Santo, Jr., Redford Among Cubs' Opening Day Festivities
With opening day quickly approaching, the Chicago Cubs announced the festivities that will take place on April 1, when the Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates start their 2011 campaigns from Wrigley Field.
Academy Award winning director Robert Redford will throw out a ceremonial first pitch along with a fan selected by the Ricketts Family.
Additionally, Wayne Messmer will sing the National Anthem with the National 9/11 Flag on display in the outfield. The National 9/11 Flag was destroyed in the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 but was stitched back together by tornado survivors in Greensburg, Kansas, seven years later.
Ron Santo, Jr., the son of the late Cubs great Ron Santo, will sing the seventh-inning stretch. Santo passed away on December 3, but over the last 13 seasons, no one sang the stretch more than the Cubs' radio analyst.
Throughout the 2011 season, the Cubs will wear a No. 10 patch on their uniforms. The organization will also have Ron Santo Day on August 10, where they will dedicate a statue in the third baseman's honor.
