Chicago Cubs getting much more from David Bote in first full season

Chicago Cubs: Captain Clutch proving practice makes perfect

Last season, you felt good when Bote stepped to the plate late with the game on the line. Quite frankly, you’d have been a fool to not feel good about it. The former 18th round pick put up some otherworldly numbers in the late innings for the Cubs.

In ninth-inning plate appearances, he hit .350 with a .750 slugging percentage. He recorded four extra-base hits (a pair of doubles and two home runs) in just 21 at-bats, driving in seven runs. When the page flipped to extra-innings, he got even better, putting up a 2.750 OPS in an admittedly minute four plate appearances.

This guy had ‘it’ – whatever ‘it’ is. In high-leverage spots, he had a .980 OPS – nearly 400 points higher than in medium-leverage situations and roughly 300 points higher than what Baseball Reference deemed low-leverage spots. How does he do it? Bote talked with NBC Sports Chicago earlier this season after delivering yet another game-winner.

"“It’s the mental side of calming yourself, making sure you look for what you want to do — even throughout the whole game,” Bote said. “In the offseason and the cage, my last swing of the day is always the game-winning type — OK, it’s bases loaded, two outs, we’re down 1, I need a base hit. Or we’re down 3 or whatever the situation is, I play it out and I just have that practice.”"

Preparation has clearly paid off for the 26-year-old infielder. He’s maintained that clutch ability that quickly made him a fan favorite on the North Side, while dramatically improving at the dish in a tremendously short amount of time.