Chicago Cubs:  Why I was wrong about Steven Souza Jr.

Chicago Cubs:  Steven Souza Jr. is no Nicholas Castellanos

When I think back about the article, “Chicago Cubs: Fans know Steven Souza Jr. is no Nicholas Castellanos,” maybe I was entirely right, but just not how you think.

Souza has had to overcome some huge injuries that Castellanos never experienced in his career. Castellanos never had his career snuffed out in a single stride over home plate or at all for that matter. Castellanos has never had to wonder whether he could come back mentally and physically from such a tremendous injury, and of course, not know whether he could ever perform at a professional level again once healed.

Doug Padilla’s recent article the Chicago Sun-Times describes the injuries that Souza has overcome:

"All told, Souza had an ACL tear, an LCL tear, a partial PCL tear and a posterior lateral capsule tear in his left knee."

That’s just about the worst you can do unless you start adding fractures, but Souza escaped that fate. However, when it takes one year to recover from an injury to your knee, it’s evident that the outcome will be unknown and could very well have been career-ending for the 30-year-old Washington native. That fear of losing your career and what you love and have trained for your whole life can be devastating, but Souza has not only managed to surface unscathed physically but mentally as well.

His excitement over the air when talking about his return and how much fun he was having taught me that Souza is not Castellanos and, in some respects of experience, might be way better than Castellanos could ever be as a player and human. Maybe they are just two different people that played and played the same position?  Souza has climbed the mountain and, in doing so, has earned a place on a worthy tribe.

If the Cubs got Souza for $1 million this year and he has the chance to earn another million or two in performance bonuses, then the Cubs better start saving now to pay off that bill, especially the way Souza is looking so far this spring training season. Cubs fans can expect some exciting things from Souza this season.

So I admit it, Souza is no Castellanos – he’s much more. He’s ‘Swinging Steven Souza Jr.,’ the Chicago Cub.