At the Cubs Convention opening ceremony, hardly much news is usually announced. It’s supposed to be a fan and player love fest, featuring both new and old players.

A novel addition to the event in recent years has been the announcement of the names of Cubs players who will be inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame later this year.

The two players selected for 2024 were Kerry Wood and Aramis Ramirez, who were introduced by the squad in a well-made film that featured the players’ sons narrating:

Of course, injuries kept Wood from having the career he could have had, but there will always be the 20-K game in 1998, the 34-save season he had with the 2008 NL Central champions, the home run he hit in a losing effort in Game 7 of the 2003 NLCS, and countless other memories.

Regarding Ramirez, he was acquired by the organisation in one of the greatest transactions in franchise history, and during his nine years with the team, he hit 239 home runs, which is seventh most in franchise history, and made two appearances in the All-Star game. At Wrigley Field, the A-Ram also provided us with some incredible moments. Possibly the most memorable of these was this 2007 two-run walkoff home run against the Brewers [VIDEO].

I also want to talk about the rumours that started to circulate after Christopher Morel failed to show up for the conference. Has he been exchanged? Uh… no. The unpredictable weather in the Chicago area caused his flight to be cancelled. Ben Zobrist, Ryne Sandberg, Shawon Dunston, and Les Lancaster were among the other players who were originally slated to attend the convention but were unable to do so because of inclement weather.

Sara Sanchez of BCB will cover the convention sessions later after attending them on Saturday. Please feel free to use this as an open topic for the CubsCon activities on Saturday in the interim.

So far, the Blue Jays’ offseason has been a letdown. When Shohei Ohtani decided to negotiate a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, they were among the front-runners to sign him. Toronto will also be back in the American League East, one of baseball’s most competitive divisions.