Cubs' premier seats ready for premiere

By Paul Sullivan
Tribune staff reporter

April 11, 2004, 8:01 PM

ATLANTA—The new premium seating area at Wrigley Field will be scrutinized by more than just Cubs fans during Monday's home opener against Pittsburgh.

Manager Dusty Baker likes to stand at the end of the dugout, which now will be only a few feet from the end of the premium seats.

"I understand I can't stand where I usually stand," Baker said. "Don't the fans come out in the front?"

Baker joked he'll be so close to the new seats that fans will be drinking beer in front of him and wanting to shake his hand. So what's wrong with shaking hands and having a beer with fans?

"Oh, that'd be big on ESPN," Baker said.

The new brick wall behind home plate also will be shorter than the old wall and at least 10 feet closer to the plate. The old wall was 60 feet from home, meaning catchers will be much quicker to retrieve balls that get back to the wall.

"I don't care if it's 5 feet behind me or 500 feet behind me," catcher Paul Bako said. "If a ball gets past me, I'm chapped anyway. Until we see how it works out, it's irrelevant to us. It's basically all about the fans anyway."

Hitters should love the idea of less foul territory behind home. "We have to get acclimated to it, especially our pitchers and our third basemen," Baker said. "Before you really feel the home-field advantage, you've got to know where home is." ...