Wrigleyville looks different this summer than in years past. Normally, in the hours before a perfect August night game, you’d see armies of Cubs fans hopping from Sluggers to The Cubby Bear to Murphy’s Bleachers before packing 40,000 deep into Wrigley Field. Not so much this year.
Peer behind the left-field bleachers to the corner of Waveland and Kenmore Avenues, though, and a familiar sight remains: A dozen or so people scattered around the intersection with gloves and lawn chairs, eyes cast toward the top of the wall in hopes that they’ll be the first to spot a freshly smacked home-run ball sailing over.