I love Ian Happ in my bones. Whatever happens, I support him. Good man. Good teammate, Good voice for players. Thoughtful always. Hitting sometimes. Getting on base as much as anyone. That’s my dude. He’s been a great Cub.
Can’t say for everyone, but he was really good at times while also struggling occasionally. He was borderline elite for short stretches, which raised expectations and then he’d fall off. Overall his annual stat lines were above average and pretty consistent, so a very solid hitter and a good defender. But following the WS and playoff run his peaks were never as high as the guys he followed.
Would be a great platoon at this point in his career for us, but I hope we find a left field stud that we sorely need with our lineup of plus defense minus bat everywhere else, and he finds another starting gig somewhere. Doesn't feel right but thats baseball
We need pitching more than a stud bat to complement PCA and Bregman (and maybe seiya if he returns), but another stud in left goes a long way to help us snap out of the funks our offense goes in like the one at the end of the year. It was a streaky offense that could use more stability and more of a fear factor in the playoffs, so michael Busch can bat 5th instead of third, since he pretty much sucks these days
True, maybe take a swing on the NPB guy Sato, though its risky. Not much else out there unfortunately, but a three true outcomes guy can be welcome in this lineup. If not, id prefer platooning happ than starting him everyday, he is miserable against lefties
Exactly my sentiments. I hope he finds a good fit, whether that’s here for two-ish more years or elsewhere. I liked watching him play and he seems like a good guy on top of it.
I was really excited in 2017 when he came up. I think he handled being sent down really well too. He's a grinder. I will always have a place in my heart for someone that will put in the work and be a team player
To me, he's been in a way this indirect link to the WS team. I would hate to lose him. As a lot of people have said, I'd be fine with a team friendly contract. I'd go with a 2 year with a 3rd year as a team option.
His down year this year he still put up almost 3 WAR. Probably going to get his 4th straight Gold Glove in Left Field.
If he would do like 3/50 I would definitely resign him. I think he'll probably get better offers but I dunno. Probably the most underrated OF in baseball.
Yup. And 107 wRC+ on a down year, which is above league average. And, for example, much better than Kyle Tucker’s 2026.
But if you look at just his PAs batting left, Happ had an .809 OPS, 125 wRC+. His struggles against righties this year brought down his overall numbers. Career, he’s much closer to league average from the right.
He is literally everything you could ask for. Shows up game after game. Puts up solid ass numbers(a bit down this yr maybe), plays GG defensive every yr. Interacts w/fans on a personal level. Dude is truly an all time Cub great.
You could nitpick and find some stats that are down but overall it was a average year for Happ. Not really up or down just average. Nothing really sticks out to me other than career high in SO.
I don’t get the deep rooted love for the guy. I get that he was a great teammate and that for sure has value, he played excellent defense, also an asset. But he was not and never was a star. He never was a a stud who lead the team to success on the field. Actually, it was other players who had to make up for Happ’s lack of production. I’m not saying he was detrimental to winning games, but I also dont think he is not easily replaced in the production category. They need more from a corner OF spot than he is capable of giving.
Yep. Also, I don't get why people act like him being good only against righties is a good thing. He's above average at best when you carve off half of his stats.
lol blocked all our outfield prospects for years…if only we’d been playing Canario, Velazquez, Caissie, Alcantara this whole time. None of em have done jack shit
Taylor and Conforto have good numbers because they’re strictly platoon. If they had as many ABs as Happ, they’d struggle
You people just want a shiny new toy you can delusionally map any ceiling you want onto because a guy who’s steady every year but not a star is too boring for you
Negative WAR, he sucked for the most part. I expect the bat to get better as his career goes on, but he’s a defensive liability and has big K problems. He would’ve been public enemy #1 for whiny cubs fans if he was playing everyday for us. Not even remotely close to the player Happ is at this point
This mindset is part of what sucks about sports fans a lot of the time. As if the only player you could ever appreciate or love has to be a superstar. Happ has been grinding for this team and this city for a decade, always been a productive player every year, always been a professional. That’s worth appreciating.
