Oct. 21--Sometimes, on the way to Wrigley Field, Andrew Belleson gets into conversations with fellow Cubs fans. Eventually they ask what he does for a living.
Belleson's response -- that he's the PA announcer for the Cubs -- catches the strangers off guard.
"They expect him to say he's a part of marketing or something," said Lauren Healy, Belleson's longtime girlfriend. "Their faces are always like, wait, what? They're just stunned."
Belleson doesn't blame anyone for being surprised, because he feels that way too -- even now, in his fifth baseball season after winning his dream job in a YouTube contest with nearly 3,000 other applicants. Since then, Belleson has grown accustomed to sitting in the press box next to the Cubs' legendary organist. He's practiced and perfected pronunciations of tough Major League Baseball players' names, such as Tuivailala and Cespedes. He's learned to work with the ballpark's new video board.
But the idea of being the voice of Wrigley Field? That's still hard to grasp for the 28-year-old who grew up in Lombard with a mural of the park's press box painted on his bedroom wall.
"It still doesn't sink in sometimes that it's my job, especially when it's been as fun as it is this year," Belleson said. "It's a really neat feeling."
In 2011, Belleson had just sold his family's Naperville hot dog stand and was trying to figure out what to do next when he got the call saying he was one of 25 finalists picked to read five paragraphs over the loudspeakers at Wrigley.
Making it that far in the contest was exciting enough for a kid who grew up holding a toy microphone and pretending to announce Cubs games in the living room. As a teen he volunteered to help broadcast games for the Rockford RiverHawks minor league team. Belleson played baseball for Concordia University Chicago in River Forest and did broadcast announcing for their football and basketball games.
But to his amazement, Cubs management invited him back to be part of the final four. For that audition, Belleson read a script into the microphone to owner Tom Ricketts, Hall of Famer Ernie Banks and other members of the Cubs executive staff spread across the ballpark with grading sheets.
Days later, he accepted the job as the full-time announcer at Wrigley Field, and, more than 400 games later, he has won over both Cubs management and the fans.
"We get constant feedback and comments from fans about how much they love him as the voice of Wrigley Field," said Alison Miller, senior director of marketing for the Cubs. "He shows the utmost respect for this 101-year-old ballpark, and he's also a really savvy baseball fan."
Belleson arrives at the park about two hours before each game, when he picks up his scripts for the batting lineup, sponsorship promotions and dozens of other announcements.
When Belleson started four years ago, he and Gary Pressy, the Cubs' organist, were the only ones in the corner booth.
Now they share the space with someone else -- the coordinator for the video boards. Belleson rehearses with the coordinator before each game to make sure he reads advertisements, program scripts and other narration in perfect timing with the images on the giant screens.
"They provide such a nice, different aspect to the game," he said of the video boards. "It was so tastefully done."
Belleson comes from a long line of Cubs fans and became more devoted after he gained ballpark credentials. Each year, his extended family unites at Wrigley Field for opening day. As often as they can, Healy and Belleson bring their 5-year-old daughter, Karina, to the stadium, where she sits in ballpark seats, begging to visit her dad in the press box. The parents had to set a rule for their little fan: Not until the third inning.
"He lets her push the buttons for him to talk," Healy said. "Sometimes I think it's so cute and innocent, and then I think, 'Man, it'll be amazing when she finally figures out what her dad does.'"
One of Belleson's favorite parts of the job has been meeting celebrity guests who come to the press box to rehearse the seventh-inning stretch with Pressy. It was hard to contain his excitement when two of his heroes -- Bob Uecker, Milwaukee's longtime radio announcer, and Mark Grace, the Cubs' much-beloved former first baseman -- came to sing, Belleson said.
It's hard for him to believe that young baseball fans want his autograph. It happens when he's asked to make appearances at season ticket holder festivities, when he announces the annual high school all-star game and during charity events. He's learned to sign his name along with "Go Cubs."
"I always knew who the PA announcers were, but I was kind of a die-hard," he said. "It still shocks me to be recognized in any respect."
At times it was tough to stay upbeat as the Cubs endured losing streaks. But the excitement of this year's team has made up for any frustrations. Belleson said it's been noticeably different announcing playoff games through the constant cheering of crowds.
"I guess every pitch is magnified because it means so much more," Belleson said. "You feed off it, for sure."
vortiz@tribpub.com
