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Ian Happ wants to stay with Cubs ‘for life’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Wednesday marked the seven-year anniversary of the Cubs selecting Ian Happ ninth overall in the MLB draft.
And if the Cubs outfielder has it his way, he’ll be with the organization for years to come.
Happ joined NBC Sports Chicago’s David Kaplan for a sit-down interview and said he wants to remain a Cub “for life.”
“This is the best place in the world to play baseball, with this fan base, this organization, the history, what it’s meant to me coming up here,” Happ told Kaplan.
“There’s a lot of factors that go into it. I would love nothing more than to be a Cub for life, but you never get to control those things.”
Indeed. The Cubs have parted ways with many of Happ’s former teammates in the last 18 months who expressed similar feelings, including the trio of Javy Báez, Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo at the trade deadline last summer.
Willson Contreras, who’s set to hit free agency after this season, has said he’s open to discussing an extension with the Cubs if they were to make an offer. But he’s expected to be traded by the Aug. 2 deadline.
Happ, who’s in his sixth season and has one year of arbitration eligibility remaining after this season, has also surfaced in early trade speculation.
RELATED: Happ on too-early trade rumors: ‘I love being a Cubby’
After a strong final two months of 2021, Happ, who’s gone through extreme peaks and valleys at the plate in his career, is enjoying a breakout season. Entering Friday’s series opener against the Yankees, he’s hitting .269/.373/.445 with six home runs, 29 RBIs and a 128 wRC+ while playing good defense in left field.
Happ, the Cubs’ players union representative, understands the business side of the game as well as anyone in the team’s clubhouse.
But playing for the Cubs is “special,” he said.
“We’ve all dealt with, at different times in our career, either a trade rumor or some kind of ‘it might happen,’” Happ said. “It’s something you kind of get used to. You just understand that it’s part of the gig.
“Nobody wants to do it, especially playing here. Everybody wants to be able to play here for their whole career and keep putting on the blue pinstripes, because it is such a special place. Again, it’s something that’s out of your control.”
Watch the full interview with Happ:
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