Chicago Cubs: Seeing how former players fared this postseason
A lot of mixed emotions were felt by Chicago Cubs fans this October seeing their former heroes play for a championship in another uniform. 2021 was the first time in the careers of Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber and Jorge Soler in which they played postseason baseball in non-Cubs uniforms.
Outside of Javier Baez, the departed core members of the 2016 Cubs were at least part of a postseason-bound team in 2021. Five key 2016 players (Rizzo, Bryant, Schwarber, Soler, Tommy LaStella) got postseason playing time, while the likes of Jon Lester and Aroldis Chapman were on postseason teams but did not play. Other key former Cubs (not on the World Series team) including Joc Pederson, Craig Kimbrel and Ryan Tepera played in the postseason this year as well.
It is also worth noting that former Cubs manager Dusty Baker (2003-2006) managed the American League champion Houston Astros – once again falling short in his longstanding quest to win a World Series.
So how did all these guys fare under the lights of October in 2021? We break it down here.
Chicago Cubs: “Bryzzo” had a chance to win another ring in new uniforms
Anthony Rizzo (Yankees)
.250/.250/1.000 with one home run, one RBI in one game.
Rizzo faced off against Kyle Schwarber’s Red Sox in the AL Wild Card game at Fenway Park. His one postseason hit was a solo home run to right off Nathan Eovaldi in the top of the sixth. He was 1-for-4 with two strikeouts as the Yankees fell to Boston 6-2. Rizzo entered the Wild Card game hitting just .069 in his final three postseason rounds (2017 NLCS, 2018 WC game, 2020 WC series) with the Cubs.
Kris Bryant (Giants)
.472/.500/.647 with one home run, two RBI in five games.
Bryant’s Giants fell just short in five games against the defending champion Dodgers in the NLDS. The former NL MVP had himself a very nice series, racking up eight hits in 17 at-bats. His home run came in Game 1 off Walker Buehler in a 4-0 Giants win. Despite the Giants falling in the decisive game 2-1, Bryant had a solid night going 2-for-4 with two singles. He was entering this year’s NLDS on a 1-for-14 postseason slump dating back to the 2018 NL Wild Card game.
Tommy LaStella (Giants)
.333/.455/.333 with two walks and a run scored
Easy to forget “3 AM” was also part of the Giants’ division-winning team. LaStella appeared in all five games and collected three singles in nine at-bats. He started four of the five games he played in. It is worth noting that he has 11 career postseason hits with the Giants and Oakland Athletics and none with the Cubs (0-1for-3), but he was a big bench bat for the Cubs in the regular season from 2015-2018.
Chicago Cubs: Like postseasons past, Cubs outfielders mashed this October
Kyle Schwarber (Red Sox)
.205/.286/.432 with three home runs and six RBI in 11 games
The final stat-line does not look great, but he started off red hot. Schwarber in his first five games (Wild Card and ALDS) he slashed .326/.409/.632 with six hits and three walks in 22 plate appearances. Going 1-for-25 with seven strikeouts in the ALCS hurt his final 2021 postseason numbers. His one hit in the ALCS was a grand slam in Game 3 off Jose Urquidy. Schwarber now sports a career .878 OPS and nine home runs in postseason play.
Jorge Soler (Braves)
.242/.342/.606 with three home runs, six RBI and .948 OPS in 11 games
The 2021 World Series MVP honors went to the former Cub right fielder. Soler hit .300/.391/.800 in the Fall Classic with three home runs, including two game-winners. His Game 6 three-run shot off Luis Garcia that went over the train tracks at Minute Maid Park traveled an estimated 446 feet.
Soler only had two hits in the NLDS and NLCS before turning it on in the World Series, and he turned it on at the best time. While originally a guy considered to be a center of the Cubs’ future, in 2016 that changed and his playing time was greatly reduced in the regular season and postseason. However, this time around he got to be a regular contributor with the Braves.
Joc Pederson (Braves)
.205/.271/.409 with three home runs and nine RBI in 15 games
He was a Cub only for a few months, but Pederson was their most notable signing last offseason. After winning a World Series win last year, he gets another one (including beating his former team in Los Angeles in the NLCS) this year. Pederson added three more home runs to his career 12 postseason blasts. He did struggle in the World Series going 1-for-15 with no home runs or RBIs, but he had a great division series against the Brewers with a .429 average and two home runs and five RBI.
Chicago Cubs: Notable former Cubs hurlers appeared on the South Side
Craig Kimbrel (White Sox)
9.00 ERA, 2.000 WHIP, 2.0 innings
The Kimbrel trade did not work out for the White Sox in 2021. After pitching to a microscopic 0.49 ERA and 64 innings in 36 2/3 innings with the Cubs, he went to the South Side and struggled in both the regular season and postseason. He got rocked in Game 2 of the ALDS in Houston, including giving up a home run. He pitched a scoreless third of an inning in the Sox Game 3 win and gave up an unearned run in Game 4.
Ryan Tepera (White Sox)
1.93 ERA, 0.429 WHIP, three strikeouts in 4.2 innings
While Tepera’s postseason was mainly remembered for his comments regarding the Astros and cheating suspicions, he had a nice performance on the mound. He appeared in three games and only gave up one run and two hits. Tepera ended up pitching more innings than any other pitcher on the entire White Sox roster in the ALDS.
Jesse Chavez (Braves)
0.00 ERA, 3.96 FIP, two strikeouts in 6.1 innings
He was not a Cub for long, but he was a huge part of the bullpen in the final months of 2018. The veteran Chavez wins his first ring at age 38 as he made one start and came out of the pen in six other games. His one start was a one inning “bullpen day” opener in Game 4 of the NLCS. Chavez did not give up any runs in the postseason.
Congrats to these former Cubs in making the postseason, honestly. It was cool to see some of the former guys getting another chance at glory even if it was not on the North Side. Hopefully next year there will be actual Cubs playing in October.