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If These Walls Could Talk: Chicago Cubs: Stories from the Chicago Cubs Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box
The Chicago Cubs are one of the most historic teams in Major League Baseball, and their World Series championship in 2016 will forever remain one of baseball's iconic triumphs. In If These Walls Could Chicago Cubs , Jon Greenberg of The Athletic Chicago provides insight into the team's inner sanctum as only he can. Readers will gain the perspective of players, coaches, and personnel from this modern era in moments of greatness as well as defeat, making for a keepsake no fan will want to miss.
320 pages, Paperback
First published June 4, 2019
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55 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 3, 2020
I admittedly haven’t read any of Greenberg’s work (or at least any that I can remember), but between the typos, different tones and the majority of the book focused on Epstein’s Cubs versus the Cubs’ organization as a whole... it’s hard to rate the book much higher.
With that being said, it was an enjoyable read overall.
I learned a lot about former Cubs who are still or were in the majors. I have a family friend who played on the World Series team, so it was nice to see his name mentioned. Seeing the Cubs rejuvenated and a possible contender this year is a nice continuation from the end of the book.
Overall, I’d recommend it - just know it’s mainly about the current Cubs versus the Cubs of old.
With that being said, it was an enjoyable read overall.
I learned a lot about former Cubs who are still or were in the majors. I have a family friend who played on the World Series team, so it was nice to see his name mentioned. Seeing the Cubs rejuvenated and a possible contender this year is a nice continuation from the end of the book.
Overall, I’d recommend it - just know it’s mainly about the current Cubs versus the Cubs of old.
February 21, 2022
Apparently "If These Walls Could Talk" is a series of books about sports teams by journalists that covered them in a specific era (for example there is another about the dreaded Cardinals and their 2006 and 2011 championships, but it seems to go further into the past). What makes this book interesting is the era it covers, which is one of the strangest in the Cubs history, which itself is very strange.
That era is roughly 2003-2018, which saw the Cubs go to the playoffs 7 times and win one championship, their first in 108 years. You get all the 2003 stuff, with Bartman, etc. as a kind of intro, then you see the '04 and '05 Cubs were actually, pretty good, and arguably should have made the playoffs. Then you see how terrible the '06 team was, then you see the '07 and '08 teams reasonably dominate and drop dead and get swept immediately by the Diamondbacks and Dodgers, and how even the '09 team was still pretty good. Then you have '10 and '11, where they meandered around mediocrity, and finally '12 and '13 and '14 when they ripped everything up and started again and became a dominant force in the NL in '15-'17, even as they appeared wobbly at the time of publication.
Yes, you probably won't read this if you aren't a Cubs fan, but it is not a bad thing for Chicago transplants to peruse, because the stories are actually pretty great. It's uncensored and I mean come on, who doesn't want to read another story about Milton Bradley? Or about how Ted Lilly was such a badass. Or that weird era when Sammy Sosa was the most exciting thing in the world, or Big Z and his no-hitters and computer game/typing injuries and excellent hitting and boisterous attitude, or Theo and his hype and how he delivered on it.
The Cubs are not the same thing that they once were, not anymore. The fans are still here, but the management and its philosophy have changed, and many of us do not like the owners, but we did have those good years and (if there is no strike/lockout) still have hope for 2022, with the Marcus Stroman signing and other positive signs that they aren't doing a total rebuild and we aren't in for 2 more years of cellar-dwelling.
Yes, it is for fans, but it is a very fun book, too. Sadly, Theo couldn't get us 2 like he did for Boston. We all hope and pray that Manfred exits and Epstein enters.
http://flyinghouses.blogspot.com/2019...
That era is roughly 2003-2018, which saw the Cubs go to the playoffs 7 times and win one championship, their first in 108 years. You get all the 2003 stuff, with Bartman, etc. as a kind of intro, then you see the '04 and '05 Cubs were actually, pretty good, and arguably should have made the playoffs. Then you see how terrible the '06 team was, then you see the '07 and '08 teams reasonably dominate and drop dead and get swept immediately by the Diamondbacks and Dodgers, and how even the '09 team was still pretty good. Then you have '10 and '11, where they meandered around mediocrity, and finally '12 and '13 and '14 when they ripped everything up and started again and became a dominant force in the NL in '15-'17, even as they appeared wobbly at the time of publication.
