To honor and kick off the 2022 MLB baseball season in Chicago, Peoples Gas dedicated two new gas mains to the city’s home teams, one on the north side for the Chicago Cubs, on Wednesday, April 6, and one on the south side for the Chicago White Sox, on Friday, April 8.
Former Sox player Ron Kittle attended the event on the south side, serving as the job site’s honorary construction foreman.
“The Cubs and White Sox are as crucial to Chicago as the infrastructure Peoples Gas uses to deliver heat to people’s homes,” said Bala Kattappuram, director of planning and project management for Peoples Gas. “Plus, like us, they wear hard hats, so dedicating these new gas mains to our favorite teams and the new baseball season is a perfect fit.”
The pipes will have specially-designed stickers honoring the Sox and Cubs, and cheering for each of them to “Bring the heat” this year!
Peoples Gas has ongoing community partnerships with the hometown teams. Each year, the company supports Cubs Charities and Chicago White Sox Charities through the “Ks for a Cause” program, making grants based on how many opposing batters the teams’ pitchers strike out at home games.
The new gas mains are among many being installed across Chicago as Peoples Gas replaces old and deteriorating natural gas pipes, many from the 1800s —about as old as the Cubs and Sox — as part of its Safety Modernization Program.
In his role as honorary foreman, Kittle signed the White Sox pipe and then signaled work crews to lower it into the ground.
Joseph Phillips is the Sports Editor for the Chicago Crusader Newspaper. He is a Chicago native, who has been a sports writer for over 17 years. He also hosts the SC Media News and Sports Network Q&A radio show on WHPK 88.5 FM Chicago.
