chicago cubs

Pitcher Ted Lilly Lists Chicago Home

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping, Sports

Last month we learned that Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Ted Lilly was putting his Chicago home up for market. Now, Housing Watch led us to the listing. Lilly, who used to play for the Cubs is yet another sports star who may end up losing money on a home he bought in a town he no longer plays for; Housing Watch reports that Lilly bought the home in 2006 for $2.15 million bit it is listed for $2.1 million with Mike Lavorato of d'Aprile Realty.

The 5,500-square-foot Chicago home is located near the Chicago Cubs stadium, Wrigley Field. The brick home on a corner lot has four bedrooms. Lilly and his wife, Natasha did the decorating and the home has a modest, casual appeal. Key features include a wine cellar, roof decks and a heated garage. It also has a self-contained backyard courtyard.

Gallery: Ted Lilly in Chicago

Tags: celebrity real estate, chicago cubs, chicago real estate, illinois real estate, los angeles dodgers, sports stars real estate, ted lilly

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Restaurant CEO Buys Sammy Sosa's Corked Bat

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Sports

Harry Caray Restaurant Group President Grant DePorter has a thing for Chicago sports memorabilia. Last time we wrote about him was when the Harry Caray Restaurant Group, a chain of Illinois steakhouses named after the popular sports announcer, announced that it would pay $50,000 for the hockey puck that launched off the stick of Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane and ended overtime in Game Six of the NHL playoffs, bringing the Stanley Cup to Chicago. DePorter also helped to buy the infamous "Bartman ball," the baseball that Cubs fan Steve Bartman interfered with during the 2003 National League Championship Series. That ball was eventually bought for over $113,000 detonated on live television to help alleviate the Cubs curse (no luck so far).

Now ESPN reports that he's has picked up another intriguing piece of sports history. Former Chicago Cubs pitcher Mike Remlinger decided to auction off the broken barrel of the corked bat used by Sammy Sosa when playing against the Tampa Bay Rays in 2003. When the bat broke it exposed the cork and Sosa was ejected from the game and later suspended.

Before the auction Remlinger had put a secret reserve on the bat that was not met by the October 31 deadline. DePorter, who had the highest bid, bought the bat after the auction. Remlinger said that DePorter agreed to pay the highest bid at $14,407 plus roughly $2,000 in commission to Schulte Auctions. Remlinger had hoped to make $15,000 from the bat.

The ESPN story documents a bit of the behind-the-scenes drama. Apparently Sosa wasn't too happy that Remlinger had the bat and wanted to sell it, a spokeswoman for Sosa passed on word to the Chicago Tribune that if Remlinger needed money he just should have asked Sosa. On "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000, Remlinger said in part, "it really doesn't matter to me. What's done is done. If he still wants to give me some money that would be fine."

DePorter seems to be a bit obsessed with the Cubs curse, he used the secret bidder name of Charles Murphy, the name of the Cubs owner in 1908, the last time the Cubs won the World Series.

Tags: chicago cubs, corked bat, harry caray restaurant group, mike remlinger, sammy sosa, sports memorabilia

Which Baseball Team Is It Most Expensive To Go See?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

Baseball season is just beginning, time for peanuts and Cracker Jacks and a fresh hope that your team will make it to the World Series in October. Which team does it cost the most to cheer on? The annual study by Team Marketing Report reveals that the Chicago Cubs have the highest average ticket prices in baseball. The average price for Cubs tickets is $52.56, just a handful of change above the Boston Red Sox at $52.32. But the Red Sox win when it comes to a more real evaluation, the FCI. The FCI is the fan cost index, the cost for the average family of four to attend a game. The FCI takes into account prices for two adult tickets, two children's tickets, two small draft beers, four small soft drinks, four hot dogs, two programs, two baseball caps and parking for one car. An afternoon at Fenway will run you $334.78, a full $18 more than seeing the Yankees, who ruled last year with a steep FCI of $410.88. The league average FCI is $195.13.

The best bargain is the Los Angeles Angels with a FCI of $124.90. The average FCI is down as many teams are offering cheaper concession items or other discounts. The Yankees are still on top when it comes to premium seats. The Team Marketing report says the average premium seat at Yankees Stadium is $312.11, far down from last year's price which topped $500 but still steep enough for the top slot.

Tags: baseball, chicago cubs, fan cost index, fenway park, red sox, sports tickets, ticket prices, yankee stadium, yankees

Ryan Dempster In Chicago, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping, Sports

For Chicago Cubs players, homes near Wrigley Field make for a nice and easy commute. Cubs pitcher Ryan Demptster happens to own two of them which is why, as the Chicago Tribune reports, he is unloading one of them. He paid $1.715 million in early 2006 for the freshly built five-bedroom home but then paid $2.69 million in late 2008 for another newly-built house a few blocks away.

The first home, which is up for sale is a three-story brick and limestone residence with four fireplaces, a master suite with a spa bath, a gourmet kitchen with a butler's pantry, two-person sauna, media room and a penthouse party room on the top floor. The property also has two cedar decks, a hot tub and a garage. This home is listed at $2.25 million.

Gallery: Ryan Dempster In Chicago