Baseball: The Early Years.

Mike went through the River Forest Youth League system.  That back then was tee-ball then coaches pitching and finally to "Minors"  Up until Minors baseball for him was pretty uneventful.  Lots of innings in very cold weather that ending when one side or the other scored the maximum 5-6 runs {I can't remember the exact number}.  Each game was followed by a snack and a player of the game {Each player on the team one the award at least once.}.

In those early years the Cubs were mired in putrid mediocrity.  In fact prior to the 1998 season, the Cubs last playoff appearance had been in 1989 out in San Francisco where they had lost in 5 games and endured an earthquake.  The Cubs also managed to let a very young promising future Cy Young winner named Gred Maddux go over to the Atlanta Braves.  In those years the Cubs never finished above 3rd in their division.