CHICAGO -- Kyle Hendricks took the mound for the Chicago Cubs in the opener of the abbreviated 60-game season one year ago Saturday, throwing a complete-game shutout against the Milwaukee Brewers at a fan-free Wrigley Field.
It also was the first game of the pandemic-delayed season and the managerial debut of David Ross, who on Saturday said it seemed "like a long way away."
For many of us, the last year has flown by, but in many respects Ross was right.
A complete game by the Cubs? An empty ballpark? A 1-0 Cubs win?
Those things seem like a lifetime ago to fans, who have come back in droves since Wrigley went to 100% capacity in June. They've returned to a place they call home to watch a team they love in spite of its yearlong offensive snooze and management's stated intention of listening to offers on its biggest stars.
A crowd of 37,190 turned out on a sweltering Saturday, many of whom left after the top of the ninth inning when a 99-minute rain delay interrupted a 7-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
A few thousand remained until the bitter end and saw Willson Contreras ejected from the dugout before rushing onto the field to continue arguing with plate umpire Pat Hoberg. Ross intervened and pushed a visibly angered Contreras back to the dugout. He didn't feel his catcher's reaction was over the top.
"He's a passionate player," Ross said. "I love his passion. I've gotten thrown out of games, too. That's just part of the game. He probably has as good a feel as anybody, when you're catching, about where the strike zone has been all day. I know he's passionate.
"He was kind of passionate for a teammate there in a situation maybe he felt like a call or two didn't go our way. I don't know. I love everybody's passion for the game and trying to win, for sure."
The Cubs are 4-5 since the All-Star break and 48-51 overall with Friday's trade deadline approaching. Alec Mills pitched five innings in a no-decision, and the usually reliable Andrew Chafin took the loss, allowing three runs without recording an out in the sixth to end his 24-inning scoreless streak, which had been the longest active one in the majors.
So what has Ross learned about himself in the last year?
"I learned to stay the course, that there's a lot of ups and downs and a lot of questions I can't answer for [the media] that you want to know on a daily basis," he said.
What have we learned about Ross in the last year?
He's a player's manager and focuses on the task at hand. He's a better interview in person than on Zoom but still doesn't enjoy updating the media about his players' injuries or rehab schedules. And he uses the prefix "super" a lot (as in "super excited") and truly enjoys what he's doing.
As a manager, Ross is still a work in progress. It's difficult to assess his overall performance based on a shortened 2020 season in which the Cubs won their division with a 34-26 record or the current one that included a brutal 11-game losing streak and a team hitting .226, third worst in the majors. Entering Saturday, his team had a combined .224 average in 158 games.
Team President Jed Hoyer, the only one who really matters, repeatedly has praised Ross' performance, and Cubs fans haven't blamed Ross for the end-of-the-half collapse, as evidenced by the round of applause he received after Friday's win while crossing Waveland Avenue to the team parking lot.
"As a leader, sometimes [with] adversity you lose sleep at night trying to figure how you can [make an] impact and be better," Ross said. "And you get a day like [Friday], where we win by five runs and you go out and the fans are cheering for me. It's nice."
The honeymoon won't last forever if they don't win. And with the trade deadline nearing and his team in fourth place, questions about the future aren't going away any time soon.