CHICAGO – Cubs reliever Luke Little, a 6-foot-8 lefty with a fastball that averages 97 mph, briefly went viral for a reason other than his baseball talent.
“Hate to Say I Told You So,” a fast-paced rock song by The Hives, blasted from Wrigley Field’s sound system on Wednesday night as umpire Andy Fletcher approached Little during a pitching change. Little paused his warmup routine with one out in the top of the seventh inning. Fletcher told Little to change his black glove, which featured a small red, white and blue patch.
“The issue was the American flag was on his glove,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said after Wednesday’s 4-3 win over the Houston Astros. “They’re pretty strict about not having white on the pitchers’ gloves. Apparently the flag could be a distraction to the hitter.”
Counsell went onto the field for an explanation before Little was eventually given a glove that passed inspection. Little did his job against the middle of Houston’s lineup, getting a groundball from Yordan Alvarez and striking out Kyle Tucker. Less than an hour after the game ended, Little posted a Hulk Hogan GIF on X, formerly Twitter. “Proud to be an American,” Little wrote above the image of Hogan playing a Stars and Stripes guitar. “Go Cubs Go.”
Proud to be an American 🇺🇸 Go Cubs Go pic.twitter.com/iKCPSvt8Gy
— Luke Little (@Luke_L23) April 25, 2024
Little, 23, was drafted by the Cubs in the fourth round of the 2020 draft out of San Jacinto College in Texas. He made his major-league debut last September and posted a 0.00 ERA in seven appearances. He’s expected to be a bigger part of the Cubs bullpen this year.
Little told The Associated Press that he had used the glove in question since he was an A-ball pitcher, adding that the replacement glove found by a Cubs clubhouse attendant had not been broken in yet.
“The clubbies told me that they had got an email from MLB that I’m not allowed to wear it,” Little told the AP. “But I just didn’t assume that they were just going to (do that). It’s not like it has an advantage in the game. It’s not like it blinds the hitters. Just representing my country.”
(Photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
