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Chicago Cubs: Top five single-season performances of the last five years
By Jake Misener
Chicago Cubs: #5 – Kris Bryant’s 2016 National League MVP campaign
At this point, there’s little more Kris Bryant could have accomplished in his career. He burst onto the scene in 2015, winning National League Rookie of the Year and leading the Cubs within four games of a World Series. He followed up that narrow miss by finishing the job in 2016 with a historic season.
Bryant lead the Senior Circuit with 121 runs that season, appearing in all but seven of Chicago’s regular season contests. He slashed .292/.385/.554 for a .939 OPS that ranked fourth in the National League. There’s little the reigning Rookie of the Year didn’t do, really.
He set a career-high with 39 home runs and 102 RBI while dramatically slashing the strikeout rate from his rookie campaign. Come October, Bryant just kept trucking, leading the offensive charge with a trio of long-balls amid 20 knocks.
It might seem crazy that Bryant’s 2016 NL MVP season ranks fifth on this list. But it speaks to the depth the Cubs have enjoyed in recent years – and the number of unbelievable performances we’ve seen.