Cubs ‘Tentatively Planning’ to Cancel CubsCon Due to Possible Lockout

This shouldn’t really come as a surprise, but it’s nonetheless disheartening. According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Cubs are “tentatively planning to cancel their traditional Cubs Convention in January because of the potential lockout.” They can’t very well hold the event if no active players are able to attend if labor strife stretches into the new year, which is very likely given the contentiousness of past agreements.

CubsCon is such an institution that planning for it is largely a formality, at least when it comes to players and alumni attending. As such, it’s not like they’re working on all the arrangements for the next one as soon as the last one ends. But the reality of the situation is that everyone knows what’s coming. Nightengale was around the team all weekend to cover the 2016 World Series reunion, so I suspect he shared some words with Crane Kenney in the process.

The Cubs’ president of business operations is no doubt focused on the 2027 All-Star Game, which was also touted over the weekend and which has a much broader audience than the team’s annual fan convention. And while the Midsummer Classic is also obviously at risk of being lost if things go really sideways, July is a wee bit safer than January when it comes to planning.

It only makes sense to start looking at contingencies for what could effectively be a tsunami washing over Major League Baseball. We’ve already received reports of earthquakes and we’re seeing the tide recede abnormally, and CubsCon is just the beach that might have to be evacuated proactively. Let’s just hope the waves end up being much smaller than anticipated.