Chicago Cubs: There’s one in every generation, but never another Mr. Cub

Chicago Cubs: The closest thing we have to a Mr. Cub today

A dynamic young player has ascended to the Major League level and grabs the attention of Cubs fans and the baseball world.  With prodigious power and a camera-ready grin he soon becomes one of baseball’s most recognizable players.

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Kris Bryant?  It could be.  Certainly, he epitomizes the same qualities Mr. Cub did as a young player.  But that’s not who I’m thinking of.  My pick would be Javier Baez.

And that moment was in the 2016 NLDS, Game 4, the bottom of the third, Denard Span at the plate.  Now, I’ve heard announcers say some pretty crazy stuff, and sure Matt Vasgersian can be a little excitable.  But his effusive praise for Baez on that play and then the Span caught stealing was beyond anything I’d ever heard said about any player.

There have been myriad other such plays over the course of his still-young career – not to mention the clutch hits and mammoth home runs. This season, Baez is proving that last year’s NL MVP runner-up finish is far from a fluke. But there’s so much more to this guy than the numbers. It’s the youthful enthusiasm and kid-like quality he brings to the game  each and every day.

Yes, there is the aforementioned, Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, but in my book If there could be another Mr. Cub, even though no one really can be, the closest so far of this bunch would have to be Javy Baez.