Kris Bryant is making the Cubs’ decision for them
Since the arrival of Theo & Co., the Chicago Cubs made a promise and stuck to it.
They were going to build a consistent winner from within by drafting well and stockpiling talent. All they asked from fans was to stick with them as they started in on that goal. Growing pains can be tough, and at times, almost unbearable to watch.
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Anyone who has watched this team over the last few years knows when a team can transition from bad to “fun” bad. Too many times, we as fans have watched as prospect after prospect is told how great they are only to see them fall flat. Kris Bryant’s emergence certainly adds him to the list of Cubs prospects that we hold to a very high standard.
Last season, the Las Vegas, Nev. native tore the cover off the ball – winning Minor League Baseball player of the year honors, thanks to a 43-homer, 111 RBI campaign that was largely spent with Triple-A Iowa – where he may – or may not – open 2015, as well.
What Bryant has done thus far in only a week of spring training is make every game he plays in matter. That’s a very impressive thing to do when the games don’t count and no one is concerned with wins and losses. Let’s face it, when Will Ferrell is on the field and you’re still the biggest story from the day, you’re doing something right.
Teammates are starting to have fun with the display Bryant has put on. Chicago Cubs’ pitcher Eric Jokisch is no different. After predicting both of Bryant’s homers on Saturday, Jokisch said, “when it’s 100 percent of the time it’s not hard”
At the end of the day, what Kris Bryant has accomplished in Arizona will not stay with him. He must cement his legacy when it matters.
So maybe it’s fitting that while Wrigley Field receives a facelift, the new chapter of this franchise is being written by the youth movement. Perhaps one day, we can look back and say that as the ballpark was given new life, it became the “house the kids built.”
Kris Bryant is coming, whether the front office wants it to happen now or not, and when it does, the revival will finally take shape.