Cubs players, leaders explain what made 2025 season so special

CHICAGO — It’s a phrase we hear often when a playoff team gets eliminated: This was a special group that came together really well.

Many MLB playoff teams do have strong chemistry. Some don’t, of course.

But something about this 2025 Chicago Cubs team felt different — at least to those within the organization.

The players in the clubhouse have talked all season about how they felt this was a special group, and showed part of the reason why on the field.

[How Cubs, Jed Hoyer view potential in-house extensions]

They won 92 games, came away victorious in a playoff series for the first time since 2017 and battled the Milwaukee Brewers all the way to five games in the NLDS.

Obviously, it was not good enough to get to their ultimate goal: a World Series championship.

But when the Cubs were eliminated in Milwaukee on Saturday, the common theme we heard from the players was about how sad they are that the time is coming to an end for this special group.

To a man, each player and leader talked about what made this group so unique and impactful.

Let’s hear it from each person individually:

Craig Counsell

The Cubs manager opened his postgame press conference last Saturday by explaining that he felt his team honored the Cubs uniform.

Why?

“I think it’s the five games we played at Wrigley Field in the playoffs kind of tells you what means so much to it,” Counsell said. “It meant so much to our players to do that, to provide that for our fans. And that’s what you do: You honor the uniform; you honor the place. That’s like not the results goal, but that’s always like what our job is to do, is to do those two things.

“And we did that. We didn’t get it done today, and that hurts. Man, it doesn’t feel good, but I think when you zoom back a little bit, we did some good things as well.”

Jed Hoyer

The Cubs president of baseball operations mentioned several times during his end-of-season presser about what a special group the 2025 team put together.

As he and the Cubs leaders held exit interviews with the players, they heard that same sentiment from each guy.

“It was remarkable how many guys talked about that,” Hoyer said. “I think this group really came together exceptionally well.”

Watch Jed Hoyer’s full end-of-season press conference only on the Marquee Sports Network app.

Hoyer believes part of why this team bonded well was because of the week-long trip to Japan for the Tokyo Series to begin the regular season.

“Regardless of how it happened, this was a very close group,” Hoyer said. “I think they really enjoyed each other’s company. And it was just a lot of guys who are really good teammates. … They really cared about each other, they really worked hard together and it was a really special group.”

Dansby Swanson

Shortly after the Cubs dropped Game 5 to the Brewers, Swanson stood inside the visiting clubhouse at American Family Field.

Still fully dressed in his uniform, Swanson described his emotions as the Cubs’ season came to an end.

“It’s painful, as it should be,” he said. ” … This group was so connected and believes in one another and cared about one another that it just makes it hurt and sting all the more.”

Swanson knows a thing or two about building chemistry. His teammates affectionately refer to him as “Coach” for his leadership skills on the field and in the clubhouse.

He has also won at every stop of his career — with a National Championship in college at Vanderbilt in 2014 and a World Series championship in 2021 with the Atlanta Braves.

“Each year, it’s so different — the bonds are so different and unique,” Swanson said. “And this year, I just felt like everyone was just so in tune with one another. Playing games together, having fun on the plane, hitters meetings, team meetings, team dinners — there’s just so much that we did and were very intentional about staying connected as a group.

“I think that’s obviously what makes it sting that much more when you just build relationships with teammates and you’re around them more than you are your own family and you sacrifice so much time at the field and away from your wife and kids and other loved ones to be with them, you just grow so close. And we just bond over this game, which is the beauty of it. But also makes it obviously hurt in the end when things like this happen.”

Ian Happ

The veteran left fielder is the longest-tenured Cub — the last link of the 2017 team that made it to the NLCS.

No player on the roster understands more about what it means to be a Chicago Cub than Happ.

“This team cared about each other, they cared about the city and the Chicago Cubs and they did such a good job of representing that,” Happ said. “And it makes it so difficult when you lose with a special group like that, because you care for each other and you care for the team so much.”

Cade Horton

The rookie right-hander wasn’t able to pitch in the postseason with the team after suffering a rib injury. But he was with the group every step of the way during the playoff run.

[What Cade Horton took away from Cubs playoff run]

“We were a really tight group,” Horton said. “We really cared about winning, cared about each other and we cheered on successes for everybody. Everybody was pulling on the same rope. That’s what made this team special.”

Jameson Taillon

2025 marked the ninth year in the big leagues for Taillon, but he felt like this Cubs squad prepared better and worked harder than any team he’s ever been around.

