Column: It was a ‘Stropening Day’ to remember for Marcus Stroman and the Chicago Cubs — even at a faster pace

Murphy’s Bleachers dubbed it “Stropening Day” on its marquee, and opening day 2023 at Wrigley Field certainly was an eventful one for Chicago Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman.

The Stropener was not your grandfather’s opener, but it definitely was in tune with the times.

Before the game, the Cubs starter crouched in front of the 400-foot marker at the center field wall to collect his thoughts. He then pitched six shutout innings in a 4-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers and made history on the way by committing the first-ever pitch clock violation in major-league history.

Afterward, Stroman wore sunglasses to his postgame news conference and talked about getting “chills” from Cubs fans celebrating opening day. He vowed to let these kind of moments sink in, unlike the past.

“There’d be a certain amount of times, you really want to just take it in,” he said. “I feel like I’ve been better about that recently. I feel like in my past, my life has just been so ‘Go, go, go’ and I really don’t get to reflect or take in these special moments.”

Stroman ended his interview with an Academy Awards-style speech thanking the clubbies and medical staff for making everything possible. The only thing missing was an orchestra to usher him off the stage for a commercial break.

Capping things off, Stroman went on his Twitter account, @STR0, and trolled someone who tweeted earlier he was “betting against that crybaby Stroman outta principle.”

It was a perfectly imperfect ending to Stropening Day.

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The 2023 season was off and running for the Cubs, and it was everything as advertised — strong pitching and defense, aggressive base-running and a quick, 2-hour, 21-minute game.

It was the Cubs’ fastest opener since 1986 in St. Louis and the fastest one at Wrigley since April 9, 1974, a 2-0, 2-hour, 9-minute win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Nico Hoerner scored the first runin a four-run third inning by going from first to third on Dansby Swanson’s RBI single to right, then got up and came home on Willy Adames’ throwing error.

“It’s nice to be able to win games in different kinds of ways, and today was an example of that,” said Hoerner, who credited third base coach Willie Harris for sending him.

Taking an extra base is going to be a thematic motif of the Cubs season, according to Hoerner.

“Baserunning is going to be a hot topic,” he said. “We had Trey (Mancini) sliding into second and he’s probably out with the old (smaller) bases. That’s kind of wild to think about, but it was a run.

“It’s just a little difference, but over the course of 162 (games), every little difference makes a big difference. If we’re able to take extra bases, especially earlier in the year when the (slugging) is maybe down at Wrigley, those things do seem to matter a lot.”

Now the Cubs just have to execute that blueprint for the next two or so months as we await summerlike days with the wind blowing out.

It’s hard to recall a Cubs team built for the early months of a season when Wrigley becomes a pitcher’s park, but here we are … finally.

Who knew?

Hosmer theorized the Cubs need to “base-hit teams to death” with the wind blowing in, a strategy they used off the Brewers’ Corbin Burnes in the only inning they scored.

“Especially on days like this, I think this is where we have the advantage, when the ball is not carrying like it usually does here,” Hosmer said. “You’ve also got to play some good defense and run the bases well. Nico going first to third on (right-fielder Brian) Anderson, who has a plus-plus arm, kind of set the tone for us.

“We kept getting big hit after big hit after that. We feel like (the weather) is a homefield advantage. Pitching and defense, and we’re an athletic team. I think we showed signs of that.”

It’s only one game, of course. And that’s the beauty of the season opener, even when it’s a Stropening Day.

It means almost nothing in the context of a six-month season, but fan optimism exponentially increases after a well-played opener.

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“It’s not a sport where you draw too many big conclusions from one game,” Hoerner said. “But it felt so good. Opening day does not feel like a normal game.”

Sometimes that feeling doesn’t last too long.

Bill Bonham’s four-hit, complete game shutout against the Phillies in that superfast ‘74 opener and an extra-innings win the next day proved to be anomalies during the Cubs’ 96-loss season.

Left-hander Justin Steele, coming off a great spring in Mesa, Ariz., takes the mound Saturday against Brandon Woodruff and the Brewers in another intriguing matchup that could go by rather quickly.

Remember, in another big change at Wrigley, the gates at the ballpark open only 90 minutes before first pitch this year — or 30 minutes later than usual. A five-hour day at Wrigley could be cut in half with the later opening and the faster games.

That means less time for eating and drinking, too. Plan accordingly.

It’s a brand new world. Cubs President Jed Hoyer even joked there could even be a backlash among fans if the pitch clock forever changes the game: “I was saying the other day, ‘When is the first time someone complains ”I didn’t get enough for my money?”’.”

Baseball is better when it’s quicker.

Who knew?