The friendliest face in the Friendly Confines

Some fans flocking to Wrigley Field Tuesday night might fret about their Chicago Cubs being down two games to none in the National League Championship Series. Cubs Fan Ambassador and Schaumburg native Ryan Rucci figures his Cubs will win tonight, grab the momentum, eliminate the New York Mets and keep Rucci working at Wrigley Field for as long as it takes the Cubs to win the World Series.

“You work for a company and you expect them to be the best. Why wouldn't you?” asks 25-year-old Rucci, who can't stop smiling while working his dream job with the Cubs. “I expect the Cubs to win the World Series.”

Rucci, who was born with cerebral palsy and almost died at birth, knows a thing or two about beating the odds and rising above the expectations of others.

“He's done everything he sets out to do,” says his grandmother, Modene Rucci, 88, who lives in Sugar Grove after decades in Mount Prospect. Even as a young boy, her grandson surpassed doctors' predictions.

“We thought he would never walk. We though he'd never drive,” the grandma says. “He's amazed us all.”

Ryan Rucci doesn't understand the fuss. He repeatedly notes that this column should focus on the great play by all the young Cubs players and not the work of one rookie fan ambassador. But Rucci is making a name for himself with the Cubs, where he works in different sections around Wrigley Field taking care of the fans.

“Everyone who met him during the interview process liked him. He stood out immediately. They loved him,” says Hannah Basinger, assistant director of guest services for the Cubs. Rucci, who now lives in an apartment within walking distance of Wrigley, generally is the first employee to arrive for his group's pregame meetings.

“He can set the tone for the whole day,” Basinger says. “He's always on the front row with the biggest smile.”

Rucci's dad, Corey, who grew up a Cubs fan in Mount Prospect, and mom, Tammy, say that smile is a permanent part of their son, who needed occupational and speech therapy growing up. Told that he probably would need a wheelchair throughout his life, Ryan Rucci learned how to walk without even a cane. He learned how to ride a bicycle. He played baseball as a boy, even though cerebral palsy made it difficult for him to run, throw, catch and bat. He graduated from high school and Texas State University with a degree in human relations.

“He was challenged at times, but he was just so positive,” his mom says.

“He just has this can-do attitude,” says his father.

“I don't really have a disability,” says Ryan Rucci.

“Honestly, we've never spoken about it, Not one time,” Basinger says of Ryan's cerebral palsy. Rucci often works in the sections reserved for fans with disabilities.

“I hope they find it easier to come up to me,” he says. “I'm pretty approachable.”

His co-workers joke with him. Cubs owner Tom Rickets calls him “Ry.”

“I always talk to (Cubs radio color man) Ron Coomer,” Rucci says. “I met a lot of the players. I have a jersey with almost everyone's autographs. I call it my family.”

Spending the bulk of his childhood in Southlake, Texas, Rucci enjoyed support from his family. His older brother, Corey, 26, sister, Alyssa, 21, and Jeffrey, 19, remember how Rucci starting riding horses as part of his therapy for cerebral palsy and then turned it into a competitive sport that found him taking on riders without disabilities and winning ribbons and trophies. Relatives here, such as his aunt and uncle Jerry and Fran Adams of Sugar Grove, say they are happy to have him back in the area and working for their favorite team.

After his graduation from college in December 2014, Rucci applied for corporate HR jobs without success.

“I said, 'Follow your dream,' but I didn't think his dream would be this big,” says his father.

“I've always been a Cubs fan. My aunts and uncles were Cubs fans,” Ryan Rucci says. “There is nothing I like more than the Cubs. So I applied to the Cubs in January.”

More than an employee, Rucci says he's a member of the Wrigley Field family.

“Ryan's immediately become a part of that. People have talked about just what a joy he is to be around,” Basinger says. “He does a great job for us.”

A cinch to win his job again next season, Rucci says he hopes to one day be a year-round employee of the Cubs. In the meantime, he's relishing his role in a glorious Cubs season.

“He's living his dream,” Modene Rucci says of her grandson.

“I knew the farm system was the best in baseball, and I knew the Cubs were going to be good. I knew we were going to make the playoffs,” says Rucci, who never complains about walking up and down ramps or dealing with the standing-room-only crowds. “I think it's fun. I don't think it's tough at all. It's awesome. I love the fans. They're waving the towels. I get chills.”

Even when he can't watch the action on the field because he's catering to the needs of fans, Rucci says he feeds off the cheers.

“I'm helping people enjoy the game as much as I do,” Rucci says. “It's so cool.”