Yes, you probably won't read this if you aren't a Cubs fan, but it is not a bad thing for Chicago transplants to peruse, because the stories are actually pretty great. It's uncensored and I mean come on, who doesn't want to read another story about Milton Bradley? Or about how Ted Lilly was such a badass. Or that weird era when Sammy Sosa was the most exciting thing in the world, or Big Z and his no-hitters and computer game/typing injuries and excellent hitting and boisterous attitude, or Theo and his hype and how he delivered on it.
The Cubs are not the same thing that they once were, not anymore. The fans are still here, but the management and its philosophy have changed, and many of us do not like the owners, but we did have those good years and (if there is no strike/lockout) still have hope for 2022, with the Marcus Stroman signing and other positive signs that they aren't doing a total rebuild and we aren't in for 2 more years of cellar-dwelling.
Yes, it is for fans, but it is a very fun book, too. Sadly, Theo couldn't get us 2 like he did for Boston. We all hope and pray that Manfred exits and Epstein enters.
http://flyinghouses.blogspot.com/2019...
dnf-partial-read
May 10, 2023I quit at p. 209.
This book shows how the Cubs progressed from 2004 through that fateful 2016 season...then it keeps going until 2018. Why would anyone write a 300-page book about the Cubs that goes on for a hundred more pages AFTER the Cubs have won the 2016 world series?
This book also fails at fulfilling the full breadth of its title, principally sticking to roster moves and play-by-play. The behind-the-scenes glances we get are press insider moments, but not many stories or even anecdotes...other than from Ryan Dempster.
This book shows how the Cubs progressed from 2004 through that fateful 2016 season...then it keeps going until 2018. Why would anyone write a 300-page book about the Cubs that goes on for a hundred more pages AFTER the Cubs have won the 2016 world series?
This book also fails at fulfilling the full breadth of its title, principally sticking to roster moves and play-by-play. The behind-the-scenes glances we get are press insider moments, but not many stories or even anecdotes...other than from Ryan Dempster.
June 13, 2019
I’ve long been a big fan of Greenberg’s writing going back to his days with ESPN Chicago. I love his outsider status and objectivity (most of the time--he does get a little too political at times). He is an Ohioan (write word?) and is a Pittsburgh guy as far as professional sports go. He made the right choice there I guess. Ohio is for misery.
Living in Nebraska I endure delusion daily from primarily Husker fans and Husker football. They were spoiled rotten within a span of thirty years, so I get it, sort of. It was kind of painful, actually, watching people talk themselves into Mike Riley among others.
I should probably be grateful for their delusion since it’s been a useful exhibit A for me. I have no such delusions about my Chicago sports teams. This does not mean I am without hope.
Anyways, that’s a rant for another day.
Greenberg provides a helpful reminder of the more or less miserable decade preceding the rebirth of the Cubs under the Ricketts & Theo Epstein. The heartache of 2003. The Sosa drama. Milton Bradley. Edwin Jackson (one of Theo’s blunders). You know it’s telling that a guy like Epstein who rightly is praised as an all-time great has made some atrocious free-agent signings. Carl Crawford. Jackson. Jason Heyward. And perhaps more to come, depending on how things shake out.
I like how he went in depth on the spats between the Ricketts and the City of Chicago and the issue of getting money from the taxpayers of Chicago. I hate it when billionaires are able to milk money out of the taxpayer when they are more than capable of footing the bill themselves. They always dangle the threat of moving the team and the Cubs were no different even though it was obviously a bluff. It was really irritating reading about the Ricketts, alleged fiscal conservatives, talking out of both sides of their mouth. It was representative of hypocrisy of wealthy Republicans in general: handouts for them not those lousy poor people.
So Jim Hendry got his due in this book. You can’t say the man didn’t try. He definitely deserved better. His fingerprints are still all over this current Cubs team: Willson Contreras and Javy Baez.
