Mt. Lebanon grad plays at PNC Park for first time as a Cub
Ian Happ signs autographs for fans before tagging two hits in Chicago’s come-from-behind win against the Pirates, 9-5.
Ian Happ
Ian Happ takes his cuts during a 9-5 victory against the Pirates. The Mt. Lebanon product tagged two hits, one from both sides of the plage during the Cubs’ win.
Ian Happ snags a pop up at second base. Happ also assisted on a ground out, and when moved, to centerfield, had a putout late in the Cubs’ 9-5 victory against the Pirates.
Mt. Lebanon grad plays at PNC Park for first time as a Cub
{child_byline}Eleanor Bailey{/child_byline}
Mt. Lebanon grad plays at PNC Park for first time as a Cub
{child_byline}Eleanor Bailey{/child_byline}
This time was different. A spectator no longer, Ian Happ played at PNC Park.
“It was awesome,” he said.
For Chicago, yes. For Pittsburgh, no. Backed by Happ’s 4-for-12 performance, including a home run, the Cubs took two in the three-game series.
“It’s really, really special,” Happ said of being able to finally play at PNC Park.
Born in Cleveland, Happ moved to Mt. Lebanon and spent his formative and scholastic years living in the community and excelling in baseball. Until this past weekend, June 16-18, he never set foot on the PNC Park diamond.
”This is the first time I’ve actually been in the dugout,” he said before socking two hits from both sides of the plate during the Cubs’ opening win June 16 against the Bucs, 9-5.
During the 10 years he lived in the South Hills, Happ said he “watched a lot of baseball.” He saw his brother, Chris, play at PNC Park when Duquesne would face the University of Pittsburgh. Additionally, he would buy a $9 ticket, trudge up to the third deck, sit down in the left field section by the foul pole with a bag of sunflower seeds and study the action.
“I never caught any foul balls or anything like that,” he said.
“You could sit wherever you wanted. There would be nobody else for three sections,” he continued. “I was the guy yelling up there but I didn’t think I was very loud,” he added. “But you could watch nine innings of baseball, and there would be nobody within shouting distance. That was a pretty good deal.”
When the Cubs selected Happ as their No. 1 choice in the 2015 MLB amateur draft, they were the ones getting the good deal. Happ owned a .449 career batting average at Mt. Lebanon and was The Almanac’s 2012 MVP for baseball. He batted .338 with 25 home runs and 107 RBI during three seasons at the University of Cincinnati.
After an impressive spring training camp, where he batted .383 in 29 games this spring, Happ was assigned to Iowa. He was batting .298 with nine home runs and 25 RBIs before he bruised his left thumb. Once off the disabled list, Happ smacked 10 hits in 20 at bats. He went 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI when he got the call to report to St. Louis. In his MLB debut, he homered for his first official hit on May 13.
“It was a pretty amazing start, and I had family in St. Louis for my debut so that was special and there’s people at Wrigley. I had family in Chicago,” he added. “The whole thing about being able to play is you go to these cities and you see the people who have supported you your whole life in different cities. Just to have that around the country is kind of special.”
Homecoming, indeed, was special. After finishing a series with the New York Mets on June 14, Happ drove to Pittsburgh. He visited with his former high school coach, toured the renovated high school and played 36 holes of golf at Chartiers Country Club and Nevillewood with his brother and former Cape Cod teammate on his day off, June 15. He ate at Pamela’s for breakfast twice, vowed to visit Primanti’s for a sandwich, and even walked to work, strolling across the Clemente Bridge from his hotel.
“Getting to see my old coach was awesome and I walked around the high school a little bit. You can do that incognito in the summer. But, it does make you feel old,” added the 22-year-old second baseman, who also plays outfield for the Cubs.
Only 31 games into his career, Happ already is an old pro. He has smacked eight home runs and seven doubles. He has driven in 16 runs. In 118 plate appearances, he owns a .223 batting average and a .860 on-base-plus slugging percentage.
While he is pleased with his start, Happ says his sole goal is “to help the team win games.”
Happ helped the Cubs come from behind to beat the Bucs, 9-5. He scored the team’s first run and tagged two hits, a double and a single. In a 4-3 loss, he again doubled but struck out once. In the series ender, a 7-1 victory, Happ walked and homered.
“That was pretty special,” he said of the round tripper.