From Buffalo Grove buddies to developing Cubs' baby birds
It's accurate to say the future of the Cubs is in the hands of a couple of Buffalo Grove natives, friends since they were 9 years old.
Steve Pollakov is hitting coach for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, the Cubs' Low A minor-league affiliate. Mark Weisman is the team's strength and conditioning coach.
"Whenever the first year of travel ball was. Pretty sure we were 9 years old," Weisman said. "We've been buddies since then."
They've gone from youth baseball teammates in Buffalo Grove, to help in develop some of the Cubs' top prospects in the minor leagues.
"Its pretty cool," Pollakov said. "Empty stadiums, music playing and we're just playing catch in the outfield before games, it really does bring us back to the BG days."
It also hit home when the two made a 31-hour drive from Arizona to Myrtle Beach before the start of the season. The journey reminded them of a trip to a travel tournament in Cooperstown, New York, when the two kids and their dads rode in the same car.
"It was kind of reversed a little bit," Weisman said. "Now we were in the driver's seat. When we were kids we were sleeping in the back seat, not a care in the world."
They share a typical suburban story. Weisman lived on the north side of town and went to Stevenson High School. In fact, he became one of the most prolific high school running backs in area history, then rushed for 2,600 yards over three seasons at Iowa.
Pollakov lived on the south side and played baseball at Buffalo Grove High School. He admits to growing up a White Sox fan and spent a short time in the Sox organization after playing catcher in college at Hawaii.
"It came as no surprise," Pollakov said of watching Weisman's football success. "It was really what I expected him to accomplish and there's still many more great things that he's going to accomplish. He's going to help us build a dynasty here with the Cubs."
Weisman went to training camp with the Cincinnati Bengals, but decided to retire from football after he was slow to recover from a concussion suffered during a preseason game against the Bears in 2015. He became an assistant strength coach at Iowa, then led his own department at Southeast Missouri before moving back to Chicago to be closer to family.
When Weisman realized he was better suited to work for a team or college, he started looking for opportunities. In the meantime, Pollakov called him out of the blue.
"As soon as I got wind of there being an opening in our high-performance department, Mark was the first guy I thought of to bring on," he said.
Weisman was used to football training, which typically focuses on speed and strength. In baseball, there are not only games six days a week, but a variety of needs between starting pitchers, relievers and hitters.
But one advantage they have is that development takes precedence in the minor leagues. Weisman said if a player needs to get stronger, he may stay out of the lineup for a couple of days to focus on lifting. When Myrtle Beach alum Pete Crow-Armstrong hits a surprising 16 home runs, they can see the work paying off.
While the players bus to road trips, Weisman and Pollakov typically drive together, towing the Pelicans' workout trailer.
"It's pretty cool, the Cubs really went all in on development," Pollakov said. "It's been a good opportunity for those guys to work out on the road in the hotel parking lots. Mark's been leading the charge on that."
When the season ends, Weisman and Pollakov will work out of the Cubs headquarters in Mesa, Arizona. The Pelicans are in the Carolina League playoffs, which begin Tuesday against the Charleston River Dogs.
Crow-Armstrong was promoted to High A South Bend, but two of the Cubs' top 11 prospects - outfielder Kevin Alcantara and third baseman James Triantos are still with Myrtle Beach.
"You can see it. It's definitely exciting," Weisman said. "Cubs fans should be excited about it. I know it's hard for fans to be patient, but it's worth it in the long run to develop a system and develop these guys into great big-league players for many years to come at Wrigley Field."
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