Mike Montgomery, who threw the last out of the World Series, said that conversations with his former teammates kept turning to: “What if something was different? We wouldn't be here, we wouldn't be doing this whole event and having the 2016 reunion. Fate had it that the Cubs were going to win.”

The Cubs are set to have another anniversary celebration in July. And plans are in the works to memorialize World Series teams past and future. This weekend was only part one of the celebration.

The reception for the team at the opening ceremony was raucous, reaching a fever pitch when Rizzo hoisted the World Series trophy over his head.

Then on Saturday, after the panel had showered Cubs fans with praise and gratitude, Rizzo asked if he could have a mic-drop moment. A grin on his face, he warned that was going to go the opposite direction from the usual cliches.

“You’re welcome,” he said.

The ballroom erupted in applause.