Here’s what was most popular on the site in the year that’s ending today.
The year 2025 — we’ll be exactly 500 years until Zager & Evans! — begins at midnight tonight, local time.
As such, it’s a good time to look back and see what brought you, the BCB reader, to the site most often during 2024. For reference, here’s the article on the most-read BCB articles from a year ago.
And as you will see below, the A’s proposed move to Las Vegas was a very popular topic here on BCB. Three of the top 10 articles are on that topic, with another similar article on the proposed White Sox stadium in downtown Chicago also making the list.
We came up just short of having three articles on Nike’s uniform fiasco making the top 10. This article, actually posted in December 2023, was 13th (20,024 page views) and this one ranked 14th (19,183 page views). The most-read game recap of 2024 was, oddly enough, the one from the 17-0 blowout loss to the Red Sox April 27. That ranked 16th with 17,285 page views.
As I have done previously, I’ll count these down from No. 10 (fewest page views) to No. 1 (most page views). Page view numbers are as of 8 a.m. CT today, December 31; a few more hours won’t make any significant difference in these rankings.
And if you didn’t get the Zager & Evans reference, here’s a musical interlude before the ranking.
10) February 9: Another update on the Oakland A’s to Las Vegas situation, 22,338 page views
The first of three articles on this topic that made this year’s BCB Top 10 list.
9) July 18: Cubs, MLB announce 2025 regular season schedule, 22,551 page views
The trip to Japan to start the Cubs’ season in ‘25 might have been responsible for this many page views.
8) October 9: Manny Machado doesn’t need defending — but Ken Rosenthal should do some soul searching, 26,634 page views
Sara’s article on the playoff kerfuffle involving Machado supposedly “deliberately” throwing a baseball toward the Dodgers dugout got quite a bit of attention.
7) February 16: More on the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad MLB/Nike/Fanatics uniforms, 30,214 page views
Just in case you didn’t know how I felt about these, the headline should answer that question.
6) March 11: Here are all the remaining MLB free agents, 33,216 page views
The question was raised: Would the Cubs sign any of these guys? 68 percent of you said “no,” and you were correct. None of the players listed signed with the Cubs last spring, although one of them — Matthew Boyd — is a Cub now.
5) February 9: Ryne Sandberg updates fans on his battle with prostate cancer, 35,633 page views
The Cubs Hall of Famer had been declared cancer-free this past summer. Unfortunately, Sandberg announced earlier this month that cancer had returned and he was undergoing treatment. We’re all rooting for you, Ryno.
4) February 8: Here’s what the proposed new White Sox stadium would look like, 40,900 page views
Gotta admit, that’s a cool looking ballpark. But not at the cost of $1 billion in public money. Nearly eleven months after this article was published, that stadium is still nothing more than renderings.
3) January 26: There’s more trouble for the Oakland Athletics’ proposed move to Las Vegas, 41,547 page views
The second of three articles that made this list for 2024.
2) March 7: The Oakland Athletics have new Las Vegas stadium renderings…, 44,263 page views
I should write more articles on this topic! (And probably will.)
1) March 29: The Cubs should postpone Monday’s home opener… now, 73,428 page views
Well.
First, though I do not have exact numbers going back that far, I’m pretty sure that’s the most page views for any non-schedule article on this site since the recap to Game 7 of the 2016 World Series.
This article was posted three days before the home opener was scheduled, and 65 percent of the 2,277 people who voted in the poll agreed with me.
As you know, they played the game, the Cubs won 5-0 and found a new star in Shōta Imanaga. But the weather was pretty lousy through the entire first homestand (cold, rain and sometimes cold AND rain) and really, northern cities shouldn’t be forced to play six games at home the first week of April. Fortunately, the Cubs’ 2025 schedule is much better for that purpose, with the first home game April 4 and only six home games before April 18.
Thanks for reading all year! Happy New Year, and here’s to a great 2025 for you, for the Chicago Cubs, and for BCB.