In Grind We Trust

John Arguello and I attended the same church, that being the Cubs so-called "backfields" at Riverview Park. 
John moved out here a couple of years ago from Chicago and he lived across the street from Riverview Park, so he was there all the time. Most every day. At least every day before he got sick. 

I had met John and his wife Stacey a few years ago when they came out from Chicago to Mesa for AZ Instructs and to watch some AFL games. John walked up to me while I was watching and scoring a Cubs Instructs game at Fitch Park, and he said, "Are you Arizona Phil?". I said, "Yes, unfortunately, I am," and he intrcduced himself and his wife and I just thought he was a nice guy and a Cubs fan and that was that. . 

So I knew he was a big Cubs fan (I mean, who else would come out to Mesa in October to watch minor league baseball games?), and I found out later that he was thrilled when the Cubs moved their Lo-A affiliate from Peoria to Kane County because it meant he could watch a lot of Cubs minor league games. But then Stacey got a job in the Phoenix area, and she and John had the chance to move to Mesa and be in backyard of the Cubs minor leagues. And so naturally John & Stacey found a place across the fuckin' street from the Cubs complex! 

John Arguello was one of the regulars at the Cubs complex, along with Montana Bob, and Rockford John, and Bill Mitchell from Baseball America. In fact, John was there so much that one time a new Cubs employee offered John a ride to the clubhouse in a golf cart because he thought he worked for the team! 

John had the mind of a scientist. He was calm and logical and he could explain complicated things in simple terms. He had been a school teacher in Chicago, and so I guess he learned to do that, but it's not easy to be that patient. He did not tolerate bickering at his blog. He (calmly) demanded that discussions remain civil and rational, and he was able to persuade his readers to follow his lead. I hope Al Yellon, and Brett Taylor, and CT Steve won't mind me saying this, but I can tell you, without any equivocation, that I believe Cubs Den is the best Cubs blog. I even told John that, but I think he thought I was kidding. I was not. And it was because of John and his tireless work and calm leadership that it was that way.    

When John was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2016, he kept coming out to the backfields. He became an excellent photographer and videographer over the past couple of years, posting his work at Cubs Den. He also had the eye of a scout, and could describe what he saw in terms any baseball fan could understand. In fact, John could have had a scouting job in baseball if he had been so inclined, but he liked what he was doing too much to give it up. 

It looked like John had beaten cancer last year. He was at all the AZL Cubs games at Sloan Park in 2016, and then last September, on the first day of AZ Instructs, Cubs Player Development Field Coordinator Tim Cossins called John over to the Agility Field near the clubhouse, and had all of the players gather around as John was presented with a Cubs "IN GRIND WE TRUST" t-shirt, John did not make a big deal out of it, but he told me afterward that it meant so much to him that the Cubs would do that for him. He wore that t-shirt a lot, and he wore it with pride. People in baseball don't throw the term "grinder" around loosely. It means you are a fighter, that you don't quit, and that you are admired by those who know you.  

And John Arguello was indeed a grinder. 

I wish I could be half the man he was.