It was implied. You said he was never a star. So I assume you’re talking about a top 10 player in baseball. Like an Aaron Judge. Pete Crow-Armstrong, etc. Happ has certainly been a perennial top OF in baseball.
He has NEVER been a perennial top OF, lol. He’s been a great defensive player. Solid guy. He has made one all star team. He’s a nice player. “Perennial top” implies something he never has delivered.
I could see him coming back next year at a team deal. But I also think he’s going to explore his options because of the fact that he doesn’t want to platoon. Which I think if he came back, he’d only play majority vs righties.
I could see a lot of teams interested in him to. Such as a team like the Whitesox. Veteran presence. Doesn’t have to uproot. Goes to a team on the rise. OR (gross) LAD. Imagine Happ hitting 6 to 9 in that lineup. I think the biggest problem ever with the cubs is Happ was always hitting 1-5. If you put him a little lower and he is the 3 outcome hitter, I think he would be elite in a lineup like LAD.
I think for a lot of newer fans post 2018 or so, Ian is that guy for them. I don't cherish him as much as the 2015 and 2016 teams or Rizzo or MVP KB or Javy or even Schwarber for coming back from injury to play in the world series. Even for modern guys hes not PCA, Nico, Shota or Seiya in terms of entertaining me. He has great stats and moments and had a solid career, but nothing like 2015-16.
Rizzo was the Cubs and they traded him away for scraps.
I still love the Cubs, but I’ll never love a team like I did the core of that 2015-2016 Cubs run. It hasn’t felt the same for me since the deadline where they gutted the whole team.
This year’s group, despite all the pitching woes, was the closest feeling I’ve had to that team.
I’ll be sad to see him go play elsewhere. Hopefully not the reds. He’s also been the one player who’s been in the lineup every season since 2018 when we started to go cold as an team at the end of the season. I’m not saying there’s any correlation, but it’s best for everyone involved to try something new.
I mean, if he goes anywhere, I kinda hope it's the Reds or the Pirates. I think he'd do well on both of those teams, even if I won't like facing him there, lol.
I don’t think we should let him walk, personally. I don’t think he’ll be crazy expensive, he was a big part of statistically the best defense ever. We need to worry about keeping what we have on the field and worrying about pitching. Unless there’s an obvious upgrade available, I don’t see how letting him go helps the Cubs.
I agree, I don't see how we get a left-fielder just half as good as he is, for a ton less money than he's likely to ask for. The man's arm is worth it.
I really love Happer and I agree he is the type of player you want to root for. He has had a great run for the Cubs. Not sure he is right for this team in the future unless he will take a team-friendly deal and is willing to platoon.
My heart and brain are so split on this. If we won it all next year, it would really suck to see his Cubs career bookended by two World Series he wasn't a part of.
We arent winning it all with cheapass Ricketts anytime soon. He got his wallet out for a onetime ride in ‘16, happy for that but zero indication of effort going forward
You guys are really weird with this dude. He played for a long time here…that’s really it.
Hes not very good. Can’t hit and is slow in the outfield, don’t really care if he’s a gold glover.
I’m not a younger fan. I like Happ because he’s been on the team for a decade and is pretty drama free and consistent year in and year out. I’m also not someone begging the Cubs to de sign him. But he was here long enough to be remembered fondly and they will so ceremonies and video montages when he returns and probably be in the a cubs hall of fame when he retires
Happ has better numbers in his career than Soriano had as a Cub. But also, there’s a difference when a dude is drafted by the team and has played every single game as a pro for the same team.
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u/mitchellcronkin 2d ago
I love Ian Happ in my bones. Whatever happens, I support him. Good man. Good teammate, Good voice for players. Thoughtful always. Hitting sometimes. Getting on base as much as anyone. That’s my dude. He’s been a great Cub.