Saturday night was the fifth career start in the Major League career of Boston Red Sox pitcher, Josh Winckowski. It was also his first start at Wrigley Field. When the game was over, he had some interesting things to say about the Friendly Confines.
Winckowski called the longtime home of the Chicago Cubs “a little underwhelming.” Not only did he compare it unfavorably to his home stadium, Fenway Park, but also called Wrigley Field “very stock standard.”
Josh Winckowski on Wrigley Field:
“A little underwhelming. Fenway has a presence to it. I really didn’t get that here, to be honest. I said to my mom last night, this place is very stock standard.”
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) July 3, 2022
That’s a take you’re probably not going to hear a lot of. Winckowski’s opinion on Wrigley Field naturally drew a lot of responses.
I guess an L is an L, huh? https://t.co/W9oXzMBI7E pic.twitter.com/zegVAG088H
— Sarah Spain (@SarahSpain) July 3, 2022
can’t believe i have beef with a guy named “Josh Winckowski” https://t.co/FRB0ExWkwc
— alyssa ✶🩵 (@lyyssachi) July 3, 2022
Clown take 🤡 https://t.co/JqTJKHV82v
— Brian Thomas (@brian_earle22) July 3, 2022
https://t.co/kZnbPd5ZVs pic.twitter.com/M3GtDKtTbc
— Matt Clapp (@TheBlogfines) July 3, 2022
you’re not allowed to complain about stadiums when your team plays 81 games at fenway park, the rest of the al east’s wonky dimensions and features be damned https://t.co/SzlGwBGPVr
— 🍀 Hoodie Judge 🏆 (@HoodleJudge99) July 3, 2022
40,000+ on their feet for a team that is 14 games under .500. Who just took the series from you by the way @joshwinckowski.@DOM_Frederic get a load of this guy… lol https://t.co/KsumpIx4Ug
— Greg Braggs Jr. (@GBraggsJr23) July 3, 2022
What a clown comment. Take your L @joshwinckowski and go home. #TakeThat https://t.co/SgyHm9lxdb
— David Kaplan (@thekapman) July 3, 2022
We’ll start by defending Winckowski. Wrigley Field has undergone several renovations in recent years. If we go back to before 1988, Wrigley Field didn’t even have lights. More recently, we’ve seen changes like renovations to both the home and visiting clubhouses, giant video boards and the bullpens being moved off of the field. So, if we’re comparing Wrigley Field to what it was before those changes, it’s more standard.
That said, we doubt that any of Winckowski’s outfielder teammates would agree that Wrigley Field is “stock standard.” No other stadium in the league has a basket that hovers over the field, turning potential flyball outs into home runs. Certainly, no other stadium in the league has a brick wall covered by ivy in the outfield.
Winckowski is still a young player and as such, probably hasn’t seen many parks. When he does, we doubt that he’ll be describing Wrigley Field as “standard” or anything close to it. It’s about as unusual an experience as any MLB park has to offer.
