There has been consistency for the Chicago Cubs in left field with Ian Happ starting almost every game the last few seasons.

Happ’s tenure in Chicago is reaching some momentous milestones, including playing in 1,000 games – a mark he is likely going to reach this year. He is currently at 989 games heading into the 2025 season.

“This is my 9th season with the Cubs,” Happ said on The Compound podcast. “Every time I say it, it’s like, ‘woah. Jeez. It’s been a while. Holy smokes.'”

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Happ would be the second Cub to reach that milestone in as many years with shortstop Dansby Swanson hitting that mark during the 2024 season.

“One thousand games is pretty cool. It’s a big milestone number,” Happ said. “I’ve been pretty healthy in my career, but we had a shortened season. It’s been an interesting time to be a big leaguer just with everything that’s gone on in the last 6-7 years. It’s really cool being able to play and be a part of that many games. I’ve seen some guys hit that milestone. Dansby hit it last year. Seeing the innings milestones, those are all really cool.

“One thousand games is an awesome one. Once you get to 8 years, you get the gold card which means you can flash it at any baseball gate and get two tickets to any game, which is pretty cool. There’s the 10-year club which is 10 years of service, full pension, but the 8-year club, getting the gold card is another big milestone. That’s a really cool one.”

If everything goes according to plan, Happ’s 1,000th game would be during the first home series of 2025 when the Cubs welcome in the San Diego Padres the weekend of April 4-6. He could hit 8 years of MLB service time late in the year as well.

Watch new episodes of The Compound podcast every Thursday on Marquee Sports Network.