With 2022 Spring Training still on hold, I’m going to begin today an occasional series featuring some “Today in Cubs history” articles noting memorable spring games from the past.
To begin this series, I thought I’d start with a game from last spring, when the Cubs went into the bottom of the ninth trailing the A’s 8-5, only to win on a walkoff grand slam by Rafael Ortega.
Walkoff slams are pretty rare anywhere, but as you’ll see from the game recap from last year, I couldn’t recall seeing one in a Cubs spring game.
Ortega was an afterthought when he was in spring camp with the Cubs in 2021 and wasn’t recalled from Triple-A Iowa until late May.