He talked often throughout the year about how much of a joy it was to show up to work at Wrigley Field, put on the Cubs uniform and play alongside this group.

“I’ve been on teams where you love being around everyone,” Taillon said. “I’ve been on teams where it’s cliquey. I’ve been on some teams where if you’re walking on the road for coffee and you see someone, you turn down a different street so you don’t have to see them more outside of the field. This team is one of those where you’re just so excited to see everyone every single day and everyone’s so unique and different.

“I didn’t get tired of a single person in here. Showing up every single day was a blast. It’s just such a mix of personalities and human beings in here. You got loud, outgoing guys, you got quite guys, you got people who express their love of the game in so many different ways. It’s been a joy.”

Matthew Boyd

We know that Boyd truly understood what it means to be a Chicago Cub. He wore his emotions on his sleeve before the team’s first playoff game, when describing what impact starting Game 1 against the Padres had on him.

When thinking about why this 2025 team formed such a tight bond, Boyd was taken back to something Counsell told the group in spring training.

“When you get to put on those pinstripes, it’s really special and it’s something you realize is bigger than you,” Boyd said. “I think we all collectively know that. From spring training, Couns reminded us of that, and I believe we left it all out on the field.”

Kyle Tucker

The star right fielder is set to hit the free agent market, and many are wondering if he would want to re-sign with the Cubs.

While he didn’t tip his hand there, Tucker did speak glowingly about the culture and chemistry the Cubs built in the clubhouse.

“It’s kind of one big family,” Tucker said. “Everyone’s here to support each other, whether it’s getting better on the field or off the field. Everyone’s just hanging out and we’re not just here to show up and work.

“We’re hanging out outside the field, becoming close. I don’t know if there’s many teams that are like that or not, but this team definitely built a lot of relationships both on and off the field this year.”

Brad Keller and Drew Pomeranz

The pair of veteran relievers were two of the greatest success stories throughout the Cubs season.

Keller was a minor league signing who had never spent a full season in the bullpen, but morphed into the team’s closer in the playoffs.

Pomeranz was acquired in a minor trade in April and went four years between MLB appearances. He also developed into a key piece of the bullpen.

Like Hoyer, Keller believes the trip to Japan helped kick things off on the right foot for the Cubs.

“We were just a bunch of guys who got shipped off to Japan, and I feel like we got pretty close pretty quick,” Keller said. “I feel like that helped us out and we just went right in the season. It’s my first year here and I feel like I was here for a while the way they treated me. You want to show up to the ballpark, you want to put on the Cubs uniform and that was special.”

Though acquired midseason, Pomeranz also was struck by how quickly the team embraced him.

“We just have really good chemistry,” the veteran lefty said. “It’s probably a word people are using a lot. But [there are] not a lot of places where everyone’s really close and you have team dinners and you got all 26 guys, 28 guys there. That’s special stuff.

“I think that helps you be a better team together and trust in each other, especially in these moments. You’re down 0-2 in the first two games of this series and you fight all the way back to have a chance. We stayed together and we gave it everything we got out there on the field.”

How do the Cubs replicate that special chemistry for next season?

The big question now, of course, is how do the Cubs carry that over to 2026?

In short — they can’t.

It’s not easy to bottle up the chemistry from one year to the next, because personnel will change and circumstances will change — both for players individually and for the team as a whole.

“You want to replicate the feeling, but it’s not going to be done with the same people or same emotions,” Hoyer said. “And I think that’s what we have to focus on, is: How do we build that? I do think you have a better chance to build that if you have consistency in your coaching staff and some consistency in that [clubhouse].

“Theoretically, you’re not going to turn over that many people and have the same feeling. So we’ll start working on it the first day of spring training. I was really proud of the way that group came together.”

The Cubs coaching staff is expected to remain largely the same, Hoyer said. And the roster has a bunch of core players — including Swanson, Happ, Boyd, Taillong, Horton, Nico Hoerner, Pete Crow-Armstrong and others — under contract for next season.

“That’s what all good teams do — you find ways to connect and grow together,” Swanson said. “It always looks a little bit different and there’s different kinds of ways in which it can happen. But I know that we have a really strong group of guys that are very intentional and care about building those relationships.”

The post Cubs players, leaders explain what made 2025 season so special appeared first on Marquee Sports Network - Home of the Cubs, Bears, Red Stars and Sky.