Saturday, July 26, 2025

South Bend Cubs

We stopped at the team store on the way in. No game tonight—just a quiet stadium and the steady march of our baseball pilgrimage continuing. The South Bend Cubs were next on the list, and like most minor league teams, they offered just enough charm to be worth the detour.

The franchise has been here in one form or another since the late ’80s, but it wasn’t until they aligned with the Chicago Cubs in 2015 that things really started to click. The name changed, the branding sharpened, and Four Winds Field got a facelift. Now it's one of the nicer stops on the minor league circuit—not flashy, but clean, well-loved, and clearly important to the community. Apartments overlook the outfield. The concourse wraps around the park. You can tell the place gets used. It feels lived in.

We didn’t stay long. Just a walk around the outside, a stop at the store, and a few photos. But there’s something satisfying in seeing the bones of baseball—the humble stadiums, the banners of players now long gone, the promise of potential in every stitched logo.

Not every stop has to be a grand revelation. Sometimes it’s enough to stretch your legs, pick up a hat, and stand for a moment in a place where the game lives quietly.