The Cubs hold ‘Play for Opening Day’ event at Wrigley Field.

“Swing for the Start of the Season,” organized by the Cubs on Friday morning at Wrigley Field, presented an opportunity for 100 fortunate fans who received winning scratch-off cards in Gallagher Way to step up to the plate and take some batting practice.

As depicted above, various “targets” were set up on the field, with fans receiving different prizes for hitting them, such as caps and T-shirts. However, none went home empty-handed, as every participant received two tickets to a game at Wrigley Field in 2025.

Here are some highlights from Friday’s event at Wrigley:

Al Yellon

Al Yellon

The target set up beneath the video board in the bleachers was uniquely enticing for fans. Anyone successful in hitting that target would win $1 million, thanks to Budweiser, the event’s sponsor.

As you can see, that target was placed several rows below the bottom of the video board, roughly a 400-foot shot—very few home runs from actual MLB players reach that height. Unfortunately, no player came close, although one notably large individual, who appeared to be a high school or college athlete, did manage to get a few baseballs to the warning track.

After all the fans took their turns, this reporter got the opportunity to swing a few times in the batting cage, introduced by PA announcer Jeremiah Paprocki:

Al Yellon

Jeremiah is a fantastic person, and hearing your name announced by him over the PA is exciting [VIDEO].

I did manage to connect with one ball into the infield [VIDEO].

Everyone had a great time—myself included—at Wrigley Field this morning. As part of the media, I wasn’t eligible for any prizes, but simply being on the field for a few practice pitches was reward enough for me. The Cubs players will take the field there in just a week.

Finally, some visitors who have passed by Wrigley in recent weeks may have noticed an unusual pattern of letters and numbers displayed on the scoreboard:

Al Yellon

No, it’s not a secret message. I discovered today that this pattern appeared because of touch-up painting on the scoreboard; the letters and numbers were placed there to allow the paint to dry. By the time I left the ballpark, they had all been removed.

Al Yellon

Cubs vs. Padres at Wrigley Field, exactly one week from the publication time of this article.

Special thanks to Ariana Moaveni of the Cubs for allowing me to take part in Play for Opening Day.