Kyle Tucker made his return to Wrigley Field on Monday night, and he was greeted by the loudest boos we’ve heard from Chicago Cubs fans since…well, since last summer when fans booed his lack of hustle on the field.
The Los Angeles Dodgers continued to flex their financial muscle last offseason, signing Tucker to a four-year, $240 million contract with $30 million deferred. Normally, fans would have been upset over losing one of their best players in free agency, and Cubs fans have been extremely vocal over their displeasure with seeing ownership not give the green light to go after top free agents. Yet, last winter, the majority of Cubs fans did not really care for a Tucker reunion, and actually hated the idea of bringing the outfielder back.
It was a dreadful second half in 2025 for Tucker, who was a top hitter in the National League through the end of June, but a fractured bone in his hand led to a terrible couple of months, followed by a calf injury in September. Tucker came back before the playoffs, but for Cubs fans, his lasting memory will always be his sixth-inning at-bat in Game 5 of the NLDS against the Milwaukee Brewers.
There was also the perception that Tucker never made an effort to connect with the city, the fan base, and, most importantly, did not seem close with his teammates.
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In the offseason, the media reported that Tucker lacked a certain passion for the game, which made teams unwilling to offer him a huge contract in free agency. The negative PR campaign continued in spring training, when Cubs legend Rick Sutcliffe brought up the difference between Tucker and newly signed free agent Alex Bregman during a broadcast on Marquee Sports Network.
All that led to Monday night’s reaction from Cubs fans and Tucker responded after the 10-5 defeat.
Via Maddie Lee of the LA Times.
Kyle Tucker on getting booed at Wrigley: “I tried my hardest last year. I mean, I tried playing through hand fracture and calf thing, just trying to get back to the playoffs for them, and trying to do what I could to help out the team last year with them. Hit really well in 1st half, and 2nd half didn’t go as great, and kind of didn’t end up great at the end of the year. But had a good run. … They’re a good team, and it should be good for them for the rest of the year.”
Cubs fans have argued that Tucker’s attempt to play through the hand injury was detrimental to the team and selfish, as he was trying to remain on the field during his walk year with free agency on his mind. Still, it is important to point out that he suffered the hand injury on June 1, and Tucker proceeded to post a 172 wRC+ through the end of the month, his best stretch of the 2025 season.
I do think the narrative built in the media has been a tad bit exaggerated, but I’m also not going to feel too bad about Tucker either. He got paid, Dodgers fans now loathe him, and the Cubs are happy they chose never to revisit a reunion. Tucker was great for three months, and the injuries seemingly did derail his season. It was a crappy situation all around to end 2025.
Nevertheless, it speaks volumes that Cubs fans, who mostly give former players standing ovations when returning to Wrigley Field, booed their hearts out when Tucker stepped up to the plate for the first time on Monday.