The book didn’t really have an ending. It didn’t really explore much of the terrible offseason the Cubs had last year: Addison Russell and domestic abuse. The true revelation of Joe Ricketts. Also there were a lot of typos. That shit infuriates me. It’s one thing to misspell/shorten words in a tweet or text. But you are, supposedly, a professional writer. When you have mistakes like that it looks like you don’t care and just threw things together; that you don’t edit or review your own work. Still, I’m probably biased as the book plays to my heartstrings.
Living in Nebraska I endure delusion daily from primarily Husker fans and Husker football. They were spoiled rotten within a span of thirty years, so I get it, sort of. It was kind of painful, actually, watching people talk themselves into Mike Riley among others.
I should probably be grateful for their delusion since it’s been a useful exhibit A for me. I have no such delusions about my Chicago sports teams. This does not mean I am without hope.
Anyways, that’s a rant for another day.
Greenberg provides a helpful reminder of the more or less miserable decade preceding the rebirth of the Cubs under the Ricketts & Theo Epstein. The heartache of 2003. The Sosa drama. Milton Bradley. Edwin Jackson (one of Theo’s blunders). You know it’s telling that a guy like Epstein who rightly is praised as an all-time great has made some atrocious free-agent signings. Carl Crawford. Jackson. Jason Heyward. And perhaps more to come, depending on how things shake out.
I like how he went in depth on the spats between the Ricketts and the City of Chicago and the issue of getting money from the taxpayers of Chicago. I hate it when billionaires are able to milk money out of the taxpayer when they are more than capable of footing the bill themselves. They always dangle the threat of moving the team and the Cubs were no different even though it was obviously a bluff. It was really irritating reading about the Ricketts, alleged fiscal conservatives, talking out of both sides of their mouth. It was representative of hypocrisy of wealthy Republicans in general: handouts for them not those lousy poor people.
So Jim Hendry got his due in this book. You can’t say the man didn’t try. He definitely deserved better. His fingerprints are still all over this current Cubs team: Willson Contreras and Javy Baez.
The book didn’t really have an ending. It didn’t really explore much of the terrible offseason the Cubs had last year: Addison Russell and domestic abuse. The true revelation of Joe Ricketts. Also there were a lot of typos. That shit infuriates me. It’s one thing to misspell/shorten words in a tweet or text. But you are, supposedly, a professional writer. When you have mistakes like that it looks like you don’t care and just threw things together; that you don’t edit or review your own work. Still, I’m probably biased as the book plays to my heartstrings.
July 20, 2019
I enjoy reading Jon Greenberg's writing for The Athletic and was excited to see this book being released. It does provide a background of the Cubs from 2000 through the start of the 2019 season. It was great to get some insights into how the team was built for the 2016 championship season, but it seems to be just a collection of articles that the author had previously written. From the title of the book, I was hoping for just a little more behind the scenes stories. But if you are a Cubs fan, this is a must-read. If you are not, well it is still a good summer baseball book.
August 10, 2019
It’s a good read. You grab this book for the stories, and it’s full of stories. It really needed another editing, though, as there are some mechanical mistakes and out-of-sequence references that are distracting. One more proofread would have greatly improved it, but it’s a good read for life-long Cubs fans.
August 10, 2025
This book wasn't bad. It had some interesting details about the Cubs from about 2003-2018. But, it didn't really have any new information or exciting stories. Also, there were a lot of typos. Greenberg's political biases also clearly shine through, with some commentary that was simply unnecessary.
August 25, 2019
Enjoy Greenberg’s writing style and that helped this book along, but sometimes it didn’t go as deep as I would have liked. Still a fine, easy read for the summer, especially when the Cubs are struggling.
December 31, 2020
As other reviews have said: it contains interesting stories – especially for Cubs fans – but not in a cohesive book
January 26, 2024
Don’t know how much I really learned from this book, the ending didn’t leave me satisfied, and there were many copy errors throughout the story.
May 20, 2020
Title is a bit misleading. I read it via Hoopla, and it stood out to me because I assumed it would be fun little anecdotes and stories from players past and present. That, to me, is what "stories from the dugout/locker room/etc." means. That was not the case here. It was still enjoyable because it is a Cubs book and I am a massive Cubs fan, but don't go in thinking what I did because it is not like that at all.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews