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

Last season, David Bote came up clutch on countless occasions. But in his first full year in the big leagues, the Chicago Cubs infielder is doing much, much more.

I don’t think I’ll ever forget listening to Pat Hughes’ call of David Botes‘ walk-off grand slam for the Chicago Cubs against the Washington Nationals last summer. My wife and I were getting ready for bed when I remarked, “How crazy would it be if Bote hit one right now? We’d always remember that we were putting away laundry when he hit it.”

Lo and behold, Bote delivered, the Cubs pulled off what felt like a monumental win against one of the best teams in the National League and I still remember folding that laundry. We’ve already gotten some Bote heroics in the young 2019 campaign, but I don’t know if anything will ever measure up to how clutch he was after his midseason call-up last year.

And, you know what? That’s not a bad thing, because Bote has become much more than just a clutch bat in the Chicago lineup. He’s become a legitimate big league threat. Gone are the swing-and-miss tendencies we saw take over his game late last summer, replaced by a more patient approach that has yielded tremendous results.

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.

Chicago Cubs: Making adjustments at the highest level

In late April, longtime veteran Ben Zobrist went into Joe Maddon‘s office and told him to start David Bote over him the next day. Bote was swinging a hot stick and he recognized that, putting the team ahead of himself, something that’s made him one of the most beloved guys on the team.

"“It means a lot,” Bote told The Athletic. “It’s humbling. Ben Zobrist is ‘Benny Pro’ for a reason. Joe being Joe, he’s got a pulse of what’s going on here and he respects the veterans, he respects us. It’s a really cool thing for Zo to do. That’s what this clubhouse is about. We love each other. We’re family. All we care about is winning.”"

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It’s that attitude that’s guided Bote’s ascent from relatively unknown prospect to a key part of a Chicago Cubs roster looking to get back to October for an unprecedented fifth consecutive season. And that same team-first mentality pushed Bote to improve his game this winter, something that’s been evident on the diamond early in 2019.

His contact rate is up, he’s taking more first pitches to get settled in the box, his strikeout rate is down and his hard-hit percentage has jumped sharply (seriously, you need to go read Sahadev Sharma’s latest piece in The Athletic (sub required)- the trends we’re seeing from Bote are unbelievable). 

What has all this led to? Bote has accumulated 0.6 WAR already in 2019, due largely in part to an above-average 116 OPS+ and rock-solid .261/.354/.478 slash line. He’s struck out just 15 times while drawing eight walks and he’s done all this while playing three different infield positions.

Getting this production from Bote has been key. Although he’s scorching hot heading into May, Anthony Rizzo was ice-cold for much of early April and Kris Bryant is yet to rediscover the power that made him the National League MVP three years ago.

But with the Cubs’ big boppers finding their groove, Bote is ready to do whatever is asked of him, whenever the request comes. This is a guy who understands what the ‘Cubs Way’ means and lives it each and every time he takes the field or steps to the dish.