Cubs honor two memorable winners, add Davis, Lester to hall of fame

A forgotten hit of the 1980s, Jody Davis himself reports that the “Jody Davis Song,” performed often during Cubs broadcasts by Harry Caray, is still going strong.

“Well, it depends on how far I come out of the woods,” said Davis, who lives in southern Indiana now. “But when I'm around here, it's pretty regular (someone will sing it to him). It really touches my heart. I'm so glad I got to play my career here in Chicago for Cubs fans. Couldn't have been better.”

Davis and pitcher Jon Lester were announced Friday as the two new members of the Cubs Hall of Fame. Lester was also part of Thursday's reunion of the 2016 World Series champions.

Davis and Lester played in different eras but had similar experiences. Davis played for the 1984 Cubs team that broke the franchise's 39-year playoff drought. Lester was a key piece in snapping the infamous 108-year run without a championship.

According to president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, most every player from 2016 made it back. A couple notable absences were Kris Bryant and Jake Arrieta.

The Cubs created a retro 2016 clubhouse, adding nameplates to make the lockers look like they did during that playoff run.

“We started in the clubhouse, went to the 1914 Club, had food,” Lester said. “Sat around, talked, hung out, all that stuff. It was actually very low key, but it was awesome. That fit our group very well.”

Lester told a story of going out to lunch Friday with former teammates John Lackey and Travis Wood, and they obviously reflected on reuniting with old friends.

“We were talking and were like, 'Damn, everybody looks good,'” Lester said. “Like, everybody looks like they could get back on the field and do what they did. Probably not at that level. It would be a lot more slower pitches, but as far as the competitiveness, everybody looks good, everybody's awesome.

“Ten years seems like a long time. In my mind it was yesterday.”

For opening night of the Cubs Convention at the Sheraton Grand, the 2016 returnees were not introduced by name but came out as a group. Among the returnees were catcher David Ross, fired as Cubs manager after the 2023 season; and shortstop Addison Russell, whose Cubs career ended with allegations of spousal abuse. He's continued to play professional baseball internationally.

“It was awesome,” Hoyer said of the reunion. “It was a really, really fun night, really good turnout.”

Making the Cubs Hall of Fame is not a unique honor for Lester. Just last week, he was announced as a 2026 inductee into the Red Sox Hall of Fame as well. Lester joined the Cubs as a free agent in 2015 after winning a pair of World Series titles in Boston.

“Obviously I'm very honored, but I don't really know how to describe that yet,” Lester said. “You know what I'm saying? I think it's going to take a day or two to really let it soak in and give you a better answer.”

Davis joined a few '84 Cubs who are already in the Cubs Hall, like Rick Sutcliffe, Lee Smith and Ryne Sandberg, who passed away last year.

“God, we miss Ryno so bad,” Davis said “That group was programmed to win. To be a part of that, and to watch Chicago actually start believing we could win again. So many good memories, so many great teammates.”

And his own song. Who could ask for anything more?