Cubs announce several tributes to Ernie Banks

MESA, Ariz. - The Cubs will honor the memory of Ernie Banks throughout the 2015 season, beginning with the first games of spring training.

The team said Thursday its players will wear commemorative No. 14 patches on their home and away jerseys this season. The Cubs will open the Cactus League season by wearing No. 14 hats during both of their split-squad games on March 5. Banks' No. 14 was the first uniform number retired by the Cubs, in 1982.

Banks, known as Mr. Cub, died Jan. 23, eight days before his 84th birthday.

In addition to the uniform tribute, Banks will be honored with a pregame ceremony before the Cubs-Cardinals regular-season opener April 5 at Wrigley Field. Each fan attending that Sunday night game will receive a commemorative pin. The Cubs will make other tributes to Banks during that game and have additional tributes throughout the upcoming season.

"There is no level of recognition that can properly acknowledge how much Ernie Banks meant to this franchise and fan base," Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said in a statement. "Collectively, we must ensure Mr. Cub's legacy rightfully lives on at the Friendly Confines and with future generations of baseball fans."

Lots of early arrivals:

Pitchers and catchers reported to Cubs spring-training camp Thursday, but there were many position players also there. Those included Anthony Rizzo, Matt Szczur, Chris Coghlan and Javier Baez.

"It's just nature of the game now, guys getting to the field early," Rizzo said. "I've done it mostly my whole career, dating back to when I was in the minor leagues. I personally like it. I like all the guys here, how everyone is getting after it, getting acclimated to this weather and to each other again before we really start rolling."

Respecting the game:

Cubs manager Joe Maddon is fond of saying, "respect 90." In other words, respect the 90 feet between the bases by running hard from base to base.

"It's honored on different levels by different people," Maddon said. "Derek Jeter (Yankees), to me, respected 90 feet every time he played the game of baseball.

"I always talked about if you could get a baseball player to run hard to first base and if he respects that 90 feet, that it will permeate the rest of his game in a positive way. I think it's that simple, i.e., why Andrew McCutcheon (Pirates star) became a favorite player a couple of years ago. We were playing at Port Charlotte at 10 o'clock at night in the ninth inning with two outs. He hits a routine groundball to shortstop and beats it out.

"What does that say to the rest of the Pirate organization? That was a beautiful moment … It doesn't take talent to play hard or run hard. It just takes 'want-to,' in a sense. So I really believe we're going to pull that out of our guys."

Maddon said he doesn't believe in fining players who don't "respect 90," but he'd let peer pressure take care of it by players policing themselves.

"I really don't have a whole lot of rules," he said. "I'm anti-rules. Integrity has no need of rules."

The quote:

"I do not like playoff baseball beginning and I'm in the backyard cooking steaks. I hate that. I want everybody else cooking steaks when we're playing baseball in October."

- Joe Maddon