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A Star on the Rise
Everyone knew what Kris Bryant could be, in a year or two. Except, no one told Kris Bryant that there was a timeline to follow, he was the runaway favorite for the NL Rookie of the Year honors.
Bryant, all of 23 years old came out and set records all over the place.
He finished his rookie season with 26 home runs, 99 RBIs, 62 extra-base hits and 273 total bases. Bryant also hit 31 doubles, scored 86 runs and drew 77 walks. There was only one other player in major league history to attain those totals in his rookie campaign. A Hall of Famer by the name of Ted Williams with the Boston Red Sox in 1939. You might be familiar with him; He was kind of a big deal.
It was a unanimous decision, with Bryant receiving two votes per NL city putting a nice little bow on a season that was even more unexpected than Bryant’s dominance from his first start on April 17th, to the remarkable postseason.
The Cubs are certainly poised for bigger things, and will only get better with the experience they gained over this past summer and well into the fall.
“I have a whole off-season to celebrate this and work hard for the ultimate goal, and that’s winning the World Series,” Bryant told the MLB Network from the Southern California offices of agent Scott Boras. “And I sure hope to do that next season with the Cubs.”
Silencing All Doubt
At 6’5″ and 215-pounds, he is built with the long reach that the position demands, so it is hard to recall why there were so many questions as to how he would fare as the Cubs’ third baseman. Especially, after the season he put together. He started 136 games at third base, but he also added five at right, four in left, and one each in center and first base. Though, it would seem third should be pretty secure for him now.
In 2013, the Cubs used their first pick (fourth overall) to pick up Bryant, knowing what kind of potential he had. Though, they had drafted a long-term blueprint for the young third baseman, he was ready to go well ahead of the Cubs initial timeline. When that door opened for Bryant, he ripped it off the hinges, making sure he’d never have to look back.
In addition to all of the lofty stats, Bryant added a couple more accolades to his stellar rookie campaign. He is now the sixth Rookie of the Year in franchise history (Geovany Soto was the last in 2008). He blasted one more home run (26) than Billy Williams as a rookie; He was the first Cub to win Rookie of the Year honors. Bryant was also the fifth rookie to be named to the all-star game. And finally, Bryant became the youngest Cubs third baseman to be named to the NL All-Star team since Ron Santo (23) in 1963.
Bryant came into the majors with an 0-4 outing in his first game against the San Diego Padres, it is laughable that Bryant was booed when you look back now. Impatient or not, Bryant still rewarded the Cubs faithful fans. In his next ten games, Bryant had 10 RBIs and a .378 batting average (14-for-37). Those marks got even better after July.
“I went out there and played as hard as I can with a little chip on my shoulder and things turned out great. We won, went far in the playoffs and surprised a lot of teams. Moving on from this season, I think the future is so bright for this team.”
Bryant rattled off a .323 batting average with 12 home runs, and 39 RBIs over the final two months to finish with a .275 batting average and a .369 on-base percentage. He was integral in helping the Cubs get to the playoffs and hang around for longer than anyone expected. The hope is there, but no one was expected it this early.
Bryant batted .292 with runners in scoring position with 17 game-winning RBIs. There have only been two other rookies that had at least 17 game winning RBI’s, Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals (21 in 2001) and Hideki Matsui of the New York Yankees (17 in 2003).
Two of Bryant’s 26 home runs were grand slams, and he earned the distinction of being the first player to hit a home run off the new left field video board when he hit a game-tying home run on May 26 against the Washington Nationals.
The Future Is Now
The Cubs beat Pittsburgh in the NL wild-card game. They also absolutely stunned St. Louis in the NL Division Series. Their season ended, when they were swept in four games by the New York Mets in the NL Championship Series. However painful that may have been, the Cubs have a lot to look forward to. The sun will shine brightly at Wrigley Field in the years to come, attracted to all of the star power that is set to rise up.
Bryant was in good company with fellow rookies Addison Russell, and Kyle Schwarber. He also had two second-year Cubs in Javier Baez and Jorge Soler, who are 22 and 23 respectively.
“You feed off each other,” Bryant said. “Everybody struggled through the season, and we leaned on each other. As young guys, we brought ourselves together and learned from one another, and they (the Cubs Organization) made the learning curve a lot easier for us.”
The other candidates were Matt Duffy of the San Francisco Giants who finished second, followed by Jung Ho Kang of Pittsburgh, Noah Syndergaard of the New York Mets and Justin Bour of the Miami Marlins.
Outfielders Joc Pederson of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Stephen Piscotty of St. Louis each received a single third-place ballot.