Michael Busch’s homer finds Anthony Rizzo in the right-field seats as Cubs honor 2016 champions

On a summer day at Wrigley Field, the Cubs turned a routine at-bat into a reunion moment tied to their 2016 World Series run. Anthony Rizzo, a three-time All-Star and member of the 2016 championship team, was in the right-field bleachers taking in the game when Michael Busch’s home run came down near him, creating an instant highlight for the ballpark crowd.

The backdrop mattered. Earlier in the day, members of the 2016 World Series team helped dedicate a Champions Gate monument outside the stadium, a public nod to the franchise’s most recent World Series title. With Rizzo seated alongside his former teammates, the Cubs’ past was not just visible inside the ballpark, it was also being formally marked just outside it.

Busch’s homer, described in the Cubs’ team account, was the kind of spectator-into-participant scene that Wrigley Field is built for. Instead of the ball simply disappearing into the night, it found the attention of the former first baseman in the stands, turning a celebration of the 2016 club into a living, in-the-moment interaction.

Rizzo’s presence added meaning beyond the novelty. As a key figure in the Cubs’ title run, his role in the 2016 roster makes any on-field acknowledgment of that team resonate with both long-time fans and a younger set of viewers seeing the championship era reiterated in real time. In this case, the Cubs connected that reminder to a current roster moment, with their latest power contributor providing the on-field link.

While home runs routinely travel into the seats, this one carried a particular emotional angle because it intersected with a planned day of recognition. The Cubs’ decision to place the 2016 champions in a stadium-wide setting reinforces how franchises use anniversaries and monuments to keep championship identity from fading into static history.

The play also served as a reminder of what the Cubs’ current team is trying to do in its day-to-day baseball. Moments like this are not standings points by themselves, but they underscore an organizational emphasis on continuity, especially when the on-field event involves a player who is still writing his own chapter.

Next, the storyline will likely shift back to Busch’s role in the lineup and how the Cubs balance present-day performance with reminders of what built the fan base in the first place. For Rizzo, the highlight is simple and portable: a ball that landed near him, on a day the franchise made sure the 2016 champions were part of the backdrop.

For fans, the question that remains is whether the Cubs keep finding ways to blend celebration with competition, using public tributes and old-team reunions without turning them into mere ceremony. If they can do both, the monuments outside the park and the moments inside it will feel like the same story, not separate events.