This will be an emotional and nostalgic weekend at Wrigley Field. Not only will Chicagoans see a rarity with two of MLB’s most historic teams (Cubs, Yankees) squaring off at the cathedral that is Wrigley Field, but it’s also the return of some key Cubs figures – Kerry Wood, Aramis Ramírez and Anthony Rizzo. Wood and Ramírez are in town for the Cubs Hall of Fame celebration over the weekend as the newest members to receive the honor. Rizzo will have his place in the Cubs Hall of Fame someday but for now, he’s still chasing another World Series ring with the Yankees. For the first time since he was traded to the Yankees back in July 2021, Rizzo will make his return to Wrigley Field and get a chance to interact with Cubs fans back in Chicago. Rizzo was the face of the franchise for a decade with the Cubs from 2012-21, playing more than 1,300 regular season games and then another 39 playoff games in a Cubs uniform. Of course, Rizzo was a central part of the team that ended a 108-year championship drought, hitting .360 in the World Series and catching the final out from Kris Bryant in Game 7. Cubs fans have been waiting more than 3 years to welcome back one of the most beloved figures in franchise history. “We miss you,” said one fan. “Thank you,” said another. Rizzo has spent the last 3-plus years with the Yankees but that won’t stop Cubs faithful from cheering for him. He should get a heck of an ovation Friday afternoon. “Cubs fans will never forget you,” one fan said. “You did great for the team. No matter what uniform you’re gonna be wearing for the rest of your career, you’re always gonna be a Cubs player to us. Thanks a lot.” Cubs fans also reflected back on Rizzo’s top moments and what he meant to the fanbase. One fan believes Rizzo belongs in the same breath as players like Ron Santo and Mark Grace. “I talk to a lot of older Cubs fans and they talk about Santo and Grace and guys like that,” a fan said. “And for me and a lot of younger Cubs fans, Anthony is really one that made you have that passion to be a Cubs fan.” For Rizzo’s part, he holds a special place in his heart for Cubs fans. “I think that door will always be open in Chicago,” Rizzo told the AP. “The amount of respect I have for the fan base there, and the love I have for them and the Cubs.” After the last game Anthony Rizzo spent at Wrigley Field, he and his family stayed and roamed the outfield, snapping photos and adding one more memory to the trove they already had. Rizzo leaned back into the ivy, letting the vines and brick support him, before saying goodbye. It was the summer of 2021, on the eve of the trade deadline. And Rizzo, sidelined for the game, had been informed he was heading to the Yankees, ending a decade with the Cubs that included a rebuild, three All-Star nods, five postseason appearances and a World Series title. His trade was the first domino to fall in the 2021 sell-off. The next day, the Cubs finished disbanding their championship core, sending third baseman Kris Bryant to the Giants and shortstop Javy Baez to the Mets. Bryant came back with the Giants that September. And just a couple of weeks ago, Báez got his curtain call, now as a member of the Tigers. This weekend, Rizzo is set to finally play his first game at Wrigley since the trade. He returned from the 60-day injured list Sunday, just in time, after recovering from a fractured forearm. Anticipating the reception he expects Rizzo to get from the Wrigley faithful, left fielder Ian Happ said, “I’m sure Rizzo will be right in line, if not the loudest, of that group [of players who returned]. He meant so much to his organization — to me as a young player, being right next to me [in the locker room] and everything he taught me.” Rizzo, five years older than Happ and eight older than second baseman Nico Hoerner, came up in the league when there was a more pronounced hierarchy between rookies and veterans. At the time Rizzo stepped into a more prominent role, that dynamic had begun to shift. “He definitely took it personally to at least make it, for me, feel like I was a part of the group,” Hoerner said. “And also, whether it was stuff at the field or away from it, he was always super open with me. I appreciated how honest he always was about how he felt. And he did it in a comical way. But when you have one of your leading players be really transparent about how they’re feeling, I think it creates a good dynamic for the group.” Happ recalls the handshake routine former Cubs outfielder Jon Jay had with Rizzo in 2017. “He would put the [captain’s] ‘C’ on his chest as a part of the handshake, and that was who he was to this group,” Happ said. “There were a lot of really accomplished veteran players in the room, and a lot of guys with experience that had loud voices. But it always felt, just from his time here, his experience here, everything he had been through before the winning teams, he was kind of the glue in that group.” When Bryant, Baez and even Kyle Hendricks, the last member of the 2016 World Series team on the roster, were establishing themselves in the majors, it quickly became clear the Cubs were on the cusp of something exciting. But Rizzo’s arrival in Chicago predated all that. Acquiring him was one of the early moves by Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer after they took over baseball operations entering the 2012 season. “What [Rizzo] did in ‘16, and that group, should always be celebrated,” Hoerner said. “But [it was] especially cool that he was here from when the team was struggling all the way through a World Series championship. That’s kind of the coolest thing you can do in one place, and something that I would obviously love to do here.” Hoerner, who last year signed a contract extension through 2026, has been through the reset years of the Cubs’ current cycle. The next step is to make the playoffs — a goal that narrowly eluded the Cubs last year and is threatening to fall out of reach again this year, despite a strong August. This series against Rizzo and the Yankees could swing their slim chances either way. Anthony Rizzo will forever be a fan-favorite in Chicago, and he’ll return to Wrigley Field for the first time since being traded by the Cubs when the New York Yankees come to town this weekend. Rizzo has faced his former team before, but both series were at Yankee Stadium, with this trip back for the first time in more than three years giving fans reason to cheer the long-time Cubs star. Of course, Rizzo’s resume with the Cubs is the stuff of legends. He appeared in three straight All-Star Games and finished in the top-five of MVP voting twice during his time in Chicago, but most importantly of all he hit 32 home runs and drove in 109 RBI’s for the 2016 squad that snapped the team’s historic World Series drought. Rizzo also caught the final out of that Game 7, forever cementing himself in Cubs lore. Since being traded to the Yankees in 2021, things haven’t gone exactly according to plan, but the slugger appears to be getting back on the right track. Rizzo has gone 3-for-13 with two runs and three RBI’s in his first four games back with the Yankees after being sidelined since mid-June. Rizzo is slashing .224/.286/.343 on the season, but will still play an important role for the Yankees as they seek out a return trip to the postseason. The series will get underway on Friday, with first pitch at Wrigley set for 1:20 p.m.