Tim Buss' departure to Angels represents culture change Cubs have long foreshadowed

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Just days after the Cubs introduced David Ross — a former Cubs catcher known for his strong clubhouse presence — as manager, another strong presence is on his way out.

Early Friday morning, news broke that Cubs strength and conditioning coach Tim Buss will depart the organization after 19 years. Buss will join Joe Maddon’s staff with the Angels as a quality assurance coach.

Buss was a revered figure in the Cubs clubhouse, one known for his eccentric spring training outfits, antics and energetic behavior. However, his departure is an example of the change team president Theo Epstein has foreshadowed over the last year that could come to the Cubs.

“You are likely to see change in this organization,” Epstein said at his end-of-season presser on Sept. 29. “I think this is a real opportunity. When you fall short of your goals and fail to perform at that biggest moments as dramatically as we did, it provides a real opportunity, if you’re willing to be honest with yourself and you’re willing to take a hard look inside.

“We’re not blowing anything up, per se. That’s not the goal, but we’re likely to see real change, real adjustments at various levels, most levels of our baseball operations in some form or another.”

Buss’ departure comes as somewhat of a surprise considering the length of his Cubs tenure (he joined the club in 2001). However, it also comes less than a year after the team named Adam Beard as director of high performance. Beard came to the Cubs after four years with the Cleveland Browns (2015-18); with him came strength and conditioning coach Shane Wallen, who interned with the Browns from 2016-18 and an assistant strength and conditioning coach with the 49ers from March 2018-February 2019.

“Beard will bring his more than 20 years of industry experience to be responsible for overseeing the integration and management of a collaborative approach to all aspects of training, conditioning, mental skills, nutrition, sport science and beyond,” the Cubs said in a statement from January after hiring Beard.

There will obviously be changes in the Cubs’ strength program, but Buss’ departure will also be felt behind the scenes. He was close to many Cubs players, including first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who posted a goodbye to Buss on Instagram.

Whether or not Beard has the exact same role as Buss is beside the point. He won’t run the program the same as Buss, but Beard is a prime example of the culture shakeup that the Cubs have talked about at length for some time now. 

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